Film in fridge/freezer - humidity issues?

[jcn]

Hi all

I have seen plenty of articles, posts and photos of people keeping film in their fridge and freezer.

I have a few rolls of film (mostly colour negatives or slide) that I bought over the years and intend to shoot, so I have kept it in the fridge in the hope that it will prolong its life. Some films (120) are still in the foil wrap, some others (mostly 35mm) are just in canisters, some others (4x5) in their wrappers - some already open, some still closed. Some canisters have been opened, some are kept in a film box already out of the canister (one of those metal ones that takes 10 rolls). All of it, however, has been kept in plastic boxes with a rubber seal.

Now... I was hoping that the boxes would protect the film from humidity to an extent. I don't have a dedicated fridge/freezer for film, so my wife has kindly (but begrudgingly) allowed me to put some boxes of film between the chicken and the vegetables... Being a 'normal' fridge, I suppose there will be a higher % of humidity present than if the fridge contained nothing but film.
To be extra safe, I recently put a couple of indicator silica gel packets (the ones that change colour when they have absorbed a certain amount of humidity) and I was surprised to see that, within 3-4 days, the indicator had changed colour and showed that the seal on the plastic boxes was, clearly, not as efficient as I thought it would be...

I am concerned that the practice of storing film in the fridge or freezer seems to be at odds with the usual advice to keep film in a dry place. (or is the usual 'dry place' reference just really telling us to avoid leaving film in the rain and similar situations?)

What I'm thinking is:
- Will the film, by being in the fridge, absorb some of the humidity and will this damage the film, or is the amount of humidity absorbed (if any) negligible?
- Is it preferable to keep the film vacuum-packed with silica gel packets? Or could it be that, being in an enclosed bag with silica gel, the film may be damaged by becoming overly dry?
- Is is likely that film that has been kept in the fridge outside of a canister/wrapper (but still inside a plastic box) will be adversely affected by any humidity present?
- If the film has been in the fridge AND if the film has absorbed some moisture, will moving it to the freezer damage it? (i'm thinking water freezing and expanding, if it has somehow accumulated between the film) Or is any humidity in the film negligible and will have no effect if it is subsequently frozen?

What do you guys and girls do? What works for you and - perhaps most importantly - what has NOT worked?

Many thanks in advance!

 

[BAC1967]

I put it in Ziploc bags, when I take it out I let it warm up before opening the bag. That seems to work great for me. I have a few bulk rolls in loaders that I store that way and I've never had a problem with them. If the film is in an airtight factory seal or a plastic film can I don't always bag it. Might be a good idea to save plastic film cans for cassettes.

 

[Alan9940]

Like BAC1967, I store mine in Ziploc bags and let it completely warm to room temp after removing from the freezer. I do, however, store all my film this way regardless if it's in foil packaging, canisters, or the box it came in. Never had a problem.

 

[maltfalc]

your problem is the sealed plastic box. it's keeping humidity in, not out. unopened film/paper and dry chemicals should be fine in the freezer, opened film/paper should be fine in the fridge but not in a moisture proof container full of warm moist air.

 

[gone]

Cold air being cold air, there is less humidity in a fridge than in your ambient air. Things will dry out in there. You should put any photo supplies into something though. That way, if there's a spill or drip from a container, which happens, then no worries.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Cold air being cold air, there is less humidity in a fridge than in your ambient air. Things will dry out in there. You should put any photo supplies into something though. That way, if there's a spill or drip from a container, which happens, then no worries.

Exactly! In fact modern refrigerators and freezers dry the air out as part of the automatic defrosting operation. I put any opened film in ZipLok plastic bags before returning to the refrigerator.

 

[BAC1967]

One problem is condensation forming on the film when you take it out into the warm humid air. Even if it’s dry in the refrigerator or freezer, it will form moisture when you take it out. The Ziploc bags allow it to warm without the moisture forming on it. You have the same problem shooting in the tropics. You go from an air conditioned car or building and your lens fogs up. The same can happen on the film.

 

[Sirius Glass]

One problem is condensation forming on the film when you take it out into the warm humid air. Even if it’s dry in the refrigerator or freezer, it will form moisture when you take it out. The Ziploc bags allow it to warm without the moisture forming on it. You have the same problem shooting in the tropics. You go from an air conditioned car or building and your lens fogs up. The same can happen on the film.

I agree. Some examples:

• In the winter taking a camera out into cold weather. I suggest that one put the camera and film in a plastic bag before going outside, then wait for them to reach the outside ambient temperature.
• Same thing in high humidity areas such as Hawaii or the tropics; using the same solution.

 

[maltfalc]

I agree. Some examples:

• In the winter taking a camera out into cold weather. I suggest that one put the camera and film in a plastic bag before going outside, then wait for them to reach the outside ambient temperature.
• Same thing in high humidity areas such as Hawaii or the tropics; using the same solution.

a warm camera won't get condensation on it going out into cold weather. sealing it in a bag full of warm air which then gets cooled down on the other hand absolutely will form condensation on the inside of the bag. you want to air out your gear when going from warm to cold and keep it sealed up when going from cold to warm.

 

[Sirius Glass]

a warm camera won't get condensation on it going out into cold weather. sealing it in a bag full of warm air which then gets cooled down on the other hand absolutely will form condensation on the inside of the bag. you want to air out your gear when going from warm to cold and keep it sealed up when going from cold to warm.

Hard to do when one lives in warm conditions. What I said works even though you disagree.

 

[maltfalc]

Hard to do when one lives in warm conditions. What I said works even though you disagree.

you fundamentally misunderstand how condensation works. sealing a camera in a bag full of warm indoor air then going out into the cold will not prevent condensation, it will make it worse, period. i live in a city that can get down to near -50f in winter, i know what i'm talking about. you just agreed with bac1967 who's saying the same thing i'm saying and the opposite of "In the winter taking a camera out into cold weather. I suggest that one put the camera and film in a plastic bag before going outside, then wait for them to reach the outside ambient temperature."

 

[Sirius Glass]

you fundamentally misunderstand how condensation works. sealing a camera in a bag full of warm indoor air then going out into the cold will not prevent condensation, it will make it worse, period. i live in a city that can get down to near -50f in winter, i know what i'm talking about. you just agreed with bac1967 who's saying the same thing i'm saying and the opposite of "In the winter taking a camera out into cold weather. I suggest that one put the camera and film in a plastic bag before going outside, then wait for them to reach the outside ambient temperature."

I did it for years when I was skiing and never had a problem.