Freeze or refridgerate film?

[aprilshowers01]

I understand the need for keeping film cool, however, I know some people that keep film in their refridgerator and others keep film in their freezer. Which is better and why?

 

[richard ide]

The colder the storage, the slower the changes in the film characteristics. The same applies to paper as well.

 

[ozphoto]

I keep the film I'll be using in the near future (a few weeks or couple of months) in the fridge; that which I'm going to use at a much later date in the freezer.

Regardless of how you store it, you will need to remember to allow it to warm up; if I'm looking to use some from the freezer, I take out the day before, the stuff in the fridge a few hours before use.

- Nanette

 

[Sirius Glass]

I keep it in the freezer.

Steve

 

[Poisson Du Jour]

Professional emulsions area released to market at close to ideal colour balance with the expectation they will be consumed a lot sooner than, for instance, consumer emulsions, which are manufactured with a lot more allowance for shelf-life and are quite good even if they are past their expiry date. These films are often left in cameras for anything from a month to a year, so age slowly.

From early experience, Velvia / Provia that has expired and/or stored improperly will be casted with a noticeable change to anti-halation characteristics and loss of speed. If prompt exposure and processing is the norm, then only normal refrigeration is required. For me, film bought in bulk joins the rest of the film (both exposed and unexposed Velvia, Provia and Delta 100) in the freezer at –20°c. Film stored like this must be allowed to "warm up" prior to use for 6 hours before loading to prevent condensation. When travelling, a small 'esky' (Australian for icebox!) with ice bricks is fine, but this is only necessary in hot environments over extended periods.

 

[Christopher Walrath]

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry9000/4.6.0.167 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102 UP.Link/6.3.0.0.0)

I keep it in the kithe cupboard. I don't have any cold space for storage but I have not had any problems as it is kept 68 in the house most of the time.

 

[PhotoJim]

Short answer: Freezing is better for the film (it degrades more slowly) but more inconvenient (it takes longer for the film to warm up to be usable for shooting).

I freeze most to all of my film. If I know I will be shooting a lot soon, I sometimes have a working supply of film in the refrigerator that I can use more spontaneously.

You can move film back and forth as needed, as long as you haven't opened the canisters or foil packaging.

 

[yankeesnapper]

Freezing is best but its important to wrap the the film or paper in plastic (mylar) wrap. I purchase mine in our local hardware store and I seal the seams with waterproof tape.
Its a good thing that I adopted this method as I encountered trouble with my freezer door and It iced up.

Regards.

Bob McCarthy

 

[Colin Corneau]

Needless to say, don't ever freeze any of the (late lamented) Polaroid product. The chemical pods will be ruined by freezing.

 

[BradS]

It is one of those religious issues....it is my opinion that the fridge is fine. I keep the bulk of my unexposed film in the bottom of the china cabinet.

 

[Q.G.]

We don't need to think about this in terms of "opinions". It is not a complicated issue.

Temperature does make a difference.
The freezer is best for longer storage.
The cooler is quite o.k., for storage upto the "use by" date printed on the box.

 

[PhotoJim]

I agree with Q.G. It's a question of convenience. If you won't know what film you want to use until a moment before you need it, you probably need to keep at least a few rolls unrefrigerated. The bigger your film inventory and the more likely you are going to keep it until or past the expiry date, the more important refrigeration (and better, freezing) are. Professional film should always be refrigerated, at a minimum, whenever possible.

 

[bvstaples]

I freeze mine, but first I seal the boxes with a Seal-a-Meal; takes out air and moisture. This seems to make it a little quicker to warm up (about an hour to an hour and a half for sheet film and about 20 minutes for rolls. But then I also live in the dry Southwest so moisture isn't much of an issue.

BVS