How long have you successfully left slide film in your camera?

[George Mann]

Days? Weeks? Months?

 

[MattKing]

Months.
The real problem is with the temporary discontinuation of inspiration, not the condition of the film.
It is one of the possible downsides of having too many film bodies.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Months. Never showed any problems.

 

[BAC1967]

About 16 years but I don't know if I would exactly call it successful, there was some color shift. So I guess it depends on what you consider successful. It was stashed in the back of a high shelf, I only recently discovered it while I was looking for something else.

Workover Rig by Bryan Chernick, on Flickr

 

[Slixtiesix]

Last year I had a roll of Provia 100F in one of my cameras from January to December. When it came back from the lab, the first slide had some colour shift. Even the lab had noticed that in a remark that came with the slides. The first picture on the film was taken in January and the rest from August to December, these ones were fine. The film was near or even slightly past expiration date when I used it, so this may have been a factor as well.

 

[George Mann]

Provia is currently the film I shoot. I am hoping to be able to leave it loaded up to a 2 or 3 months without it degrading.

 

[MattKing]

Provia is currently the film I shoot. I am hoping to be able to leave it loaded up to a 2 or 3 months without it degrading.

For that period of time, film kept at reasonable room temperatures won't degrade.
Historically, most slide films were designed to be kept at reasonable room temperatures. Refrigeration or freezing was only necessary for extended storage.
If your camera is kept at reasonable room temperatures, the film in it won't degrade any more than if it was kept in your film drawer.
When you start using it again, you might want to waste a frame by winding it on - helps deal with any curl that might have set in on the take-up side.

 

[George Mann]

the film in it won't degrade any more than if it was kept in your film drawer.

I by it fresh, and keep it refrigerated until I am ready to use it.

 

[MattKing]

I by it fresh, and keep it refrigerated until I am ready to use it.

Within reason, there is no need to do so, as refrigeration will not have any effect on short term storage. Normal room temperatures will be fine. Air conditioned rooms, or cooler basements are slightly better.
The important thing is to keep the film away from extreme environmental variations, and in particular extreme heat and humidity.
For short to medium term (within the "Develop Before" time frame), the changes caused by the natural aging process of the film will be so small as to be inconsequential. While refrigeration doesn't hurt, its main role in the short term is to protect against temperature variation.
If you expect to need to store film for longer terms, refrigeration will extend the life of the film, by slowing down the aging process. Freezing will extend it even further.

 

[Gerald C Koch]

I was once speaking with the foreman of a color processing plant. He told me that it was common to find rolls of film with a Christmas tree at each end.