How long should frozen film be defrosted before processing?

septim · Jun 12, 2015

So nearly two years ago I shot a roll of Fujichrome Velvia 100F on a trip. This film has since been frozen in a standard freezer. Today I found a local (!) lab that says they are willing to process it for me, which means I don't have to travel into Sydney to a larger lab. My question is, how long should this frozen film be defrosted before processing?

Sirius Glass · Jun 12, 2015

When the outside of the container or package has been at ambient [room temperature] for a while. Usually an hour is long enough.

markbarendt · Jun 12, 2015

I doubt you could get it to the lab and have them get it in the process fast enough to be a problem.

Wayne · Jun 13, 2015

markbarendt said:
I doubt you could get it to the lab and have them get it in the process fast enough to be a problem.

Unless it's winter and you're taking a dog sled there. I don't know how much there is of that in Blue Mountains AU though.

Kevin Caulfield · Jun 13, 2015

I thought there was no point in freezing exposed film as the latent image can still degrade anyway?

septim · Jun 13, 2015

Kevin Caulfield said:
I thought there was no point in freezing exposed film as the latent image can still degrade anyway?

As far as I can recall heat can still cause the latent image to degrade faster (though I could be totally wrong) and the freezer was the most convenient place to put it out of the heat. As we have temperature extremes where I am (The Blue Mountains are good at that, fire one year snow the next) it made sense to put it somewhere cool and of a constant temperature.

Anyway, there was a misunderstanding on the phone (the girl thought I meant scan when I said develop) and the lab no longer processes E6 so I will have to take that roll into Sydney anyway. That lab does however now have three rolls of 35mm color film to develop, and one roll of 120 negatives to scan - so still not a wasted afternoon.

Septim

mklw1954 · Jun 15, 2015

Some guidance from Kodak (written for motion picture film):
http://motion.kodak.com/motion/uplo...wsletters_filmEss_12_Storage_and_Handling.pdf

I store nearly all my exposed color film rolls for the year (typically 20 rolls per year) and develop them all within a few days once a year so there can be rolls that had been exposed for 11 months. I store them in the regfrigerator (not freezer) in their plastic canisters and in a light tight bag taped shut and I see no difference between the negatives from rolls exposed earlier and later. My measure of this is that, for the same films (typically Fuji non-professional film) I'm using the same color enlarger exposure times and color filtration settings to make prints from all of the rolls. I develop using the Unicolor powder kits. I have had these consistent results for about 5 years now.

David Allen · Jun 15, 2015

It is basically irrelevant whether you are dealing with unexposed or exposed films that have been frozen.

The simple question is how do I bring them back to normal temperatures.

The answer to this is quite simple - how do I deal with potential issues of condensation and how do I control this.

Any film that has been frozen needs to be brought back to ambient temperatures SLOWLY. The best practice is to put the film in a tupperware box that seals completely. You then quickly at the start of the defrosting process a sachet of Silica gel to utilise it's desiccant abilities.

Best practice is to allow film to defrost for 12hours in an environment that has Silica Gel to ensure that it is totally defrosted in an environment where there is no moisture.

Bests,

David.
www.dsallen.de

benjiboy · Jun 16, 2015

I just leave it overnight to defrost at room temperature, I've never had any problems in over thirty years, or if it's a single roll I need to use quickly I put it in my pants pocket for a couple of hours and give myself "frozen assets"

Paul Verizzo · Jun 16, 2015

I don't want to sound snarky, but I guess I must: Is this a serious question?

Possible answers:

Take it out of the freezer and let it sit on a table for a few hours. Or, overnight. Or, put it in your pocket w/o the canister and drive to the lab.

Film has just about zero latent heat.

BTW, we had heated debate a month or two ago about storing film in freezer vs. refrigerator. It was a great window in human psychology, belief systems, and sources of authority vs. experience.

How long should frozen film be defrosted before processing?

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