newbie trying to store film in fridge

[joe sharp]

Hello, I have looked all over the web and could not find a straight answer so I have come here to ask.

I have about 12 rolls of film right now, they are in their plastic containers but no box, they are also in a ziploc bag. Is it alright to just toss that bag in my fridge? My fridge is a half height one, no humidity drawers or anything, basically a mini fridge. I also read that you need to wait before opening the film after taking it out of the fridge, in my case, does this mean wait before opening the ziploc bag? or just the canister of the film I want to use?

Thank you.

 

[McFortner]

Should be no problem at all storing it in a mini-fridge. I have two that I use, one for bulk rolls and the other for those in cassettes.

As far as waiting after removing, yes, you would do best to wait for it to get to room temperature before taking it out of the zip lock bag just in case. At the least, doing so won't hurt anything.

 

[John Koehrer]

Just the roll of film. Toss the bag back in the fridge.

 

[Poisson Du Jour]

It is very unlikely your film will be affected by removal and loading into the camera at comparatively lower temperatures than, for instance, freezing, where it is a lot more critical to allow the film to reach room temperature before use e.g. 12-24 hours. No need for the ziplock bag; the canisters can sit on the shelf there, amongst the beer and spirits (both good and bad) and let them out (the films, I mean) when you're ready for some fun.

 

[Sirius Glass]

No problems, use the advice above. I have done it for decades. It takes less than an hour for 35mm and 120 film to reach room temperature.

Welcome to APUG Photrio
​

 

[removed account4]

Hi joe sharp

Welcome aboard !
You are right there really isn't a straight answer. Is it black and white or color film? Do you live some place humid and hot?
Do you have a basement or room that doesn't fluxuate heavily in temperature/ is climate controlled?
I have had all my film on a shelf in a basement for 20 years .. it doesn't get above IDK 70 or below 65 maybe 60?
I've never put film or paper in a fridge and never had a problem with film going bad.
I guess there is a little thermostatic pictograph on the box of film that suggests store around xºF but I've never had issues, maybe you will ? There was even a thread from a few years ago where the same question ( for black and white ) was asked and while most people weren't able to tell if there was any detrimental side effects of film not being stored in a freezer or refrigerator, some folks used scientific gadgets to show there might have been differences in their film.

If you want and can spare a roll of film, keep 1 roll out and the rest in the fridge and shoot the last roll as unrefrigerated and see how it looks, and post back with your results.
Nothing like "real life" experience.
John