Storing exposed unprocessed film

[Joseph Bell]

Hello! For how long are you willing to store your exposed unprocessed 35mm and/or 120 C41 film prior to processing? If you are in a situation where it will be impossible to process the film for a month or two, is it best to store the film in their original canisters in the fridge? I hope you won't mind this question. I am most grateful for your time, experience, erudition, etc!

sincere thanks
Joseph

 

[MattKing]

Room temperature is probably better, particularly if it is air conditioned room temperature.
Avoid high temperatures, and high humidity.
You know, like Toronto in summer .

 

[Joseph Bell]

Room temperature is probably better, particularly if it is air conditioned room temperature.
Avoid high temperatures, and high humidity.
You know, like Toronto in summer .

ha! Exactly! Like today!!

 

[pentaxuser]

If it was literally a month or two I'd use ordinary room storage without any worries but a fridge is better. The exception to that might be Ilford Pan F with its known poor latent image retention but even there Ilford mentions a maximum of 3 months so even here 2 months should be OK

pentaxuser

 

[MattKing]

The challenge presented by a refrigerator is the transition and the humidity.
Unopened, unexposed film is protected from the humidity.
120 film, with its backing paper, is a magnet for moisture in the air. 35mm cassettes don't provide a lot of protection from that moisture, and the plastic containers can actually trap it inside.
All that being said, lots of film has survived a Toronto summer in the past, even before air conditioning!
I survived the first 5 years of my life there - but any time I visited later, I thought the summer humidity would be the end of me!

 

[Joseph Bell]

The challenge presented by a refrigerator is the transition and the humidity.
Unopened, unexposed film is protected from the humidity.
120 film, with its backing paper, is a magnet for moisture in the air. 35mm cassettes don't provide a lot of protection from that moisture, and the plastic containers can actually trap it inside.
All that being said, lots of film has survived a Toronto summer in the past, even before air conditioning!
I survived the first 5 years of my life there - but any time I visited later, I thought the summer humidity would be the end of me!

it isn't easy, and yet it seems churlish to complain, but complain I sometimes will! Anyhow: thank you!

 

[Don_ih]

Kodak's recommendation is keep it in the canister at room temperature. Refrigerating film slows down the aging of the emulsion - it doesn't have any impact of the image already on the film. Plus, as Matt said, moisture is a significant danger.

 

[Joseph Bell]

Kodak's recommendation is keep it in the canister at room temperature. Refrigerating film slows down the aging of the emulsion - it doesn't have any impact of the image already on the film. Plus, as Matt said, moisture is a significant danger.

many thanks for this. Room temperature it is!

 

[Don_ih]

many thanks for this. Room temperature it is!

Unless room temperature starts to rival car-with-windows-up-in-Costco-parking-lot-in-July temperatures. Feels like that may happen, today.

 

[DREW WILEY]

When backpacking, I keep film inside one of those little foam and foil lined school soft drink or lunch bag things, and then place that inside my goosedown jacket in the pack - superb insulation. On the road, inside the picnic cooler box, and never in a trunk or glove compartment. I never refrigerate or freeze exposed film. How long? Well, I've had some issues with C41 film I kept undeveloped more than six months. The only black and white film I've ever had an issue with was Pan F; a month or so doesn't seem to be a problem, but six months before processing is likely to cause noticeable issues.

The biggest problem with 120 roll film is that if you delay too much and the humidity is low, some films get stiffer and harder to spool onto the developing reel.

 

[logan2z]

This thread reminded me why I moved from Toronto to California. I hated the humidity, not to mention the winters.

 

[Kodachromeguy]

I survived the first 5 years of my life there - but any time I visited later, I thought the summer humidity would be the end of me!

Toronto, you call that humid? I gather you guys have never spent a summer in Mississippi. And consider, summer equals May through late October. That said, I keep exposed film at room temperature. But room temperature is air conditioned here. In the car, I use a cooler for film but do not have any of the ice packs in it.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Toronto, you call that humid? I gather you guys have never spent a summer in Mississippi. And consider, summer equals May through late October. That said, I keep exposed film at room temperature. But room temperature is air conditioned here. In the car, I use a cooler for film but do not have any of the ice packs in it.

Exactly! Try a summer in southern Japan. I went without an AC my first summer and almost died. Toronto is nothing compared to over there!

 

[MattKing]

The danger of Toronto is that the heat and humidity surprises you.
It is sort of like the Spanish Inquisition of climate conditions.
And you know, no one ever ....

 

[Joseph Bell]

This thread reminded me why I moved from Toronto to California. I hated the humidity, not to mention the winters.

Nice move! I'd like to do that someday!

 

[Joseph Bell]

Toronto, you call that humid? I gather you guys have never spent a summer in Mississippi. And consider, summer equals May through late October. That said, I keep exposed film at room temperature. But room temperature is air conditioned here. In the car, I use a cooler for film but do not have any of the ice packs in it.

ha! It's true! Toronto has nothing on the southern U.S., and I'll stop complaining immediately!

 

[Joseph Bell]

The danger of Toronto is that the heat and humidity surprises you.
It is sort of like the Spanish Inquisition of climate conditions.
And you know, no one ever ....

Heh heh

 

[logan2z]

Nice move! I'd like to do that someday!

I highly recommend it, if you can do it.

 

[FotoD]

Silica gel packs + ziplock bags. I always store film in them.

And for us cheapskates: put the film in a plastic bag together with a newspaper. Works great as a buffer for humidity. I've had exposed 120 film like that for years, at room temperature. Some faster films build a little fog, but not too bad.

Important stuff should not be stored that long though.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

Some of my exposed film (Velvia and Tmax) has been left in the trunk of my car for months on end during the summer without any noticeable effect before I finally get around to process it (Just remembered, there's some there right now I ought to get processed). Maybe the extra heat makes up for my exposure mistakes.

 

[Joseph Bell]

Some of my exposed film (Velvia and Tmax) has been left in the trunk of my car for months on end during the summer without any noticeable effect before I finally get around to process it (Just remembered, there's some there right now I ought to get processed). Maybe the extra heat makes up for my exposure mistakes.

ha! Maybe! Thank you for this.

 

[Joseph Bell]

Many thanks for all your help! It sounds like the upshot is this: store your film at room temperature and move to California!

 

[pentaxuser]

For you humidity comparators I feel we have got to the stage where a recommendation of the 4 Yorkshiremen sketch is called for:


Enjoy

pentaxuser

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

That may be why many older cameras and lenses from the Japanese ePrey vendors suffer from fungus issues. Today, I think most Japanese households have air conditioning, but 20 or 30 years, many did not.

I moved to Japan in '91. Everyone had AC... and people who cared about their camera gear, kept it in humidity controlled appliances. I had a small one, where I kept all my lenses. After my first summer in Japan, I had to throw out all my dress shirts as they were yellow and moldy. The little AC appliance I had mounted up on the wall was one of the best investments I made over there. It was a constant battle! When I go for visits over there, it's never in the summer!

 

[Minolta93]

I'm pretty sure I've left rolls in a desk drawer sometimes for nearly a year or more and I never had any problems with them.