Monday, December 12, 2011

35mm Film, Is it true the best place to store them is in the fridge?

I have just had a 35mm film developed and the colours are very "washed out". I've been keeping them in a cupboard in my kitchen, which can obviously get quite hot when I'm cooking. My developer said the best place to keep films is in the fridge. I've heard this before, but is it really a safe place to store my films, both used and unused?. I don't want to risk wasting unused films or risking one's that I've used with precious memories on.|||The best place to store film is below 32 degrees farenheit in a salt mine, which is what Kodak does, but is not an option to most of us.





The salt mine protects the film from background cosmic radiation, and at such low temperatures, film will last nearly indefinitely.





The best thing most of us can do is put our film in sealed packages in the freezer. Closed 35mm film cannisters, and sealed foil packages(such as used for 120 film) are fine. The film needs to be allowed to warm up to room temperature before opening the sealed package, which generally means about two hours for film coming out of the freezer.





Keeping film in the refrigerator is good, and in fact I do that with film I plan to use in the next day or two. For film I don't plan to use immediately, though, the freezer is the best place.|||if storing film in a refrigerator instead of freezer, it's important to include silica gel packets in your ziploc bags to keep moisture at bay. else, condensation can occur when the temperature changes and fungus can grow on your film.

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|||Storing film in the fridge makes it last longer. You can avoid problems of condensation by allowing it to warm up to room temperature before using it.





The best practice is not to buy too much film at once. Throw out unused film after a year. Most people have switched to digital to avoid the hassle of film.|||Photoguy is right, but just put it in a Ziploc baggie before you refrigerate and let it warm to room temp while still in the bag.|||Yes i store my 35mm film regular , but you must make sure they are in a containter , and if you wish to use one make sure to take it out a good hour before to allow it to adapt to outside temp before you put it into your camera.|||the fridge is great, Freezer Better if you have one,..............|||Most pros that buy film in bulk, store them in a frig.





You do want to make sure they are protected from any moisture, wrapping it in several layers of plastic and maybe even foil.|||I don't know about "best", but it's not going to ruin your film in any way to store it in your refrigerator or freezer.|||For long-term storage and preservation I freeze my film. I then move it to the refrigerator and then before I use it I let it warm to room temp.





Once a roll is exposed I have it processed as soon as possible.|||ive heard thats true, and not just 35mm all films are kept in fridges even movies.|||I keep my exposed film in film protectors in my bedroom closet... I keep my unexposed film in a zip lock in the fridge and pull it out 24 hours before I want to use it.|||Yes, I keep mine there.





Put them in a zip bag first though so they don't get damp.|||Unused film can be stored at ambient temp, exposed film is best stored in the fridge until processed.


If you store fresh film in that way, you run the risk of condensation ruining the shot once it's loaded.

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