film storage - fridge or freezer?

Alan Browne wrote:

I've seen other posts claiming that noticeable fogging won't occur for
about 32 years for ISO 100 film. I take that to mean 8 years for ISO
400. (Not sure about the origins of those numbers).

I was the source of those numbers, probably on another news group. It's
simple arithmetic. Assuming that film response to cosmic rays is proportional
to its speed (I read that somewhere, but can't produce a source), then
if Kodak claimed that ISO 1600 film would last 2 years on a shelf before
there would be a problem with cosmic ray fogging, then ISO 800 would take
4 years, 400 8 years, 200 16 years, 100 32 years, 50 64 years, 25 128 years,
and it's obvious why no one cared about it when Kodachrome was ASA 10.

The part where this all falls down, is what is the definition of too much
exposure to cosmic radiation? It's not going to start loosing its hair
or running a fever, it's just going to have more base fog than if it were
stored in a protective environment.

At exactly what level will that base fog be a problem, is a matter of
personal choice and speculation.

Note that there are other reasons for base fog, such as chemical deterioration,
exposure to heat and perversity of the universe, so just because a film is
not sensitive to cosmic ray fogging, i.e. it's ISO 25, does not mean
there won't be base fog, nor if a film is ISO 1600 it does not mean
that it will be a "display item" (photographicly unusable) after 5 years.

I guess the best thing to do is to buy as much film as you can, store it
as well as you can, and always test it before you use it for something
important.

Buy lots of Rodinal, they have been selling it for over 100 years,
who knows how much longer it will be available. :-)

That's a joke, AGFA went out of the business a few years ago, and stopped
making Rodinal, film and paper. Other people are now make "Rodinal Equivalents",
however no one knows for how long or their shelf life.

I was given a glass bottle of Rodinal which had been bought in the 1960s
twenty years later. It had been keep tightly corked (but it had been opened),
and was still useable well into the 1990's. I doubt that the bottle I bought
just before AGFA went under would be, I don't think the plastic is
as good at keeping the air out.

Geoff.

--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel N3OWJ/4X1GM

On 4/6/2009 1:07 AM Geoffrey S. Mendelson spake thus:

Buy lots of Rodinal, they have been selling it for over 100 years,
who knows how much longer it will be available. :-)

No. Don't buy *any* Rodinal. It's junk, at least compared with other
developers (notably D-76/ID-11) which are *widely* available today and
in no danger of disappearing anytime soon (and for which formulae are
available in any case even if they do).

Let's don't perpetuate this Rodinal cult thing. It's ancient history,
and deserves its place in the photographic pantheon, but not in our
darkrooms.


--
Save the Planet
Kill Yourself

- motto of the Church of Euthanasia (http://www.churchofeuthanasia.org/)

"Alan Browne" wrote in message
...
Beefy LaSleep wrote:
I usually store in the fridge, but read about those that put film in
the freezer. OK for it? More suited to long term storage? I've not had
any problem with cold storage in the fridge part in the past, just
wondering.

Locally film (well, good film) is harder to find. I just mail ordered
some Velvia 100F, and being more rolls than I will shoot right away,
wondered about the cold storage options...

Colder the better - I keep all of my film at -18C. I've shot Velvia
100/100F that was more than a year over date and the results were
subjectively as good as 'fresh' film.

Frank Hurley kept all his film at minus 50 for some of his Antarctic trips.

On 4/12/2009 7:07 PM Pete D spake thus:

"Alan Browne" wrote in message
...

Beefy LaSleep wrote:

I usually store in the fridge, but read about those that put film in
the freezer. OK for it? More suited to long term storage? I've not had
any problem with cold storage in the fridge part in the past, just
wondering.

Locally film (well, good film) is harder to find. I just mail ordered
some Velvia 100F, and being more rolls than I will shoot right away,
wondered about the cold storage options...

Colder the better - I keep all of my film at -18C. I've shot Velvia
100/100F that was more than a year over date and the results were
subjectively as good as 'fresh' film.

Frank Hurley kept all his film at minus 50 for some of his Antarctic trips.

And I'll bet he made all his prints on cold-tone paper too.

(tish-BOOM!)


--
Save the Planet
Kill Yourself

- motto of the Church of Euthanasia (http://www.churchofeuthanasia.org/)

Pete D wrote:
"Alan Browne" wrote in message
...
Beefy LaSleep wrote:
I usually store in the fridge, but read about those that put film in
the freezer. OK for it? More suited to long term storage? I've not had
any problem with cold storage in the fridge part in the past, just
wondering.

Locally film (well, good film) is harder to find. I just mail ordered
some Velvia 100F, and being more rolls than I will shoot right away,
wondered about the cold storage options...
Colder the better - I keep all of my film at -18C. I've shot Velvia
100/100F that was more than a year over date and the results were
subjectively as good as 'fresh' film.

Frank Hurley kept all his film at minus 50 for some of his Antarctic trips.

Then cool it down to use it there...


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"Pete D" wrote in message
...

"Alan Browne" wrote in message
...
Beefy LaSleep wrote:
I usually store in the fridge, but read about those that put film in
the freezer. OK for it? More suited to long term storage? I've not had
any problem with cold storage in the fridge part in the past, just
wondering.

Locally film (well, good film) is harder to find. I just mail ordered
some Velvia 100F, and being more rolls than I will shoot right away,
wondered about the cold storage options...

Colder the better - I keep all of my film at -18C. I've shot Velvia
100/100F that was more than a year over date and the results were
subjectively as good as 'fresh' film.

Frank Hurley kept all his film at minus 50 for some of his Antarctic
trips.

In Antarctica, he may well have had to shoot it at minus 50, too.