moisture in refridgerated film

[grapejohnson]

Last night there was a huge hawk in my back yard and I realized my camera was out of film, so I had to load quickly. I store all of my film in the fridge because the temperature otherwise in my house isn't very consistent. It was really humid, and I noticed as I advanced the film that there was a layer of moisture on the side opposite the emulsion layer. What risks does this cause to my camera? How can I make sure the fridge is moisture free? How long should I let my film sit before I load it? I've never noticed any weird spots or issues in my negatives except for Ilford XP2, which seems to scratch easily when I develop it (which I've mentioned on this thread). Am I worrying too much? Can I damage my shutter or something? I've seen some articles on here otherwise but they were all about freezing film.

 

[kokoshawnuff]

If you don't already, you can keep your film in zip lock bags, also the vegetable and fruit bins usually at the bottom are typically somewhat humidity controlled. I've heard all kinds of ideas about how long youre supposed to leave things at room temp before shooting...from 30 min to 6 hours--I honestly don't know what's true, but I've never had the problem you're describing

 

[Monochrom]

Hi, the fridge isn´t moisture free..if you stock in it your food and vegetables...
Put your film inside ziploc bags and or inside tupperware cases with rubber rims...
Sudden change of temperature will produce condensation.

Keep in mind that and you wont get any surprise.

Cheers!

 

[V-12]

I have taken film from the fridge and needed to put it straight into the camera many times, without any problem. But, I do think that is chancing things and condensation could at some time or other rear its ugly head, on the basis of 'never say never'. But if you use film on any sort of regular basis, like one roll every six months even, it wouldn't make much difference to keep that one roll out of the fridge in readiness, it doesn't go off that quickly.

 

[Highway 61]

How much effect does the condensation have on the film or the images ? . . . I don't have a clue.

Probably some small stains on the first shots, nothing else. Water droplets behaving like some small lupes if the moisture is on the emulsion side.

The trick is to always wait for at least 30 minutes to open-up a film canister if the film was stored in the fridge, and 1 1/2 hour if the film was frozen.

Not only for moisture problems - a very cold film is rather brittle and can get torn easily if you wind quickly...

If you regularly shoot film, it would be wise to always stock some in a cupboard, not in the fridge, so that you can load at any moment. Film does accept some temperature changes and to be stored outside the fridge, unless it's expired or those temperatures changes are getting extrem.

B&W films are extremely tolerant and it's often pointless to store them in a fridge or in a freezer unless they're your long-term hoarding stocks to be shot in 2075... 😉

 

[grapejohnson]

aha! maybe the film being brittle from being fresh out of the fridge caused my first few frames to be scratched in the past