Buying Film In Bulk (Not Bulk Loading)

[jbf]

Hi all, I have a question....


I'm planning on buying a block of 50 rolls of Ilford HP5+ and was wondering just how long can you store film if left in the freezer?

I seem to remember seeing people on the forums mention that many still had film stored in there freezer which had been long discontinued by the film company. One example would be agfa.


So just how long can you keep un-shot film if left in the freezer?

I havnt been shooting near as much as I did before during the summer months. I was averaging anywhere from 10-20 rolls in two to three weeks time.. but as of late I've been averaging maybe a roll in a week sometimes not even that. School has totally killed my time for photography.

Anyway hopefully some of you guru's have some ideas. 😀

 

[amateriat]

Well, depending on who you ask, some people still have Verichrome Pan on ice, and it's been quite a few years since Kodak last cranked out that stuff.

Two factors to consider are film speed and the particular type of cold storage. Higher-speed film is more vulnerable to factors having little to do with temperature (gamma radiation, for one thing); even kept cold, you'd best be adviced not to keep too much film above ISO 400 on hand for this reason...at least not much more than you could go through in a couple years' time.

Method of cold storage comes next. yes, you can simply pack the freezer section of your refrigerator, but, depending on your domestic arrangement, this might not go over too well. Besides, most freezers won't hold a whole lot of film anyway, even if you have free rein to pack it full. Mad-serious shooters (especially those with a shed/garage) will likely use a dedicated frezer, which has the advantages of extra space and low humidity, both important factors for long-term storage of any "perishable", be it several sides of beef or those last three bricks of APX 25 you manages to score from an undisclosed source.

For me, the only reason for keeping certain film types on ice is buying color film (conventional black-and-white film stands up better overall, chilled or not) of a certain emulsion batch, in quantity, for the sake of consistency. That's only in the case of special projects, however, and is more of a big deal when shooting 'chrome as opposed to negative film, IMO. Otherwise, I buy my film on a just-in-time basis, plus another five-ten rolls just in case, and tuck 'em in a corner of the 'fridge, instead of the freezer, in the name of rapid deployment; it takes quite some time to thaw film from a deep freeze to room-temperature, whereas film taken from regular refrigeration takes about 15-20 minutes until it's safe to load up).


- Barrett

 

[Rayt]

I have kept b/w film in room temperature 2 years beyond expiration with no problems.

 

[Pherdinand]

[...] film taken from regular refrigeration takes about 15-20 minutes until it's safe to load up).
- Barrett

Barrett - ???why so long??? the temperature rises to room temperature in a matter of few minutes. What else do you have to wait for?

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

I keep C41 (Fuji Reala) at room temperature for several years and don't see any changes over time.

 

[spyder2000]

The reason for waiting for film to stabilize at the ambient temperature following refrigerated storage is for the entire package to rise to ambient temperature. Remember that film and paper both are acting as insulators so while the outer portion and package may be atroom temp, the film at the end of the rolls may not be so. The film at the end of the roll should be at the same temperature as the outside or you may experience condensation on the product.

 

[sienarot]

Most black and white films have a long (room temperature) shelf life as it is. Tossing it into the freezer is going to extend it quite a bit. With that said, I've used HP5 that was well over 10 years past its expiration date without any issues...

 

[amateriat]

Mark: You beat me to it. Thanks for adding that.

Jon: Besides the fact that color neg film, among other attributes, is a tad less touchy than slide film, "amateur" films such as Fuji Reala have a relatively long shelf life compared to "pro" films, whose principal difference is in tolerances; pro films are shipped with they are at their optimum in terms of color balance and speed. Most amateur films can kept on the shelf for a decent amount of time with no ill effect; pro films should either be used fairly soon or kept on ice.


- Barrett