film life in a camera

[Gary Briggs]

What have you found to be a good film (BW, color print) that can be left in the camera for extended times?
Ya try not to do it, but you pick up the camera a realize it's been 3 or 4 weeks since you had it out.
Do you think it matters much?

 

[EdwardKaraa]

If I understand it correctly from Leica literature, it's not a good idea to leave film in the camera for long periods as the gelatin will grow or attract fungus that may spread to the rangefinder or even lenses. That's at least what Leica says. However I do leave film in the camera for weeks but mostly the ones that do not require refrigeration. I have noticed color shifts in slide film.

 

[greyelm]

I took a Pentax p&s camera loaded with Kodacolor 200 on a business trip to the Philippines in 2003, I fired off about 20 shots. I moved house shortly after my return and the camera disappeared. I found the camera in 2011, in a wooden chest that had been pushed against a central heating radiator since the move. I used up the rest of the film and had it d&p by a local camera shop. All shots developed as good as they would have been in 2003 with no ill effects, the only trouble was that they weren't very interesting pictures.