Medium format and fridges

[wintoid]

I'm toying with the idea of trying medium format for the first time. I asked a friend who used to shoot MF slide film and if I understood him right, he told me that MF film comes pre-aged and that you have to keep it fridged or use it very quickly, otherwise the colours go off.

Now I have no interest in colour or slide. I want to shoot B+W negative film. Do I have the same problem, or is it just like 35mm where you can keep film outside a fridge for some time without worrying too much?

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

The film is the same as 35mm. You may decide to fridge it if you're fussy. Or maybe not.

Anyway, if you choose to, a few rolls of 120 would fit into a corner of any fridge.

 

[kaiyen]

it's not that 120 is like that but 35mm is not. it's that only "pro" films come in 120 format, which come pre-aged, whereas both consumer and pro films comne in 35mm. consumer films are produced under the assumption that it will sit on shelves for a while.

allan

 

[wintoid]

Ah I see, so if I buy Fuji Neopan 120, or HP5 or TriX, can I treat it just like 35mm?

Many thanks for all help!

 

[Laurence]

Wintoid, for what it's worth, I have shot 120 Neopan that has NOT been refrigerated (on a shelf for about 18 months), and NO DIFFERENCE from my refrigerated films.

That said, I do try to keep film refrigerated wherever possible.

So anyway, I think there is certainly some "leeway" even with Pro films. I would treat it just like any other film.

What kind of camera are you thinking of trying out for your medium format endeavors? I have a couple of shots on this thread from an Agfa Isolette and a Yashica Mat 124: http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23456

 

[ywenz]

The Yashica Mat 124 is definitely a good MF to start off with. I highly recommend it.

 

[Goodyear]

Wintoid, for what it's worth, I have shot 120 Neopan that has NOT been refrigerated (on a shelf for about 18 months), and NO DIFFERENCE from my refrigerated films.

That said, I do try to keep film refrigerated wherever possible.

So anyway, I think there is certainly some "leeway" even with Pro films. I would treat it just like any other film.

It's certainly less of an issue with black and white films - colour shift isn't really an issue 🙂

 

[wintoid]

Actually the Yashicamat and Iskra have been high on my wants list for many months but the recent posts about the Bronica RF645 have really got me interested in that camera, and that's what's pulling me towards MF 😀

18 months Laurence? That's great! I just want to be able to order 5 or 10 rolls and not have to rush to use them up inside a month. I'm likely to keep film kicking around for 6 months or so, but certainly never more than a year I would think.

 

[KoNickon]

Yes, I've used even very expired color print film and found no problems -- compensated for in the printing, probably. Haven't shot MF slides, but I would be leery of very outdated MF slide film.

 

[DougK]

I've never had a problem keeping my 120 on the shelf (I do it more often than I would like to admit) but I try to store it in the fridge just to be on the safe side.

 

[Laurence]

Actually the Yashicamat and Iskra have been high on my wants list for many months but the recent posts about the Bronica RF645 have really got me interested in that camera, and that's what's pulling me towards MF 😀

18 months Laurence? That's great! I just want to be able to order 5 or 10 rolls and not have to rush to use them up inside a month. I'm likely to keep film kicking around for 6 months or so, but certainly never more than a year I would think.

Believe it or not, there IS a color shift (or perhaps I should say a tonality shift) in b&w film that is possible to see...if film is sitting for a LONG time, or is degraded in other ways, the grays tend to muddy up...or at least that is one observation I've made...looks like overall though, it's not a huge issue at all.

The Yashica Mat is a solid performer, that's for sure. But, that Bronica IS a tempting piece of machinery. One thing that would be a HUGE consideration if I was buying a new piece of MF gear -- the Bronica has a "native" vertical orientation! How nice is that?

 

[wintoid]

About 90% of my shots are taken in portrait orientation 😀 The only problem I see is the f/4.0 max aperture of the lenses.

 

[sf]

I am a 100% medium format shooter. Always have been. I keep my films cool - in the fridge - but I shot a roll of Plus-x recently that has spent about a year sitting in a drawer in my bedroom, and it looked fine.

 

[sf]

About 90% of my shots are taken in portrait orientation 😀 The only problem I see is the f/4.0 max aperture of the lenses.

I have never once found F4 to be too slow. Not even at night without a flash.

Here is a low light shot on Provia 400F : http://www.shutterflower.com/street scene gallery/pages/street-market-at-nightRFF.htm. Probably not even F4. Closer to F8 I could guess.

 

[boilerdoc2]

You'll love MF. Bigger is better.
Is any else having trouble getting 220 film (color or B&W)? Ilford: forget it, Kodak: T400Cn only and TXP, Fuji: no way. I shoot a Mamiya 7 and 10 shots on 120 ain't enough. Thanx for any help.

 

[kaiyen]

220 was created mostly for those that needed more frames and fewer roll changes - folks like wedding photographers, studio work that required less changes, stuff like that. Since much of that has been replaced by digital, the demand for 220 has gone down a lot.

Ilford Photo (the new one) recently stated that they will not consider producing 220 because their machinery for it is like 50 years old and broken. And it's not worth it.

allan

 

[wintoid]

I have never once found F4 to be too slow. Not even at night without a flash.

I appreciate the input, but my style of photography is probably different to yours and the f4 does matter to me (although I'm hoping it's not a deal killer). I've been working out the DOF at f4 on 645 and it's reasonably close to f2.8 on 35mm, so I think it's probably just about acceptable from that point of view.

And by the way, thanks for your great review and tempting pictures Shutterflower, it's been part of why I'm looking at the Bronica for sure.

 

[Laurence]

Wintoid: If you DO end up getting the Bronica, I would sure like to get a report after a few weeks use telling us how you like it.

 

[wintoid]

Absolutely 😀

 

[Ariya]

I use alot of expired B&W film, some more than a year expired, never refrigerated and no problems.