I've been reading up, recently, about people who cold-store their film. Apparently it extends the useable life of the raw film.

I gather that they place it in a fridge or freezer, if they expect to not be using it for a while.


What does it get wrapped up in, if anything?
Is it the fridge or freezer?
Does it have to defrost or warm up before being used?
If so... how?


I'm asking this because I'm about to place an order for a case of K40. I know I won't be able to use all of it. (Some of the first cartridges will be test only) But I need a supply on hand, for when I do my super-sneaky project.

Another question is:

How long can I hold onto a batch of film, before it goes "stale", for lack of a better term? At what point should I be considering even placing it in a fridge/freezer to prolong its use?

:cool:

I can give you an opinion based on my experience. Yes, the life of a roll of film can be extended by placing the stock in a Freezer-I stored some 16 B/W Reversal for 8 years and the footage came back fine.

You're shooting Super-8 right? I think I'd place the cartridges in some ziplock bags before putting them in a freezer.

When I take a roll out of the freezer, I usually let it sit overnight to thaw out. I'd place the raw stock in the freezer as soon as you get it if you're not planning on using it for awhile.

I'm not sure what you mean by a roll going 'stale', if you mean how long can it sit in the camera before it's blown-well I've had 16 color sit in my camera for a couple of weeks while I , slowly, click off a frame here and there, and the footage is clean.

I hope this helps a little, I'm sure there's a few others here who could throw some light on these issues. :)

I can give you an opinion based on my experience. Yes, the life of a roll of film can be extended by placing the stock in a Freezer-I stored some 16 B/W Reversal for 8 years and the footage came back fine.

You're shooting Super-8 right? I think I'd place the cartridges in some ziplock bags before putting them in a freezer.

When I take a roll out of the freezer, I usually let it sit overnight to thaw out. I'd place the raw stock in the freezer as soon as you get it if you're not planning on using it for awhile.

I'm not sure what you mean by a roll going 'stale', if you mean how long can it sit in the camera before it's blown-well I've had 16 color sit in my camera for a couple of weeks while I , slowly, click off a frame here and there, and the footage is clean.

I hope this helps a little, I'm sure there's a few others here who could throw some light on these issues. :)

hmm...i never heard of that before. Could it get freezer burn?

Here's a few links that might help you:

Pro:
http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub95/chap3.html
http://lists.tako.de/html/Olympus-OM/1998-07/msg00814.html

Con:
http://www.kodak.com/global/en/consumer/products/techInfo/e30/e30Contents.shtml
http://astro.umsystem.edu/apml/ARCHIVES/OCT99/msg00456.html
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mfilmchill.html

General info:
http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/byform/mailing-lists/amia-l/2003/06/msg00184.html


By the way, if you DO decide to freeze, you should get one of these (http://gadgets.engadget.com/entry/0153716615082462)... and check the temperature from Japan, Singapore, Cleveland, wherever.. ;) hehe

Excellent. Thank you for the input, all. :)

I'm not buying a fridge that hooks into the Internet. http://www.stevenrichards.com/images/smiley_mono.gif

Aww, come on.. it'd be fun. :)

Ok, so the money would be better spent on film stock and processing... when you make your millions, then you can get the fridge. ;)

There is no way I'm buying a common kitchen appliance that is smarter than me. :no: