Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2013/03/03
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]I happen to have the same habit to stock my films in the freezer. Most of he time reels of 100 feet without any loss of quality or speed. I had the same remarks from someone I knew at Kodak in the better days. Neg and pos films, be it in B&W or color neg or pos of low and medium speed can indeed be kept for about 10 years in a deep freezer,i.e. lower than - 18? C. I just take them out the day before but I don't do this with films of higher speed because of natural surrounding gamma rays i.e. neutrons. These go through everything until deep in the earth and come from the sun and other stars light years away. I relative working on his doctorate in physics one day was calibrating such detectors and meters deep in a coalmine. Suddenly he saw all his meters crashing to the max of the scales. Back in his lab he heard it had been caused by a supernova of a star light years away. I don't freeze all my films, but when I'm back from the photoshop I usually put them in the refrigerator at about +5?C with a mention of the date. It keeps them fit for a longer time than mentionned on the cannister. Give them one or two hours before using them. I do the same with B&W paper. Color paper goes, divided in separate airthight packings, in the deep freezer. Don't open cannisters or packings before they have warmed up because of condensation. It's funny to think some of us try to buy films and paper as cheap as we can, and on the other hand don't hesitate to buy the most expensive cameras and lenss in the world. Have a nice W-E. Cedric 2013/3/2 Henning Wulff <henningw at archiphoto.com>: > Yes, all the very high speed film had that propensity. Keeping it cool or > freezing it didn't help it much. The fast Polaroid film had the same > problem, except you couldn't freeze that anyway. On the other hand, > Agfapan 25 and things like that keep forever in the freezer. It seems that > up to 400 speed for B&W, keeping it in the freezer until the expiry date > generally resulted in undegraded images, and developing it within a month > or so of exposure also was fine. For colour film things were different, as > the layers were actually of different speeds and had to be higher than the > nominal speed due to the filter layers. So if you didn't store, expose and > develop it promptly and correctly, some layers started to lose speed and > you got colour shifts even with 160 speed. Kodachrome 25 was fairly safe > from this. > > Henning > > > On 2013-03-01, at 3:41 PM, tedgrant at shaw.ca wrote: > >> Tina Manley SHOWED: >> Subject: [Leica] IMG: TMZ 3200 >> >> >> Hi Tina, >> That TMZ-3200 Looks like some I had in the freezer some years ago and >> unfortunately Irene had buried it under some frozen foods she had bought. >> >> About 8 months later I discovered it, used it and the grain was the size >> of house bricks! :-( >> >> I enquired of our Kodak rep....... a very astute gal with almost every >> technical question you could ask and she could answer right off the top >> of her head without referring to anything. >> >> Much to my surprise she said... "3200 film should be used as soon as >> possible, don't have it hanging around for months, particularly if you >> should push it a stop or two." >> >> Why?" I asked. >> >> SHE.. responded, "Well it's such a sensitive film that unless you use it >> as soon after purchase, the radiation levels of Planet Earth will begin >> to fog it. Or start a form of exposure. That actually begins the day the >> film is manufactured whether the film is in a freezer or wherever? The >> effect is going on all the time due to radiation levels of the planet! So >> if you're working with it always get it exposed and souped as soon as you >> can." >> >> So crew, given Tina's grainy photo triggered that bit of long ago KODAK >> conversation from many years past, I wondered has anyone ever heard of >> that before? I can see it as a possible with 3200 TMAX, but have always >> been left with a bit of a question mark how bad it might get and whether >> my "what appeared super grainy size images were actually due to what she >> said? Or just pushing it to 6400? And or maybe? A bad moment of film >> souping?" >> >> Thoughts and or answers? Of course it's an almost waste of time question >> now most are shooting digital. It's purely a curiosity driven question >> aat this point? Oh and of course, I exposed all film with a Leica "M?" >> camera. ;-) >> thanks, >> cheers, >> Dr. ted :-) >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >>> Here is why some of my scans are so grainy. This is TMZ 3200 as you can >>> see by the film canisters that Junior is holding. >>> >>> http://www.pbase.com/image/149007766 >>> >>> The kids love empty film canisters and use them for soldiers and cars and >>> all kinds of toys that they invent. As long as I can keep the exposed >>> film dry, if I don't have to carry the canisters back home, that's fine! >>> >>> Besides the obvious grain, C&C greatly appreciated!! >>> >>> Tina >>> >>> -- >>> Tina Manley, ASMP >>> www.tinamanley.com >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Leica Users Group. >>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Leica Users Group. >> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >> > > > Henning Wulff > henningw at archiphoto.com > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information