Re: [APML]: Freezing Film

["Philip Perkins" <philip@astrocruise.com>]

The Astro-Photography Mailing List
------------------------------------

> I know that films can be refrigerated to preserve their freshness, but how about
> actually freezing film? Has anybody ever frozen film for a long period of time,
> thawed it, exposed it, and then analyzed the emulsion to look for changes?

Brian

I wondered about this too, but for more than a year now I've been storing 
both new film and hypered film in the freezer. It all goes in there, along 
with the carrots, mange tout, beefburgers, fish fingers ... you name it. 
Actually all the film is stored in zip-lock bags in a separate compartment 
to make sure that my wife does not inadvertently fry a reel of PJM-2 and I 
do not inadvertently hyper a fish finger.

Do make sure that all film is properly sealed in original canisters. I also
place all film in zip-lock bags. Also please make sure that the film is
fully thawed out before opening the canister. Placing the canister in a
trouser pocket for 20 minutes works fine.  I have not done any analysis of
emulsions frozen for a long period, however film that's been in the freezer
for more than a year has all the quality that I would expect of fresh film. 

Currently I have about 120 rolls of PJM-2 in the freezer and I expect this
to extend the expiry date by at least a year or two.  Freezing hypered film
seems to work especially well.  Recently I compared a reel of PJM-2 that had
been hypered 6 weeks prior to use with one that had been freshly hypered and
I could not detect any difference in sensitivity or colour balance.
BTW, my freezer temperature is -22 deg C.

Regards
--Philip

Philip Perkins  --  philip@astrocruise.com
51 27'N 1 36'W  --  Wiltshire, UK
43 54'N 5 32'E  --  Luberon, France
Astrocruise     --  http://www.astrocruise.com