Re: [Leica] Re: Film - freeze or cool?

[Kip Babington <cbabing3@swbell.net>]

I think the distinction most of us make between "freezing" and "cooling" has to
do with water and water  based stuff, like many foods, where physical changes
occur below the freezing point which may not reverse perfectly upon thawing
(ever drink a beer that was frozen and thawed?)  But unless the substances in
film change properties at the temperatures typically encountered in a home
freezer, then "freezing" film is really just cooling it a bit more than your
milk and vegetables and shouldn't have any adverse effect.

Then again, I suppose there may be a problem of different rates of contraction
between the emulsion and film base at low temperatures.

Anybody know how cold a "freezer" usually is?  Or at what temperature film
emulsions begin to change characteristics?

Personally, I hardly ever use color film, so such as I have is kept in an old
refrigerator which we replaced it because it tended to freeze the milk on
occasion.  So even though the film is kept in the non-freezer section, I suspect
it has been "frozen" on occasion over the years.  I have some 120 Ektachrome
Professional that expired in 1981 (and whose box says to store below 55F but
without any lower limit warning,) and several rolls of K64 that expired in 1986,
and if I ever get around to shooting them I expect they will perform perfectly.

Cheers,
Kip

Ken Wilcox wrote:

> I freeze mine all the time. It suspends aging nearly indefinetly. Don't
> know where the 12 hour figure comes from. I find that for single rolls a
> half hour is fine, even for film in Leicas cassettes inside plastic cans.
>
> Ken Wilcox