[Leica] Re: LUG Digest, Vol 32, Issue 120

[lrzeitlin at optonline.net (Lawrence Zeitlin)]

On May 25, 2006, at 11:20 PM, Don wrote:

> The general organic chemistry rule of half the activity for every ten
> degrees F drop holds pretty close.  It is actually gets better the 
> further
> below 0 degrees F you get.  A very conservative approach would be a 
> two year
> expiration date and stored at -10 F, you would get at least 14 years 
> out of
> that film.  Places that could get you in trouble would be a location 
> high in
> gamma radiation so check the radon in your basement.  I would check
> especially close to you mother in law suite. :) :)

Relatively slow film can last a VERY long time if frozen. In 1928 the 
Umberto Nobile captained airship "Italia" crashed on a polar 
expedition. Most crewmen survived and one took pictures with a personal 
camera. Norwegian explorer Roald Amundssen was lost in the rescue 
attempt. After a number of mishaps a Russian icebreaker managed to pick 
up some survivors but the camera was left behind. Over 50 years later 
the camera was recovered by another expedition and the pictures 
developed. They came out fine. The conclusion is that properly wrapped 
film in the deep freeze will probably last longer than the person who 
put them there.

However, I have a Kodak report that suggests that high speed films 
might not last as long in the cold. Film with speeds above 800 ASA are 
sensitive to cosmic rays which penetrate material with ease. The fog 
level will gradually rise over time, even when kept in the freezer. No 
50 year storage life for those films. Count on 5 to 10 years before 
image quality is slightly degraded.

Larry Z