keeping color film cold in the field

[Ben Calwell]

Once it's out of the refrigerator and loaded into holders, is it necessary to keep color transparency film cold when shooting in the field?
If so, should I use a picnic cooler with freezer packs inside it?

[David A. Goldfarb]

Color film is more robust than most people give credit for. It should be at room temperature for loading, and after that, cycles of warming and cooling that could cause condensation are probably worse than just leaving it at the ambient temperature until you are ready to shoot.

By the same token, it's probably best not to load too far in advance. I used to keep lots of loaded holders around ready to shoot, but eventually decided this wasn't a good practice, because they might be exposed to heat over a long period of time, or might reveal minor light leaks over the course of months that wouldn't matter in the course of a few days or even a week.

[Dave Parker]

When I am concerned about heat in the field I use a 12 volt cooler that plugs into the cig lighter/power outlet in most cars, $20 for one at Home Depot, but for the majority of the time, I keep them in a bag at ambient temps without problems.

Dave

[Frank Petronio]

My friend who owns a lab says that he has processed film that has been exposed and then sat all summer in a glove compartment... and it is fine.

I'd worry more about over handling it.

[Michael Gordon]

I quit refrigerating film while on the road several years ago. Not one problem since.

Be sensible: don't expose your boxes of film to sunlight, keep them out of the trunk (if you have one), and find a way to insulate film the car if it gets hot (jacket, sleeping bag, etc.).

[Don Miller]

Is the "pro" refrigerated film we use more temperature sensitive than regular film?

I do keep it in a cooler in the car, but that cooler isn't cooled unless it's hot outside. I mostly want to keep the max temp lower than a hot car. Backpacking is usually in the mountains so I don't worry.

I'm not much of a summer shooter.

[Don Miller]

When I am concerned about heat in the field I use a 12 volt cooler that plugs into the cig lighter/power outlet in most cars, $20 for one at Home Depot, but for the majority of the time, I keep them in a bag at ambient temps without problems.

Dave

I didn't know those coolers were so inexpensive. I'll get one for cool drinks on the road.

[SamReeves]

Agreed with the others. As long as you're going out to use the film within a week or two, there should be no problems on a color shift.

[Brian Vuillemenot]

You do not need to refrigerate film at home, let alone for a week or two in the field. I never do and use film up to a year after the expiration date with no problem. I've known anal retentive people who insist on bringing a cooler full of ice to keep their film cold on trips. Funny thing is, the ziplock bags containing the film in the ice chest weren't water tight, and all the film was ruined from water damage!

[lenser]

Two thoughts.

If you feel you need to cool the film compared to the ambient temp of your car, throw a fairly moist bath towel over the cooler with your film inside. It's primitive air conditioning as the evaporation from the towel will keep the temp several degrees lower than the rest of the environment but not allow any more humidity inside the cooler.

I do this with the film inside an empty cooler in the worst of summer. The rest of the year, I don't worry about it.

Secondly, I would NOT put ice packs inside the cooler unless you have lots of time for the film to come up to temp before taking it out of the box or wrapper. I believe you are running a risk of condensation on the film otherwise. In deserts, it may not matter.

I always put my large format film boxes in zip lock bags that I seal at home in the air conditioning (or motel) That way, there is no excessive humidity in the film's environment. I also try to put the exposed film boxes back in the zip locks the same way, under controlled humidity conditions. I also freeze my film the same way and don't take it out of the bags until it has come up to ambient temperature.

Good luck.

Tim