Film and Summer Heat

[G Benaim]

Hello,

I live overseas, and recently had a friend in the states send me some sheet film. He sent it by ship, so it'll take 4-6 weeks, and it'll probably be exposed to a lot of heat. So, I was curious just how much I should worry about this? Will the film definitely be fogged on arrival, or will it just have a shorter life span? Isn't most film shipped by sea nowadays? Thanks,

gB

[Armin Seeholzer]

Hi
Film is normaly send by air otherwise it would not be in EU within 3-4 days!
I would definitly not do by ship!

[Capocheny]

Is it color or B&W?

I'd think it'd be a very risky thing to ship color neg/transparency over by ship... especially with such temperatures fluctuations. I'd be very concerned with color shifts.

As for B&W... it'd probably tolerate shipping this way a bit easier. I've shot film that had been residing in warm (??) temperatures and not had any issues but it's certainly a crap-shoot (sic)!

But, if you have a choice... I'd take Armin's suggestion to ship by air!

It sounds like your film has already been sent... let us know how things turn out, ok?

Good luck! :)

Cheers

[G Benaim]

Cap,

It's b&w, so hopefully it'll be ok. Does it just shorten its shelf life, or may it actually create fog in such a short time?

[Ted Harris]

Unless your arae talkinga huge amount of film you should go for Air. The air parcel post prices from the US to Eurpoe are inexpesive, much less than, for example Luft Post prices going the other way.

[Capocheny]

Cap,

It's b&w, so hopefully it'll be ok. Does it just shorten its shelf life, or may it actually create fog in such a short time?

Hi GB,

It's hard to say. IMHO, it'll most likely depend on the temperatures involved. But, having giving some thought to this... cargo holds these days, especially in ocean going freighters, are probably temperature controlled and may not be subject to hot, hot, hot conditions. So, you may be okay.

My film was in a warm temperature for a relatively short time... so, to be honest and not speculative, I can't say for sure what would happen to the film. In color film, it would cause a color shift. I don't know what happens in B&W. Perhaps, some other forum member could answer your question from personal experience? :)

You'll find out soon enough though and, hopefully, it'll be fine. We'll keep our fingers crossed for you. But, I'd certainly recommend using air express the next go round.

When you receive the film... take some pictures and let us know how it turned out!

Good luck. :)

Cheers