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

[Jiri Vasina]

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.

No, there is no important difference (and certainly not a temperature sensitivity) between pro and non-pro film.

Films labeled as pro by the manufacturer have only one difference: the manufacturer sets shorter develop-by date and guarantees color fidelity (well, to a certain degree within the specifics of normal lab-tested color rendition of said film - for example a Velvia), color casts, graininess.

On the other hand, a non-pro film is usually less contrasty (amateur with point-and-shoots have bad light meters and bad metering capabilities, but want to get acceptable results), they may be less color true.

There is not a problem for using a well stored pro film past the expiration date. Only there may be slight color balance changes, but usually not detectable without a laboratory.

The effect of (very high) temperature would be the same on both pro and non-pro film, only on a pro film it might be easier to detect the shifts. But they may not be visually any more discernible...

IMO. I would be glad to be corrected if wrong.

[PViapiano]

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.).

Yep...this is what I do. I don't go out of the way except for extremes, ie, shooting in a hot desert, etc.

In fact, this summer in LA, I kept my kit in the trunk for a few weeks, both BW and color film and quickloads, and absolutely no problems at all. And this was in LA!

[Ben Calwell]

Thanks, everyone. My usual practice has been to simply keep the loaded holders in a picnic cooler with no ice or anything in it when traveling. Good to know that my film will be fine transporting it this way.

[RDKirk]

Thanks, everyone. My usual practice has been to simply keep the loaded holders in a picnic cooler with no ice or anything in it when traveling. Good to know that my film will be fine transporting it this way.

And keeping the cooler in the trunk is better than keeping the cooler in the passenger compartment, if the car with cooler will be parked in the sun a significant length of time.