 Joann Tompkins-Winborn |
How Long Can I Keep Film Before Developing? I have about 50 rolls of 35mm film which I began taking about a year ago. Money has been tight and while I cannot afford the developing at this time, I continue to take pictures and my collection of rolls waiting to be developed grows weekly. How long will a roll of film last after it has been used in my camera? Also- does anyone know of any developing services that give discounts on volume? Thanks and God Bless.
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Jon Close |
Refrigerate any film (including exposued by unprocessed) that is not going to be used or processed promptly. See Kodak's Pub. E-30, Storage and Care of KODAK Photographic Materials "While storage in a refrigerator or freezer can be highly beneficial, you should not rely on it to extend film life beyond the "Develop Before" date. This is especially important with high-speed films, which can be fogged by cosmic and gamma radiation that is naturally present all around us. Neither cooling nor lead-foil bags will prevent this effect." Take one roll of the oldest film and have it developed. If it's ok, then so should be the rest.
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Joann Tompkins-Winborn |
Jon- Thanks for your quick reply. I will put all my film in the fridge as soon as I get home! Also, I will check the dates on the rolls. Still hoping someone will have a lead or two on inexpensive but good quality developing services. Thanks again!
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Jenna M. Anderson |
Joann, film developing can be expensive, but a couple a options could be to find a discount store that has film developing,some send photos out which takes longer, but some charge according to what turns out. also, you could pay for a couple at a time to be developed a hold off on buying film. oh and it may sound dumb but saving up all of your lose change can really add up so you may want to consider doing that.
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Joann Tompkins-Winborn |
Thanks Jenna- I appreciate you taking the time to respond. I will take your suggestions to heart. I do know that when I start developing this film it will be like Christmas morning every time I get another roll developed! Thanks again-& God Bless
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Wayne Attridge |
If you can't afford printing, you should at least have your exposed film processed as soon as possible. The film will last longer unexposed than exposed. You can have prints made later. Unless you are using professional film, you are probably not gaining anything by refrigeration. The consumer films are optimized for storage at room temperature (70 deg F.)until the best used by date or a little longer. This information was given to me by the rep at Kodak where we buy our movie film and I'm thinking he should know what he is talking about.
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Joann Tompkins-Winborn |
Thanks Wayne- I never thought about processing the negatives without getting the photos. I will look into it. Blessings.
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phil |
JT- Try Clark Color Labs - their processing/printing is very inexpensive and they really do a good job. I bring my critical stuff to the local processor but my dozens of vacation rolls go mail order to Clark. There are a dozen locations nationwide - just mail yours to the closest location. They're about 1/3 the price of a local processor... try clarkcolor.com Of the hundred or so rolls I've sent them, only one came back damaged.
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Joann Tompkins-Winborn |
Thanks Phil- I will check out the website today! Jo
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Melissa Williams |
Develop only is a good money-saving idea because when you get your pictures back, there are usually a bunch you wouldn't want printed if you know what they were going to look like. Also, Kits/Ritz/Wolf Cameras has a membership that saves you money, but the membership isn't free. It saves a lot if you're the type that always gets doubles though, especially if you have a lot of film to be developed. And you can get new rolls of film back when you pick up your pictures.
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Joann Tompkins-Winborn |
Thanks Melissa Your information is very helpful. I will check out my local photo shops that you mentioned. I do usually get doubles and the replacement rolls are a real bonus. Thanks again for your kind response. Jo
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Melissa Williams |
They tend to be a little more expensive than Walgreens as far as developing goes, but they test their machines daily and calibrate them daily, and they color correct each picture that goes by. Ask them if they have a Fronteir machine, the Fronteir machines are even better quality than the older fuji machines like the SFA's. Some locations have them, others don't. I've seen some of the worst heat damaged film come out of a Fronteir looking almost normal. The Walmart near my house has a Fronteir but they don't know how to work it and their customer service is awful. At Kits/Ritz/Wolf the employees are usually really friendly and helpful. The ones who aren't, complain about them to their manager, or better yet, their district manager. I don't understand why there are so many bad apples working customer service type jobs. They don't deserve such fun jobs!
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Joann Tompkins-Winborn |
Thanks again! You sure do sound like you know a lot about this subject. I am a real novice with much to learn. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me. This sure is a wonderful site!
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Andrea J. Scoggins |
Be careful when waiting a long time to develop your film! I had a APS film camera that I used most of the time. But this could happen with any film based camera. Instead of taking the film to get developed one by one, I let it pile up. I guess almost a year's worth of film, 7 or 8 rolls. When I got the film back, NONE OF THE PICTURES TURNED OUT!!!! I almost started crying right there in the store. Upon inspection I found out it was not because of the film, something was wrong with my camera, the shutter was broken. If I had taken the film to be devoloped sooner, I would have found out that my camera was broken much sooner. That is why I don't recommend waiting a long time to get your film developed.
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Joann Tompkins-Winborn |
Thanks Andrea. I have developed a couple of the rolls and everything was fine, so I am hopeful that the rest will show same results. Thanks for taking the time to respond to my question. God bless you and yours.
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