For how long can I store exposed film?

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KlickIt

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I have some exposed Kodak 200 35mm colour print film. For how long can I keep it for before it is developed? I guess that refridgerating it in a sealed container might help?

Internet searches give conflicting advice with some saying that storage, even at room temperature, is not a problem and others saying that six months in a refridgerator is the absolute maximum.

Any thoughts or advice?
 
There are a lot of variables here...
  • How old was the film when it was exposed?
  • How was the film stored before it was exposed?
  • How accurate was the exposure in terms of rated speed?
  • How long was the film stored after exposure?
  • How was the film stored after exposure?
  • How accurate will the time and temperature be during processing?
I'm sure there's a few more things that could have an effect on the outcome but, in general, "use film as soon as you can and process it as soon as you can" is the basic rule of thumb. On the other hand, I've used colour film that was ten years out of date and achieved usable results, at least for my needs.

Nikon F4 0808.jpg
 
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Thank you for your reply Andrew,

OK, so let me have a go at answering your questions. Some will be "to the best of my knowledge" as the photographer was my daughter.

  • How old was the film when it was exposed? It will have been purchased and exposed over the last year.
  • How was the film stored before it was exposed? Probably, on a shelf in a shop (in Hong Kong).
  • How accurate was the exposure in terms of rated speed? The camera was the auto-focus Canon AF35ML so other than the ISO setting there is no other control.
  • How long was the film stored after exposure? I still have the film cassette, undeveloped and the film was finished but a few days ago.
  • How was the film stored after exposure? At room temperature.
  • How accurate will the time and temperature be during processing? I'm ssuming that this will be appropriately accurate as I will have it developed by a lab.

If you are able to offer any further comment, that would be useful.
 
KlickIt said:
If you are able to offer any further comment, that would be useful.
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To me, that all seems to be within the normal expectations of the manufacturer. My guess is that you just need to hand it in and wait for the negatives, prints and/or scans to come back.

Colour film was designed in two groups; amateur and professional. The former was expected to be abused while the latter was expected to be handled with more care. Either type would be expected to take the treatment you describe in its stride.
 
Personally, I deep freeze exposed B&W until I have enough to make a developing session worthwhile.

I do the same with C41 and E6, I can't say I've noticed any ill effects with B&W or colour.

I store my stock of film and paper in a dedicated freezer, allowing it to defrost before use in a dedicated refrigerator. I also store my chemicals in the refrigerator. (It's actually a medical lab fridge I aquired)

There is one exception I find. Ilford PanF. For whatever reason, the latent image does not keep well at all.
 
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