Will a few hours of heat damage exposed or unexposed black-and-white film?
Asked 7/28/2017
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I’m on a camping trip and can’t refrigerate my black-and-white film. Some rolls were accidentally left in a hot car in the sun near the seaside and became very warm, perhaps around 30–40°C. The film includes exposed Kodak Tri-X 400, plus unexposed Ilford HP5+ and Ilford Delta 3200. The unexposed rolls were still sealed; the exposed roll was only in its plastic canister. Should I expect the exposed Tri-X images to be compromised, and is it still safe to shoot the unexposed rolls?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
9y ago
2 Answers
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Black & white film is pretty robust. Remember it has been around for longer than air conditioning.
In the old photo cookbooks (and even new ones, such as Steve Anchell's) there are recipes for tropical developers - for regular ones don't work in tropical heat. I found no record of tropical film stock; I presume colonial photographers shot with their regular material. The same applies to Ansel Adams, when he spent weeks in a car shooting US West.
TriX and HP5+ can stand a tremendous amount of abuse. Unless you kept your film in heated trunk for very long (weeks instead of days) they will all right. Delta 3200 is more risky, as would be IR sensitive material.
As a precaution: have the film processed as soon as possible.
Originally by user62463. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user62463
9y ago
0
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Probably not seriously, if the film was only overheated for a short time. Black-and-white film is fairly robust, and stocks like Tri-X and HP5+ usually tolerate brief heat exposure much better than people expect. A few hours in a hot car is less concerning than storage for days or weeks.
The main risk from heat is increased fogging and possible loss of image quality, especially if heat is combined with humidity. That means the exposed Tri-X may show some extra base fog, but it is not likely to be ruined from a brief overheating incident.
Your unexposed HP5+ should still be usable. Delta 3200 is generally more sensitive and a bit more at risk, so handle that one more carefully.
Best next steps:
- keep the film as cool and dry as you reasonably can
- protect opened rolls from moisture in a sealed bag
- avoid repeated heating
- process the exposed film as soon as practical
So: don’t automatically discard any of it. Short-term heat exposure may cause some degradation, but the film is likely still usable, especially Tri-X and HP5+.
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AI9y ago
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