Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Protecting Unexposed Film from Cosmic Radiation?

Posted by Cliff on from the but-cosmic-rays-worked-wonders-on-the-FF dept.

iblink asks: "Last year Fujifilm stopped producing a color slide E-6 sheet film called Velvia 50. It has unique color characteristics that I love so I decided to purchase the remaining stocks in Europe. I now have hundreds of boxes that need to be stored for up to thirty years. A number of film experts assured me that freezing the Velvia would stabilize the dyes for long term use. However, they all mentioned that cosmic radiation would eventually fog the film, and they offered little help in finding a relatively inexpensive barrier. I found various ideas on proton cosmic radiation barriers — a big bucket of water, lead, certain plastics — but nothing convincing or sufficiently detailed (which plastic? How thick?). The film is currently in a freezer, unprotected. Any ideas?"

1 of 142 comments (clear)

  1. Premature by Phanatic1a · · Score: 5, Informative
    Fujifilm recently said they were bringing Velvia 50 back:

    Valhalla, NY, November 14, 2006 - FUJIFILM U.S.A., Inc. is pleased to announce plans to re-introduce an ISO 50 Fujichrome Velvia professional film, tentatively named Velvia II. Fujichrome Velvia (RVP 50) was the first high color saturation, high contrast transparency E-6 compatible film when it was introduced in 1990 and was a favorite among photographers. Its discontinuation was announced last year due to difficulties in procuring some of the raw materials used to produce the emulsion.

    "Since we announced the discontinuation of Velvia 50, we have been inundated with requests from photographers worldwide to continue production," said Christian Fridholm, Director of Marketing, Picture Taking, Imaging Division, Fujifilm USA. "They had used Velvia for many years and consider it unmatched in terms of quality and character. One of Fujifilm's main priorities is to nurture the culture of photography, so we took those requests very seriously."

    As a result, Fujifilm research and development teams have developed substitute raw materials and new manufacturing technologies that enable the company to restart production. The new film is expected to be available in late spring 2007. The characteristics of the new emulsion will mirror that of the previous product.


    I note that it's now past late spring 2007.