Expired Kodak film

S

sara

Well-known
Local time
4:14 AM
Joined
Dec 26, 2009
Messages
553
Location
CA
View My Gallery
My mum gave me 3 rolls of expired Kodak Gold 400 film, which she stored in her drawer since 2003 I think, thing is, I'm not sure if I should use it, or if it is still okay to use.

I mean I love expired film but I also hate the disappointment if nothing comes out.

I think she stored the film in room temperature. If anything, there could be times where the temperate was a bit warmer but I'm not sure if that would have affected the film... :S
 
Something will come out, but the colors may be off. Personally I would throw it away but others seem to like the look of expired film. But you never know exactly how it will look.
 
Shoot one roll, get it developed, see what happens...
Just make sure it's a fun roll and nothing that has to come out...maybe shoot it at 200 asa...again just for funzies...
 
Shoot it. Overexpose it by a stop at least. While the colours might not be perfect, it's usable for sure. You might like the muted colours. Punch it up in post and re-saturate to your taste.



160 Ektapress (expired) 50 1.0 Noctilux on Leica MP
 
Last edited:
Hi Sara,

It all depends on what you want. If you want "any image" tonally speaking for scanning and photoshop playing, you can be sure expired film will make it: you'll get rid of any cast and get some digital saturation, and results won't be the best but you'll get an image. If you prefer accurate colors in your originals, fresh film is the way to go, and if you want the best skins, some people think professional film like Portra can help... 🙂

Cheers,

Juan
 
Ahh thanks everyone, thing is I'm not so concerned about the colours really, I love the colours on expired film, but the fact if just anything will even appear is my main concern!
 
Unless film was kept in a cold storage, colours surely will be off and ISO rating somewhat lowered about a stop. If you plan to scan after developing and eliminate colour (to get B&W prints) it´ll be good.
Some time ago I bought about 200 rolls of ISO 50 and 160 Konica colour neg film in 120format expired in 1997 (price was obscene - less than USD 0,10 cents ea.).
A couple of test rolls gave good results as long as I didn´t expect what a fresh film can bring.
Good luck with yours!
Cheers
Ernesto
 
Go shoot it, take it to Costco, Walmart, Walgreens or in your case the London equivalent. Have them develop just the negatives and sucker some friend with a scanner if you don't have one to scan. Someone told me that the shots he learned the most from were his mistakes. I just shot a roll of Elitechrome400 that was expired in 2005 and I don't know the storage. Here is one, actually I'm a little disappointed, I wanted some thing a little stranger:

4914671184_75cab0d2b9.jpg
 
It should be fine

It should be fine

as others mentioned exposing it as if it were 200 film would be a good idea. I think colors should be fine.

sara said:
My mum gave me 3 rolls of expired Kodak Gold 400 film, which she stored in her drawer since 2003 I think, thing is, I'm not sure if I should use it, or if it is still okay to use.

I mean I love expired film but I also hate the disappointment if nothing comes out.

I think she stored the film in room temperature. If anything, there could be times where the temperate was a bit warmer but I'm not sure if that would have affected the film... :S
Click to expand...
 
sara said:
Ahh thanks everyone, thing is I'm not so concerned about the colours really, I love the colours on expired film, but the fact if just anything will even appear is my main concern!
Click to expand...

In that case, never mind! Everything will appear... And after scanning you'll be able to correct color in Photoshop for a specific subject color, or for right skins, and then other colors will be a bit off and you'll get a very exclusive palette! Enjoy! A bit higher and a bit lower than usual saturation, are funny too! I'd shoot one roll first and develop, scan, process (color) and print it, and keep the other two rolls for future uses of my already known new palette...

Cheers,

Juan
 
Yesterday I exposed and developed (Rodinal 1:100) several sheets of 4x5 Plus-X that expired about the time Noah landed after the Flood. The film had been in a drawer at a high school since forever. I got something printable. I'll continue to experiment.
Much of my film expired around 2003 or before. Film is a lot tougher than you think.
 
I've read cistomer film is less prone to aging (compared to pro emulsions), because manufacturers realize it will spend some time on dusty sunlit shelves before it will loaded. Go figure.
 
... also because the printing machines are capable of doing enough color/exposure correction to satisfy the majority of non-professional needs.
 
I've never used any expired film that was faster than ISO 100. Although I recently acquired a roll of Ektar 1000 (expired in 1994) that I want to experiment with. Any suggestions?

I've used expired slow color negative and slide film without any problems. Here is expired Ektar 25 from 1993, all recent shots:

4654526711_0a45cee2de_b_d.jpg


4655144142_7d133aaea2_b_d.jpg


4655144192_73b4eeb1f4_b_d.jpg
 
Last edited:
As others have said, the colors might be off, but it should still produce an image. Print film often benefits from a little overexposure anyhow, so it shouldn't hurt to take that recommendation as well.

Kodak Gold was made to sit for a while at room temp on drugstore shelves, so as long as it wasn't exposed to really high heat, give it a shot!
 
Thanks for the 120 Ektar 25 examples. I just gave some away thinking it was no good. I did keep a few rolls. I will shoot them!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom