Expired films

[Tun]

hi people.

I just got a few rolls of 120 XP2 films and some HP5.
These are all expired films. (2-3yrs) but were stored in freezer all the while.

Has anybody tried using expired b/w films before?

 

[Stephanie Brim]

I've used them frequently. However, if you're wary about it, I need some. 😛

 

[back alley]

there will be no problem if they were stored in the freezer or fridge, especially if it's only been a couple of years.

 

[bobofish]

The only film you really need to worry about expiring is color, and even more so, slide film.

B+W does change with time and bad storage, but not nearly as much as people sometimes think. I've been eating away at a brick of delta 100 that is about 6 years old, and has never once been refridgerated since purchase....it's also crossed the atlantic 4 times, and was left in an overheated car in a hot Polish summer for about 2 days.

And yet, it's still churning out good pic's. Maybe a little grainier than usual, maybe a little less density, but nothing an extra added push can't fix.

Shoot, a friend of mine inherited his grandfather's Nikon F and lenses, along with 3 bulk rolls of tri-x from god knows what decade. It's absolutely fine, but maybe not as precise as a fresh film. Although I remember the first few rolls had the silver sluff off in developing, but after that all was fine.

 

[Stephanie Brim]

Slide film can be pretty interesting when expired. Fun to experiment with, but I definitely wouldn't be doing anything important with it. I kind of planned to shoot a couple rolls of expired Ektachrome for the contest to see what I came up with. I'll probably stick to Tri-X and HP5, though.

 

[Tun]

thanks god expired b/w films are not as bad as i think.
will try some out soon.

How about expired slide film like provia 400? i usually cross process expired slide films.
Any interesting results from normal processing?

 

[Stephanie Brim]

The colors are sometimes a bit wonky, but that's usually only in film that expired quite a while ago. I've shot Velvia that was expired 2 years ago with no real difference. Kinda depends on the emulsion, who made it, and how expired it is. 10-year-expired slide film is a trip.

 

[w3rk5]

I just recently bought some expired Fuji Superia X-TRA 400 (dirt cheap) to see the results. The pictures were very grainy to what I'm use to with 400iso. It actually looked like 800iso.

 

[louis]

I would only use expired films to test cameras and lenses or if it was a film size no longer made. I have some ancient 616 Verichrome pan which was discontinued in 1971! It's been kept frozen since then. I recently put a roll through an old Kodak folder and had it developed & contacted.

It came out very well! Verichrome was a Kodak B&W print film similar to Plus X Pan. Perhaps color films wouldn't hold up as well.

I would not of course take expired film on vacation.

 

[pvdhaar]

I don't hesitate to use expired film. The only thing that matters to me is how it has been kept. New film that has been sun baked in a car or in a kiosk for even a single day is far worse than five year old emulsion that has been kept in the fridge.

 

[Doug]

I loaded up some Ilford XP1 (predecessor of XP2 Super) from a bulk roll in 1983 and found some still in the freezer 20 years later. The stuff was fine, also had some in 120 stashed away. Here's a shot with the antique XP1 shot in 2003....

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

I grew up using old film: it was all I could afford. And I've never stopped in forty years or so since.

Just ask in a small shop if they have shortdated or outdated film and suggest a price.

Outdated film is not like outdated cheese.

 

[lynn]

I shot a roll of 38-year-old Russian B&W in January and the results were a treat...not perfect (the film was definitely not kept cool all that time) but surprisingly good.

 

[Kim Coxon]

The only problem I have had with slide film was a roll of Velvia 50 that was 5 years out of date. I had forgotten it and it had been in and out of the camera bag quite a few times and not stored cool. It would probably have been OK if I had exposed it at 25 ASA instead of 50 but by then it was too late 🙁 Still I was only using it to test the focus distance of some lenses I had re-collimated so the exposure was not critical 🙂

Kim