whitecat
Lone Range(find)er
I have a bunch of 126 Verichrome I still use with no problem!
How safe is out of date film?
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Papa Smurf
Established
Film goes out of date?
Film goes out of date?
Jesting, but really, last year I purchased a bulk film loader off of e-Bay that came with almost a full roll of what the edge code says should be kodak tri-x made in the late 80's. I shoot it at ASA 320 and develop normally. So far so good. Probably not a good idea to invest heavy in out dated film or use it for some really important project but, I've had good luck for many years. In fact, at times, I shoot so slowly that all of my film goes out of date before I get to use it up 😱.
Film goes out of date?
Jesting, but really, last year I purchased a bulk film loader off of e-Bay that came with almost a full roll of what the edge code says should be kodak tri-x made in the late 80's. I shoot it at ASA 320 and develop normally. So far so good. Probably not a good idea to invest heavy in out dated film or use it for some really important project but, I've had good luck for many years. In fact, at times, I shoot so slowly that all of my film goes out of date before I get to use it up 😱.
David William White
Well-known
I've had colour shifts on out of date slide film, but very good experiences with old black and white. Extended storage at high temperatures or humidities can cause base fog to increase, but I think you really have to abuse black and white for it to be unusable. Including TMZ. IR film might be another matter.
I've regularly shot film that expired in the 80's with only a slight increase in fog or slight drop in film speed. Nothing that couldn't be overcome in the darkroom. Really pushing the envelop, I recently shot some 5" super-xx film from the '50's that was not refrigerated, and it was pretty good, too.
I've regularly shot film that expired in the 80's with only a slight increase in fog or slight drop in film speed. Nothing that couldn't be overcome in the darkroom. Really pushing the envelop, I recently shot some 5" super-xx film from the '50's that was not refrigerated, and it was pretty good, too.
ChrisLivsey
Veteran
That's the nearest you'll get to shooting with HCB's Leica 🙂
(although he was a Perutz and Agfa shooter at that time- HCB Scrapbook pg 51 footnote)
Ronald_H
Don't call me Ron
What was feasible film speed in those days anyway? I remember a good article from an Austrian guy. He described what it was like to shoot a Leica back then. With all the limitations of course, no pre-loaded cassettes, slow film speed... I can't find his site at the moment. It's in German (which I can read, but most of us here probably not) and a very good read.
Tom A
RFF Sponsor
yes. but he had the advantage of having the film at "fresh" speed. 40 asa is doable handheld - 1 asa is probably not, even with a Noctilux 50mm 0.95. This summer I will try it with a camera of the same vintage. A Leica II and the Hektor 50f2.5 - and on the beach, at noon on a sunny day!
Tom A
RFF Sponsor
Most of the film at that time was 25-40 asa. There were some ways of pushing the speed somewhat, including leaving the film cassette in a jar with mercury. This will give about 1 stop true speed increase.
In HCB's case I suspect that he shot most everything at rated speed - looking at his shots you get a feel for f-stops used and shutter speed. In bright sunlight a 40 asa film would still give you a1/125 @ f8 and in overcast, it would still be 1/60-1/50 and f5.6-6.3. He was obviously a whizz at judging exposures - +/- 1/4 stop without a meter!
Pablito
coco frío
HCB had a lot of over and underexposed negs too.
Tom A
RFF Sponsor
yes, he did - but he never allowed any contact sheets to be shown! He claimed it was like taking your pants off in public! The "Scrap Book" is interesting for that reason - it does give hope for the rest of us - at least when it comes to exposures - composition is another thing altogether.
I have some of the old HCB books "Decisive Moment", "The Europeans", his books on Russia and India,etc. What is surprising when you look at these is the inherent "softness" in his images and the rather "flat" contrast in the printing. His printer did the prints for reproduction and the contrast range was less than what todays digital presses can show.
It would be interesting to see what a modern reproduction of the "Decisive Moment" would look like with the same size image as in the original, but modern scanning and print technology.
HCB's exhibition prints are a different case altogether - deep black and nice silvery mid-tones and details in the bright area.
I have some of the old HCB books "Decisive Moment", "The Europeans", his books on Russia and India,etc. What is surprising when you look at these is the inherent "softness" in his images and the rather "flat" contrast in the printing. His printer did the prints for reproduction and the contrast range was less than what todays digital presses can show.
It would be interesting to see what a modern reproduction of the "Decisive Moment" would look like with the same size image as in the original, but modern scanning and print technology.
HCB's exhibition prints are a different case altogether - deep black and nice silvery mid-tones and details in the bright area.
Gabriel M.A.
My Red Dot Glows For You
Oh no, and I thought he was a superhuman being who did everything flawlessly. Next thing I'll hear, his drawings weren't life-like. 😉
Gabriel M.A.
My Red Dot Glows For You
That would indeed be interesting. You would of course need someone who had just as good understanding and technical knowledge of the whole workflow, just as those who printed his original prints. There are far far far more variables in the digital workflow which make the chances of success far less when compared with the darkroom workflow.
It's a good thing there are some people whose philosophy isn't "who cares!" out there. Those are the ones who make things that transcend.
5:00 PM
It's a light machine
Well gentlemen, I recently purchased a Rapid Omega kit that came with two rolls of Ektacolor 100 dated November 1975.
I'll let you know. 🙂
I'll let you know. 🙂
ChrisLivsey
Veteran
The work by Steidl on the "The Americans" 50th anniversary reprint is outstanding.
http://www.steidlville.com/books/695-The-Americans.html
I too am fortunate to have a copy of "The Decisive Moment" and find a large variation within the pages. Some work is very soft but others say those from Indonesia/Burma say 91 and 92 are sharp. This is not just in time, those were from 1948/9, as say 59 an interior portrait of Christian Berard was from 1932 and is sharp.
With HCB it is all about composition though. If you have not seen a copy of "The Decisive Moment" you really should make every effort to do so it is very different than viewing the familiar images on the web or in articles. The "Scrapbook" exhibition came to the UK and that again was another experience. The "proofs" were printed, by HCB, even flatter and it was so strange to see those images in 6x4 as if you had just picked up the D&P envelope.
As Tom says he was mortal, agonised over editing and really "worked" some subjects to get it right.
http://www.steidlville.com/books/695-The-Americans.html
I too am fortunate to have a copy of "The Decisive Moment" and find a large variation within the pages. Some work is very soft but others say those from Indonesia/Burma say 91 and 92 are sharp. This is not just in time, those were from 1948/9, as say 59 an interior portrait of Christian Berard was from 1932 and is sharp.
With HCB it is all about composition though. If you have not seen a copy of "The Decisive Moment" you really should make every effort to do so it is very different than viewing the familiar images on the web or in articles. The "Scrapbook" exhibition came to the UK and that again was another experience. The "proofs" were printed, by HCB, even flatter and it was so strange to see those images in 6x4 as if you had just picked up the D&P envelope.
As Tom says he was mortal, agonised over editing and really "worked" some subjects to get it right.
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