Kodak Gold expired in 2004, what to do?

[Ronald_H]

Ooh, there are so many options:

- Use as if nothing has happened. Maybe expose at 160 or so. Color casts can be corrected in post processing, or:

- Treat as C41 B/W film.

- Cross process in E6. Never have that done before.

- Try to develop in B/W chemistry. Others have tried this and it works. Sort of.

Any more ideas? Got the stuff from a friend who had it lying around for years after his camera was stolen. He now thinks his camera phone is good enough 😀

 

[Pablito]

I know what I would do: throw it in the garbage.

But I make my living in photography, and any time or effort I put into my work is not worth the risk of using old film, even if the risk is very small.

 

[Windscale]

How many rolls have you got?

 

[Petroleum V. Nasby]

Probably almost as good as new if it wasn't stored in high heat.

 

[bcostin]

Is it Kodak Gold 200? Expired in 2004 isn't really that old, but if you want to be on the safe side you can shoot it at around 150/160 and just have it developed as usual. Most color film tolerates overexposure much better than underexposure, and a bit of overexposure here should help avoid those dark, grainy shadows you sometimes get with expired color film.

 

[stuken]

I've been shooting a stock of 100 rolls of kodak gold that expired in 2002 for about 6 months, its been totally fine.

 

[jan normandale]

I've been shooting a stock of 100 rolls of kodak gold that expired in 2002 for about 6 months, its been totally fine.

@ Stuken....shhhh!

Ronald H, send it to me. I'll shoot it and save you the bother. j/k

don't xpro because it's not RVP!
you could shoot and dev as BW but why?
you could shoot it at 160 but I don't think it'll make a notable difference

personally, I'd load it up, shoot it as rated and get it processed

 

[Ronald_H]

you could shoot and dev as BW but why?

Because I can? 😀 Just for the experiment.

It's only three rolls and aint gonna use them for anything critical. But lately I frequently see expired film popping up, I just want to know how useable it is. I'll shoot the Kodak and see how it compares to my usual Superia.

 

[David Murphy]

It's probably OK - I shoot expired Kodak Gold all the time with great results. Most modern films are good for about ten years after expiration date unless they've really been stored under abusive conditions. If you have more than one roll, shoot a test roll and freeze the rest (which will substantially arrest its aging).

There seems to be a rather prevalent myth that film is sort of like packaged milk or meat and that it spoils fast and easily - that's simply not true - it's really pretty durable with time. I actually suspect film manufacturers stamp short dates on the products to encourage more sales.

 

[jan normandale]

Because I can? 😀 Just for the experiment.

It's only three rolls and aint gonna use them for anything critical. But lately I frequently see expired film popping up, I just want to know how useable it is. I'll shoot the Kodak and see how it compares to my usual Superia.

there are a lot of threads at RFF on developing C41 as BW so the resource is here for you to go that route. I've not seen anything in the results posted that I couldn't achieve w BW film. That's "why".

If you haven't done C41 as BW and you want to you should. I thought you were looking to achieve something distinct looking that is why I posted. Anyway have a go!

BTW; Post some of the pix here if you do

 

[Avotius]

There was a Myth Busters episode a while back (love that show btw) that the guys used orange juice as a developer and ammonia as a fixer, I currently playing with it, maybe you could too?

 

[SolaresLarrave]

Shoot it as if it were new. There's nothing wrong with it because it wasn't stored near a hot water tank (in close contact with it) or in a hot oven. Heat really damages film in the long run. If this one was just around... it's perfectly usable.

 

[shadowfox]

Pfft... 2004, that's like almost new.

Here's one from Ilford XP2 expired in 2000:

Sorry for the big size, but check out the grain... something to look out for in expired films, I like it though 🙂

 

[capitalK]

I got gifted some Fuji NPZ 800 that expired in 2003, but it has always been in the fridge. I think I'll shoot a roll tonight to test it and if good shoot the other 4 rolls this weekend.

 

[sepiareverb]

I found a roll of Kodacolor, no date, but it's process C-22. Probably be fine eh? How different can C-41 and 22 be?

And there's this roll of 127 Ektachrome-X been kicking around here for about twenty five years, If I could finish fixing the shutter on my Vest-Pocket Kodak I'd be all set.

 

[jan normandale]

I found a roll of Kodacolor, no date, but it's process C-22. Probably be fine eh? How different can C-41 and 22 be?

And there's this roll of 127 Ektachrome-X been kicking around here for about twenty five years, If I could finish fixing the shutter on my Vest-Pocket Kodak I'd be all set.

apparently you're going on some peoples "ignore list" ;- )

 

[raid]

I have a roll or two of Double X from the time when I was a student. Maybe it is time to use the film.