Mourning4Kodachrome
Newbie
My first post. I have some B&W negative film and some E200 slide film that is about 13 to 16 years old. It was kept in a freezer for all but about year. The last year it was kept in the kitchen/dinning room. It's a long story. Anyway, do you think it's still any good?
Cheers, Gordon
Cheers, Gordon
Rayt
Nonplayer Character
The b/W film should be no problem. The E200 may have been affected so shoot a roll to see.
DownUnder
Nikon Nomad
Do tests. That is by far the best way to go, assuming all your B&W films are not as ancient as mine (I proudly own a big stash of Kodak Panatomic-X, likely from the last batch made by Eastman so late 1980s) and also assuming you have a darkroom so the processing won't cost you a kidney.
I use a lot of 'vintaged' films and find a strong developer can bring out extra zip in contrast which is so often lacking in old emulsions. The slower films (Panatomic, Ilford Pan F, even FP4) usually still have plenty of contrast but ISO 100 or higher brands often lose contrast with age. I add about 20% to my developing times to be sure.
ISO speeds tend to be all over the place. As a rule of thumb I expose up to a full stop (so ISO 100 down to 50) depending on the light conditions. Filtering can also be iffy but this can easily be adjusted in post-processing. I long ago gave up using polarisers with expired film. Also some elderly films seem to be less sharp but then again others (like Panatomic) appear to be as good as when new.
Of all the old films I've used, Pan F is probably the worst for contrast. It is on the high end with all blacks and whites but no mid-tones. Panatomic is ideal for the middle range but sadly so few photographers have any of it left. TMax 100 doesn't seem to age at all. I rarely use TMax 400 so others will have to comment here.
I hope this will help. For me most of the fun in using elderly film is in not really knowing what the results will be, but this will not please everyone, especially users of old color emulsions.
I use a lot of 'vintaged' films and find a strong developer can bring out extra zip in contrast which is so often lacking in old emulsions. The slower films (Panatomic, Ilford Pan F, even FP4) usually still have plenty of contrast but ISO 100 or higher brands often lose contrast with age. I add about 20% to my developing times to be sure.
ISO speeds tend to be all over the place. As a rule of thumb I expose up to a full stop (so ISO 100 down to 50) depending on the light conditions. Filtering can also be iffy but this can easily be adjusted in post-processing. I long ago gave up using polarisers with expired film. Also some elderly films seem to be less sharp but then again others (like Panatomic) appear to be as good as when new.
Of all the old films I've used, Pan F is probably the worst for contrast. It is on the high end with all blacks and whites but no mid-tones. Panatomic is ideal for the middle range but sadly so few photographers have any of it left. TMax 100 doesn't seem to age at all. I rarely use TMax 400 so others will have to comment here.
I hope this will help. For me most of the fun in using elderly film is in not really knowing what the results will be, but this will not please everyone, especially users of old color emulsions.
Hari
Well-known
My large roll of 5 inch x 1000 ft of aero
Panatomic-X has an expiration date of 1/96.
Still good. I cut down to 5x7 to use
in my old 5x7 Graflex SLR. But I think
Kodak stopped offering PanX in 35mm and
120, like one RF person said about '80.
Panatomic-X has an expiration date of 1/96.
Still good. I cut down to 5x7 to use
in my old 5x7 Graflex SLR. But I think
Kodak stopped offering PanX in 35mm and
120, like one RF person said about '80.
charjohncarter
Veteran
I have a few roll from 2002 of EktaChrome 200. A friend gave them to me, and they were never frigerated or frozen. I tried a roll and it was fine:
Ektachrome 200 expired by John Carter, on Flickr
Ektachrome 200 expired by John Carter, on Flickr
He also gave me some Velvia from the same date; disaster.
Ektachrome 200 expired by John Carter, on FlickrEktachrome 200 expired by John Carter, on FlickrHe also gave me some Velvia from the same date; disaster.
santino
FSU gear head
I‘m sure The BW film is still good. The slide film may have slight color shift. Just try to shoot a roll.