Seriously outdated film

[wlewisiii]

So in a moment of silliness, I placed a minimum bid on 12 rolls of 120 format Tri-X dated May 1972... And won it.

Unopened, sat in someones cellar (not fridge or freezer) and so on.

So what's the chance the film will still be usable? I figure to use it in my varied folders on typical walkabout shooting and then dunking it in Diafine. Any hints, tips or suggustions? Other than the obvious one of "don't be so silly" that is :bang:

William

 

[BJ Bignell]

I think it's great. Have fun, and don't forget to use the dev times for "old" Tri-X! Oh, and maybe don't use this film for anything important! 😉

 

[doubs43]

Sadly, there's no way to tell if the film will be OK until it's been tried. If this person lives in a cold climate and the basement stays dark and cool, there's a fair chance the film may be useable. However, 33 years out of date is a loooooong time so don't expect it to perform like new film.

I wish I could be more positive.

Walker

 

[wlewisiii]

That's about what I figured. Still, $7 for 12 rolls, eh, why not? At least with diafine, I'll shoot it at EI1600 and not have to worry about the times.

But yeah, no weddings with this stuff... 😛

William

 

[BJ Bignell]

If it were me, the first roll would be rated at 100, but developed as 400, and I'd adjust the process from there. I just made that up, based on no facts whatsoever. You can use the idea, though, free of charge! 😀

There's something you can add to developers to reduce base fog... benzatriazole. Might be worth playing with. Click here or click here.

 

[john neal]

I guess it's down to trial and modification of dev times by experience.

I have some Kodak R50 (about 200ft) in 35mm that expired in 1967 (Kodak had never heard of it when I contacted them last year) - still works OK if I expose at asa50 and give it 7 to 8 mins in T-Max soup! I also have some FP4 that expired in 1980 - same argumant, overexpose and trial dev to find a good compromise.

Have fun experimenting

 

[Seele]

overexpose and trial dev to find a good compromise.

I would be tempted to add a shot of restrainer to the developer too, when developing outdated film I sometimes add a few drops of benzotriazole mixed to match Ilford's old LBE specifications and so far no disaster yet.