A comprehensive guide on how to shoot expired (color) films

ludwighagelstein · Aug 15, 2020

Hi there,

I just published an article I planned on doing for quite some time, but never did it up until now. A comprehensive and explanatory article on how to best use expired film. The article is quite detailed in regards to what to do and what to avoid, explaining it based on the actual processes and how they react.

TLDR: "ONE STOP PER DECADE" is a lie.

The article can be read here:
https://silvergrainclassics.com/en/2020/08/how-to-shooting-expired-film/

koraks · Aug 15, 2020

Nice write-up that should give those who like playing with expired film a very reasonable starting point for exposure and development. Very nice too that you've split it up into color reversal, B&W and color negative sections; this makes a lot of sense both textually and also empirically as these materials do indeed tend to behave differently.

I do have my doubts about the Ektachrome 100HC shot at EI64 example in the E6 section. The overexposure according to the caption is +1/3. This can never explain the entirely washed out results depicted. Another mechanism for fogging (e.g. heat) must have been at hand. Had it been a +3 stop overexposure, then it would have made sense, but not at +1/3 stop. As such, as an example of the warning against overexposure (in itself a very reasonable one!) I think it doesn't work optimally. It serves better as an example that even with 'moderately' expired film, you never know quite surely what you get and it may just be hopeless, regardless of how you process the material.

ludwighagelstein · Aug 15, 2020

koraks said:
Nice write-up that should give those who like playing with expired film a very reasonable starting point for exposure and development. Very nice too that you've split it up into color reversal, B&W and color negative sections; this makes a lot of sense both textually and also empirically as these materials do indeed tend to behave differently.

I do have my doubts about the Ektachrome 100HC shot at EI64 example in the E6 section. The overexposure according to the caption is +1/3. This can never explain the entirely washed out results depicted. Another mechanism for fogging (e.g. heat) must have been at hand. Had it been a +3 stop overexposure, then it would have made sense, but not at +1/3 stop. As such, as an example of the warning against overexposure (in itself a very reasonable one!) I think it doesn't work optimally. It serves better as an example that even with 'moderately' expired film, you never know quite surely what you get and it may just be hopeless, regardless of how you process the material.

thanks for the feedback! I must admit, it sounds reasonable to assume that 1/3 stop of overexposure could be a little bit less. I guess the P6 inaccurate shutter speed did play a role as well. Another roll from the same batch came out fine, just with a cast, that´s why attributed it to overexposure

ic-racer · Aug 15, 2020

Why not just use fresh film?

macfred · Aug 15, 2020

ic-racer said:
Why not just use fresh film?

From the article : ''While some photographers would not shoot expired, perhaps even badly stored decades old film in their wildest dreams, others indulge in exactly that.
Shooting expired film can be an interesting option for those willing to risk both image quality and consistency ...''

Alan Edward Klein · Aug 15, 2020

Should I worry about one or two year old Velvia 50 and Tmax 100?

ludwighagelstein · Aug 15, 2020

Alan Edward Klein said:
Should I worry about one or two year old Velvia 50 and Tmax 100?

if they were normally stored, even at room temperature you should be fine. The Tmax for sure (I´d look up the emulsion number though since they had a backing paper problem back then) and the Velvia, the moreso the slower 50, should be fine as well. I´ve shot 10 years expired Provia that was stored at room temp. and it was completely fine.

It´s a good point though, and one I completely forgot to adress in the article. I focused on long expired film and not short dated stuff. It´s a bit like Yoghurt with these. If the packaging is intact and it´s sealed its best by date is quite a relative thing. Those short dated films are most likely okay even after 1-2 years over their date if they were stored somewhat normally.

Alan Edward Klein · Aug 15, 2020

I've been keeping my film in the freezer at 6 degrees F. We had a power failure for four days so they defrosted. Is it preferred to refreeze them or could that be worse? What about 4x5 film? I don't want humidity to get in and condense. Are they protected like 120 roll film?

Sirius Glass · Aug 15, 2020

Alan Edward Klein said:
I've been keeping my film in the freezer at 6 degrees F. We had a power failure for four days so they defrosted. Is it preferred to refreeze them or could that be worse? What about 4x5 film? I don't want humidity to get in and condense. Are they protected like 120 roll film?

If the sealed packages have not been opened refreeze. If they have been opened, dry them out with a desiccator [not necessary in dry climates] and seal them in a ZipLok bag, the refrigerate or refreeze. I have done exactly this without any problems, because the film was warm for only a few days.

Ten301 · Aug 15, 2020

I don't believe the film emulsion itself contains any water, so as long as the film is unopened (and therefore has not formed condensation) it is fine to refreeze. I do have have another question concerning frozen film: I currently have mine in a freezer kept at 0 degrees F. However, the freezer is capable of going down to -10 degrees F. I know this may be a silly question, but does anyone know if there would be any practical advantage in keeping the film at the lower temperature?

A comprehensive guide on how to shoot expired (color) films

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