Developing expired T-Max 100 in D-76

micwag2 · Oct 28, 2013

I have a few rolls of T-Max 100 that i would like to develop in D-76, because that's what i have on hand. Since i have never developed film that was expired this long (1999 i believe) is there any compensation or adjustment in developing time i should use? I ran the film through a Kodak Brownie Hawkeye Flash model if that makes a difference.

Rudeofus · Oct 28, 2013

Yes, you can expose and develop the film at ISO 25 or 50 to make up for fog and sensitivity loss from long storage. If you are into tinkering, you can add extra restrainer (e.g. one to five grams per liter of Potassium Bromide) to your developer.

Karl K · Oct 28, 2013

Depending on the temperature and humidity under which the film was stored, you may want to adjust either the development time and/or the concentration of D-76. The film is about 15 years old, so a rule of thumb would suggest a slightly higher concentration of D-76 (perhaps an increase of about 10% concentration) to combat loss of contrast/fog. I would develop the first roll with that higher concentration and observe the results before processing the remaining rolls. Bottom line: the way the film was stored over the last 15 years will, in the end, determine your course of action.

jeffreyg · Oct 28, 2013

I developed a roll of T-Max 400 120 yesterday that I found in my closet ... I shot it Saturday at box speed and developed it in ID11 1:1 along with a roll of Delta 400. Both were exposed with a light orange filter under fairly contrasty light conditions. I arbitrarily cut the developing time 45 seconds from the suggested Delta 400 which meant that it was slightly longer than the T-Max time. Both rolls are well exposed and the negatives look fine. The Delta 400 was fresh and the T-Max expired 13 years ago. Neither was stored under refrigeration but our house is air conditioned. My guess is that no particular adjustment is necessary.

http://www.jeffreyglasser.com/

Thomas Bertilsson · Oct 28, 2013

For what it's worth, if TMax 100 is stored properly (frozen) it will probably be just fine. I bought 50 rolls of 1996 expired TMax 100 a few years ago, and it worked just like new. But it had been frozen.

Hatchetman · Oct 28, 2013

I would shoot/develop per normal instructions.

Fixcinater · Oct 28, 2013

I bought a bunch of 100 and 400 speed Tmax that was stored poorly, expired in 03 and developed as per normal in 1:1 D76. It worked fine but grain was worse than fresh/properly stored film would be. Not unusable, just more noticeable. In 120 it would not have been a problem, in 35mm it is now relegated to abstract landscape duty.

micwag2 · Oct 28, 2013

Thanks for the replies. This film was stored in a photographers dark room in the basement of his studio. I'm guessing 60°-70°F. I'll develop this in a day or two and we'll see how it turns out.

pbromaghin · Oct 29, 2013

I have a 100ft of the same film, expired for about as long and stored about the same way, that I haven't gotten around to testing yet. This will be interesting.

micwag2 · Nov 3, 2013

Here are a few of the pictures I developed. D-76 for the recommended time. All photos taken with a Kodak Brownie Hawkeye Flash model. Not bad considering how expired the film is and the age and condition of the camera. I picked up the Brownie for 50¢ USD.

Fixcinater · Nov 3, 2013

How bad was the base fog compared to new film?

micwag2 · Nov 3, 2013

I didn't notice any fogging. Because the Brownie only has one shutter speed some of the images were overexposed and some underexposed, which i expected. I'll load the next roll in my C33 so i can get a few more accurate exposures but i think they'll be just fine. Most of the feedback i got when inquiring what to expect was that it would develop ok, and it did. I want to see how it prints, but my darkroom is not setup yet. I believe they will print well also.

cliveh · Nov 3, 2013

I would develop as normal.

lhalcong · Nov 3, 2013

My main question would be. Are you getting pure whites where there should be pure whites ?

Pioneer · Nov 3, 2013

It is terrible, almost impossible to figure out how to expose or develop.

But don't worry. I will take care of it for you and properly dispose of it. I will even pay for shipping.

Developing expired T-Max 100 in D-76

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