Expired Film MF

verian · Aug 16, 2013

Once upon a time expired film was dirt cheap, now it seems to cost more than unexpired film. Supply and demand I guess, what with there being a lot of interest in it from Lomographers. I picked up 5 rolls of Kodak roll film a couple of years ago, for my Holga. It had expired in 1999. I used them a couple of months ago and just had them developed, the results were not quite as, erm, unusual as I had expected, but I liked them anyway.

There are few attached, from different cameras, straight scans of the negatives.

Does anybody else use expired film, and how were the results? A UK source would be handy as well if anybody has one.

Thomas Bertilsson · Aug 16, 2013

My preference is to avoid expired film as much as possible, and use fresh whenever I can, but I'm one of those sticklers who likes to know what to expect come printing time.

I understand why the serendipitous nature of not knowing what to expect appeals to others. Sometimes the expired film is almost perfect, and other times it's completely wacky, particularly color film is very unpredictable. Results largely depend on how the film was stored.

fotch · Aug 16, 2013

I may be sitting on a gold mine of expired films!

Rick A · Aug 16, 2013

I only buy expired film it it's a real bargain, otherwise it's fresh for me. I keep expired on hand for teaching purposes, I test first, then turn the kids loose with it if it proves useful.

verian · Aug 16, 2013

fotch said:
I may be sitting on a gold mine of expired films!

You might be, Lomography.com are selling expired for between £5 and £9 each depending on the film.

jspillane · Aug 16, 2013

I buy expired all the time, but it always has given me identical results as fresh (much to my joy, as I usually get it for at least 50% less than new film). I am sure one day I will hit a 'bad' roll when I least expect it...

verian · Aug 16, 2013

Thomas Bertilsson said:
My preference is to avoid expired film as much as possible, and use fresh whenever I can, but I'm one of those sticklers who likes to know what to expect come printing time.

I understand why the serendipitous nature of not knowing what to expect appeals to others. Sometimes the expired film is almost perfect, and other times it's completely wacky, particularly color film is very unpredictable. Results largely depend on how the film was stored.

I tend to use expired in cameras that are more in the 'Toy' bracket, so they are for a bit of fun or experimentation, although that is now a lot more expensive with expired films increasing in price. I'd agree though that sometimes the images are exactly as a fresh film, and other times all over the place, that's part of fun

verian · Aug 16, 2013

Rick A said:
I only buy expired film it it's a real bargain, otherwise it's fresh for me. I keep expired on hand for teaching purposes, I test first, then turn the kids loose with it if it proves useful.

There don't seem to be many bargains out there anymore.

verian · Aug 16, 2013

jspillane said:
I buy expired all the time, but it always has given me identical results as fresh (much to my joy, as I usually get it for at least 50% less than new film). I am sure one day I will hit a 'bad' roll when I least expect it...

You are playing Russian Roulette with films!

Thomas Bertilsson · Aug 16, 2013

verian said:
I tend to use expired in cameras that are more in the 'Toy' bracket, so they are for a bit of fun or experimentation, although that is now a lot more expensive with expired films increasing in price. I'd agree though that sometimes the images are exactly as a fresh film, and other times all over the place, that's part of fun

There you go. Hopefully we all have fun when we do this.

One thing that I found about black and white film, is that expired film often increases base fog, but also graininess. When you start to make larger prints you can really tell. Whether you like that or not is personal preference, of course, but it does make a huge difference.

Expired Film MF

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