Freezer life of B&W film?

[jonpaul]

Was cleaning my freezer and found several rolls of 35mm Kodak infrared,Ilford SFX, and Ilford Pan F, all dated from 1999 to 2003. Now, I wondering if the film is still good to use? -- Jonpaul:confused:

 

[bblhed]

Was it frozen all that time?

Why not just shoot it for fun and see what it looks like, what is the worst that can happen?

 

[fschifano]

I'd expect the Kodak Infrared to have aged poorly, but the rest should be ok.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Black & white if kept in the freeze can easily last a decade. HIE may show higher fog levels.

Steve

 

[holmburgers]

I bet it's great. I've used some Kodak EIR that expired in 1999 and was not refrigerated, let alone frozen, and it produced good results at box speed.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Was cleaning my freezer and found several rolls of 35mm Kodak infrared,Ilford SFX, and Ilford Pan F, all dated from 1999 to 2003. Now, I wondering if the film is still good to use? -- Jonpaul:confused:

Don't know about infrared, but frozen PanF will last forever and a few days.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Don't know about infrared, but frozen PanF will last forever and a few days.

Ralph, are those English unit days or the standard metric days?

Steve

 

[Brian Legge]

I've had luck with 50 year old film that was (supposedly) frozen . I have no idea how many hands it has passed through in practice or how it was really stored.

I've even had good luck with 40 year old 400 speed film (exposed at 100).

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Ralph, are those English unit days or the standard metric days?

Steve

What's the definition of eternity?

If I remember correctly, the answer goes like this:

In a land far far away there is a gigantic mountain made of pure diamond. Once every 1 million years a bird comes by and sharpens its beak. As soon as the entire mountain is grind to the ground, one second of eternity has passed.

Frozen PanF will last not quite that long but almost.

 

[Thomas Bertilsson]

So, metric or English? It's important to make the distinction.

What's the definition of eternity?

If I remember correctly, the answer goes like this:

In a land far far away there is a gigantic mountain made of pure diamond. Once every 1 million years a bird comes by and sharpens its beak. As soon as the entire mountain is grind to the ground, one second of eternity has passed.

Frozen PanF will last not quite that long but almost.

 

[Existing Light]

What's the definition of eternity?

If I remember correctly, the answer goes like this:

In a land far far away there is a gigantic mountain made of pure diamond. Once every 1 million years a bird comes by and sharpens its beak. As soon as the entire mountain is grind to the ground, one second of eternity has passed.

Frozen PanF will last not quite that long but almost.

The way I remember it, the mountain was made of granite. If a feather rubbed against it every thousand (or maybe ten thousand) years. By the time it's worn away, only a second has passed for eternity.

In my middle school, our teacher would read something from Chicken Soup for the Soul (or whatever that stupid book was called). That was one of the things our teacher read. It was 8:00AM, so it might have well been a mountain of diamond. 8:00AM really isnt the best time to try to instill within me some philosophical piece of wisdom. Actually, I'm from Alabama, so I'm probably not going to be affected by philosophical wisdom any time of the day


to the OP: As for the frozen film, load some up and get to shooting. Finding out how it "should" behave really doesnt do any good because of differences in freezers, defrost cycles, cosmic radiation in your part of the world, your political and religious beliefs, and what astronomical sign you were born under. So if you have a good freezer, you're a Libertarian with a moderatly liberal interpretation of your religion, and you're a Pisces, you're film is most likely safe


BTW... this is my first post since the APUG upgrade

 

[RalphLambrecht]

So, metric or English? It's important to make the distinction.

Thomas

Did you know that metric is English and England is metric?

 

[MartinCrabtree]

Thomas

Did you know that metric is English and England is metric?

Unless you're driving.

 

[3 Olives]

My son shot a couple of rolls of Tech Pan from the 90's recently and the film was perfect.

 

[jonpaul]

Yes, Indeed; it was frozen all that time. After reading all the post, I'm sure I shoot it.

 

[jonpaul]

Pisces?

The way I remember it, the mountain was made of granite. If a feather rubbed against it every thousand (or maybe ten thousand) years. By the time it's worn away, only a second has passed for eternity.

In my middle school, our teacher would read something from Chicken Soup for the Soul (or whatever that stupid book was called). That was one of the things our teacher read. It was 8:00AM, so it might have well been a mountain of diamond. 8:00AM really isnt the best time to try to instill within me some philosophical piece of wisdom. Actually, I'm from Alabama, so I'm probably not going to be affected by philosophical wisdom any time of the day


to the OP: As for the frozen film, load some up and get to shooting. Finding out how it "should" behave really doesnt do any good because of differences in freezers, defrost cycles, cosmic radiation in your part of the world, your political and religious beliefs, and what astronomical sign you were born under. So if you have a good freezer, you're a Libertarian with a moderatly liberal interpretation of your religion, and you're a Pisces, you're film is most likely safe


BTW... this is my first post since the APUG upgrade

I do have a good freezer; How did you know I was a Pisces? - -jonpaul

 

[naaldvoerder]

The HIE is surely off. You can send it to me and i'll dispose of it safely...

Jaap Jan

 

[mwdake]

Did you know that metric is English and England is metric?

Got to love buying the petrol in liters but the beer in pints.

 

[jpa]

Last year, I shot some HIE from 1994 without any noticeable difference in use. I have one roll left, and will use it with confidence ( and also sadness - damn Kodak for stopping production on this film! ).

 

[Existing Light]

I do have a good freezer; How did you know I was a Pisces? - -jonpaul

Just a guess on the Pisces thing. I'm one as well, just barely though (I was born on a March 20th)

 

[RalphLambrecht]

... ( and also sadness - damn Kodak for stopping production on this film! ).

Kodak would still sell it if people would buy it. We cannot buy film every 16 years and ask Kodak to have it ready for us. Hamster purchases kill off product lines, because they interrupt the revenue stream!

 

[railwayman3]

What's the definition of eternity?

If I remember correctly, the answer goes like this:

In a land far far away there is a gigantic mountain made of pure diamond. Once every 1 million years a bird comes by and sharpens its beak. As soon as the entire mountain is grind to the ground, one second of eternity has passed.

Trying to think through that definition gives me a really bad headache!

 

[Murray Kelly]

Western Australia is 4.5 Billion years old and the east side (the right bank) only 500 million years old. Traveling around I can't tell the difference. Is my eyesight failing?
Murray

 

[2F/2F]

I bet it's great. I've used some Kodak EIR that expired in 1999 and was not refrigerated, let alone frozen, and it produced good results at box speed.

Last I checked, there is no "box speed" for EIR.......

 

[jonpaul]

Thanks to all of you for the enjoyable comments and usable info!

Was cleaning my freezer and found several rolls of 35mm Kodak infrared,Ilford SFX, and Ilford Pan F, all dated from 1999 to 2003. Now, I wondering if the film is still good to use? -- Jonpaul:confused:

I will be using the frozen film (after it thaws) starting this week and will let you all know how it works out. Again, Thanks for the replys. - - Jonpaul