Frozen Kodachrome 200 (exp 96) too old to shoot?

[RGS122]

Do you think Kodachrome 200 expired in 96 would have so much fogging that nothing would come out even though it has been frozen since being purchased?

 

[Athiril]

Not sure about how kodachrome ages, but Ektachrome that old shoots great from the examples I've seen on another forum.

 

[Heinz_Anderle]

The base density will appear greenish-grey instead of black; the colors should not be affected.

 

[nickrapak]

Dmax will be low, and you shouldn't look for the most accurate colors, but it should be good enough for most work.

 

[Alexander Ghaffari]

I had some continuously frozen Kodachrome 200 that expired in 2006 that I shot in 2008...it was quite magenta.

 

[RGS122]

Thanks for your opinions, I figured that the color wouldn't be right anyway especially when the emulsion is more than a decade old. I am interested to see how they look after I get them processed. I will post them here when I get them.

 

[John Shriver]

I have Kodachrome 200 rolls bought at Calumet from the last production, when discontinuance was announced. They kept it cold, I immediately froze it. I've shot one roll, it's tipping magenta. Not awfully magenta, but sure enough to notice. So 15 years old -- likely to be very magenta. The only Kodachrome 200 I was ever happy with the color balance of was the "Professional" version, bought fresh, used fresh. It was wonderful.

 

[E76]

While we're on the subject, anyone know what to possibly expect from frozen Kodachrome 25, expired 1980?

 

[2F/2F]

IME, old Kodachrome of any type gets very magenta. I imagine that the faster the film speed is, the faster it degrades, but this is just a generalized rule of thumb that might not apply in this particular case. Very interesting to hear the report above of two-year-out-of-date, but frozen, K-200 having gone magenta already, and also the other report of the last available batch having already gone magenta. It was only discontinued a few years ago, to my recollection. Alas...it was my favorite Kodachrome by far; the only one I had much use for.

 

[nickrapak]

While we're on the subject, anyone know what to possibly expect from frozen Kodachrome 25, expired 1980?

I have used continuously-frozen K25 from 1981, and the highlights are just starting to turn magenta. Anything less than 24/7/30 years deep freeze will definitely be magenta.

 

[RGS122]

Now after I get it processed, it won't deteriorate as much right?

 

[nickrapak]

No. As a matter of fact, whatever image you get will last for 185 years as whatever you got.

 

[Alexander Ghaffari]

No. As a matter of fact, whatever image you get will last for 185 years as whatever you got.

That just broke my heart a little, knowing that I can't get this film developed after 2010.

 

[RGS122]

No. As a matter of fact, whatever image you get will last for 185 years as whatever you got.

If its with sarcasm its ok, but if its true, awesome!!

 

[StorminMatt]

I shot some frozen PKL 200 some months ago which expired in 1998. And the colors actually came out pretty good. There were no color shifts. However, the film was rather fogged. But overall, the results were quite acceptable, provided the work is not very critical. For hybrid work, the fogging was something that could easily be taken care of in post. And even for analog viewing, it was not too bad. You might as well go for it. I don't know how things will turn out. But they might not be too bad.

 

[railwayman3]

If it were K25 or K64 frozen from new, I think you'd probably still get very usable results. I'd be more concerned about K200, though...IMH experience it doesn't seem to keep so well. I'm just using up the last of my (frozen) K200 from 2002 and there is a slight but definite deterioration in saturation and contrast, although the color balance seems OK. (Actually, it has a certain nice "old-fashioned" look in some bright sunlight shots. )

 

[Alexander Ghaffari]

If its with sarcasm its ok, but if its true, awesome!!

No, it's rather true with dark storage in a cool, dry place.

 

[RGS122]

No, it's rather true with dark storage in a cool, dry place.

Good to hear, I don't think I'll be on this Earth for that long. But you'll never know! Does anyone have an example of the fogging seen with this film?