Fuji Provia 100 35mm Bulk Rolls question . .

[Locutus of Borg]

Hello all. I recently found 4 or 5 factory sealed bulk rolls of Provia 100 I forgot about in the freezer. These were given to me 5 years ago from the original owner with an expire date in 1998, 27 years ago. She took them out of her freezer and assured me they had been frozen since purchased new. I have also kept them in the freezer since then. Are they any good after 27 years? T

Thanks in advance for your replies.

 

[John Salim]

Difficult to say exactly what they'll come out like, but in time the colour will turn ( reddish / magenta ), the contrast will drop, the black level ( D-max ) will get lighter until ultimately the film turns almost clear !
Shoot a few frames of a greyscale on a short piece, and process it to find out.

John S

 

[loccdor]

It's likely that they will still be pretty good, if they truly have been frozen the whole time, but impossible to say for sure without a test.

Factors working in your favor: Slow film (less fogging during storage from cosmic rays), 35mm (no backing paper to cause issues), sealed (better humidity control), frozen
Factors working against your favor: Pro film (designed to be used fresher and quicker than consumer grade)

Try loading up one roll into a cassette and doing a controlled test in stable lighting with a known-good camera, with 1/3 stop bracketing of exposure.