How old is this film?

brofkand · Aug 20, 2011

A co-worker recently gave me a bag of film. I got some Delta 100, Velvia (both expired around 2005), and a few rolls of TXP. It was just in its wrapper, so I don't know it's expiration date. All I have to go on is it was in a yellow wrapper with TXP 120 stamped on it, and the film looks like this.

This is an old logo, so I'm unsure how old it may be. I do know it's been frozen since she got it, and I have kept it in a freezer since I got it. Any guesses on how old it may be? Are there any recommended compensations to be made for the older film?

matt nalley · Aug 20, 2011

I base my answer on zero knowledge of my own and rely entirely on Kodak's logo evolution webpage (link). The font and "graphic K" style appear to match the logo change in 1971, and the font does not match the change in 1987. Therefore my guess is it was born between 1971 and 1987, so 34-50 years old...older than me!

brofkand · Aug 20, 2011

Older than me as well. Is it still good, if kept frozen?

matt nalley · Aug 20, 2011

Make that 24-40 years old (weekend math error) so maybe younger than me.

bdial · Aug 20, 2011

It might be, though most likely has lost some speed. Best way to find out is to use it, just not for anything critical.

Yamaotoko · Aug 20, 2011

Like you said, it would depend a bit on how it has been handled. As we all know, faster films deteriorate quicker, so it may be very foggy.
Just from my own experience, I've got a few bulk rolls of films from late 60's-early 70's, the iso6 has lost nearly two stops of speed (making it about iso 1, fun stuff) but is still perfectly useable. The iso400 however, is so foggy it's practically useless, I just keep it as an ornament now.

brofkand · Aug 20, 2011

I'm going to shoot a roll tomorrow. I'll just shoot it like it were a normal roll, fresh from the factory and judge. I only have about 5 rolls of it so I can't do too much testing. It may be relegated to "Holga" film.

Yamaotoko · Aug 20, 2011

If you've got 5 rolls, that's enough to warrant a little testing I reckon. If it were me, I'd take that first roll, shoot two frames each at iso 25, 50, 100, 160, 200, 320, even if you set up a flash-lit still life, just so you can control the light. Then develop as normal, that will give you at least four, possibly six very useable frames (so the film wasn't wasted) and also tell you why speed to shoot the rest of them at, otherwise, you could spend 5 rolls guessing the film speed and never getting to actually enjoy the film as much as you could. Just what I'd do, so you're not completely wasting a roll, but you're also frying a good idea on how to treat the rest, this is how I've dealt with all the bulk rolls I've had, may not be scientific or spot on, but gets you in the ballpark quickly and easily.

bblhed · Aug 20, 2011

I shot some Verichrome Pan that was older than the film you have there (metal spool and box said expired June 1968) shot at 100 instead of the box speed of 125, they came out alright with a one stop push in processing, the negatives were thick, the photos had a lot of grain, but the fun of shooting film that old was great. You might be able to do something really artistic with this film.

Work of caution, you might see numbers on the finished photos, some people believe this is from the numbers being exposed onto the film from years of storage, others say the ink on the paper pulls the emulation off the film. I say one stop or more push processing hides the numbers really well, a thick negative is better than a photo with numbers on it.

Newt_on_Swings · Aug 21, 2011

Ive shot some really old tri-x 120 before, and have developed random rolls of it that I have found sitting in the darkroom recesses. Expect lots of fog. You might want to ads in a restrainer/ antifogging agent while developing it. Also with rolls outside their wrappers/boxes I have encountered light leakage from the sides, so keep your critical stuff away from the edges. have fun with it.

Ronald Moravec · Aug 21, 2011

That old and you probably get a lot of fog.

Anti fog #1, more exposure perhaps more development is in order.

Film will fog from from cosmic ray and freezing will not help that

brofkand · Aug 21, 2011

Thanks everyone for their input. I am going to develop a roll this evening and see what I get.

Does anyone recommend Rodinal or D-76? Those are the two I have on hand.

cmacd123 · Aug 21, 2011

Remember that that is TXP the professional version, so it starts out at something like 320 ASA, and it is long before the consoolidation of all film making on one machine, so it takes the OLD developing times. (Kodak Publication F9 not the current times in F4017

brofkand · Aug 21, 2011

Developed in D-76 1:1 for 7.5m at 70F.

Seems like there's some fog, or maybe a rather thick greenish brown base. It doesn't look like fog so much as a dark base, like T-Max.

The film still seems relatively true to speed, but once it's dry I'll be able to judge it better.

Thanks everyone for the tip! I just ran a still life through the exposure scale. We'll find out if it's worth keeping soon enough.

brofkand · Aug 21, 2011

Low contrast (due to fogging), but that can be taken care of. Seems like it's box speed still stands, though an extra stop certainly didn't hurt. I think it expired around 95, because that's when a roll of Velvia I got expired as well.

Will Velvia age this well? Is it worth shooting and going through the expense of development for one roll, or is it best just not being used?

brucemuir · Aug 21, 2011

brofkand said:
Will Velvia age this well? Is it worth shooting and going through the expense of development for one roll, or is it best just not being used?

IME no.
Velvia is one the E6 stocks that don't hold up so great.
Especially if it wasn't frozen.

Expect color shift toward magenta.

How old is this film?

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency