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how well does fp4 age?

elmartinj

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Feb 5, 2018
Messages
48
Location
Mexico
Format
35mm
Hey. So I've just found a can for bulk loading of fp4 that's from 2004. The thing is I don't know about its storage. It's still sealed, though.
 
You should still get good results, I am using up my frozen 2007 stock and it is still good :-load some and shoot, that is the only way to tell

Johnkpap
 
I have some bulk Delta 100 from 1998 that was stored very badly (a non climate controlled shed that probably reached 130F most of every summer.) I need to shoot it at around ISO 25 to get good results. If you already have it, and aren't try to decide whether its worth buying, just run a test roll with a lot of bracketing to see where you get the best results.
 
FP4 is a standard silver based film. In 2024 I would add 1/2 stop extra exposure, in 2036 I would add a stop of extra extra exposure. It might exhibit a bit more base fog depending on the developer you use.
Expose and process as fresh, if you have a sharp eye you might be able to distinguish the difference between it and fresh.
 
elmartinj said:
Hey. So I've just found a can for bulk loading of fp4 that's from 2004. The thing is I don't know about its storage. It's still sealed, though.
Click to expand...
it may have lost a little speed and contrast;tha't's all, just make sure to err on the si9de of overexposure and underdevelopment.
 
I have a single roll of FP4 of unknown age. I reckon it'll work just fine. I think that, in general, B&W film stands up pretty well to time. Back in the early 90s, I bought a brick of Kodak Plus X Pan that expired in 1983. The seller told me that it had been kept in the freezer all those years. Well, I stuck the film in my freezer and I didn't get around to shooting through the brick until about 2009. It took me a few years before I finally shot the last roll of the brick. I didn't think to reduce the ISO and as a result my negatives were on the thin side. So what I did was increase the developing time. I just guessed at an additional minute (I was using Kodak D76) and this guess was actually a pretty good one. The negs showed much improved density and the images turned out fine with minimal grain even. Will FP4 behave similarly? I dunno, but because it's B&W, I'd be more inclined to think it will than it won't.
 
It seems to be quite resilient. I had a film hiatus for 10 years and shot some FP4+ aged that many years. I could shoot it at full speed and could not detect any difference from my old FP4+ negatives. My film had been stored in good conditions though.
 
I picked up some 120 FP4 dated 1986, and developed it in Ethol UFG which generally recommends higher than normal exposure indices. I rated the film at 100, and it came out fine, with minimal base fog (especially as compared to some old Tri-X of around the same era). Here's an example. So in my view, FP4 ages well.

 
If the film is stored in poor conditions, the film will change a great deal. I have been developing a coup-le off cassettes of FP4 that expired in 1981 and had been stored inside a bulk loader. I cannot imaging anyone putting the bulk loader in the freezer for 35 years - I bought the bulk loader complete with film a couple of years ago; I have stored it for that time in a warm room before I realised there was actually film in it. My negatives are very grainy, dynamic range of the film is much reduced but, surprisingly, not much evidence of fog.
Examples taken on my Zorki 4 in Porthgain.

 

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elmartinj said:
Hey. So I've just found a can for bulk loading of fp4 that's from 2004. The thing is I don't know about its storage. It's still sealed, though.
Click to expand...

you can say age if you want your english is perfect
... i think you are going to be happy + STOKED with the results.
chemical photography is all about seeing and discovering what something looks like on film
and you have a bunch of happy film

have fun!
john
 
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