Out Of Date Film Experiences

Lyrrad · Mar 5, 2006

Hi

If the following ebay offer is taken as being true (out of date May 05 but refrigeration stored as quoted), do you think it will be okay?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/20-ROLLS-OF-F...oryZ4202QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I understand that there is no guarantee, but it does seem quite tempting.

Regards

Darryl

eddie gunks · Mar 5, 2006

i have been using expired film for 3 years now. no problem at all. i use slide, color, and B&W. i have used slide film that was 3 years old with no problems. i just got a whole boat load of 16 year old 4x5 film the other day. the tri x, t max and the kodak 64 E6 are all fine!!!! i can not believe it myself! (oh! and they were NOT properly stored! they came out of a garage in upstage NY!) i also have some 8x10 that came with this that i have yet to test. i am assuming they are fine too! enjoy shooting expired film. it sure save alot. i also deal with collect888.com. all his stuff works beautifully! maybe i should stop telling everyone this.....that would leave more film for me! lol!

eddie

Lyrrad · Mar 5, 2006

eddie gunks said:
i have been using expired film for 3 years now. no problem at all. i use slide, color, and B&W. i have used slide film that was 3 years old with no problems.
eddie

That's interesting because this item is also available

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/80-ROLLS-OF-F...oryZ4202QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

David A. Goldfarb · Mar 5, 2006

I'd say the refrigerated Astia that expired in 2005 (the first auction) is a pretty safe bet.

You might see some loss of Dmax and color shift in a medium speed color slide film that expired in 2001 (the second auction), depending on storage. If it was frozen, it's probably good. If it was refrigerated at a higher temperature, it's more of a gamble.

srs5694 · Mar 5, 2006

A while ago I bought about 30 rolls of expired film on eBay. Most of the rolls weren't marked with expiration dates (they were in plastic film cans, but not in boxes), and IIRC the seller said they had been refrigerated. It was an odd lot -- store brand (mostly rebadged Ferrania) color negative film, Kodak and Fuji color negative film, a few rolls of B&W (both conventional and C-41), and one or two rolls of Kodak E6 slide film. So far it's all seemed OK, with the possible exception of one roll of Agfa APX 400, which had very high base+fog levels. (That might have been processing, though; I'd never used APX 400 before then.) The worst thing is that many of these rolls come through processing with some wicked film curl. I bought the film so I'd have a supply of cheap "junk" rolls to use for testing new cameras, etc., but at this point I'd be willing to use it for real photography.

Dave Parker · Mar 5, 2006

I use out of date films quite a bit for various projects, the majority of it is chrome film, with the exception of maybe two or three rolls over the years, I have never had any color shift problems and such, I currently have about a dozen bulk rolls of velvia 50 in the freezer and the first few 36 exposure rolls I have loaded and had processed have came out fine with no problems, and the bulk I am loading from right now expired in 1997, the key is, has it been properly stored? So far the films I have purchased off ebay have not been bad.

Dave

bohica · Mar 5, 2006

The only problem I've ever had with expired film was a roll I bought out of a store window in Alexandria, Egypt in 1987 that had expired in 1980. it was TriX and I'm sure it had never seen a refrigerator.

Quinten · Mar 5, 2006

Some kodak ektachrome 64 from 2003 was a bit less bright when I used it about a month ago. (less transparant.) But I am not sure how it was stored before I got my hands on it.

Although I am not sure about this it seems E6 goes faster than C41 or most B&W films.

cheers!
Quinten

benjiboy · Mar 5, 2006

Yes I do Lyrrad, bite their hand off !

Lyrrad · Mar 5, 2006

Bentley Boyd said:
Yes I do Lyrrad, bite their hand off !

I have bought 20 rolls and may consider another 20.

For those based in UK

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PRO-PROCESSIN...oryZ4204QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I use these guys on a regular basis, and they are extremely approachable. I send them a cheque for £24.00. I then have 2 free deliveries for 10 rolls to be developed. (I think we agreed a surcharge of £1.00 per extra delivery, but I have never needed this facility).

I post this here because they have told me they would be happy to offer the same deal to anyone else.

So I am now able to shoot and process E6 35mm@36 exposures for £3.27 per roll. I think I'm doing alright and wish to share this with anyone that might be interested. Of course I'm always willing to listen to better offers.

Samuel B · Mar 5, 2006

Don't know if this helps, but I have been working my way through some Fuji Sensia slide film, expired 06 / 2005, hasn't been refrigerated. The results have been fine, although I haven't used this film before so I have nothing to compare them to. So I would say the Astia, if it's been kept cold should be fine.

nworth · Mar 5, 2006

I've been using out of date color film, especially sheet film, quite a bit. Usually, it works just fine. Even when a couple of years out of date, film that has been kept cold seems to work OK. But there is no guarantee of satisfaction. I'm sure small discrepacies in color and speed creep in as the film ages. In one case I got an ugly magenta blotch in the middle of an otherwise nice 8X10 Ektachrome (and it wasn't because of bad processing). In another, some Agfa Optima became nearly unprintable because of shifts.

Brac · Mar 6, 2006

I've often used colour print film that's up to 3 years old without problems but the risk increases the older it is. Black & white film remains useable for much longer as long as it hasn't been stored in damp conditions or exposed to high temperature or high humidity. Ten years past expiry date is usually fine and I've often read on here of people who have used film much older than that. There can be an increase in base fog and a slight loss of speed and generally slow and medium speed films are less prone to these changes.

Changeling1 · Mar 6, 2006

Back in 1992, I found 3 rolls of exposed Tri-X that I had shot 15 YEARS before during a particularily long and lost weekend in San Diego, Calif. Upon developing the film, I was reminded what had gone on for those three sweltering summer days in 1977! As Aunt Harriet would say, "Oh, my land!" The negs looked pretty good (about 1 stop overexposed) and the resulting 11x14s showed rather more grain than I prefer (ok, golf-ball sized grain) but was otherwise passable. Interestingly enough, I have just this week, purchased 18 rolls of Tri-X 36 exp. with a 1977 expiration date (for sentimental reasons). I may shoot a couple of rolls through one of my OM-2 cameras and see how big the grain is with 28 year old film!

Generally speaking though, I've avoided using expired, off-brand, or discount films as long as I can afford to buy first quality materials. Of course, with the major changes going on in the photography world I may well change my point of view on a number of issues.

SatinSnow,
You forgot to tell us your address and the specific days that you'll be away on vacation!

Steve Roberts · Mar 7, 2006

I recently bought a few rolls of Kodachrome 64 dated 1991 for next to nothing. I shot a test roll which came back indistinguishable from current stock. I've no idea how it had previously been stored, and of course Kodachrome is probably about the most stable transparency film in many respects, but two shots from my test roll are now with a magazine editor who apparently intends to publish them.

Steve

PKM-25 · Apr 4, 2006

Steve Roberts said:
I recently bought a few rolls of Kodachrome 64 dated 1991 for next to nothing. I shot a test roll which came back indistinguishable from current stock. I've no idea how it had previously been stored, and of course Kodachrome is probably about the most stable transparency film in many respects, but two shots from my test roll are now with a magazine editor who apparently intends to publish them.

That's great to hear. I have spent the last 2 years buying up 2002 / 2003 KM-25 rolls for a documentary, have about 70 rolls ( you don't wan't to know how much that cost! ). All said to be frozen.

Out Of Date Film Experiences

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