panf 50 20 years old - how much fog?

[el wacho]

hi everyone,

if someone offered me some panf50 rollfilm that had expired in 1986 and optimistically speaking, was kept in constant cold storage, should i expect a lot of fog?

no, i can't try before i buy.
yes, it might be worth the trouble.



thanks!

 

[maxbloom]

I can't comment explicitly on PanF this old. However, I believe it would be worth the trouble if you get a great deal on the price, provided you A) Shoot below box speed, probably EI25, and B) Develop in HC-110 Dil. B. I doubt you'd need to add a fog restrainer. You can expect some speed loss and probably some contrast loss, but as rich as PanF's blacks are, that shouldn't be too much of an issue. If all else fails, you could shoot it at box speed, add a restrainer, and develop in TMAX at 25 degrees for some very punchy negs.

Hope that's of some assistance.

 

[Paul Howell]

I have a 50 foot roll of pan F that is 30 years old, was reported to have been frozen, no fog I shoot it as ISO 25.

 

[rusty71]

Chances are excellent that it is still good. I had a builk roll of Panatomic X from the same year and there was no discernible base fog 20 years out of date.
The slow speed black and white emulsions are very durable.

 

[david b]

I shot some APX 25 or whatever it was called back then. It was about 20 years old.

All was fine but I would not use it for anything too special until you run a few test rolls.

 

[el wacho]

sweet! thanks gentlemen.

 

[tac]

I have bricks of Panf50 which expired in April/June '95. Stored on a bookshelf as decoration, until I got curious this past Fall; I shoot it at 25, process at 1.3x normal (D76 1:1, 8 oz each) with 0.30ml of 1% benzotriazole in isopropyl 90%. Works very well.