Shelf life of t-grain films?

[jaanus20]

Do t-grain emulsion films have a different shelf life, compared to classical emulsion film?

 

[AZD]

I would guess not, or that any difference will be difficult to quantify.

In a small lot of darkroom equipment I received most of a bulk roll of TMax 100 from around 2002. Unrefrigerated and unknown provenance, it’s still good when shot and processed normally.

TMax P3200 is notorious for age fog regardless of storage conditions. Even the newer version goes off quickly. Anything long expired should be about useless at 3200.

So, my spotty and unscientific evaluation is that speed matters much more than T-grain.

 

[pentaxuser]

TMax P3200 is notorious for age fog regardless of storage conditions. Even the newer version goes off quickly. Anything long expired should be about useless at 3200.

Yes, it may be irrelevant to the OP but it may be worth pointing out that unless you use 3200 film within or just beyond the expiry date and regularly use it at say no more than 1600 then it may be advantageous to use a 400 film such as D400 or HP5+ at 1600 You lose nothing speed-wise but gain on shelf life and cost

Is the likes of H5+ at 1600 as good as a 3200 used at 1600? Well opinions will vary - they always do on Photrio - but it is worth having a look at videos of HP5+ at 1600 to check what you see, if anything, as a loss compared to a 3200 exposed at 1600

pentaxuser

 

[xkaes]

TMax P3200 is notorious for age fog regardless of storage conditions.

Even if frozen in a lead-lined container?

 

[Paul Howell]

Lead does not block Gamma radiation, cosmic rays, but will block other radiation as will the metal shell of a freezer. My experience has been that the faster the film the more prone to fogging as it ages. Tmax 400 and new version TriX have thinner emulsions with less silver and seem to fare better than the old Trix. I bought a bulk roll of an unnamed film made in England expired in 1972, ASA 50 but on different base than PanF, it was fine still shot at ASA 50, no fog. Bought a camera that came with a roll of GAF 500 expired 1976. The camera had been in Alaska the film was totally fogged.

 

[DREW WILEY]

TMax 100 will easily last 20 years or more in a freezer. Same could be said for more traditional emulsions of similar speed, like FP4 or Fuji Acros. Sitting on a shelf depends on the specific conditions.

An exception might or might not be newer 120 films with a somewhat unknown variable of the new backing paper itself, which has been discussed on previous threads.

High speed films like TMZ or Delta3200 behave differently.