Shooting 20 year old Tri-X

[ericdan]

I have a few rolls of 35mm Tri-X expired in 2000. Stored in freezer continuously.

does the “one stop over exposure per 10 years over expiry” really work?
Should I also develop it for longer than fresh rolls?

 

[Paul Howell]

I would shoot at 200 and develop like 400.

 

[Hatchetman]

That's like brand new for Tri-X I wouldn't do anything different.

 

[MattKing]

Make sure that you match the version of Tri-X you have with the appropriate developing information.
Current: https://125px.com/docs/film/kodak/f4017-400TX-2005.pdf
Older: https://125px.com/docs/film/kodak/f9-Tri-X_Pan.pdf

 

[focus_on_infinity]

I would shoot at 200 and develop like 400.

LOL. Sometimes I do this with fresh Tri-X. I doubt it'll hurt, no matter what.

 

[Alan9940]

I recently used some 120 400TX that was only a few years past the expiration date and it tested at EI 200. Therefore, I'd shoot it at 200 and develop as 400, as suggested above.

 

[Kodachromeguy]

Another data point: I have been using 4x5" Tri-X Pan Professional 4164 that expired in 1982. Frozen all its life. No issues whatsoever. I expose it at EI=250.

 

[ericdan]

Interesting, because I’ve shot 10 year expired Neopan Super Presto 1600 and have it a stop more light, developed normally and had tons of base fog. For that film I had no fresh comparison though.

 

[ericdan]

Make sure that you match the version of Tri-X you have with the appropriate developing information.
Current: https://125px.com/docs/film/kodak/f4017-400TX-2005.pdf
Older: https://125px.com/docs/film/kodak/f9-Tri-X_Pan.pdf

Awesome. Great point.
Thanks!

 

[Agulliver]

I'd shoot it as if it were fresh. Firstly the "10 year rule" is for colour film, and secondly it's for film that has not been frozen.

B&W film is usually much less affected by age, and if frozen often can be like new after 30+ years. In the case of Tri-X, I had a 100 foot bulk roll which expired in 1999 and was "stored" in my garage for over a decade. It gets very hot in there over summer and cold over winter. I finally finished the film in 2017 and it was just beginning to show base fog at 400. I was shooting at box speed and developing in ID-11 as per the usual. Tri-X in particular is known to be resilient.

 

[Alan9940]

Interesting, because I’ve shot 10 year expired Neopan Super Presto 1600 and have it a stop more light, developed normally and had tons of base fog. For that film I had no fresh comparison though.

This is fairly normal, especially with faster emulsions. A bit of benzotriazole will take care of the fog, but you will loose film speed depending on how much is needed.

 

[Kodachromeguy]

B&W film is usually much less affected by age, and if frozen often can be like new after 30+ years.

I agree and have been surprised at the durability of old b&w film. Some of you may recall that a friend gave me 1960s GAF Versapan film packs; they seem to be fine:

https://worldofdecay.blogspot.com/2020/09/1960s-gaf-versapan-pack-film-more.html

 

[mshchem]

I'm still shooting TMY 4X5 SHEETS EXPR. 2001, I GOT 100 SHEET BOXES FROM A FRIEND WHO OWNED A SHOP. ALWAYS REFRIGERATED, IN A BASEMENT.
1969 can of Selectol I just mixed up a hour back. Powder was pure, no clumps, white, dissolved perfect.

 

[Agulliver]

I've shot glass plates which, judging by the packaging, were from the 50s....now they have lost speed but they still work.

I've experience with 40+ year old expired FP4 and it was good.
YMMV but I'd not be too worried with the tri-x.

 

[DeletedAcct1]

I have a few rolls of 35mm Tri-X expired in 2000. Stored in freezer continuously.

does the “one stop over exposure per 10 years over expiry” really work?
Should I also develop it for longer than fresh rolls?

I'd shot at nominal speed and forget about it.

 

[ericdan]

OK. I have a few rolls exp 1988 and more exp 2000. Just shot one of the rolls exp 1988 like I would shoot a fresh roll and developed normally in xtol. Looks good but I haven’t printed anything yet. Base is definitely grey not pink/purple like the new stuff. The base also looks darker. Is this base fog? If it is I assume I would have to give it a little more exposure?
Then again, I haven’t tried printing it yet. It may just print fine as it is.
thanks

 

[DeletedAcct1]

The base also looks darker. Is this base fog? If it is I assume I would have to give it a little more exposure?

You should have used this https://www.bellinifoto.it/prodotto/antivelo-pellicola-benzotriazolo/

 

[ericdan]

I wish I knew where to get this from here in Japan.

 

[ericdan]

The box came with a few rolls of Tri-X expired in 1988 and the majority in 2000. Below is what the 1988 Tri-X negatives look like. This was shot the same way I shoot fresh Tri-X. Probably a little underexposed and developed in xtol.
the base looks a little dark compared to fresh Tri-X, but I’m sure I can get prints out of this.
Should I give this more exposure to blast thru the fog? Keep development the same?

thanks.

 

[Luis-F-S]

My 4x5 Tri-X expired in 1998. I still have close to 1000 sheets of it. The last time I used it (last year), the film base plus fog was up to 0.60 over fb+fog. Developed in HC-110, though I don't remember the time. It's been kept frozen since bought except for 2 weeks following Katrina when we lost power. So at least with my film, it looks like zone I & II have gone into the fog. Have been using 8x10 HP5+ lately, but if I decided to shoot 4x5, I'd go back and do some more testing.

 

[Bill Burk]

Fix some of the film without developing. That will show you base, and then you can see what fog is. Generally, you give greater exposure to rise above fog compared to fresh film. A stop per decade is a fair rule of thumb. You can probably ignore the first decade. I'm using 70 year old 200 speed film at EI 2