What can I expect from expired slide film?

[aroth87]

I recently picked up some darkroom equipment off Craigslist and the gentleman gave me a couple plastic sacks full of film he had stored in the freezer. Among the loads of TMAX are 9 rolls of Ektachrome 64T that expired around 2002. I've shot plenty of expired B&W film, which I know gets grainy and loses some speed, but have never shot expired slide film.

I shot a roll of it over 4th of July, but it won't be back from the lab until right before I go on a trip during which I'd like to use some more of the film. Since its tungsten film I know I'll need some sort of filter to correct for shooting in daylight, but I was wondering if it was even worth it with film so old. Is there any chance it will render colors normally or should I have it cross processed to at least have a chance at some interesting results? As I said, the film had been stored in a freezer prior to me receiving it and its been in my freezer since I got it.

Anyone have advice or tips for shooting expired slide film?

Adam

 

[waynecrider]

I've shot old 100 iso film in the past that gave me a slight color shift but that's easily taken care of digitally. It wasn't as old as what your shooting tho. I wouldn't doubt tho that it will ok even if needing adjustment. I'm looking forward to your results.

 

[Richard S. (rich815)]

If it was frozen well then it should be fine. I've shot 10-year past expiration Astia and Velvia with no issues. Key though was development promptly after exposing. I did not develop one roll of Velvia for 3-4 weeks after exposure and had left it at room temps and it had severe color shifts. All others developed with a few days were fine.

 

[cs_foto]

Just give it a go, you have 90% probability of it being absolutely fine!

I've shot expired 64T and the results were great... (I used it for night shots so no need for filters)

I've shot expired (more than 20 years) kodak EPP and the results were still ok, a bit grainy and slightly magenta, but usable!

If you use a hybrid workflow (digital scans from film) you are safe!

All the expired film I've tried has been at room temperature, hot, etc...

It all comes down to the final use, of course using expired film to make final technically perfect super sharp gallery prints of 180cmx130cm will not do the trick, but for normal use they are ok... my point is, expired or not it is still film, so it will look amazing no matter what

 

[kevs]

I recently used some 120 Ektachrome EPN 100 that expired in 2005 (I think), had been frozen and the colour balance, speed etc were perfectly fine. I agree with the others, just use it and enjoy.

 

[PhotoJim]

As the others have mentioned, how it was stored will really affect the answer, but it is worth shooting one roll on something unimportant and seeing how it works out.

 

[aroth87]

That's good news. I'll buy an 85b for daytime shots and see how it turns out. I really like the night shots I've seen from 64T as well so maybe I might give that a try too. I'll keep in mind to have it processed as soon as I get home.

I'm not expecting professional results from the film, I'd have to hand the camera to someone else to get that anyway.

One more question, should I meter the film as its rated for will there be a loss in speed I should compensate for?

Adam

 

[2F/2F]

9 years old, stored in the freezer, you probably won't notice anything wrong with it. When it starts going, it gets magenta and loses richness in the blacks.

 

[aroth87]

The lab got my film back to me a lot faster than I thought. The test roll I shot looks great! Unfortunately KEH labelled the 85b I ordered wrong so I'm not going to have one for my trip unless I can find one locally. Regardless I'm pretty stoked that its still good, that saved me quite a bit of money. Or maybe it cost me more, I probably would have just bought negative film which is about half the price to process locally .

Adam

 

[derwent]

I've shot quote a bit of expired Sensia and Velvia and the stuff that was properly frozen worked perfectly mote than 5 years expired.
Stuff that was less than 2 years expired but not cold stored had some magenta shifting.
Storage is everything.

 

[ricardo12458]

I recently exposed Ektachrome 100, expired 3/1987.
Magenta color shift. Example below:

Dead Link Removed

Note that near the middle-center of the slide, the colors are more or less correct.

That is a picture of my high school.

 

[L Gebhardt]

I shot some old Kodak Ektachrome 100 (frozen since new) in 4x5 last summer. This was 4x5 samples (so no printed expiration date) from the mid nineties in the two sheet ready load format. I put the exposed film in the freezer and promptly forgot about it. Developed them over the weekend and they turned out really nice. I really like the lower contrast verses the my normal Provia. I'll be shooting more of this for sure (assuming I can get more E6 chemistry).