Why would you buy expired 35mm film?

[Luckless]

There's a sucker born every minute, time to break out the rock tumbler and get rich!

Why even buy your own tumbler? Just buy tumbled stones in bulk, repackage, and markup the price as required...

 

[k.hendrik]

Some people don't like the way this world looks. I just plain don't like this world, but I shoot almost exclusively in color.

I love this world & how it looks but colours?! to difficult for me.

 

[George Mann]

So a 15 ips tape may sound subjectively better, but it's not objectively more accurate.

I am going to have to strongly disagree with you here, especially the misinformation about dynamic range that has fraudulently been spouted about digital since its inception! But as I stated before, this is not the place for this debate.

 

[George Mann]

Also, pay no attention to audiophiles. Those guys are nuts.

Dismissing serious listeners because of "questionable" tweaks is doing us a disservice.

 

[tezzasmall]

Oh, come on guys!

Talk about going off topic!!!!

I've never had to post like this before, but lets remember that his thread is SUPPOSED to be about EXPIRED FILM!!!!

Terry S

 

[cooltouch]

Okay, back to the topic. Where can I buy a brick of Plus X -- where I won't have to take out a bank loan to afford it?

 

[BAC1967]

Okay, back to the topic. Where can I buy a brick of Plus X -- where I won't have to take out a bank loan to afford it?

Thrift stores, estate sales, garage sales and rummage sales.

 

[Taz777]

An update to this thread: I managed to locate an expired roll of 35mm at home. It's a 36-exposure Kodak Gold Ultra 400. I estimate its age to be between 15-20 years. I would like to use it in one of my vintage 35mm cameras. Any advice on how to get the best out of it?

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

An update to this thread: I managed to locate an expired roll of 35mm at home. It's a 36-exposure Kodak Gold Ultra 400. I estimate its age to be between 15-20 years. I would like to use it in one of my vintage 35mm cameras. Any advice on how to get the best out of it?

Film gets slower as it ages so shoot it an a lower ASA. Most fresh color negative film do a bit better slightly over exposed. I would shoot your expired Kodak Ultra Gold 400 at ASA 320. I'm sure other people posting will have experience too.

 

[MattKing]

An update to this thread: I managed to locate an expired roll of 35mm at home. It's a 36-exposure Kodak Gold Ultra 400. I estimate its age to be between 15-20 years. I would like to use it in one of my vintage 35mm cameras. Any advice on how to get the best out of it?

Don't be surprised if the colours end up being "unusual". The different colour sensitive parts of the emulsion age and change at different rates, so you might end up with something like a tendency toward green shadows and magenta highlights and increased grain.
One of the reasons that people suggest giving more exposure to older films is that under-exposed parts of the scene are more likely to show shifts than parts of the scene that receive more light.
You will probably get better results if the light is a bit softer and more even - think a day with high overcast and soft shadows, rather than a blue sky sunny day with bright highlights and dark shadows.
That sort of lighting benefits any photograph, but it may be more important with old film.

 

[Taz777]

Thank you for your advice guys. I'll give it a go, get it developed and see what happens!

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

If you want the best, throw it away and splurge on fresh film.

 

[Sirius Glass]

An update to this thread: I managed to locate an expired roll of 35mm at home. It's a 36-exposure Kodak Gold Ultra 400. I estimate its age to be between 15-20 years. I would like to use it in one of my vintage 35mm cameras. Any advice on how to get the best out of it?

Do not use it for anything important or non repeatable.

 

[CMoore]

Film gets slower as it ages so shoot it an a lower ASA. Most fresh color negative film do a bit better slightly over exposed. I would shoot your expired Kodak Ultra Gold 400 at ASA 320. I'm sure other people posting will have experience too.

320.?
Not 300 or 200.?

 

[MattKing]

320.?
Not 300 or 200.?

The sequence of standard ISO speeds found on modern meters is: 800, 640, 500, 400, 320, 250, 200, 160, 125 ....
They work out to 1/3 stop differences (essentially).

 

[foc]

I was cleaning out part of the attic last year and found a roll of Sakuracolor. Must be from early 1980's.
What do you think?
Shoot it or sell for an exorbitant price (on your know where)?

 

[mtjade2007]

I am a fan of Sakura or Konica films. Here is a shot I got from a 20+ year old Konica VX-100. I shot this only a week ago. Old expired films could still be very good. This VX-100 roll has been in my freezer all the time since I bought it.

 

[mtjade2007]

This is a 120 6x7 shot.

 

[BMbikerider]

Some people have an overwhelming desire to carry out a challenge. As far as I can tell that can be a hiding for nothing or folk with too much spare time, or knowing better than the manufacturer, or simply money to waste.

A challenge is one thing but a lost cause is something entirely different. I would not waste my money on something that may or may not work and more importantly waste my time.

We don't know how this was stored, how long it may have been of proper storage, even if the seller presses the point it has been in a freezer of a fridge. I don't think it is is a worthwhile gamble, especially if the price of fresh and in date stock, is still available at not a lot more than some of the the out of date film is being offered for sale.

 

[henryvk]

Disclaimer: This is all 120 film but still...

I sometimes like the surprise factor of entirely unkown expired film.

Results vary *a lot*, particularly with expired and cross-processed slide film. Not just between film stocks but also sometimes between rolls from the same batch that have been developed at the same lab. You may get the typical turquoise/green/yellow tinge or you may get what's approaching "normal" tones but with exaggerated contrast or anything in between. However, the results nearly always end up being softer than fresh film.

When shooting expired colour negative film, in my experience it depends a lot on the available light. If it's f11 bright sunlight, I shoot at box speed even if the rolls are quite expired. If it's dim, I shoot at half box speed or maybe lower. I feel like there's just a steeper falloff in sensitivity.

These two images are from ten or more years expired Portra 400. The first one I'd say looks pretty normal to me, while with the second one I think you can tell there is something going on:

So there's definitely an element of frustration, maybe even masochism, but there's also a satisfaction in the amplitude between "good" and "bad" results and working under restrictions. A buddy once said about working in constructions (compared to working a desk job): "When it's good it's great and when it's bad it's awful." Some of my favorite pictures I've taken with Kodak EPP 100 that expired in 2002 or so:

There you go: sometimes people like predictability and sometimes they like a little bit of the "thrill of the unkown". I'm not wedded to shooting expired film but it can be fun and rewarding.

 

[CMoore]

Disclaimer: This is all 120 film but still...

I sometimes like the surprise factor of entirely unkown expired film.

Results vary *a lot*, particularly with expired and cross-processed slide film. Not just between film stocks but also sometimes between rolls from the same batch that have been developed at the same lab. You may get the typical turquoise/green/yellow tinge or you may get what's approaching "normal" tones but with exaggerated contrast or anything in between. However, the results nearly always end up being softer than fresh film.

When shooting expired colour negative film, in my experience it depends a lot on the available light. If it's f11 bright sunlight, I shoot at box speed even if the rolls are quite expired. If it's dim, I shoot at half box speed or maybe lower. I feel like there's just a steeper falloff in sensitivity.

These two images are from ten or more years expired Portra 400. The first one I'd say looks pretty normal to me, while with the second one I think you can tell there is something going on:

So there's definitely an element of frustration, maybe even masochism, but there's also a satisfaction in the amplitude between "good" and "bad" results and working under restrictions. A buddy once said about working in constructions (compared to working a desk job): "When it's good it's great and when it's bad it's awful." Some of my favorite pictures I've taken with Kodak EPP 100 that expired in 2002 or so:

There you go: sometimes people like predictability and sometimes they like a little bit of the "thrill of the unkown". I'm not wedded to shooting expired film but it can be fun and rewarding.

Wow, nice shot of the roses..!!!
You could not have set up a better scenario if you tied............. beautiful red with a bright, white, back-ground.

There is something captivating about the front of that car. Not sure if it would be as interesting in black and white.?
The green car color, orange lights and chrome bumper catch the eye.
But so does the reflection of the trees/bushes in the hood, which is (almost) nothing on its own. But then you notice the leaves on the street, which has an odd connection to the reflection in the hood.
Maybe i am feeling philosophical tonight, and it is just a F'ing car, parked on the road

 

[henryvk]

There is something captivating about the front of that car. Not sure if it would be as interesting in black and white.?
The green car color, orange lights and chrome bumper catch the eye.
But so does the reflection of the trees/bushes in the hood, which is (almost) nothing on its own. But then you notice the leaves on the street, which has an odd connection to the reflection in the hood.
Maybe i am feeling philosophical tonight, and it is just a F'ing car, parked on the road

Thanks, I truly appreciate your insight.

OT: That is the question, though, is it "just a car"? I know that it was a special moment to me, that afternoon, because I was taking my son to the playground on my own for the first time. The stroller was sitting right outside the frame, and I'll always remember that is was there. To the outside observer that is unknowable but maybe some of the personal enchantment did make it's way into the picture

 

[rodstew]

I've seen adverts for expired 35mm film with expiry dates of 2001, 2004, etc. The price doesn't appear to be much different from fresh 35mm film from what I can tell, maybe a tiny bit cheaper.

There must be a market for it, and I'm intrigued as to the various reasons one might purchase expired film.

A very interesting and lively thread!

 

[Kodachromeguy]

I've seen adverts for expired 35mm film with expiry dates of 2001, 2004, etc. The price doesn't appear to be much different from fresh 35mm film from what I can tell, maybe a tiny bit cheaper.

There must be a market for it, and I'm intrigued as to the various reasons one might purchase expired film.

Three scenarios:

1. If you like a certain film and it is no longer made, then you have no choice but to buy it expired. Unfortunately, most sellers on the 'Bay have no information on how it was stored over the years. Many appear to be buyers who visit sales where a house or estate is being cleaned out. One in awhile, you are lucky and can find a seller who stored his own film in a freezer and is now selling it.

2. Occasionally, a trustworthy seller like Ultrafine Online sells cold-stored expired film. This is a safe bet.

3. Currently available film that is expired but sold at close to current new price. This is utterly baffling to me. I think many of the sellers are dreamers who think they have something rare and precious. Why buy 10-year-old Tri-X when you can buy it brand new unless the price is drastically reduced (and it never is). Bizarre.

 

[MattKing]

3. Currently available film that is expired but sold at close to current new price. This is utterly baffling to me. I think many of the sellers are dreamers who think they have something rare and precious. Why buy 10-year-old Tri-X when you can buy it brand new unless the price is drastically reduced (and it never is). Bizarre.

Sometimes, "currently available film" is film that is available elsewhere on the "shelf", but not in stock anywhere nearby. That is exacerbated where the "shelf" is across an international boundary.