[nickthetasmaniac]

Hi all, I'm after some advice for exposing and developing expired film.

With my recent Hasselblad find I've picked up 2x Reala100, 2x Velvia100f and 1 roll of NPH 400. Unfortunately all of it expired around 05/06 and I don't believe it's been refrigerated...

Thoughts?

Thanks, Nick

[MarkJerling]

Hi all, I'm after some advice for exposing and developing expired film.

With my recent Hasselblad find I've picked up 2x Reala100, 2x Velvia100f and 1 roll of NPH 400. Unfortunately all of it expired around 05/06 and I don't believe it's been refrigerated...

Thoughts?

Thanks, Nick

Pretend it's wine and try it anyway!
The 100's are probably more likely to have survived than the 400.

[twilhelm]

Refrigerated the Fuji films have a great shelf life, not so sure otherwise. I would probably shoot the 100 at 50, and the 400 at 100, but I wouldn’t expect much from the 400. Have fun with it, I never hesitate to shoot expired film.

[Alex645]

I've picked up 2x Reala100, 2x Velvia100f and 1 roll of NPH 400. Unfortunately all of it expired around 05/06 and I don't believe it's been refrigerated...

Nick, As Mark noted, the 100 is more likely to be less affected than 400 ISO film, but we are talking about 12+ year past expiration date film, and the fact that some of it is slides and all are color will definitely make it more problematic.

Also there is huge difference between it being frozen, refrigerated, kept at room temperature, etc, because all it takes is an afternoon in a baking hot car to ruin it. I would not invest a lot of time and hope into it, but test one roll and see how it turns out before spending time and money with the rest. Processing is more expensive than film, so you don't want to save a few dollars on expired film and then spend a lot on processing to see it's unusable.

[disconnekt]

Generally, the rough guide with expired film you pull the film 1 stop for every 10 years, but it will vary from film to film. With B&w film you have a bit more leeway when shooting it expired, with color film you'll be able to pull ~2 stops, so even if its expired a bit over 10 years itll be fine.

[nickthetasmaniac]

Ok thanks for the tips, I’ll give it a go and see what happens...

[LesDMess]

I bought a box of expired Kodak Ektar 125 kept out in a driveway in Atlanta, GA. I bought them in 2010 and they show an expiry date of 4/1992. I shot the first roll at ISO32 and had it processed at box speed (ISO125) and this is what I got.



This year in April, a generous forum member gave me some rolls of Kodak Royal Gold 25 that were expired 01/2000 but refrigerated. I shot it at box speed and here are some results from it.





Given the latitude of most color negatives, I wouldn't be surprised if your Reala rates about ISO50.
I have - and continue to use, well expired but refrigerated slide film so I have no idea how your expired Velvia 100F will come out. Definitely share your results when you get a chance.

[Alex645]

I shot the first roll at ISO32 and had it processed at box speed (ISO125) and this is what I got.

Les, It's interesting to note that what appears to me to be the best results of -2EV for ISO 125 shot at ISO 32 would be the same as 0EV at ISO 125. Is this correct?

And if so, does this mean in this test, you could have shot the Ektar 125 at ISO 125 and the normal exposure would have given you the optimal exposure?

[LesDMess]

Les, It's interesting to note that what appears to me to be the best results of -2EV for ISO 125 shot at ISO 32 would be the same as 0EV at ISO 125. Is this correct?

And if so, does this mean in this test, you could have shot the Ektar 125 at ISO 125 and the normal exposure would have given you the optimal exposure?

I identified ISO32 as 0 so -2EV would be ISO8. No doubt there are many factors that affect what we see on our monitors.

[Alex645]

I identified ISO32 as 0 so -2EV would be ISO8. No doubt there are many factors that affect what we see on our monitors.

You're saying you shot ISO 125 film at ISO 32. Correct? Then the example shown at -2EV was 2EV's under exposed. Yes? If you shot an ISO 125 film at ISO 32, it's like over exposing the film by +2EV. So by then underexposing ISO 32 by -2EV on an ISO 125 film is the same as ISO 125 at 0EV.

A film shot at ISO 32 that is exposed at ISO 8 would be +2EV.

[LesDMess]

Alex645, your assessment is correct and that -2EV would put it back at box speed.

[nickthetasmaniac]

Thanks for your info Les, very helpful. I'll definitely post the results when I get around to shooting the stuff...

[Alex645]

Alex645, your assessment is correct and that -2EV would put it back at box speed.

Great. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't misunderstanding what you did. I often get the pluses and the minuses mixed up myself, but because your tests are so well done, I wanted to make sure I understood what you were doing.

What surprises me the most is how well the expired film holds up. Of course it does have a LOT to do with how it was stored and the ultimate comparison may also involve fresh stock bracketed.

[LesDMess]

Thanks for your info Les, very helpful. I'll definitely post the results when I get around to shooting the stuff...

Velvia 100F is an extremely fine and sharp film. Seems as contrasty and vivid as Velvia 50.

---------- Post added 09-11-18 at 11:46 AM ----------

What surprises me the most is how well the expired film holds up. Of course it does have a LOT to do with how it was stored and the ultimate comparison may also involve fresh stock bracketed.

Previous to this, I also had a partially shot roll of Kodak Gold 100 left in a camera in my baking hot Las Vegas garage for several years. When I found it, I finished shooting the roll and the color/contrast came out exactly as expected. This is before mini lab printing took over.

[Alex645]

Previous to this, I also had a partially shot roll of Kodak Gold 100 left in a camera in my baking hot Las Vegas garage for several years. When I found it, I finished shooting the roll and the color/contrast came out exactly as expected. This is before mini lab printing took over.

Although it seems counterintuitive, I've always found that "Pro" labeled films were less robust in terms of abuse or exposure latitude. Shipped and stored refrigerated with emulsion batches kept in bricks, a pro with controlled lighting and color balance can get consistent results. The entry level priced consumer grade films, like Kodak Gold, Ultra Max, or the non-Superia Fujfiilm Fujicolor are designed for a lot more tolerance of heat and age and exposure errors.