Buying Expired Film

MindofMel

MindofMel

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Hi all,

any advice for buying expired film?

- how old is too old?
- things to look out for -- I've seen many of you saying refrigerator stored film is best?
- any general rules for how time affects rated ISO and do you change your development?
- do some films stand the test of time better than others?

Mel :thumbs:
 
MindofMel said:
Hi all,

any advice for buying expired film?

- how old is too old?
- things to look out for -- I've seen many of you saying refrigerator stored film is best?
- any general rules for how time affects rated ISO and do you change your development?
- do some films stand the test of time better than others?
Click to expand...

  1. There's no definitive answer to that - some people shoot 20-30 year old film, develop it in really forgiving developers (HC-110 is a firm favourite for people for that reason) and get fantastic results. Highly dependent on the film, storage, how scrupulous you are about these things etc.
  2. Freezer > fridge > cool place > unknown - is generally how I would rate it. But keep in mind that eBay listings are a very easy place for people to lie, sadly, and there's basically no way you can know apart from taking their word for it (that's why I've only bought expired film off TP, especially off members I regularly converse with in threads). 120 film should always be sealed in the foil (minimises the chance of water/condensation damage, and the foil packet says the expiry date), and I personally prefer seeing 35mm film in original containers as well (less likely to have dust ingress).
  3. There's a very rough rule of a stop per decade, but that's so general that I think it's a bit pointless (and it's again highly dependent on film - I wouldn't shoot 10 year old ISO1600 film at ISO800, it would be silly). I develop as per ISO shot usually.
  4. Generally, low ISO B&W does best. B&W is incredibly tolerant to expiry. Then it probably goes low ISO consumer print film. High ISO B&W, C-41 and E-6 film all become extremely unreliable (even if freezer stored), and results can vary widely. Films with a "professional" moniker often need fridge storage (even when fresh) and can deteriorate rapidly.

The nature of the medium and storage, temperature and manufacturing tolerances mean it's never clear cut. But a bit of common sense will be fine - for instance, I've been shooting some Tri-X that is a few years out of date, fridge stored, and it's been fine. But if I had some 10 year old expired Velvia stored in a warm garage, I'd treat it as experimental :thumbs:
 
I've just shot some jessops colour that was 5 year beyond expiry. Turned out no worse than anything I shot with it within date. Consumer grade film is designed to be left lying around or taken to the beach and still be ok.

I did some B & W last year that had been stuck in the camera for years. The older stuff was fogged but recent shots were perfect. (aperture thingy died on camera so that may have been a contributory factor)

None of my film has been stored in the fridge. Just normal room temperature.
 
but do remember, there's a world of difference between using expired film which you have owned and stored since new, and acquiring something the history of which you know absolutely nothing about.

So it's cheap? So what! Consider not the price but the price differential between the unknown and the item of known quality. Are you really saving that much?

Just my €2
 
MindofMel said:
Brilliant, thanks for the comprehensive run-down! Looking to stock up on some expired film for some out and about with the boys snaps this summer and keep my new stock for critical shooting.
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I tend to use Agfa Vista 200 for casual friend snaps - at a £1 per roll, expired film is rarely significantly cheaper and it has the added bonus of showing that film is still in demand.
 
freecom2 said:
I tend to use Agfa Vista 200 for casual friend snaps - at a £1 per roll, expired film is rarely significantly cheaper and it has the added bonus of showing that film is still in demand.
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Is that 24 or 36 exposures per roll? Latter works out more economical with anywhere that has a flat rate for devving.
 
srichards said:
Is that 24 or 36 exposures per roll? Latter works out more economical with anywhere that has a flat rate for devving.
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They used to sell 36 but more and more of the new rolls on the shelves are now 24. I don't mind 24, since I don't get through rolls very quickly.
 
freecom2 said:
They used to sell 36 but more and more of the new rolls on the shelves are now 24. I don't mind 24, since I don't get through rolls very quickly.
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Ta. I take ages to use a roll sometimes. I can happily waste 40 shots on digital and yet struggle to waste 5 on film even when I may as well use it up!
 
freecom2 said:
I tend to use Agfa Vista 200 for casual friend snaps - at a £1 per roll, expired film is rarely significantly cheaper and it has the added bonus of showing that film is still in demand.
Click to expand...

Good idea for 35mm, but for 120 cheapest BW film is fomapan and for colour 120 havent seen anything new thats cheaper/as gd as value as expired:shrug:
 
srichards said:
Ta. I take ages to use a roll sometimes. I can happily waste 40 shots on digital and yet struggle to waste 5 on film even when I may as well use it up!
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Indeed, funny how these things work right?

MindofMel said:
Good idea for 35mm, but for 120 cheapest BW film is fomapan and for colour 120 havent seen anything new thats cheaper/as gd as value as expired:shrug:
Click to expand...

Definitely - but I don't take 120 out much with friends (I'm writing this a day after I took my 500C/M for precisely that :bonk:)
 
I've always used expired 120 film with no problems.

Until last week that was when I took a roll and got some odd results on the negative. Problem is I didn't know whether it was the film or some other issue that caused the error.

After testing it turned out to be the film. It was only 12 months OOD, and the ebayer seller claimed it had always been kept in fridge, but as mentioned you just never know.
 
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