C41 Shelf life vs Exposed film shelf life

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I did a search in the forums and its been asked to death elsewhere, what are peoples experience of c41 chemistry for those that bother with it?

I can get it realiably processed for £4 a roll ( dev no scan) and scan at home which is the most economical but the most economical way isnt always the most fun way! Having thoroughly enjoyed bnw development I want to try colour at least once.

The shelf life from the manufacturers of c41 working solution is super conservative (weeks) however the internet says up to a year is possible if sealed in full bottles and since its being reused the bottle would always be full.

Due to the manufacturers shelf life ive been put off since I dont shoot enough colour film - and its considerably more expensive.

Then there is the route of buying a kit once Ive shot enough rolls for kit to develop 10-20 rolls in a week. How long does exposed colour film last in the fridge freezer until the colour begins to shift?

I was thinking of just buying a c41 kit and shooting one roll a month over a year and let the negatives give me the answer

Thanks!
 
I used a tetenal kit that was available several years back before returning to shooting exclusively monochrome.

Yes the life expectancy of the chems was a matter of weeks.
I used to try and accumulate a number of exposed 35mm films ( storing them in the fridge) and then doing a mass development so as to benefit from the amount of rolls it was possible to process with the kit.

I don’t know if other kits are now available with longer lifespans but iirc two months was the max with the tetenal.
 
Asha said:
I used a tetenal kit that was available several years back before returning to shooting exclusively monochrome.

Yes the life expectancy of the chems was a matter of weeks.
I used to try and accumulate a number of exposed 35mm films ( storing them in the fridge) and then doing a mass development so as to benefit from the amount of rolls it was possible to process with the kit.

I don’t know if other kits are now available with longer lifespans but iirc two months was the max with the tetenal.
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Yeah still about this I think - how long were your accumalating films waiting to be developed?
 
acrobatic_Citron said:
Yeah still about this I think - how long were your accumalating films waiting to be developed?
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If my degrading grey matter serves me correctly, I don’t think I let the exposed film store for more than a couple of months as having always developed all my film asap after exposure, I didn’t want to risk losing the images.

Without doubt I shot more rolls of colour in a short period of time than what I would have done had the chemicals not had such a short life.

It was fun while I did it and an experience that I’m glad I had but ultimately I prefer monochrome prints.
 
Asha said:
If my degrading grey matter serves me correctly, I don’t think I let the exposed film store for more than a couple of months as having always developed all my film asap after exposure, I didn’t want to risk losing the images.

Without doubt I shot more rolls of colour in a short period of time than what I would have done had the chemicals not had such a short life.

It was fun while I did it and an experience that I’m glad I had but ultimately I prefer monochrome prints.
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Good to know! My 6x9 will get me 6 rolls in no time!
 
I've had some exposed E6 film in the fridge for over a couple of months. Being Kodak Elitechrome the use by date was over 10 years ago. Got them processed a few weeks ago and storage hasn't done them any harm.

Not bad for a pack of 5 film that I bought with processing vouchers for €20. Unfortunately, shop did a House of Fraser and vouchers no longer applicable...
 
Id like to start dabbling in colour film development (and E6 eventually as still have some rolls in the fridge) but also worried about the shelf life of the products. I use a Lab Box at present for my 1-2 B&W rolls a month on average film developing needs. My rodinal and HC-110 concentrate seems like it will last forever as does the ilfostop and rapid fixer mixers although I believe I may be able to use rapid fixer for colour development as well.? Any suggestions to help dip my toe into the water of colour development. I'm prepared to shoot more over a short time frame if needed.
 
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I've kept C41 unmixed (Fuji Express kit) for years, mixed for probably up to 6 months. I'm currently using the Bellini kit, again I've had the unmixed chems for a year or more and keep the mixed part for probably around 6 months. I do fill part full bottles with butane (Tetnal Protectan or "air duster") and keep them in the fridge. I only got rid of the Fuji kit because one of the developer ingredients had started to coagulate and was leaving black spots on the negs, it still worked though.

Then again, all my photos are crap so dodgy chemicals might add what I like think of as "artistic qualities" to the collection of pig's ears. But so far, apart from the occasional slight colour cast which can be corrected in post the chemicals usually just work fine.
 
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I restarted doing C41 with a 5L Fuji Express kit. Mixed all developer and froze 4 of the one litre bottles and the one in use kept in fridge with all air squeezed out . Fixer, bleach and stabilizer kept in fridge and mixed a litre of each after each batch of developer used up and mixed solutions kept in fridge between use. Worked out a checklist system to calculate changes in development time based on amount and speed of film developed. Can do about 20 36exp 200 ISO films in each litre. Started this in 2018 and will be starting the last bottle this week. So 80 of 100 films done and at least 2 good shots ;)
 
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Thanks all, I think I'm going to go down the Rollei Digibase route first..
 
dmb said:
I restarted doing C41 with a 5L Fuji Express kit. Mixed all developer and froze 4 of the one litre bottles and the one in use kept in fridge with all air squeezed out . Fixer, bleach and stabilizer kept in fridge and mixed a litre of each after each batch of developer used up and mixed solutions kept in fridge between use. Worked out a checklist system to calculate changes in development time based on amount and speed of film developed. Can do about 20 36exp 200 ISO films in each litre. Started this in 2019 and will be starting the last bottle this week. So 80 of 100 films done and at least 2 good shots ;)
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This is what we like to hear! Sorry to be a pain, and im slow could you write out a step by step method? With a sous vide this could really make colour viable again!

thanks!
 
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