Camera Film use by dates

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Harpreet

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Harpreet
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Hi, I'm not sure if i'm posting in the right section? But I have 35mm camera films and they have gone past the use by dates? But I wasn't sure if they can still be used or not as they are only a few months old? Please could someone shed some light?

Thanks

harps
 
probably.
an old pro trick is keep em in the salad draw of the fridge. lasts longer.dry of course.
from what i remember , most film use by dates are fairly conservative on general film.
pro spec stuff had shorter sell by/use by.
someone please correct me if i,m talking rolacks.
 
if its a few months it'll probably be fine

if its seriously out of date, then get going - you'll get some unexpected (and possibly amazing) effects :shrug: :clap:
 
:agree: with every word of that

and yes it may well be o.k , only 1 way to find out of course.
 
I once bought a huge batch of film very cheap as it was out of date. It kept me going for years. Never anything wrong with it.

As long as you look after it. Store in sealed plastic bags in the fridge and you'll be OK.
 
What they said. LOL.

Just be sure to use the expired film in situations where you won't be terribly disappointed if the film is fogged. I accidentally popped in a roll of VERY expired Delta 3200 on a client shoot a few months ago -- and I ended up extremely glad that I had already shot three other rolls on non-expired film.

You didn't mention what kind of film you're talking about. Generally B&W will handle age better than color, but either is worth a try in non-critical situations.

- CJ
 
Years ago I once found a roll of Kodachrome 64 that was 7 years out of date! As this was a processed paid version complete with envelope to send it off there was no expense in trying it

So I popped it in on a trip to the Lakes and sent it off. There was a sight colour change to warmer colours and one shot came second in a club comp years later. The colou change suited the subject - by pure luck

A similar finding of an OFD colour print film turned everything bright green - yuk
 
I've used 10 year out of date film that had been stored in the fridge and it was absolutely fine. Obviously, as others have already said, don't risk using it for something important, just in case.
 
As has been said before there is only one way to find out.

Do you know where the film has been kept. If it's been subject to higher than normal temperatures ( with our summer ??) that can have a serious effect on the film. You did hear horror stories of film being kept in glove compartments in cars on hot days and the film "cooked".


Try a roll and see what have you to lose!
 
I used to have two sets of film - 'ready' film kept in the fridge and 'long-term storage' film kept in the freezer. As long as it went into the freezer within the 'Best Before' date, it was fine, more or less indefinitely. Just remember to transfer film from the freezer to the fridge a couple of days before you intend to use it or it'll a) snap or b) get so much condensation in that it'll jam.
Also remember that film emulsion is gelatin-based and like any other organic material it goes off eventually unless stored correctly.
 
I have used film stored in the freezer years past it's sell-by-date without too much ill effect (I aquired 20 rolls of Scotch Chrome 400 (the best astrophotography slide film ever) when it was discontinued in 1995) and it kept me going for five years. Freezer kept film is okay- just remember to defrost before opening the canister!

If you don't know how out of date film has been stored then you're always taking a gamble.
 
Hi all, thank you all for your replies. The film I have is Fuji Film Superia 200. I have eight of them which I wanted to sell on with a SLR camera I'm trying to sell. It's been stored in the camera bag away from heat. Do you think it will be ok?

Harpreet
 
I recently had a black and white film developed it had been in my old Nikon FA for 10 years. I used up the last few frames of the film and then took it to my local lab, the pics came out fine.
 
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