Can I push this colour film?

Oatcake

Oatcake

Suspended / Banned
Messages
169
Name
Matt
Edit My Images
No
Hey guys,

I was having a big clear out ready for an impending house move and I came across a load of colour film that I had stashed and had forgotten about. It expired in 2008.

It's labelled as agfa pro 200.

uploadfromtaptalk1462172183394.jpg

There's also a roll of agfa apx 400 bnw film. I'm assuming there'll be no issues pushing the bnw but what about the colour film? Ideally I'd like to push it a couple of stops. I don't mind losing a bit of quality, and I'm willing to accept more ugliness than most would. Just wondering if anyone knew anything about this film.
 
Hi Matt, I think that generally speaking its perfectly ok to push colour film. Some are better than others and I don't know about the Agfa specifically but a couple of stopsshpuld be fine.
Andy
 
RumpFace said:
I wouldn't.
Click to expand...

Well he did say "I don't mind losing a bit of quality, and I'm willing to accept more ugliness than most would" ;) but getting the film dev for £3-£5 on a gamble seems a waste of money (well to me).
 
Generally the idea is to over-expose expired film by a stop or so per decade, coupled with the advice to over-expose by up to a stop anyway (compared to manufacturer's ratings) AND meter for the shadows... so I'd suggest taking @RumpFace 's advice!

OTOH it looks like there are 20 rolls of the colour film there, not much to be lost by experimenting with a roll!
 
Put it on ebay and sell it to the hipster crowd to use in their lomo cameras as they seem to love OOD film almost as much as they love cross processing. Then use the money to buy fresh film :D
 
Carl Hall said:
Put it on ebay and sell it to the hipster crowd to use in their lomo cameras as they seem to love OOD film almost as much as they love cross processing. Then use the money to buy fresh film :D
Click to expand...

.......or the best idea mentioned is to use it 1 stop over box speed and see if you like the colours...I haven't used pro but ordinary Agfa colour neg film (it turns up in films like "colorama" which so happens I'm using a roll now exp 2004) and after using Ferrania as well.... thought Kodak and Fuji are\were better.
 
A mixed bunch of responses there guys haha I guess the only way I'll find out is to just try it.

excalibur2 said:
Well he did say "I don't mind losing a bit of quality, and I'm willing to accept more ugliness than most would" ;) but getting the film dev for £3-£5 on a gamble seems a waste of money (well to me).
Click to expand...

Well it'd actually cost me a lot more than that cos I don't have a scanner so would have to pay for that as well. I guess a test roll would be wise before I shoot the whole lot.

ChrisR said:
Generally the idea is to over-expose expired film by a stop or so per decade, coupled with the advice to over-expose by up to a stop anyway (compared to manufacturer's ratings) AND meter for the shadows... so I'd suggest taking @RumpFace 's advice!
Click to expand...

I dont like the sound of this haha I shoot mainly street and documentary and I'm generally shooting at least at F8 or higher and yet I still want a fast shutter speed. This advice sounds like I'd end up using a tripod to get the shot haha

Carl Hall said:
Put it on ebay and sell it to the hipster crowd to use in their lomo cameras as they seem to love OOD film almost as much as they love cross processing. Then use the money to buy fresh film :D
Click to expand...

That is definitely an option if things don't work out.

My main aesthetic requirements are around colour. I like really highly saturated colour and lots of contrast, so we'll see how it goes.
 
Matt, you know that I will scan them for you if you want. Give it a go, what's the worse that could happen. :D
 
Well given that I got one decent shot off that last roll I guess I don't have much to lose haha. That's a very kind gesture again Andy, I'm conscious that I don't want to keep putting on you to scan my stuff though. If you could do the first roll for me though that would help a lot. I'll be shooting film a lot more once my 28mm lens arrives.
 
Intrigued..why f8 and higher with a fast shutter speed? Are you using something like a 600mm f8 mirror lens o_O
 
Zone focussing most of the time and need the DOF, and the fast shutter speed to freeze the scene.
 
Not really because I'm shooting close up 1-2m with wide angle lenses. I've used f5.6 before in low light but it just increases the miss rate due to the reduced margin for error. I'll probably just end up using the film for urban landscapes and still life where shutter speed won't be an issue.
 
Oatcake said:
Not really because I'm shooting close up 1-2m with wide angle lenses. I've used f5.6 before in low light but it just increases the miss rate due to the reduced margin for error. I'll probably just end up using the film for urban landscapes and still life where shutter speed won't be an issue.
Click to expand...

Ah....you are making a VG case why you should use a digi camera for hi iso in low light, anti shake and all that :D
 
Yeah, I'm just treating my film exploits as an experiment for now. I could always just use a flash but that presents exposure issues as I've never tried manual flash before. Not sure how easy or hard that is.
 
Oatcake said:
Yeah, I'm just treating my film exploits as an experiment for now. I could always just use a flash but that presents exposure issues as I've never tried manual flash before. Not sure how easy or hard that is.
Click to expand...

The later film cameras and flashgun combos got quite advanced as the camera works out the ambient light plus light on the subject all electronically...esp handy for fill in flash in daylight and in the shots I've taken there is a nice balance of the exposure for backgound and subject. But most flashguns with auto sensor can get the exposure roughly right on the subject and you can always test if it's working by pointing the flashgun at something close and you would get a very fast flash, then point it at a longer distance and the flash would be longer.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top