Out of Date Film?

Plain Nev

Plain Nev

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I've recently acquired three rolls of Fuji 200 colour film that came with a camera. The camera is old, but I'm not sure about the film as there is no way to date it. It's going to be, of an age, I suppose, but I'd like to use it rather than let it go to waste. What's the best course of action?
 
If you’re convinced that’s it’s several years passed its best before date then I’d be tempted to open up a stop .

Even if fresh, the film would easily tolerate an extra stop of exposure.
 
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I got reasonably results from my 2007-expired Reala 100 rated at 50, last year.
 
It'll be fine. I used some jessops that was very old and had been stored in a loft. Mostly a pink shift which can be corrected.

If it turns out interesting it's cheaper than lomo film as they charge a lot for weird results :)
 
LeeRatters said:
Isn't the said thing one stop per decade?

I'm currently using 5 years expired and metering around 0.3 to 1 stop over exposed.
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Yeah that’s a very rough guideline.

Not knowing the age of the film makes me lean on the side of overexposing slightly .

Most , if not all negative film can handle an extra stop.
 
Plain Nev said:
What's the best course of action?
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Don't take any photos with it where you want consistent results. Other than that, have at it - it should be fine. Probably.

My experience suggests that how it's been stored is more important than its age.
 
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Guessing it's print film rather than slide, if it was me, I'd shoot a roll at box speed and hope/expect the film's latitude and the forgiving nature of the D&P process to give useable results. If I was unlucky and I ended up with very thin negs, I'd dial in whatever overexposure I felt necessary for the next roll.
If slide, I'd use the first as a test film and bracket, using box, +1/2 stop and +1 stop increments. If the results came back still too dark at a full stop of overexposure (from box), I (personally) wouldn't trust the other films but might use them for extra long exposures and play!

As has already been said, in both cases, I wouldn't use them for anything important (unless the test film turned out to give perfect results!)
 
Asha said:
If you’re convinced that’s it’s several years passed its best before date then I’d be tempted to open up a stop .

Even if fresh, the film would easily tolerate an extra stop of exposure.
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I wouldn't say I was convinced. More erring on the side of caution. :D It's not C200, so it's before or after their dalliance with Kodak film. I will use it regardless.
 
My experience with expired slide film is to always shoot it at box speed. While the film may degrade in terms of colour reproduction, it keeps its exposure latitude, so under or overexposing it gives the same sort of results as it would with fresh slide film - blocked shadows or blown highlights.

Colour casts can often be corrected, bad exposure can’t.

For colour negative film, I’ve always used the “one stop overexposure per decade of expiry” technique, which has generally worked well. Unless I know the film has been cold stored, in which case I’d shoot it at or closer to box speed (it can usually handle overexposure without adverse affect though).
 
Well, I did load one of the films. But, I noticed a really pronounced chemical smell afterwards, and I was not at all sure about that. I mean I know what film smells like, but this was with knobs on, and not one to have in the house.
 
Plain Nev said:
I've recently acquired three rolls of Fuji 200 colour film that came with a camera. The camera is old, but I'm not sure about the film as there is no way to date it. It's going to be, of an age, I suppose, but I'd like to use it rather than let it go to waste. What's the best course of action?
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The best course of action might be to put it on ebay, and buy some fresh film with the proceeds.
A couple of days ago I was watching 3x10 packs of expired Instax Mini, thinking I might get them for a tenner or so. They went for over 40 quid!
 
I did use one at the weekend. After I'd let it air in a cool, well ventilated place. What the heck! No idea what I was doing. But it ought to be interesting to see the results. :D
 
I had a film developed about 10 years after I took the photos, and it came back with a pinkish hue on the pictures.
Look on ebay at completed listings for expired film, you'll be suprised at the prices they go for!
 
garry71 said:
The best course of action might be to put it on ebay, and buy some fresh film with the proceeds.
A couple of days ago I was watching 3x10 packs of expired Instax Mini, thinking I might get them for a tenner or so. They went for over 40 quid!
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You can get 2x10 Instax Mini film from Boots for £14.99 at the moment.
 
As a student in the 60's and 70's, I always used film that was just out of date with no problems (it was very cheap and sometimes free!).
 
garry71 said:
I had a film developed about 10 years after I took the photos, and it came back with a pinkish hue on the pictures.
Look on ebay at completed listings for expired film, you'll be surprised at the prices they go for!
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I'm not expecting great things, to be honest. They did have an awful chemically smell when I opened them. Hence them being banished to a shed to air. It suggests to me that the chemicals might have degraded. But, I can get colour film developed as cheap as chips, so it won't be the end of the world.
 
I won't break. You'll only get my name, rank and serial number. ;)
 
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