Old film developing ! help!

**Dalia** · 25-Feb-2006, 12:08

Hy,

I was cleaning out a closet, and found more than 30 rolls of film.

3 are goin to be 1 year in a few days..

4 are maybe 2-3 years...

Some I remember taking when I was in 6th grade.[ Don't worry I'm only 17 now] ( I took them when I was 12) So these rolls are really really old.. :'S

The other's I don't have any idea . What could be in them..

So my question is, Are the Rolls of Film still good for developing??

Last week I took 3 rolls to Walgreens ... this were taken the same day .. [feb.25.05] , When I went back to pick them up the pictures were really bad. really grainy and some what dark..

So, should the results from thoes rolls were due to expiration? or What?

I have asked the people at Walgreens if thoes rolls still good for developing... They told me depending how they were stored.. I had them inside a thick thick platic bag... [ like a makeup bag] but it's really thick, inside the closet?

I'm thinking of mailing them to an online company for developing! maybe Clarkphoto, or York, I have already mailed some to Snapfish.. and didn't like the results.. maybe it was because of the films expiring... well I'm not sure... but I really want to know if there's still good..

I did a google search, and found some result's that say to refrigerate and frezze film?? I don't know how that works, but If I can do anything to save this films please tell me...

Please if someone could help me, please reply here or e-mail me at, dalia.duarte@sbcglobal.net

Thank You,

Dalia C. Duarte O.

[I'm now a Digital Camera user... It's much easyer!..hahahaha]

**Josh Z.** · 25-Feb-2006, 14:27

This probably isn't the appropriate forum for this. Check out www.photographyreview.com, or www.photo.net. Better yet, take them to a competent mini-lab and ask them.

Read the forum guidelines before you post here again. They will help you understand what would be appropriate.

**Donald Qualls** · 25-Feb-2006, 20:29

Better still than photo.net, try www.apug.org or www.nelsonfoto.com. Don't expect a mini-lab to know anything about old film -- most of the operators don't even know their machine can develop 120 as easily as 35 mm, as long as you don't want prints, and a few don't realize that B&W film will come back clear after going through their machine.

However -- film as little as five years old won't run into any of the usual "old film" complications we see when dealing with film exposed 30, 40, or 50 years ago, like obsolete processes, film that curls like a pug's tail, etc. As long as it's 35 mm, film of that age will be fine at a mini-lab -- and though the images will likely have degraded a little, they might not be as bad as all that if the film has been stored in reasonably climate controlled conditions.

**Juergen Sattler** · 25-Feb-2006, 21:21

Hi Dalia, not knowing where you are from I can;t give you any specific lab recommendations, but try to find a reputable photography dealer who still does film development and take your films to him - it won;t cost that much to have them developed and chances are pretty good that in the hands of a good lab technician they can be saved. The worst case is that you'll have spent $30 or $40 for mediocre looking pictures, but at least you've tried! Good Luck and let us know what the result was.