70 Year Old Film

[sapata]

I have no idea what these are worth (to you). How 'bout an interesting trade?

I think it would be fun to play with them... most of the expired films I processed didn't came out well, few did... but I tried anyway, it adds a bit of challenge

I'd love to trade... but unfortunately my 4x5 gear is the essential anyone could have, anything I trade will make my equipment useless

[banana_legs]

I have a couple of boxes of half-plate 1938 Kodak Ortho-X. I found that rated at EI6 and developed by inspection in my paper dev bath at room temperature, it works a treat with minimal fogging. I just need to find some old subjects now....

Best regards,

Evan

[George in Georgia]

I think that a lot of the very old stuff might be on a nitrate base rather than on acetate. If so they might present a serious fire hazard. Have a look at this Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrate_film#Nitrate_film

I've seen a length of nitrate base film lit with a match, outside tacked to a board. The 3 feet or so burned in a tiny fraction of a second.

[Gem Singer]

George,

In post #3, the OP stated that this film was from the 1940's and 50's and named the type of film.

I doubt if any of them are nitrate based.

[Pawlowski6132]

I don't think they're nitrate either. They are labeled as "Safety" film. Funny huh?

[Shadowtracker]

check out unblinking eye... good info there; much of it helped me when developing old film a couple years ago.

[Jim Graves]

check out unblinking eye... good info there

Where? I went there and looked but didn't find anything on old films.

[Sevo]

I think that a lot of the very old stuff might be on a nitrate base rather than on acetate. If so they might present a serious fire hazard. Have a look at this Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrate_film#Nitrate_film

I've seen a length of nitrate base film lit with a match, outside tacked to a board. The 3 feet or so burned in a tiny fraction of a second.

Photographic film rarely is nitrate - even less of if it is not 35mm (which initially was cine stock). Cine and technical film mostly is, up until the fifties.

And that is no safe test for nitrate. A strip of extended original acetate will burn quite as good as nitrate as long as there is enough oxygen around - only more recent oxidation-inhibited films are hard to set fire to at all. The difference between original acetate and nitrate is that nitrate will bring its own oxygen so that it cannot be extinguished and will even burn when there is no air around, in closed cans and inside sealed projectors, and the burn rate increases as it heats up (so that entire warehouses have burned down within minutes).

[falth j]

cheesish...

I should think 70 year old film should be exposed in at least 70 year old cameras with at least 70 year old lenses... and developed in at least 70 year old chemicals to get a real idea of old...

anybody want to do a comparative report on your seventy year old wives compared to a couple of thirty-fivers?