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View Full Version : (Another) Expired film question. Just hear me out!



brightmatter
26-Apr-2014, 06:25
Hi everyone,
I've found some 4x5 Portra 160nc going quite cheap on Ebay but the thing is, the film expired in 2010 and has not been frozen or refrigerated. According to the seller, it's been stored at 8-10 degrees C in a dry place. Does anyone have experience with shooting Portra that hasn't been refrigerated or frozen this far past its expiration? If so, some advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks!
Rowan

vinny
26-Apr-2014, 07:59
I shoot expired color film almost exclusively but never intentionally buy room temp stored stuff. it's a gamble. Just skip it, buy cold stored film.

David Lobato
26-Apr-2014, 09:18
10C is 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Kodak's recommendation on the boxes says to store it at 55F. So the film has been stored according to Kodak specs. It's out of date is all.

ndg
26-Apr-2014, 09:53
I shot this and a few others with expired 160VC and NC film that I had in the basement. The Arista C41 kit I used to develop them had been open since 2011. If the price is not outrageous, buy it and try it out.
http://nanadadzie.com/darkroom/pix/Colorful.jpg
I posted others in the Still Life images thread:
http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?109746-Still-Life-Images-2014&p=1129865#post1129865
Hi everyone,
I've found some 4x5 Portra 160nc going quite cheap on Ebay but the thing is, the film expired in 2010 and has not been frozen or refrigerated. According to the seller, it's been stored at 8-10 degrees C in a dry place. Does anyone have experience with shooting Portra that hasn't been refrigerated or frozen this far past its expiration? If so, some advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks!
Rowan

mdarnton
26-Apr-2014, 10:02
I believe the general rules are that cold is not necessarily better, but heat is bad, and to the extent that cold is not heat . . . . that's good. The main cause of degradation is said to be through gamma rays, and refrigerators don't stop them, while fast films are more vulnerable. I had some TMax 3200 and Tri-X stored together in my freezer for about 12 years. The Tri-X, though a little fogged, was completely usable; the 3200 was toast.

On most counts, then, it looks like you are safe.

brightmatter
27-Apr-2014, 02:57
Thanks for the advice everyone, it's going for around £40/$67 (inc. postage) for 30 sheets, which seems like a good deal?

jbenedict
27-Apr-2014, 09:07
On the same note, I have a box of 8x10 EPN dated 2001 and it has been sorted in a cool place but not frozen. It has never been in an environment where is got over 70F and, most of the time, it was about 40F.

I'm trying to figure out what to do with it. I have options:

1. Sell it to someone who wants it. It's unopened.

2. Expose and process in E-6 and take my chances that the colors will be fine. Should I make any exposure/processing allowances for the 2001 expiration?

3. Go 'creative' and cross process it in C-41. If the colors are going to be all screwy in E-6, may as well go for the gusto and have screwy colors as a part of the end creativity.

If this was *your* box of film, what would you do?

Jeff "Finding things in hidden places" Benedict

Brian C. Miller
27-Apr-2014, 12:04
I bought a box of 8x10 E6 on the forum, horribly out of date like yours. The colors, of course, have shifted a bit, but I'm going the "creative" route with it. Yes, I could use color correction filters to get it back in line, sort of close, but I have 8x10 that is in date for that sort of stuff. I'd just rather have some fun.