Expired BW Film

[ageorge]

How is unexposed film affected by age? What risks are you taking with expired film? Are there extra procedures/compensations needed when using expired films? Is there a difference between slightly expired (months) and very expired (years)?

Being new to LF and film I have a lot of questions:) Thanks in advance,
-alan

[Henry Ambrose]

I have some TMax 400 dated 1998 that I got with a group of gear I bought maybe 5-6 years ago. Its still fine and maybe a bit slower than it was. I use it for tests and things these days so I guess that means I don't have full confidence in it, but its really old!

I'd worry more about the storage conditions than the date alone. If the film has been well kept and is within a year or so of its date I doubt that you can tell any difference at all.

[Ron Marshall]

How is unexposed film affected by age? What risks are you taking with expired film? Are there extra procedures/compensations needed when using expired films? Is there a difference between slightly expired (months) and very expired (years)?

Being new to LF and film I have a lot of questions:) Thanks in advance,
-alan

Older film will have more fog, lowering the contrast of the images. Slow or medium speed film that has been refrigerated will normally be fine for a few years beyond its expiry date. But you must test.

Higher speed ISO 400 and above developes fog at a faster rate than lower ISO films.

I used ISO 200 Ektachrome for years beyond its expiry date with no discernable color shift, but the film had been kept frozen.

[Ralph Barker]

How is unexposed film affected by age?

Somewhat like people, old film goes gray, sort of. There is an increase in fog, and, thus, a reduction in contrast. A lot depends on how the film has been stored, however.

What risks are you taking with expired film?

Depending on the level of fogging, the "risk" is a loss of contrast, with the corresponding effect on tonal rendition.

Are there extra procedures/compensations needed when using expired films?

Adjustments in exposure and development can compensate to a degree, and there are chemical additives that can be used to minimize the level of fog.

Is there a difference between slightly expired (months) and very expired (years)?

Yes. B&W film (again, depending on storage conditions) is usually OK for a year or two after its "expiration" date, sometimes even longer. Five or ten year old frozen film may be perfectly OK, as well. Film stored in an Arizona attic, however, is probably toast even before the expiration date.

[ageorge]

Thanks.

[Alan Davenport]

As film ages, it tends to sort of "self expose" with one of the primary catalysts being cosmic rays, so I'm told. You can't stop the process, but if cold stored film can last for years beyond it's marked expiration date without any substantive change.

The expiration date is not some magic date after which the film does a backflip into the dumpster. It's simply the date after which, the manufacturer will no longer guarantee the film to meet spec. As such, these dates are determined partly by the scientists who make and understand how the film works and ages, and mostly by the company's lawyers, whose job it is to limit the company's liability should photographers suddenly discover that their film has gone south. Note that the expiration dates are, as they must be, extremely conservative, since the manufacturer has no control over how the film is treated by carriers, distributors and retailers before it reaches the ultimate user, you. Thus they allow for a week in the back of a semi with daytime temperatures over a hundred degrees, etc.

If you're working for hire, you take a risk of a dissatisfied customer using the film's expired expiration date against you, either refusing to pay or, worse, in a lawsuit.

If you are your own boss, whether an amateur or a professional who sells your work, the only risk you take is the possibility of not being able to produce the quality you need.

Assuming that you fall into the second group, there's practically no downside to recently-expired film, say less than a year out of date. If you buy such film and put it into cold storage, it won't get any worse for a very long time. As film gets farther past its expiration date, your exposure to risk :eek: becomes greater...

[John Bowen]

Michael Smith is using Super-XX that has been cold stored and is more than 10 years past the expiration date.

[jnantz]

hi there

i have tmax 100+400 film that is 4 or 5 years expired, as well as tri x film that is 10+ years expired, and i don't see any difference between NOW and when i first bought it. it was never cold stored, only basement shelf stored ...

goodluck!
john

[eddie]

i have used B&W film that has been over 18 years out of date with no noticiable fog. i gave some 31 year out of date kodak plus X in 5x7 to a friend of mine and he says it is right on with speed and no fog.

i shoot expired film almost exclusively. on real important gigs i buy fresh stuff, but for me the oldies are goodies
eddie