expired color film question

[Aerial]

I recently put a 10 sheet box of Kodak 8x10 Pro100T C-41 film on Ebay. I stressed that I could not guarantee anything except the box was unopened, expiration date was 6/2001. I was very surprised to see it bid up to $68! My question is why would anyone want to pay good money for expired film. My experience, especially with color neg, is contrast, base fog and color all suffer. Interestingly, old film with a latent image seems to age better than old un-exposed film. Is there a modified process or artsy use for the stuff?

[vinny]

there aren't any tungsten sheet films which are still manufactured.

[jcoldslabs]

Also, some people, including myself, like the look of expired color films under certain circumstances, reduced contrast, color shifts and all. And some emulsions hold up surprisingly well, especially if they have been frozen for long periods of storage. I shot some ten year-old Portra and it looked great with the exception of a bit of edge fog.

That said, I would not have paid $7.00/sheet for film as old as you were selling. I've managed to pick up a few 50 sheet boxes of 10 year-old 8x10 Ektachrome for around $50 each over the years.

Jonathan

[Nathan Potter]

Did anyone ask if it was stored in a freezer? If not, it might still be useful for tungsten exposures using some significant Photoshop color and contrast correction unless it was really cooked.

Nate Potter, Austin TX.

[jnantz]

i only use expired emulsions
lots of fun can be had with them...
and with PS possibilities are
pretty much endless ...

[StoneNYC]

A lot of people who are into "Lomo" are not familiar with film and often don't even know you can just get fresh film at B&H.

Other people with money to burn like experimenting wht abstract stuff which doesn't require color accuracy.

Personally I don't get abstract art that much, but hey it sometimes allows people to spend money on new film once they sell the old stuff, which is good.

[Daniel Stone]

I've used 12-15yr old "expired" color film (both E-6 and C-41) that was well stored(preferably in a fridge, freezer(best), or even in a cool(and consistently cool) basement).

Usually some color cast, or lack of speed, but if buying in bulk(like 20+ sheets), shooting a few to test things out allows me to test things before committing to more important shots.

-Dan

[jnantz]

A lot of people who are into "Lomo" are not familiar with film and often don't even know you can just get fresh film at B&H.

Other people with money to burn like experimenting wht abstract stuff which doesn't require color accuracy.

Personally I don't get abstract art that much, but hey it sometimes allows people to spend money on new film once they sell the old stuff, which is good.

naaah

plenty of people who shoot holgas and lomos and low-fi cameras ( box cameras, pinhole cameras &c ) know
you can get fresh film at b+h or urban outfitters, or calumet or ebay, or freestyle but whats the point when expired film
still works, and is dirt cheap and if the colors are off it really isn't that hard to fix.

and with PS possibilities are pretty much endless ...

meaning to remove the "age cast" of expired chrome or c41 films by just moving a slider, it's not rocket science

some films i have gotten that are expired were 10¢ a sheet for 4x5, 5x7 and 8x10 cn + chromes
and there was nothing wrong with them. its like throwing milk and eggs away on the sell by date
they are still good after the date has passed ...

[StoneNYC]

naaah

plenty of people who shoot holgas and lomos and low-fi cameras ( box cameras, pinhole cameras &c ) know
you can get fresh film at b+h or urban outfitters, or calumet or ebay, or freestyle but whats the point when expired film
still works, and is dirt cheap and if the colors are off it really isn't that hard to fix.


meaning to remove the "age cast" of expired chrome or c41 films by just moving a slider, it's not rocket science

some films i have gotten that are expired were 10¢ a sheet for 4x5, 5x7 and 8x10 cn + chromes
and there was nothing wrong with them. its like throwing milk and eggs away on the sell by date
they are still good after the date has passed ...

I didn't say that second part.

Also, you can always make an image look aged after, but you can't make an aged image look clean... Just a thought...

ALSO the cheap aged film thing is over with (as shown by the price the OP sold his film for), the prices are much higher now for old film as a 'fad' has caught on. Except x-ray film... I'm waiting for that ball to drop too...

Anyway after doing lots of aged film shooting, (i mean really aged like 50 years expired) I've decided that for me, the benefits of the "look" are not that great and I would rather just shoot new film. But everyone should do what they think is best for their own art.

[Peter Gomena]

Using fresh color sheet film in a pinhole camera is expensive now. Expired film often is much cheaper and if not too far out of date, just fine for playing around. I use fresh film in my cameras when I want to make "real" pictures.

A friend gave me a couple of boxes of 4x5 Fujichrome 50D he found in his freezer. Expiration date is 5/1987. It's a natural for the pinhole. It may be completely useless, but it won't cost much to try it.