Expired Film....where to Start?

[RobertCovington]

I have over a 100LBS of Sheet 4x5 sheet film ranging from the 1950s-1990s. Its all Kodak Film , and its all BW ranging the spectrum from Super pan, Panx, Atomic, Panatomic, and Pack films etc.

also have a case of Panatomic X 120 from the 1960s.

As I am in need of chemistry to start developing I was hoping if there was anyone that had experience with exposure compensation for old film like this and what they would soup it in to bring up an image.

I have read about restrainers to help with the base fog, but really would like some direction on developers and fixers that lend itself well to this scenario.

Planning to use some of this for portraits, in studio under hot lights or strobes, with Heliar 360mm to see how it goes.

[EdSawyer]

100lbs! Wow. There's got to be an interesting backstory to that, I'd be interested in hearing it. No real idea re: developers but mostly the restrainers and whatnot you can add can be added to any developer, generally. I'll be interested in what you find out, I have some older film too but not nearly that much.

[Michael R]

Unfortunately there is no easy answer. The first place to start would be to try the different types of film with different ages before you use them, see what kind speed and contrast you get, and evaluate the fog level. Depending on the type of film, age and storage conditions some of it might behave normally, some of it might give high fog, or anything in between. Difficult to say without trying them.

General purpose developers such as D-76, HC-110 etc. are fine. Or start with your usual developer. Rodinal might ultimately be a good choice since it gives relatively low fog even when developing to increased contrast (which might be required with old film).

The choice of developer, and the resulting negatives (fog, contrast, speed) will lead you in a direction regarding choice of restrainer (if any) and how much.

Any general purpose fixer will work fine.

[LabRat]

To start, shoot a sample roll/sheets bracketed in one stop steps more exposure outside in normal sunlight with some areas of deeper shade in the frame... Then develop them normal in your usual developer and see if you have a printable neg on there... There are developers/dilutions that hold the fog down, but not too much if excessive... And there's reducer formulas to cut base fog, but this gets tedious for daily use with a lot of film...

If there's too much fog, restrainers won't help much, as they can cut your EI greatly... And sometimes uneven base fog levels across frame, as edges might have more fogging, etc...

If you plan to scan, there's (more) hope!!!!

Test, test, test...

Steve K

[David Lobato]

You have a lot of testing to do. Some types of film will be too fogged to be of much use. Several years ago a friend gave me a large box of sheet film, some was great, some was bad, and some had mixed quality. Don't do any important work until you verify a box will be okay. I have to throw away some Ilford Delta 400 that is very fogged. Some Arista 125 film turned out okay with a few bad sheets scattered in the box. The good side is you can experiment freely and have fun. Use HC-110 developer to begin with because it's cheap. You will learn to appreciate a new box of fresh film, so plan on a purchase or two for important shoots.

[StoneNYC]

I've shot film older than the 1960's, but the results aren't necessarily great. I would sell off the stuff from the 1960's-1979 on eBay and anything that's 400 or 200 speed. Keep only the slowest films. Use HC-110 as it has a restrainer that helps slightly with fog.

Panatomic-X is one of my favorite older slow films, my fav medium speed film is VerichromePan.

Good luck with it all.

[RobertCovington]

I saw an article in view camera magazine a few years ago where the students glued a magnifying glass lens to a 4x5 board and used very old film with some pretty astonishing results. I wish I could find that article.

I wonder what a staining developer might do for film like this? Pyrocat HD and develop "by inspection".

[bob carnie]

I would start with a general purpose developer like HC110 like Michael R has said, and customize the ratio based on testing..
Or even consider a formula that allows you to inspect the film as you process..

One thing to consider if this film is to be used for personal prints then post film processing there are lots of unique and amazing avenues you can play with to make incredible prints.

I would like to see a picture of what 100lbs of 4 x5 film looks like , as well have a lot of fun with this.

[HMG]

There was an individual who made a habit of processing "found film" (old film found exposed in cameras). He posted quite a bit on photo.net.

Anyway, IIRC, he always used HC110.

[rich815]

There was an individual who made a habit of processing "found film" (old film found exposed in cameras). He posted quite a bit on photo.net.

Anyway, IIRC, he always used HC110.

Yeah but those were all pre-exposed films.