How old is too old for film? (Page 2): Clip testing is typically used for: A) large batches of old film B) jobs where a significant amount of important film must be pushed, but you...

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Longshadow wrote:

Hahaha.
Put in camera; set ASA; match needles; click shutter; (repeat x number of times); send off for processing; see results.

...
One box?
Throw away.

Clip testing is typically used for:

A) large batches of old film
B) jobs where a significant amount of important film must be pushed, but you don’t know how far

40-50 years ago, top photojournalists working in adverse conditions would do it routinely, especially when using narrow latitude transparency films.

sloscheider Loc: Minnesota

burkphoto wrote:

Do a clip test if you can, to judge emulsion speed... (show quote)

That’s really cool, never heard of that. Thanks for the explanation

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

yes, that is a tricky situation. Do you shoot a roll to test it and find out it's perfect - and that you've just wasted a good roll? Or, do you take the time to get good, important shots and then find out that the film was no good? If I had a lot of old film, I'd dump it and buy new, rather than waste time and money shooting and developing. I've shot film that was a couple of years beyond the expiration date, and it turned out fine, but...

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

GLENBARD wrote:

I've a bunch of past dated film that has been either refrigerated then frozen, or originally frozen for a number of years. 35mm film includes Sensei at least 12 - 15years old, Velvia 50 about 10 years, Provia 100 about 7 to 9 years and some B&W 120 about 6 to 10 years. My 35mm B&W always frozen is dated 2018 so I think it should be ok. I appreciate your thoughts.

Rule of thumb, a slow film (ISO 50) should keep in the freezer for 10 to 20 years, a fast film (ISO 3200) will only keep for a few months, freezer or not. If you assume that film is as sensitive to cosmic rays as it is to light, the ISO speed will give you an idea of how long you can keep film.

OlinBost Loc: Marietta, Ga.

The way it was stored maybe 40 or 50 years?

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

sloscheider wrote:

That’s really cool, never heard of that. Thanks for the explanation

Just seems like a lot of work.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

jerryc41 wrote:

yes, that is a tricky situation. Do you shoot a roll to test it and find out it's perfect - and that you've just wasted a good roll? Or, do you take the time to get good, important shots and then find out that the film was no good? If I had a lot of old film, I'd dump it and buy new, rather than waste time and money shooting and developing. I've shot film that was a couple of years beyond the expiration date, and it turned out fine, but...

I would shoot things that I would probably want to keep if they turned out, but things that would be easily repeatable just in case.
(I wouldn't worry about couple of rolls because I don't do film anymore.)

kerry12 Loc: Harrisburg, Pa.

GLENBARD wrote:

I've a bunch of past dated film that has been either refrigerated then frozen, or originally frozen for a number of years. 35mm film includes Sensei at least 12 - 15years old, Velvia 50 about 10 years, Provia 100 about 7 to 9 years and some B&W 120 about 6 to 10 years. My 35mm B&W always frozen is dated 2018 so I think it should be ok. I appreciate your thoughts.

I'll be honest. I have know idea, but in years past I have kept film in my refrigerator for 5 or 6 years past expiration and had good results.

ELNikkor

I don't buy Fuji (being from Rochester NY!), but twice I've come into some Fuji film 10 years or more past expired with no special storing. All the photos turned out good, though a few looked a bit old-timey, but I liked the effect.

Bill 45

After two years out the door it goes. No question ask.

bpulv Loc: Buena Park, CA

GLENBARD wrote:

I've a bunch of past dated film that has been either refrigerated then frozen, or originally frozen for a number of years. 35mm film includes Sensei at least 12 - 15years old, Velvia 50 about 10 years, Provia 100 about 7 to 9 years and some B&W 120 about 6 to 10 years. My 35mm B&W always frozen is dated 2018 so I think it should be ok. I appreciate your thoughts.

Last year I found a partial box containing thirteen sheets of 4 x 5 Super XX Panchromatic film that, according to the expiration date, was 50-years old. The film had not been refrigerated or frozen and in fact, I found it in a box in my garage where it had been exposed to temperature shifts between an estimated 45 to 100+ degrees. After consulting with a conservationist at George Eastman House, I used a couple of sheets to experiment with compensating for the suspected deterioration. I was ultimately able to make a photograph of a still-life by dropping the ASA from 100 to 25, pushing the development time in D76 at a 1:1 dilution to 18-minutes at 68-degrees and using studio flood and spot lights for illumination of the subject. Although there was some fog, I was able to obtain a negative that produced a somewhat decent print.

Retina Loc: Near Charleston,SC

rook2c4 wrote:

I've been routinely freezing film for many years n... (show quote)

I would agree about a very slow thawing. A rapid change in temperature to a thin layered structure of different materials can be destructive. I watched a CD which had been in a mailbox in winter instantly disintegrate when opened at room temperature.

Fotoartist Loc: Detroit, Michigan

I've heard a lot of film shooters today like it when the color goes funny but not necessarily the light leaks.

Blair Shaw Jr Loc: Dunnellon,Florida

GLENBARD wrote:

I've a bunch of past dated film that has been either refrigerated then frozen, or originally frozen for a number of years. 35mm film includes Sensei at least 12 - 15years old, Velvia 50 about 10 years, Provia 100 about 7 to 9 years and some B&W 120 about 6 to 10 years. My 35mm B&W always frozen is dated 2018 so I think it should be ok. I appreciate your thoughts.

In 1970 I took 35mm B&W Movie Film from the 1940's and used it in my old Canon Film cameras and actually processed them.........they were sorta thin and soft looking but actually still worked and that was amazing to me. They were of the old bromide variety as I recall but still in their military cans from the War in Japan & Korea.....go figure. I processed them in D76 Kodak developer at normal solution as if they were brand new Tri X.....a Happy accident indeed.

richardsaccount

GLENBARD wrote:

I've a bunch of past dated film that has been either refrigerated then frozen, or originally frozen for a number of years. 35mm film includes Sensei at least 12 - 15years old, Velvia 50 about 10 years, Provia 100 about 7 to 9 years and some B&W 120 about 6 to 10 years. My 35mm B&W always frozen is dated 2018 so I think it should be ok. I appreciate your thoughts.

I know that slower speed emulsions age slower than higher ISO ones. A couple of years ago I had a roll of Ektar 25 that was over thirty years old but frozen. I was amazed at the results. I told the young associate in the camera store that the film was four years older than he was!. Like the other folks here who said that you should be OK. That is no doubt true.