24 YEAR OLD FILM!! How I tested this to see if it was still good! What would you do?

00:00 Into
06:16 Testing
10:14 Results
11:27 Location Images

🎥 About This Video....
I'm no stranger to out of date camera film. I'm always mindful of it's history, after all, I don't want to waste my time for nothing.
Mitch sent me three rolls of this 24 year old expired 2000 Kodak TMAX 100 to try. And I apologise for the reality check! Yup, the year 2000 was 24 years ago!! Mitch tried it and said it was good! But I can't take his word for it. I need to know for myself! So in this video I show how I test expired film. Will it work?

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😊 ABOUT MY VIDEOS

If my videos inspire, create ideas and help others in film photography and darkroom work then it's worth making them.
I always welcome comments that are useful towards the video subject that will help others understand the process within.
Keep shooting and thanks for watching.

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[scottplumer]

I bought a 100' roll of Kodak Ortholith film that expired in 1979. It had an ASA of 12, but my camera only went down to 25. I think I shot it set at 25, then just added some exposure time, if I recall correctly. It turned out really well, and being orthochromatic film, really contrasty.

[lensman]

Slow to medium speed B&W films do not deteriorate so much, past their expiry date, if the wrapper is well sealed.Kodak used to be top class for packaging. I have not used them recently so I can not comment on their present stock. Going for stand development was a good call and no acid stop bath, as the emulsion gets very brittle in an old film so the less agitatin and banging around the better, and I would also advocate the use of an Alkaline fixer which is a lot milder than a rapid acid fixer. Good results.

[funkyuk]

with b&w shot at box, stand dev, mostly comes out ok. colour over 10 years, i’ll usually add a stop, just a stop, no matter how old the film is.

[philwoodall]

Opening your Camera and finding no take up spool is something that happened to me. I once went to the wonderful town of Arles with a Super Ikonta and three roles of Ektar. Guess what; I ended up shooting two rolls of Ektar and trashing a roll for the spool. Arles is a town rooted in photography, but don't try and cadge a spool!

[anthonys_expired_film]

I shoot a lot of expired film that has not been stored in a freezer. My experience is that the +1 stop per decade mainly applies to color negative film. B&W film does not degrade like color film. For the most part, low ISO expired b&w film like Kodak Panatomic-X, Technical Pan, Verichrome Pan, TMAX 100, and Ilford Pan-F and FP4 can all be shot at box speed even after 20 years (or even 30 years in the case of Verichrome Pan) after expiration. (There’s always exceptions so only use it for fun photography). Then higher speed B&W film like all the 400 varieties can go up to 20 years at box speed, with a +1 stop not hurting results. For development, I’ve gotten the most consistent results using the stand development method and 1:100 dilution of HC110/LegacyPro L110 or TMAX developers (I haven’t yet tried Rodinol but I see many YouTube videos with that developer with good results too).
Your scenario in this video is not typical of what many expired film photographers use because their film is not freezer stored from purchase. Your video shows the best case scenario, which is fine because it’s good to see examples of freezer-stored expired film. Thanks for making videos on this topic, Boss! 👍🏻

[podhoncisty]

Hi Roger I like expired films, I like unpredictable results, of course sometimes the film is in very bad condition, so are the negatives, but when everything turns out as it should, then I'm happy 🙂 I also use the rule "one stop per decade" but with with the addition of intuition and courage, I'm not afraid to add a little more exposure, old films like a lot of light. In May of last year, I loaded my Seagull 4A with a Fortepan 100 that expired in 1986 and shot at 8 ISO, the photos turned out great, considering the age of the film 🙂

[erichstocker]

I shoot a lot of expired film but it is film that I have had since new. I keep it in the freezer or refrigerator. I once made an error and purchased a 100ft roll of TMAX 100 not realizing it was out of date. Most of the film was just unusable. One could get 4 or 5 images from a roll of 24. I ended up just throwing the remainder of the roll away. Generally my B&W is up to date because when I shoot film it is mostly B&W. For color I tend to use my digital cameras. I don't use expired film unless I know the history of storage and this generally means film that I personally have had since new.

[cptsalek]

I love shooting all kinds of films and formats, including expired films I bought w/o knowing how they were stored. Especially colour film gives some interesting looks. Granted, this is more experimental shooting, very often including Lomography cameras. The LoFi look is incredible. :)

[russellsprout]

Great video, Rog. I haven't got the first clue how you do all those animations to make your explanations so clear. Thanks for all you do for us film users. Atb.

[DanielSchneider]

Generally, I shoot expired black and white film at box speed up to 20 years after expiration, then do one stop after that. If it’s 30 years or more past expiration, I just don’t buy it. For c41 film, you’d be shocked at how much of the stuff in the range of 10-20 years expired comes out looking practically fresh if you just ignore the box iso and shoot it at 50. Faster stuff deteriorates faster than slow speed film, and color neg can usually handle overexposure very well anyway. I almost always just set my meter to 50 iso without a second thought if I’m loading old color neg and I haven’t missed yet. Of course, you want to be smart about it, maybe don’t do that on a roll you know has been cold stored or a roll of 800 that is toward the shorter end of that window. I usually ask myself what is the lowest iso I’d be comfortable shooting it with if it were fresh, then apply the standard rule from there. If you do that, you often end up at 50 iso.

[veivoli]

I've got about 10 rolls of various Kodak colour film that expired in the 1990s, including one roll of Kodachrome 200 that's pretty useless. Thus was rescued from the fridge of my late cousin that I also rescued the OM2000 from.

One day, before we both get much older, I must test some of it...

[funkyuk]

i buy lots of used camera gear from auction/ house clearance etc. loads of it has been loft or shed stored for over 20 years. It shows in the condition of cameras & lenses. the temperature variance in a loft or shed is mad throughout the year. if film’s been stored there too, it will generally be shite 👍🏼

[burningmilk]

I bought a brick of 120 FP4 that expired in 1981 a few months back. I've shot a couple of rolls, and it shoots and develops like it's brand new! The only weird thing about it is that it has a crazy delicate emulsion, and I have to be super careful when it comes out of the development tank. I might try it out with a hardening fixer next, to see if that helps. Love testing with expired film, I've had almost all good experiences.

[thomaschamberlin]

I have been shooting some Kodak E100VS slide film that expired in 2008 and has been frozen most of the time since then. It is fine at box speed, but has a strong magenta cast. I use it on foggy days to exploit that magenta. I just shot a roll of Velvia 50 that was with the E100VS so I assume it is the same age. It was clearly more that a stop under-exposed when shot at box speed. It is very grainy for ISO 50 film (the under exposure played into that somewhat). I also have to dial the magenta back to about -24 in Lightroom with it, but it is not as magenta as the Kodak, which appears to be seriously deficient of green pixels.

[fredintheshead]

Just got around to shooting my first two rolls of expired film I got in a job lot of 8 rolls of 120 film for just over £24. There's 5 rolls of Kodak EPY and they're only 32 years old! Obviously, I gave no idea how they have been stored but it turns out they are ok(so far) After my first time doing E6 developing, the results are pretty good. Shot them on my Kodak model 66 and Bronica EC.

[xville]

I usually shoot BW at box speed, never had any issue with it, developed in Paranol S at box speed as well.

[josephawatson]

I have a bunch of verichrome pan and plus x I bought in the early 2000s seems like it still holds well at box speed. Color I have not had the same experience.

[cabbelos]

I'm a sucker for expired films, if a few prequisites are met... 1) known source, 2) cold kept, 3) big lot so I can do test rolls, 4) has to be way cheaper than fresh film. Like 1-3 eur/roll max. Only if it is something that I really want and cannot be purchased new anymore, like Provia 400X or Ektachrome 200, I can pay a bit more than that. Black and white keeps the best, but Fomapan is so cheap it's better to just buy it fresh. Proper freezer kept slide film might develop slight color casts after 25-30 years, but is usually good. I always shoot it at box speed. Not a big fan of colour neg even when it's fresh, but it seems when it starts to expire it does so in very unpleasant ways. Shadows go fully green and the grain goes through the roof. You can sort of blast through the grain with overexposure, but you're never getting the shadows black in-camera.

[thomasfeimer]

I shoot a lot of expired black and white film. I've found the "one stop per decade" rule is mostly rubbish. Generally, I'll overexpose half to one stop to counteract base fog if it's high speed and 20+ years old. 100 or slower films I would just expose at box speed and not worry about it. I once bought a 20 year old roll of Tmax P3200, storage conditions unknown. Box speed is technically 800, so I shot it at 650. Turned out like it was new.

[astrothetic]

A few months ago, I shot a roll of Tri x pan film that expired 1975 umsure of its storage and the results still came out very well