Expired Film?

Question

I'm going on a trip to the caribbean next month. I have a Nikon N60 and have film I've kept mostly in the fridge in their original plastic containers and or in the box (except on moves they've been in the fridge).

I have Fuji 400 NPH, FUJIchrome Velvia, Ilford FP4 125, Ilford HP5 400, Superia X-TRA. Their expiration is 2003.

Do you think they are still good and will develop? I've got a whole bunch!

Thanks in advance for info.

Answer 1

I would play with the expired film and bring new with you on vacation. Maybe keeping the shots with expired film more abstract - the color shift, if any, may provide some interesting results? I used some 20 year old color film because they were on 620 spools that I needed and they came out okay with minimal color shift.

Answer 2

Since they have been refrigerated they should still be good.

But why not buy new film for your vacation and use the expired film locally? You can get professional film from B&H and similar vendors for about $5 per roll.

Professional films are actually aged by the manufacturer before shipping so they are sold at their optimal time, and therefore must be refrigerated to slow down further aging. Consumer films are sold without aging because they usually sit on the shelf unrefrigerated and so age after being shipped from the manufacturer.

If you want to be extra sure of the quality of the expired film shoot one roll of colorful subjects then compare the colors in the prints to reality after developing.

The main effect from aging is color shift. Grain size increases slightly, but it is a smaller effect than the color response change.

Answer 3

I don't know about film that's that old... I've used expired film that's less than a year expired with mixed results, do you want take the chance with your irreplaceable vacation photos? You could take a test roll or two before you leave and make sure they come out, but the climate will change drastically from your fridge to the Caribbean and you don't know if anything that drastic will rapidly increase the degradation of the film.

Answer 4

Film past the processing date even refridgerated still will not process as well as new film.
Save those for experiments, dude.
Get some new film.
Wouldn't it suck if your pictures didn't come out when you came back?
Don't take the chance.
I did an experiment with Fujichrome, and Ilford. I left them in the fridge for 5 years past their date. Half of them came out grainy, the rest not at all - like they were posterized or something. Eventhough, I kept them in their plastic case wrapped in tin foil. Again, don't chance it.
Hope this helps.

Answer 5

shoot a roll (or partial roll) and get it developed... if successful then the rest most likely will be OK too...

with today's developing you only pay for shots that "come out" so it is not a huge deal... give it a shot.