olivier_reichenbach Posted January 26, 2004 Share Posted January 26, 2004 My friendly lab around the corner has a stock of 120 films (mostly color) that are outdated (not by much), but kept in the fridge. The guy is offering to sell the whole lot to me for a good price. My questions is twofold: should I buy outdated film and what are the risks involved? And what would be a fair price? Half price? A quarter? I have no idea. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spearhead Posted January 26, 2004 Share Posted January 26, 2004 I use outdated film all the time, especially because they discontinued Ultra 50 and I'm still using it. It shouldn't be any more than half price. If they charge full retail, less than half price. Music and Portraits Blog: Life in Portugal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephen hazelton Posted January 26, 2004 Share Posted January 26, 2004 If you're doing commercial work, I'd say the small chance of having less-than-stellar results from using outdated film would outweigh the minor savings involved. If it's for your own use, go for it. I think with color film, the color balance can shift slightly, but I've never been able to see that in outdated film I've used. Maybe if you shot the same scene with fresh and old film, you could see the difference. If you're sure that it's been refrigerated, and if it's JUST out of date, half price isn't too bad. If it's film you wouldn't normally use, or you're not sure about the refrigeration or it's a year out of date, expect cheaper. And when you look at the price, compare it to B&H's price, too. If your lab charges $6 normally, cuts it to $3, and B&H only charges $4 for fresh, you're not saving as much as you think. There is a Wolfe Camera in the area with a clearance center where they dispose of outdated film. Most of it is $1 a roll; they just started charging higher for some of it. But there is gobs of 120 transparency film of all speeds, T or not, for $1 a roll. And they're not selling it at that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
work-page Posted January 27, 2004 Share Posted January 27, 2004 I'd rather have outdated film that's been kept in the fridge than film that'll expire next year but which has been sitting in a car in the blazing sun for a day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
db1 Posted January 27, 2004 Share Posted January 27, 2004 My rule of thumb is that if the film is a year or more out of date, I will only pay a dollar. What type of film is he looking to sell you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougmiles Posted January 27, 2004 Share Posted January 27, 2004 I've had poor experience with long-outdated Kodacolor stored at room temperature; base fog increases to make the outcome pretty bad. On the other hand I had a 100' roll of Ilford XP1 and loaded a bunch of cassettes in Oct 1984. Stored in the fridge 19 years, they're still good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_levine Posted January 27, 2004 Share Posted January 27, 2004 As a photo-hobby shooter,it might not be a bad thing.As a pro,I'd serve out of date milk to children first! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jordan_w. Posted January 27, 2004 Share Posted January 27, 2004 It's probably fine. I'm still using some discontinued Fuji slide film (in 120 and 35mm) that expired in 2000 -- no problems. Keep the film cold before you use it (let it warm up to room temp before loading it, of course.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olivier_reichenbach Posted January 27, 2004 Author Share Posted January 27, 2004 Thanks, guys. I'm not a pro, but I like my films to be good nevertheless. I'll go find out today what exactly he wants to sell. I think none of the films are more than a few months outdated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick_gerbehy1 Posted January 27, 2004 Share Posted January 27, 2004 Be careful with the color films......don't buy more than you can use in the near future......I've used Ilford B&W films that were 2 years out of date with no problem I couldn't fix when printing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuart_todd Posted January 28, 2004 Share Posted January 28, 2004 However... really out-dated film is brilliant for cross processing. Just remember to shave off 2-3 stops when exposing it (i.e. rate ISO 400 @ 100 or 50 ISO) Stu :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zachariah_edwardson Posted January 28, 2005 Share Posted January 28, 2005 hey Stephen H, where is that wolf camera? ;) I use a lot of out of date film for "play" but if I make sure i have something fresh in case I come across something amazing. (of course, this is in 35mm, my MF stuff has been hopefully mailed...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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