Speed and Expiration of Film

Hello,

I just finished taking beginner photography in college. I now am able to shoot a

good picture, get a pretty good negative and then develope the film myself. I

was shooting in black and white film all semester and now that it is the summer

I wanna try color. I was wondering if I could get any thoughts on the best brand

of film and also film speed for mostly outdoor use, for vacation pictures and

landscapes.

 

Another question I have is does film expire. My sister has rolls of film that

she bought a year a go and has no need for them since she bought her digital

camera. I was going to use them but I didn't know if it was ok since they were

so old.

 

Thanks,

The Black n' White Rookie in search of color!

Test a few rolls first. Most well stored, recently expired film can be used with its original speed without any modification.

<p>Here is a shot I took recently using Kodak Gold 200 that was three years past expiration date. It was properly stored (in the refrigerator) for that time. If the film has been kept cool it should be fine even if it is a couple of years past expiration date. I fell in love with Kodak Gold 200 after shooting this roll. For general photography, it is cheap, available everywhere, and yields good processing results with most minilabs as it is their default film.</p>

 

<p><a href="http://www.abqstyle.com"><img src="http://www.abqstyle.com/jemez/pics_1.jpg"><br>Albuquerque Photos by Donald Peterson</a></p>

Is there an expiration date stamped on the film pagkages? That should give you a guide.

<p>The expiration date is generally marked somewhere on the packaging, usually on the cardboard box. It's hard to make any generalizations about how long from when you buy film it expires, because some films expire sooner after being made than others (higher-speed films tend to have shorter expiry due to fogging from background radiation, for instance) and the time lag from when film was manufactured until when you found it on the store shelf can vary as well. But if the film was bought as fresh film* a year ago, chances are very good that it hasn't reached its expiry date yet.</p>

 

<p>There's lots of info on film here, both in the static content (which is getting rather dated) and in the forum archives. It's very safe to say that you will not get a consensus on the best brand or speed of film for your stated purposes; different people have different preferences. For speed, use the slowest film that's fast enough for your needs; any faster and you'll get more grain and less sharpness, but any slower and you'll be unable to use an appropriate combination of shutter speed and aperture.</p>

 

<p>*: Many camera stores have a bin where they put expired, or nearly expired, film, with a sign saying something like "Nearly expired film" and a discount price. Nothing wrong with that; if you buy nearly-expired film and shoot and process it immediately, it's fine, and you're saving money. If your sister saved some money a year ago by buying film from this bin, then by now it's expired. Which doesn't mean it's necessarily bad; chances are it's still OK. As others have suggested, use a roll of it to shoot pictures you don't particularly care about, and if those pictures are good, then shoot the rest. Quickly.</p>

Amanda, I am currently using 120 rollfilm that is between 10 and 15 years out of date; no problems. Several Rules Of Thumb that may apply; B&W will last far longer than color, the lower the ASA the longer the shelf-life, and when in dought you can give 1/2 f-stop extra exposure per decade past expiration date.

That is a great picture, Donald. Better than using any fresh films :).