Does black & white film expire?

<p>I have film (5 rolls) from 2009 that I want to use. The expiration date is Sept 2011. It's been stored in the basement which is always cool. Should I bother with it or toss it?<br>

Ilford - HP5 - Plus - 400 - black & white film - 36 exp<br>

CAT1574577<br>

ISO 400/27<br>

I'm using a Canon Rebel 2000 EOS.<br>

I got these for a photography class in '09 but had to withdraw. I basically never touched either since.</p>

<p>People discover old old b&w from war time and it's still good. You can test it by shooting just few frames and develope that. If it stayed in cool conditions, then you have v. little to worry about.<br>

Les</p>

<p>Yes, it expires. But then it gets interesting. Lots and lots of photographers shoot on expired film. Sometimes the results can be unpredictable, depending on how and where the film was stored.</p>

 

<p>5 years beyond expiration date might give 1/6 stop extra fb+f with some developers, 1/3 stop extra fb+f with others when compared to fresh film. It should produce acceptable results at EI 400 and normal development.<br>

Expose it at EI 320 or 250 and process normal for up to 9 years beyond expiration.<br>

At 10 to 14 years beyond expiration expose at EI 200.<br>

At 20 + years EI 100 or EI 50 with 25% to 50% extra development at 65°F.<br>

fb+f is film base +chemical fog.<br>

B&W film that is beyond 15 years past expiration should be tested for best exposure index and development time/temperature. 65°F produces less fb+f.</p>

<p>Five years past the expiration date will hardly make a difference at all, especially for B&W film which has been stored in a cool place. Yes there could be some very minor effects, but this is at a level so small that it's net even worth thinking about, especially if you're new to film. I would just treat them as if they were brand new rolls and go out and shoot! Have fun. </p>

<p>Thank you everyone!</p>

<p>You can never be sure that it wasn't kept too warm somewhere along the way, but usually five years past expiration will be fine for ISO 400 black and white films.</p>

<p>I have seen good results from almost 60 year old Verichrome Pan. </p>

<p>https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3579651252240.165626.1301922925&type=1&l=5b9ef62be4</p>

<p>is from a roll of Tri-X that sat in the camera (Canon VI) for 32 years. (More than half the life of that camera.) If you look at the black areas, you see that they aren't really black, but have some white speckle in them. That is fog from age. </p>

<p>For more details, I used a 35mm Xenogon lens, along with a Vivitar 283 flash (which nicely covers a 35mm lens field of view). It was developed in Diafine, as that is what I had. I now have HC-110, which is known to be a better choice for older film. I suspect I used EI 400, as I wasn't using Diafine at the time, more likely D76. </p>

<p>This was not so long after I bought a Nikon FM, which I used with Ektachrome, but needed some black and white pictures. I borrowed the camera from my father, and had a 50 foot roll of Tri-X to use up, this was the last roll. It was kept in my parents bedroom closet, probably 80F during the summer, and 70F in the winter. Maybe 85F on warmer days.</p>

<p>Basement stored, they should be no problem after seven years, but you might not want to use them for your best friend's wedding pictures.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>5 years beyond expiration date might give 1/6 stop extra fb+f with some developers, 1/3 stop extra fb+f with others when compared to fresh film. It should produce acceptable results at EI 400 and normal development.<br /> Expose it at EI 320 or 250 and process normal for up to 9 years beyond expiration.<br /> At 10 to 14 years beyond expiration expose at EI 200.<br /> At 20 + years EI 100 or EI 50 with 25% to 50% extra development at 65°F.<br /> fb+f is film base +chemical fog.<br /> B&W film that is beyond 15 years past expiration should be tested for best exposure index and development time/temperature. 65°F produces less fb+f.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>:-O<br>

boy, do i wish all forum replies were like this! printed and framed :-D</p>

<p>I have some HIE frozen but people tell me if I ever use it the cosmic rays will probably have damaged it.</p>

<p>http://www.photo.net/black-and-white-photo-film-processing-forum/00cRBB</p>

<p>David, HIE, like other IR films (Konica, Sakura, Maco, etc.) should be kept cool and are in any case not very long lasting after the expiry date. I have in my freezer some HIE and mainly Konica 750 from 10 years ago that I may experiment with but I don't expect miracles. Cosmic rays apparently affect the more usually used panchromatic B&W films after long periods (10 or more years, I think). As Charles Monday indicates, the effects are mainly in regard to speed loss and fogging. Thanks to him for some very useful guidelines that are not often seen.</p>

<p>I bought them because I love infrared film. But I discovered my Leica M8 was pretty good at hand held infrared and I've been using that for the purpose. Should go out and try the HIE though.</p>

<p>We share the same interests. If you have several rolls of HIE, may I suggest using one (or part of one) to test the ISO you usually set, perhaps also by cutting it by 1/2 and 1/4 on each chosen subject. </p>

<p>Sure does</p>

<p>All of my Ektachrome false-color infrared film has gone, even though it only "dated out" in 1972 . However, I finally got around to shooting up bunch of Plus-X and Tri-X that dated out in the late 60s and early 70s. Interestingly, the Plus-X (the slower film) was grainy and pretty crappy. On the other hand, over 40-year-old Tri-X mostly turned out swell, at ISO 400 exposure and standard development in D-76.</p>

<p>David - Use the HIE as soon as you reasonably can. I've used some well past its date and it got grainier. I have some 4x5 kept cold that I need to use as soon as there are leaves (I just got it recently). I figure it'll look like I shot 35mm with the grain it'll have.</p>

<p>As to the OP - 5 years out of date regular B&W shouldn't be bad at all. Adding a small cushion of exposure wouldn't be a bad idea, but you shouldn't need to add more than a stop.</p>

<p>YES. But it depends on the emulsion, and how it was stored. From my own experience Plus-X and Tri-X don't hold up well (fog).<br>

I shot and developed a roll of 120 Verichrome Pan from 1977 a few weeks ago. It was fogged but scanned well. I was just playing around.<br>

If your images are important don't waste your time with outdated film. What I mean by outdated is over 5 years past the expiration date. <br>

Besides the new films are much better than the old ones. The new Kodak TMY2 and Portra400N are gems.</p>

<p>I haven't tried old Plus-X much, but Panatomic-X and Verichrome Pan do well pretty old.</p>