Kodak Super-xx

I have a can of unopened Kodak Super-xx film the box says develop before 1952 , wondering what to do with it !! I can bulk load it but wonder if it is usable? It was in a sealed box and a sealed metal can.

I'd sell it to a collector.

I'd bet that it is still usable, but it would be well to cut some snips, expose them, and try your developer - start with normal development and then if that doesn't work play around with more time, etc.

 

Gene M (how I wish he were still posting) has lots of examples of ancient film.. (LINK)

 

Lomo Volk work very hard to get such effects...

I'd sell it to a collector.

 

Hmm... I hope no one

beats my offer of 89

cents...

http://bayouline.com/o2.gif

Super XX is one of those films that seems to have a crazy long shelf life, but 65+ years is definitely pushing things. I'd be tempted to try it, but wouldn't put a LOT of faith in it. I recall reading not too long ago about one photographer who was still shooting with it, but he had also bought probably tends of thousands of sheets and cold stored them when it was discontinued(I seem to recall that it was made in sheet film for a REALLY long time after roll film had been discontinued-1994 sticks in my head).

 

Several years ago, I shot some 2 1/4x 3 1/4 Super XX that expired in the the 1960s. I forget exactly how I shot it, but it gave me usable negatives(with a lot of base fog) in straight D76.

 

If I understand correctly, this is a bulk roll. If nothing else, the much gentler curl of a 100ft roll vs. inside a 35mm film can should make for a lot less "fighting" when you go to develop it. Gene M use to use HC110 for his old film, but I don't recall the dilution.

Are times really that hard that people have to resort to using 65 year-old film? And in 35mm format too! You might just get one or two grains fitted into each frame.

I think it’s probably curiosity more than anything else.....

I think it’s probably curiosity more than anything else.....

 

For me it was. I exposed a 1947 Verichrome 616 in one of my Kodak art deco folders just for the heck of it. I gave it only one extra stop exposure and a little extra time in Neofin Blue one shot developer - complete waste of time! - Film was dark brown after developing also tightly curled, and negs were nothing more than fog and grain, however after my eyes adjusted to Super Man xray vision level, I could just make out some partial outline of some objects in the images but they were so bad, I deleted them from my computer, which I rarely do with images

There are some film sizes that aren't made anymore, so using old film makes some sense.

 

I might have a 116 roll of XX, some rolls of VP116 and VP122, VP126, VP110, for cameras

that use them.

 

There is some interesting challenge in getting good results from old film,

just to see that it can be done.

 

But when you know it wont, better not to do it.

 

Mostly I try not to use old color film that hasn't been cold stored.

Well after shooting super-xx that exp in 1952 at 25 asa I developed it in HC 110 and got one usable photo , I think if I knew what I was doing I could have got some good results !! maybe shot at 12 asa and developed longer ?

Interesting. White spots come from fogging, but this one has black spots.

This one is about 20 year old TMZ at EI 3200.

 

You can see the whiteness in the black areas, but not blackness in the white areas.

 

Going to a lower temperature (like 65F vs. 68F might reduce fog a bit more. I actually shot a roll of 35mm Super-XX that expired in 1951 and got extremely fogged images. I used E.I. ranging from 6 to 100. Processed in Microphen. Not enough there to scan. But YMMV so might still be fun to try.