3 years old TMax 100

[eric_kim]

I bought a used bulk film loader which has 3 years old TMax 100 in it.

Assumming the expiration date of the film is January 2001 in the

worst case, do you think the film is good enough to take pictures. I

can test the film out by taking some pictures and develope it, but I

like to get your opinion before doing it.

[denis_pleic]

I bought some TMax 100 (for bulk loading) some 5 years ago - it was just about expired when I bought it. I finished last roll a couple of days ago - these last 5 years it was *not* refrigerated!

Negs came out acceptable and printable - I did have to extend the development a bit, though.

In short, it's definitely usable. Not for production shots, perhaps, but it's usable. Test it and see for yourself.

 

Denis

[lex_jenkins]

I've had good results using Microphen to develop fresh and old TMX rolls. It doesn't exaggerate fog, which is always a risk with older film, it's a speed enhancing developer which will help and it's forgiving of variations in exposure and processing time. After having tried ID-11, Rodinal, Diafine and Ilfosol-S on TMX I've settled on Microphen as my standard developer for that film.

[peter_kim2]

I once found a bunch of Tmax rolls from my high school days and they turned out perfect. They were at least 10 years old and stuffed in a counter drawer next to a hot refidgerator. I think the concensous is that slower speed BW films can last decades if frozen.

[eric_kim]

Thank you, guys. I am going to start using it tomorrow.

Less than $10.00 for a bulk film loader and 50 ft of old TMax 100 seems not a bad deal!

[conrad_hoffman]

I can echo the above posts. My bulk TMX was going on ten years old, was never refridgerated, and seemed fine. I do suspect TMX has changed formulation over the years, so you might want to try a comparison against a new roll. BTW, I also had several 100' rolls of HP5 given to me, and that didn't hold up well at all over the same time period. London fog?

[peter_kim2]

Eric I once used a bulk loader, the highly regarded Alden 74. But I found it frustrating and inacurate. The better way is to sacrifice a roll of old film and pull it all out. Then you can match the length of the bulk film and match it up to this stardard roll and you have the perfect length of a 24 or 36 exposure roll. (Do this in a dark closet or a changing bag of course.)

 

Another tip, reloadable snap cap canisters are notorious for breaking or poping open. Go to the photo store and ask for a handful of used film rolls. Then just tape the bulk film to the bit of film left sticking out of the used canister and roll it up.

[dougmiles]

Black & white film can last surprisingly long without noticeable degradation. I'm just finishing up some Ilford Pan-F I loaded from bulk in 1983. Kept refrigerated of course.

 

I would commonly load to 30 exposures as a handy number convenient for the PrintFile pages. (36-exp rolls often yeild 37 or 38 frames, and the pages hold 35). My Watson loader has a frame counter on it.

 

Might look at Agfa and Ilford cannisters, as they used to be easy to pop open without damage and reuse.

[raczoliver]

I am almost certain that the emulition of T-max 100 has been changed just around 3 years ago. Do tests before you do anything else with the film. The new development times might not be correct for the old emulition.