How outdated is TOO outdated?

[jennifer_kirk]

I've been looking at film on e-bay, and was wondering how outdated is

too much? Many sellers say they've stored it in a cool/dark location,

but assuming they have not... how old is too old?

Thanks!

[pics]

It all depends on the film and storage conditions. Generally faster film goes "bad" much sooner than slower film. Some people claim to get excellent shots from slow speed that has been frozen for well over a decade. Faster film may show ill effects in only a couple of years past its expiration date, especially if it wasn't kept cold.

[Matthew Currie]

I think it depends on how cheap it is and what you need it for. I have recently been getting pretty good pictures through some antique cameras using part of a bulk roll of plus X that was not all that carefully stored, with a date of 1979. On the other hand, the 6-month outdated roll of Kodachrome I bought on my honeymoon on Hawaii in 1988 rankles to this day (Molokai in magenta. Ugh.)

[m._howard_edwards]

I just shot a roll of Ilford HP5+, 400 ISO. This black and white shoots beautifully. It is outdated by 12 1/2 years. I an not sure how it was stored, but I suspect it was refrigerated.

[peter_lui]

Problem with some ebay film, USPS is now xraying most packages per my local po (as of 4-05) Age + xray = FOG!

[oskar_ojala]

Depends a lot. For fast film, I'd say 6 months max. On one hand, I've had ISO 100 Maco that went bad quite quickly, on the other hand I have not heasitated to use ISO 100 slide films over a year old and I had Delta 100 that was 6 eyars out of date that was good, so YMMV.

[randrew1]

Low speed film will last decades in the freezer. I shot some 20-year-old Kodachrome 64 last year that had been in my freezer. It looked great. High speed film is susceptible to radiation damage which cannot be stopped by any means available to amateurs.* IMHO, the grain of 800 speed film is unacceptable BEFORE it hits its expiration date. (Yes, I do find it acceptable when fresh.)

 

At room temperature, the color films I've had experience with are starting to show problems in the months following their expiration date. B&W films are far more forgiving.

 

* There are threads in this forum that refer to salt mine storage to protect film from cosmic rays. Several hundred feet of rock would stop the cosmic rays. Na and Cl are two atoms that have no radioactive isotopes, so a salt mine is safe IF it is mostly NaCl. Potassium is another story. A coal mine would be a poor choice with all of the carbon 14.

[david_m]

2-3 years old is usually ok for colour and 3-5 years for black and white. Depends on storage of course. Slower film ages better than fast film and b&w lasts better than colour.