Purchasing short/out dated film

[taylor_j.]

I am looking at getting some 35mm film for my EOS Elan 7 to begin to

play around with and learn the basics of the camera's functions (and

believe, there's a lot of them compared to my OM-10).<br>

So I dont want to waste money and pay for brand new pro slide film

that gives perfect results just to learn how it everything works.<br>

How good is the cheaper short/out dated film for just learning, then

switching to the good stuff once I'm ready to start getting results

that I want people to see?<br>

Also, the merchants of the short/out dated film stored the film in

freezers or at least coolers so that it would age slower.

[g._armour_van_horn]

How fast a film are you talking about, and how far out of date? I wouldn't take expired film on a trip unless I had shot several rolls from the same lot first, but for what you're talking about you probably won't have any problem at all if you buy 100-speed film that is two years past expiry. I'd be a lot more reluctant to go much past date on 400 and higher speeds, the same things that make the film react quickly to light make they more likely to react to background radiation and cosmic rays.

 

Also, for your current purposes, you probably want rapid feedback. If you don't live right near a good pro lab that turns E-6 in a couple of hours, I would suggest you get a dozen rolls of print film so you can see your results in a day or two. You don't even really care if they scratch the film at this point, as long as you can confirm the scratches were from processing and not your camera.

 

Van

[stoem]

You have the right idea about saving money for sure!

I have bought expired film on e-bay with good results.

THere is plenty to choose from nowadays, anywhere from a couple of expired rolls to bulk film lots with 100s of rolls of film. Somethings you want to think about: Film degrades when exposed to heat (especially color), buy film that has been kept in the fridge or freezer (normally the seller will note this, if they dont ask) Expired film depending on how old it is, will probably be a little grainy and colors might shift. I bought an expired 100 ft roll of freezer kept Ektachrome 100 off e-bay (exp date 09/1994) and I love the results I've had. It may have a little grain but the colors are very nice. Good luck and have fun!!! There maybe a day where you won't be able to find any inexpensive film. I say nows the time to shoot film = )

[alvin_wong]

<p>I've been using 10/2003 dated Sensia and 1998-dated Velvia for the past two and half years with no ill effect. Having said that, I only want to use fresh slide film in the future.</p>

<p>In general, the slower the film, the less color shifting involved. Black and white film can be used decades past the expiration date. Of course, this isn't a hard and fast rule. I've used recently outdated (one year past) Ektapress 800 that aged very poorly, and I've used 2001-dated Ektachrome 160T that had color-shifted significantly in three years.</p>

<p>Your best bet with outdated film is to buy from a reputable dealer. With this kind of film, it's not worth taking a chance to save a few bucks.</P>

[mike_earussi1]

My friend still shoots 30 year old kodak 100 asa slide film he's kept frozen with good results. I've shot plenty of 2-3 year old fujichrome 50-100 asa refrigerated film that looks as good as new (not so with ektachrome which seems to go bad faster). It primarily depends on how it's been stored.

[discpad]

Taylor, I do this all the time: Buy color print film on sale, then take it to Wal-Mart or some other minilab for "soup only" which is $1-2 per roll. Alternately, you can shoot B&W and dev it yourself for the ultimate in economy.