Any advice for shooting expired 3M 640

[steve_ember]

<p>Hello, all.<br>

<br />Let me assure you I am of sound mind - except for having this question about using long-expired (but freezer-stored) 3M-640 Tunsten film ;-)<br>

I continue to shoot film alongside of digital, and as I need to add some new film to my freezer, it is time to use up any odds and ends that I've either procrastinated over or just hadn't had situations calling for use of a particular film type.<br>

Before I decided digital was the ticket for the most reliable tungsten shooting, I did stock up on a bunch of 3M 640 for such applications. No, I never much cared for it, in terms of golf-ball size grain and not really wonderful color.<br>

But just for grins, I'd like to go on an adventure with my remaining 3 or 4 rolls of this stuff, most likely outdoors using an 85B filter to correct for the non-tungsten K. <br>

Obviously, I'm not looking for accuracy - just some sensory adventure.<br>

So, wondering if anyone has used this film (expired but kept in freezer since expiration date) and can give me some guidance.<br>

Typically, when I've shot expired color NEGATIVE film, I've exposed at half or lower ISO to ensure denser, more printable/scanable negs. My instinct, though, would tell me it's not a great idea to "overexpose" slide film, even if expired, but again, wondering if anyone recommends such exposure adjustment.<br>

Or, would there be a point in getting a roll cross-processed in C41 chemistry?<br>

Thanks for sharing any experience you may have had with this film.<br>

Steve</p>

[bgelfand]

<p>Is it worth the processing costs to fool around with this film?</p>

[dhbebb]

<p>It’s a long time since I shot this film – when was it discontinued – 30 years ago? <br>

Obviously the film is not going to perform as the manufacturer intended when it was new – my guess would be a speed loss of ½ stop and a color shift which is anything from moderate to extreme, with no guarantee that the results would be pleasing. Is the recommended process E6 or the old E4 – if the latter, processing will be costly:<br>

<a href="http://www.rockymountainfilm.com/e4.htm">http://www.rockymountainfilm.com/e4.htm</a><br>

Cross-processing as a negative will increase the chances of obtaining a useable image (exposing at half box speed is a good idea even with fresh neg film) but of course is not what the film was designed to do.<br>

Most people would throw this film away, but if you’re minded to experiment (you seem to be well aware of the risks involved), why not give it a try? If I was shooting the film as slides, I would tend to take some shots with a warm-film filter (81C) to try to ensure that any color shift was warm.</p>

[wogears]

<p>I <em>think</em> it was Sarah Moon who used to love that stuff back in The Day.</p>

[glen_h]

<p>My thought is that frozen film should last this long, but you do need a way to process it.<br>

<br />Is it E6? </p>

[randrew1]

<p>High speed films like this are sensitive to background radiation. Freezing won't stop it. I consider the grain of high speed films to be unacceptable as they approach expiration. This 3M film as you say had golfball size grain when it was fresh. I'm not sure whether the grain today will be baseball size or soccer ball size. It is sure to be unique (and not in a good way). The film will be very foggy. There will be no blacks. Color balance will be way off. If you are looking for psychedelic colors that resemble a Lead Zeppelin poster, forget it. Results will more likely be muddy colors, low contrast, and awful grain. </p>

<p>There have been many posts asking what will happen if an ancient film is shot. I have yet to see the results of one of these experiments. I'm guessing most results were too disappointing to share. If you do proceed with this experiment, let us know of the results. </p>

[User_502260]

<p>Even frozen slow slide film will suffer a D-MAX fall-off if you wait long enough. Maybe this film is "good for Lomography." </p>

[Mike Gammill]

<p>I believe this is an E6 process film. 3M marketed it along with daylight version under their own name and also as private brand. K-Mart sold it as Focal Brand. Unless you're looking for a lot of grain and color shifts I wouldn't try it since E6 processing is quite expensive now. Even when this film was new it wasn't that great. You could actually push process Ektachrome 400 or Fujichrome 400 and get finer grain and better color.</p>

[plasma181]

<p>Shoot a frame with a gray card in the light you intend to use. That will give you an idea of how close you are in color and exposure accuracy. Do you have your own scanner? </p>

[wblynch]

<p>Or wait a few months. Ferrania is supposed to be restarting production and we will be able to buy fresh 3M/Scotchchrome film!</p>

<p>Well, maybe not the iso 640 stuff for a while but still...</p>

<p>Fresh!</p>