# collector  cameras  with long out of date film



## vin88 (Jul 11, 2018)

is the old film worth saving?   i have been told, black and white (with silver in it) will last a long time AND  color film will not.    i recently aquired  a vintage nikon with several rolls of film (out of date).  its a shame to throw it out.  vin


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## Dave Colangelo (Jul 11, 2018)

There is lots on here about shooting expired film and lots of people do it. If properly stored old film will last plenty of time. If stored in your attic that gets hot in the summer and freezing in the winter you may have an issue. If you store it in a fridge properly you will be fine for many years. 

The bigger issue is the chemistry to process it falls out of production as was the case for films like Kodachrome which had its own processing chemistry it was so prolific they even made a movie about it. B&W processing has been pretty much the same for a long time so you can use really old B&W film. 

If the rolls you have are C-41 or E-6 you should still be able to get them processed. As for how to shoot them, most people shoot at 1/2 box speed or slower depending on if you know how it was stored this may work nicely or it may be a total fiasco. Shoot it, have fun!


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## vin88 (Jul 11, 2018)

thanks Dave;  just  what i wanted to here .


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## Dave Colangelo (Jul 11, 2018)

vin88 said:


> just what i wanted to here .



I forgot to add, for the BW stuff its pretty easy to process at home and for old film that may require process alterations its worth doing at home. Labs will push and pull at request and may even do odd ball things if you ask but for the cost of a tank and the chemistry its worth it to DIY it and process as needed. Color is a bit harder to do at home. 

I just shot 2 rolls of 15 year old CVS house brand film I found at my parents house. Came out nice, shot it half box speed and processed standard. There was some red shift but anything is fair game as it was stored in a drawer in the kitchen and saw all kinds of temps. 

More important, what kind of Nikon did ya get?? 


Heres some more info and here and straight from the horses mouth here and from the quintessential hipster brand here


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## john.margetts (Jul 11, 2018)

I have shot 40+ year old black and white film. The results were grainy but quite usable. It is normal to increase exposure by 1 stop for each decade past its use-by date. If you develop old black and white film yourself stand development works well.

I have also used old C41 film - not 40 years old, though, but still decades old. It had a magenta colour cast.

Sent from my 8070 using Tapatalk


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## compur (Jul 11, 2018)

vin88 said:


> is the old film worth saving?   i have been told, black and white (with silver in it) will last a long time AND  color film will not.



Both color and B&W films have silver in them. It's dissolved away from the color film in processing (leaving color dyes behind) but with B&W film much of the silver remains and it is what forms the image on the negative.


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## john.margetts (Jul 12, 2018)

Colour dyes oxidise regardless of what is dyed with them - clothes, film, photographs, paint, plastics, etc. Keeping them cool and away from light and the air slows the oxidation down but cannot stop it.

I would try the film - you do not have too much to lose with one roll being no good.


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## vin88 (Jul 12, 2018)

thanks guys!  very good info. I love old cameras and b@w  film.  my last purchase was an old Nikon rangefinder.   vin


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## vin88 (Dec 10, 2018)

Dave Colangelo said:


> vin88 said:
> 
> 
> > just what i wanted to here .
> ...


       sorry dave,  forgot to answer.   i believe that was a nikon F with a dented prysum,    the prysum is hard to find and to fix.   vin


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