# Expired Film??? What's the deal?



## therustytracks

Lately I've seen quite a few photos posted on various sites tagged with the film type and how many years it's been expired. What's the deal? What effects are achieved through using expired film? From what I've seen it just looks like off/muted colors. What am I missing?


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## rom4n301

i love the way expired film looks and a good thing about it is that sometimes you can get it dirt cheap or free =].


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## therustytracks

That's sort of what I thought. I just made a trip to my local shop today to buy some 120 color slide...$8 a roll with my discount. Provia 400...great results I just wish it was cheaper. Are there any downfalls to expired film besides the muted coloring? problems processing? different processing times/temps?


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## elemental

Sometimes it may require a little more development. It all depends how expired it is. For slightly expired film (especially if its been properly stored), there really shouldn't be much of a discrepancy, at least not enough to worry about.

I'd say the biggest "downside" is the unpredictability. If you really need exact control over what you're going to get, expired film is not for you (at least, not for that shoot). On the other hand- this can be its biggest strength: If you want to maybe get results that ar a little "atypical," expired film can be a lot of fun.

My local "pro shop" (which I hate dealing with because the only reason they're still around is that they screw everyone who hasn't been bringing them wedding rolls since 1930 because they can usually get away with it, which really makes it more of a well-stocked Ritz with more professional customers) keeps all of their film refrigerated, but once it expires, they take it out and keep it at room temperature. I bought a roll of T-Max 100 and Fuji NPS 160 that were recently expired, and had fun with both. This is from the T-Max and this is from the Fuji.


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## therustytracks

sweet shots. Thanks for the info. At the moment I have a lot of freedom in what I'm shooting so I'll probably give it a shot in the next few weeks.


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## bhop

I shot some expired slide film kinda recently.  I found a roll in my drawer that was at least 5 years old.. not sure the age exactly since I didn't have the box.  Mostly the pics just look old and faded.

http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=expired&w=66534437@N00


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## a_spaceman

elemental said:


> Sometimes it may require a little more development. It all depends how expired it is. For slightly expired film (especially if its been properly stored), there really shouldn't be much of a discrepancy, at least not enough to worry about.


how long do you mean by slightly expired?
i got a 3 pack of kodak films the other day and found out they were expired in july this year (4 months ago). will it make a big difference? what should i expect?
anyway, tomorrow i'll go back to the shop and "complain" as there were another couple of packs on the shelf, maybe they'll agree to give them for free to make up with their mistake 

bhop, lovely photos! if that's the effect a very old film gives, i want lots of them! did you have to work on the exposure in a different way because they were that old of just shoot them as normal films?


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## bhop

a_spaceman said:


> bhop, lovely photos! if that's the effect a very old film gives, i want lots of them! did you have to work on the exposure in a different way because they were that old of just shoot them as normal films?



Thanks, I just put my F100 on matrix metering and aperture priority and shot normally.  The color (on my screen anyway) is the same as the actual slides in hand.


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## lbsurg

Using expired film you can achieve a grainier and more vintage looking photograph. Interesting things can happen within the picture with different distortions or other artistic effects. The draw back is that it can be very unpredictable, and there's no way to really know what's gonna come out with what film. A lot of trial and error is necessary, but some of the effects you can achieve will be worth the time. Also it's cheaper!


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## potownrob

a_spaceman said:


> anyway, tomorrow i'll go back to the shop and "complain" as there were another couple of packs on the shelf, maybe they'll agree to give them for free to make up with their mistake


I would just go in and ask to switch the expired film for a pack that isn't (don't forget your receipt lol).  I wouldn't expect them to compensate you though.  Reminds me of the time someone bought a milk that was going to expire in 3 days and then came back 3 hours later and returned it like we had poisoned her.  I asked if she wanted to switch for another milk and she said no and acted like we had intentionally left it out (not that it was even expired but they are supposed to be pulled when they expire in 3 days).  I reminded her that the milks behind the one she got were probably newer .


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## elemental

a_spaceman said:


> how long do you mean by slightly expired?
> i got a 3 pack of kodak films the other day and found out they were expired in july this year (4 months ago). will it make a big difference? what should i expect?
> anyway, tomorrow i'll go back to the shop and "complain" as there were another couple of packs on the shelf, maybe they'll agree to give them for free to make up with their mistake
> 
> bhop, lovely photos! if that's the effect a very old film gives, i want lots of them! did you have to work on the exposure in a different way because they were that old of just shoot them as normal films?



Both of them were within the year, and had been been stored cold until they expired, so there was likely very little chemical change compared to, say, 30-year-old Tri-X. To be fair, the low contrast of the black and white shot has a lot to do with the way the negative was developed as well (1+19 dilution instead of 1+9 in F76+ developer). I would imagine the film you have is pretty close to what you'd get out of "in date" rolls of the same film. The effect is usually pretty gradual in a controlled environment. That said, there's only one way to really find out.


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## a_spaceman

finished shooting the first film today, will hopefully have it developed and scanned tomorrow... now i'm more curious than ever!


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## Ejazzle

the only film ive been using is the rolls i find in my attic and around my house. I think they expired in like 03 or something  lol I'm too poor to buy new film


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## Kipper

Hi,

WHen I first started to get into photography in the mid 80's I got all my kit 2nd hand. In the same shop I always got ODOK (out of date, but still ok) film. Never had a bad one. The shop did keep the film refridgerated and only took them out when someone wanted some film. I don't recall ever getting a new film, and I also never recall getting a bad shot (due to the film)

Good luck!

Al.


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## nealjpage

I use expired slide film and cross-process it.  I usually love the results.


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