expired film

[bayusuputra]

hi all, i was wondering about expired films..
i know some people deliberately use them..
what are the pros and cons using these kind of films?
i wanna venture into film photography again, but i have not used expired films before..
i started photography with film, but because in Indonesia there are still a lot of shops selling the 35mm film (practically every photo shops you come across, or even supermarkets and mini markets), i have never come across expired film before, so i am totally clueless about it..
did a search but all i could find is people selling it, or questions whether they are still usable, or how to store expired films, etc..

what i am interested in is what effect does expired film bring to the processed image?
will there be different price in processing such film?
when a film is really expired? (or how long after the stated date does the film become really unusable?)

many thanks in advance for the explanation and help!

cheers,
bayu

 

[spree86]

I think you would get more help if you post this in the film section, here's the link:
http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=59

 

[catchlights]

hi all, i was wondering about expired films..
i know some people deliberately use them..
what are the pros and cons using these kind of films?
i wanna venture into film photography again, but i have not used expired films before..
i started photography with film, but because in Indonesia there are still a lot of shops selling the 35mm film (practically every photo shops you come across, or even supermarkets and mini markets), i have never come across expired film before, so i am totally clueless about it..
did a search but all i could find is people selling it, or questions whether they are still usable, or how to store expired films, etc..

what i am interested in is what effect does expired film bring to the processed image?

it might be no real different, it might be foggy, it might be off colors, it might be low contrast, in one word, it just unpredictable.

will there be different price in processing such film?

No, even no images come out you still have to pay for the processing fee, some labsmight refuse to accept your film if they suspect your film is already damage, may contaminate their chemical.

when a film is really expired? (or how long after the stated date does the film become really unusable?)

depends how your store your film.

many thanks in advance for the explanation and help!

cheers,
bayu

 

[bayusuputra]

it might be no real different, it might be foggy, it might be off colors, it might be low contrast, in one word, it just unpredictable.
No, even no images come out you still have to pay for the processing fee, some labsmight refuse to accept your film if they suspect your film is already damage, may contaminate their chemical.
depends how your store your film.

Oh, no wonder i saw a lot of google entries saying that art students needed expired films for projects..
but, if the film expired, does that necessarily mean it is damaged?
thanks a lot!

 

[catchlights]

Oh, no wonder i saw a lot of google entries saying that art students needed expired films for projects..
but, if the film expired, does that necessarily mean it is damaged?
thanks a lot!

it simply means will not preform at it optimum of suppose to be.

 

[LifeInMacro]

hi there,

I usually buy expired slide film if I want to do cross-processing, (i.e. using chemicals for negative films to process slide films). The results are often constrasty and unpredictably fun...not to mention that this kind of results are hard to replicate with DSLR and photoshopping.

The downside is that you really don't know what to expect with the expired film. Some are OK and some are not...it can be hit or miss, or miss badly. Imagine paying for 1 roll of film, paying for lab development and scanning (all adds up to $20 easily), and then later find out that only a few (if you're lucky) is usable...exasperating - yes, fun - yes, yes.

Of course no harm trying. Buy a one or 2 expired slide films and try.

You may also like to check out some beautiful images created by others at:
http://lomotion.20.forumer.com/viewforum.php?f=8&sid=f7e811206be2ab3ed1264a92b9698b0e

If you have more questions, just PM me.

Cheers!

 

[bayusuputra]

hi there,

I usually buy expired slide film if I want to do cross-processing, (i.e. using chemicals for negative films to process slide films). The results are often constrasty and unpredictably fun...not to mention that this kind of results are hard to replicate with DSLR and photoshopping.

The downside is that you really don't know what to expect with the expired film. Some are OK and some are not...it can be hit or miss, or miss badly. Imagine paying for 1 roll of film, paying for lab development and scanning (all adds up to $20 easily), and then later find out that only a few (if you're lucky) is usable...exasperating - yes, fun - yes, yes.

Of course no harm trying. Buy a one or 2 expired slide films and try.

You may also like to check out some beautiful images created by others at:
http://lomotion.20.forumer.com/viewforum.php?f=8&sid=f7e811206be2ab3ed1264a92b9698b0e

If you have more questions, just PM me.

Cheers!

oh, so it is the unpredictable results that i suppose those art students in the google articles are after..
actually besides going back to film slr, i also wanna venture out into toy cameras and rangefinders, cus sometimes i just have that feeling of "just me, the object, and no settings i have to bother.." but PnS is not as artistic and creative like toy camera and RF (i mean, there are creative ones, i know, but they are not as unique as the results from plastic optics of toy cameras), so i was wondering when i did a search abt these cams, i found out abt expired films, and i couldn't get any other satisfactory findings in google (i did try, maybe i used wrong search words?:dunno

so i guess all the answers above are really helpful, at last there are lights abt expired films that i can see now..

to LifeInMacro: sure, if there is anything, i will PM you, thanks in advance! i need tips and tricks, too!

to Spree86: i did open the section, but found nothing.. but i found other useful stuff as well.. thanks a lot!

to catchlights: thanks so much for the explanation as well, i know it is hard to be mod, and busy as well, so i really appreciate the help!

 

[coolsigg]

I been using alot of expired films (slides and negs), some even dating back to 2006/2007. If u load the film properly, and exposure is correct, there should be images.

The difference between expired and fresh film is that there is no guarantee of accurate color reproduction after the expiry date. This used to be VERY important for professional photographers, especially if they are shooting fashion.

Advantages of using expired films are that they are cheap, especially for slides. When I E-6 process the expired slides, I still find the colors very vibrant and nice (quality of scanned images will depend on quality of scanner. my images are scanned using flatbed scanenr so doesnt look so good here.). If you want to cross pro the slides, then it's more economical to buy expired slides as color will be off anyways.

Expired slides:
(cross processed)

(E6 processed)

Hope this helps.

 

[bayusuputra]

I been using alot of expired films (slides and negs), some even dating back to 2006/2007. If u load the film properly, and exposure is correct, there should be images.

The difference between expired and fresh film is that there is no guarantee of accurate color reproduction after the expiry date. This used to be VERY important for professional photographers, especially if they are shooting fashion.

Advantages of using expired films are that they are cheap, especially for slides. When I E-6 process the expired slides, I still find the colors very vibrant and nice (quality of scanned images will depend on quality of scanner. my images are scanned using flatbed scanenr so doesnt look so good here.). If you want to cross pro the slides, then it's more economical to buy expired slides as color will be off anyways.

Expired slides:
(cross processed)

(E6 processed)

Hope this helps.

i see, thanks a lot for sharing! this really helps!
i can see that there is slight color bias in the first image.. that got to do with the film being expired? and the second and third image i see quite a significant amount of grain/noise, does that come from the expired film or you use a fast film? i actually don't mind noisy image, in fact, quite often i make my digital images noisy just to reproduce what film images look like..
thanks a lot! really appreciate it!

 

[coolsigg]

i see, thanks a lot for sharing! this really helps!
i can see that there is slight color bias in the first image.. that got to do with the film being expired? and the second and third image i see quite a significant amount of grain/noise, does that come from the expired film or you use a fast film? i actually don't mind noisy image, in fact, quite often i make my digital images noisy just to reproduce what film images look like..
thanks a lot! really appreciate it!

1st image color cast due to cross processing. grain in 2nd image probably due to x-pro oso. Normally cross processing will cause grainy images compared to E6 processing. for 3rd image, grain could be due to long exposure or becos scanner no good. haha.

 

[bayusuputra]

1st image color cast due to cross processing. grain in 2nd image probably due to x-pro oso. Normally cross processing will cause grainy images compared to E6 processing. for 3rd image, grain could be due to long exposure or becos scanner no good. haha.

oh, i see.. indeed, i am actually looking for this kind of image, i am interested in lo-fi photography as well, but i rather use equipments like rangefinders or my old slr rather than toy camera.. not saying that i am not interested in obtaining a blackbird..;p
so back to the topic, if i wanna x-pro at certain developing shop here, can i ask for it? or i have to do it on my own? i have little to no knowledge abt developing techniques, though..
and do you have sample image (not x-pro) of the sort of unexpected result that will come out of an expired film? i am totally cool if you decline as well

btw, thank you very much, this is really helpful!

 

[coolsigg]

oh, i see.. indeed, i am actually looking for this kind of image, i am interested in lo-fi photography as well, but i rather use equipments like rangefinders or my old slr rather than toy camera.. not saying that i am not interested in obtaining a blackbird..;p
so back to the topic, if i wanna x-pro at certain developing shop here, can i ask for it? or i have to do it on my own? i have little to no knowledge abt developing techniques, though..
and do you have sample image (not x-pro) of the sort of unexpected result that will come out of an expired film? i am totally cool if you decline as well

btw, thank you very much, this is really helpful!

Afaik, not all Foto labs will do xpro as it will contaminate the C41 chemicals. Fotohub don't do xpro. Some xpro labs are triple D at Burlington sq. And grace at sunset way. I go triple D as location is convenient and turnaround time is fast (2 hrs for d/o).

On unexpected results of E6 processing for expired slides, so far I only get some blue color cast (like image #4 above). Nothing drama. Haha. Hope this helps.

 

[bayusuputra]

Afaik, not all Foto labs will do xpro as it will contaminate the C41 chemicals. Fotohub don't do xpro. Some xpro labs are triple D at Burlington sq. And grace at sunset way. I go triple D as location is convenient and turnaround time is fast (2 hrs for d/o).

On unexpected results of E6 processing for expired slides, so far I only get some blue color cast (like image #4 above). Nothing drama. Haha. Hope this helps.

Oh, so i have to go to certain labs only to do x-pro? I see.. thanks for the lab infos!
Sorry, what is D/O and E6 processing? I googled E6 but found myself confused over the technical terms.. :embrass:

Thanks a lot, coolsigg!

 

[coolsigg]

Oh, so i have to go to certain labs only to do x-pro? I see.. thanks for the lab infos!
Sorry, what is D/O and E6 processing? I googled E6 but found myself confused over the technical terms.. :embrass:

Thanks a lot, coolsigg!

normally, photo labs will provide film scanning service. As I scan the films myself, I will ask the lab to "Develop Only" or D/O for short. This will save some $$ in the long run.

E6 processing means normal processing of slide films using the correct chemicals. You will get "positive" film whereby you can see the actual colors etc (unlike the normal negative films where you see the "shadows" only). Cross processing (xpro) means processing slide films using C41 chemicals, chemicals meant for processing negative films. I googled somewhere that there is no cross processing of negatives because there will be some toxic fumes produced in the process. Therefore, you only have 3 main types of processing for films now: Normal processing: C41 for Negative and E6 for slides. Xpro: use C41 to process slide films.