Stupid film question

[griffster]

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My friend's girlfriend gave me her old camera including about 7 rolls of Fujisomethingcolor ASA200. Problem is, the expiration date on these is somewhere in 1999. I'm sure they haven't been kept in a freezer or fridge since then. Am I wasting my shots by using these rolls now? I've only taken a few shots, but before I carry on I thought I'd drop the question here.

 

Thanks,

 

Griff

[earleygallery]

They are most probably still OK, just depends how they have been stored i.e. any excessive temperatures etc.

 

There may be a slight colour cast at worst, easily corrected in printing or photoshop. Just shoot a roll and see how it goes.

[ndjambrose]

You should use them. The colours will have shifted slightly (1999 isn't old in film terms) but probably in interesting ways. Be generous with the exposures and you may enjoy what you get. I used a roll I found from the mid 80's, never been refrigerated, and it was worth it. And I routinely shoot from a stock of 120 I've been keeping since 2000.

[stunsworth]

Try one roll, if that's ok use the rest. If not, bin them. Replacing 7 rolls of film isn't likely to break the bank.

[ndjambrose]

If you dont want them then sell them - don't bin them. There's a market for expired film. For the creatively minded expired film is often preferred.

[griffster]

OK, thanks for the replies all! I'll continue shooting then without worry for lost images.

[lincoln_m]

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Griff,

Personally I'd just bin the films or give them to art students. It's not worth the argo to try and fix the colour cast etc manually. For the sake of £20 (colour print films) you can get some brand new in date film that you know will be OK, in case you have some real keepers you want printed big..

 

Oh and don't bother with colour print film ( except Kodak Porta 400 new one if you must ), use slide film instead. Provia 400x is good for winter days general photography.

 

I'm not sure old film is even any help testing the camera is OK as you won't know if the exposure is out because of the camera or film.

 

Lincoln

[earleygallery]

I disagree with the above comments. I use old film regularly - I have a half a freezer full of out of date stock.

 

I wouldn't risk an untried old stock film on an important shoot, but there's no need to bin it!

 

As I and others have said, just try it and see.

[Frank Black]

Taking the title of this post, i also have a stupid film question,

 

 

Try to explain,

 

Sometimes is dificult for me to choose wich film should i load in my film camera, between color and bw...

 

I have photos in Bw , that im always sorry that i did not shoot in colour...

 

 

Nowadays,since long, it is possible to convert colour film to bw tiff, i have done that with slide film and i like the results, mostly with fuji sensia,

 

 

But is there the ideal film in colour that gives those amazing results in bw ?

 

in your own experience wich one you like more ?

 

Would apreciate any positive input,

[earleygallery]

Short answer NO. Silver based B&W film will always give a different look to the C41 films, be they B&W or Colour. And any film is different to digital. Not worse, not better, just different.

 

One of our most respected members, whose B&W work is rightly highly praised, uses (I don't know if I'm allowed to say this) Agfa colour neg film and converts.

 

Loading colour neg film (unless you specifically want slides) gives you a lot of options for general random shooting. Obviously when you know what you're photographing and know what look you want, you can choose the specific film for the purpose.

[Stealth3kpl]

I suppose one advantage of using colour neg or colour transparency film then converting to black and white is that software designed to simulate the use of coloured filters in a BW conversion will have something to go at.

Just a suggestion.

Pete

[ndjambrose]

Griff,

Personally I'd just bin the films ...For the sake of £20 (colour print films) you can get some brand new in date film that you know will be OK, in case you have some real keepers you want printed big...

 

True if you consider film only as a technical medium. But if you consider it as a creative medium, then there are a lot of interesting results that can be gained from expired film that are difficult, if not impossible, to recreate with post-processing.

 

Saul Leiter is a colour photographer I've always enjoyed. His book 'Early Colour' is one of the most significant examples of how to compose with colour and utilise a specific palette for a body of work. But his work stands apart from anyone else shooting at the same time (50's) because he used expired film stock. The style of his work couldn't be replicated with new film then, and certainly not now.

 

Certain types of film stock trades for many times its nominal 'as new' price if it has been expired in controlled conditions. Similar to vintage wine.

[Gift]

Taking the title of this post, i also have a stupid film question,

 

 

Try to explain,

 

Sometimes is dificult for me to choose wich film should i load in my film camera, between color and bw...

 

I have photos in Bw , that im always sorry that i did not shoot in colour...

 

 

Nowadays,since long, it is possible to convert colour film to bw tiff, i have done that with slide film and i like the results, mostly with fuji sensia,

 

 

But is there the ideal film in colour that gives those amazing results in bw ?

 

in your own experience wich one you like more ?

 

Would apreciate any positive input,

 

Try Rollei 200CN that fits perfectly on your prouposes.

It's a colour emulsion negative film on a transparent base. So you can print the negatives on B&W paper.

 

So you can choose between each frame, which would be better in B&W or colour.

 

Cheers.