Film Shelf Life?

[AndrewMcD]

I have recently inherited an extensive collection of Nikon film cameras that my father-in-law used during his career as a photojournalist. Included is a bunch of unexposed film, both color and B&W, most of which appear to date from the mid-90's. Should I just toss the film (13 rolls) in the trash? Anybody have any experience with how long old film may stay viable. Most of the packages have "Process Before" dates that are 1995 to 1999.
I don't expect to abandon digital in favor of film by any means but the Nikon F2 cameras are functional and have a half dozen nice lenses so I'll have a go at using them.

Andrew

[Mike Buckley]

If the film was stored in a refrigerator or freezer most of the time, it might still be fine.

I've seen really enjoyable images made with film that had gone bad. Think of modern styles such as abstracts that may not be hurt by damage done to the film and might even be enhanced by it. It's not a predictable method of making photos but it can work very well.

[Black Pearl]

You tend to find that unless the film has been subjected to extreme heat/cold it will be fine. The ISO (ASA) drops over time so you may want to compensate with an increase in exposure and you will find the colours loose their punch the older the film gets.

If you have a local store that can process film for a reasonable cost I would certainly recommend you run one through for an experiment and a bit of fun.

[AndrewMcD]

Thank you for the responses. My inclination to shoot at least one roll has moved forward to a plan to do so and see what happens.
I'll post a result of the experiment.

[loosecanon]

As colour film ages its colour balance changes, as each layer ages differently.
Old film will also become less sensitive but also develops a background fog - reducing contrast.
Refrigration extends storage life, warm conditions rapidly age emulsions. A 10 year old monochrome fim shoukd be usable but need more development, a colour fikm probably not unless frozen. An infra red film has a very short storage life.

[Black Pearl]

As colour film ages its colour balance changes, as each layer ages differently.
Old film will also become less sensitive but also develops a background fog - reducing contrast.
Refrigration extends storage life, warm conditions rapidly age emulsions. A 10 year old monochrome fim shoukd be usable but need more development, a colour fikm probably not unless frozen. An infra red film has a very short storage life.

A ten year old colour film will still produce remarkably good results unless it has been subjected to a lot of heat. We had a minilab in all of the Jessops store I worked at and ran so have seen some REALLY old stuff being used and processed, it often amazed me how robust film emulsions are.

[Shadowman]

Save it for controlled work/settings, why risk using it on a one in a life time shot. Then again, your controlled shots could take quite a bit of setup time...but then film work is always a risky process.

[george013]

An earlier post. An exposed film developed 34 years later. old analogue film

George

[Mike Buckley]

An exposed film developed 34 years later.

That brings up an interesting question: Does exposed film not yet developed last longer than unexposed film or vice versa when stored in the same conditions?

[Shadowman]

That brings up an interesting question: Does exposed film not yet developed last longer than unexposed film or vice versa when stored in the same conditions?

There was a link on this website about a man who developed found cameras that were exposed to time and the elements; so supposedly exposed film not yet developed does have a long survival life. Here's a link to one incident.
http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/loca...186569991.html

Addiitonally, I think stated shelf lives for many products are a way for manufacturers to absolve themselves of potential liabilities/lawsuits.

[charly]

Definitely DO NOT throw away especially if you found it in the fridge. Years ago I used to buy Army surplus film both boxed and in bulk tins that was about 30 yrs old, and it was perfect ( won a few competitions with it). If Father in Law was a pro then his film would almost certainly have been properly stored.

[RBSinTo]

When all my Photobuds went digital, I was the recipient of hundreds of rolls of various colour slide stocks which they generously gave me.
It has been stored in our freezer, some for as long as ten or so years, and with only a handful of exceptions when I got back processed rolls with magenta colour casts (likely caused by temperature abuse before I ever received them) the colours have been just fine. I don't ever worry about the expiry dates with fridge or freezer stored film.
Robert