Good deal on expired film, or was it?

[NEPats37]

i was at ritz camera today and found a 6 pack of fuji 400 film on sale for 3.50. i expired 10/06, which is 5 months ago. it looks fine and was probally just stored on their store shelves. is this stuff gonna work? anyone use expired film that worked or didnt work?

 

[meesh]

i was about to ask a question about expired film, so though I'd tag on to this post.... NEPats - hope you don't mind....

I bought a bunch of Tri-X and didnt realize it was expired until I brought it home -expired in February. I ended up using all 5 rolls. should I develop it differently than normal? Longer/shorter time? Thanks! and thanks for letting me tag on NEPats... i can try to delete this if you want

 

[nealjpage]

I always look for expired film--it's usually cheaper and works just fine. I'd put all of your unexposed expired film in the freezer until you use it. Since it's so recently expired, I don't think you would have to make many adjustments, if any. Shoot a roll and have it processed normally. That should tell you if it's good or not.

 

[Torus34]

Unless either film was improperly stored, each should perform within expected limits.

 

[ksmattfish]

I wouldn't use expired film for a paying client, but for personal work I've used quite a bit of it.

Color neg film should be perfectly good up to a year after the expiration date. Longer if you freeze or refrigerate it. Even after a year it's not like it just goes bad overnight. It may slowly lose saturation and sensitivity, but even years after expiration it'll take photos. I buy it recently expired, and stick it in the freezer until I need to use it.

I don't even worry about expiration dates on BW film (non C41). I've used Tri-X that's 5+ years past expiration stored without any refrigeration, and it's performed pretty close to what I expect from fresher film.

 

[Riggaberto]

It depends on how it was stored like everyone was saying but for personal use that you're not intending for greatness it's probably ok. I buy expired or close to expired stuff right now because I'm still learning and producing many crappy images that arent worth good film.

That said I've used some expired film that was pretty horrible, so you pay for what you get to a certain extent, but often its fine.

 

[fmw]

The important issue is the type of film it is. Color film takes on a blue color cast with age. If it is transparency film, you will have blue transparencies. If it is negative film, that gets corrected in printing. If it is black and white, it really isn't much of an issue at all.

 

[Finsen]

I've mostly used expired films because they are cheaper. I can get them for a dollar a roll versus 3~4 when fresh. So far, I have used films that are 2-3 years past their expiration date. I shot them at their normal ISO range, and had lab develop them normally. And so far, I haven't had a problem with any of them. But I would only recommend using expired films for personal practice and such, because a photographer's reputation and career are on the line when come to business and clients.

 

[panocho]

expired film most of the time and never a problem.
I always keep it refrigerated, though. I even freeze the rolls that I don't expect using in a near future