Testing an expired film

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I have always been sceptical about expired film, especially when it comes from an unknown source. How has it been stored? Has it spend a couple of decades in some mouldy cellar? And what happened to the silver halides? How much have they degraded?

Then one day, I was looking for films in an online shop and saw that they have an original Agfa APX 100. Expiration date - 1995. Ouch. Still, the thought that I would be able to try the real Agfa was too tempting. Maybe I should give it a try.

I have heard of the rule that you should expose at lower ISO, one stop per decade. Well, I decided to try reducing just one. ISO 12 is a bit tricky. Doable but often requires a tripod (i.e., increased clumsiness) or at least steady hands (which sadly I don't have).

The film should have a spectacular dynamic range, so even if the photos turn out somewhat underexposed, it should still handle it. That is, if it has not degraded over the decades. There is no way to know before developing it.

When I finally processed and scanned the roll, I was amazed at the result. Probably it was stored properly. The exposure was just fine.

Surprisingly, there was more grain than expected. Maybe that is some effect of the age. Or possibly it has always been like that.

The sky is showing particularly high granularity. On this photo the grain is even overwhelming the clouds.

Still, I am really happy with the results. I just wish I could buy more of it. Preferably fresh, but, well, our hobby is a small niche.

Do you have any experience with expired film?

CameraBelca Belfoca I
LensMeritar 105mm f4.5
FilmAgfa APX 100 (expired 1995)
Format6x9
FilterPolariser
Post-processingnone

The photos and the story are (or will be) posted on my other social platforms, too.

https://linktr.ee/neurodivergent_ai

hive-120035 filmphotography believeinfilm filmisnotdead shootfilmbenice shootfilmnotmegapixels nature photography pob-photography pob
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23 comments
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You made an awesome job with this expired film, I love the texture. I must say that I enjoy a lot this kind of grain in B&W photos.

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Grain is a charming trait of film. Every film has its own character. The development process can also significantly affect it, that’s why I want to process all the films at home. I don’t want to let a company use some generic one-size-fits-all chemicals.

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Of course, I can understand that. When I was 14 (almost 50 years ago) I had my own laboratory at home and developed all my pictures there. Only B&W, but I learned about the whole process.

!LUV

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I don't have a lab but I have all the equipment a photo lab needs for manual processing 😄 I've been thinking of buying chemicals and mixing my own developers. Most of the recipes are known, after all.

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It's a nice activity... just a little expensive 🤔

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The hobby itself is too expensive. A 35mm roll of Velvia 50 costs some 18 euro (about the same in dollars). An E-6 kit for 1 litre working solutions is about 40 euro... So, one has to be careful when using Velvia. Other films are more affordable, but still costs are adding up massively.

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you're right not an easy job to manage the exposure process and the developing process as well

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Such beautiful results you got on this old film.
old film is always a kind of adventure - the age, the storage condition, and finally the decision of overexposure. but you nailed all these very well
!LUV

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Oh wow, this is an awesome post!!! I used to shoot with film back in the day... Agfa, Kodak, all sorts. I worked in a photography lab in my mid teens though early '20's too... while at High School and University. It was a great way to spend a Saturday morning! We used to break open the film canisters in a dark box and use just the feel of our hands to thread the film into the replica canisters that would then be used in the developing machines. Then into the developing machine it would go, through the various chemicals, emerge once developed, and then hung to dry..Once dry, we would run the film through the printer adjusting iso etc etc as needed. I think its awesome that you are still doing this as a hobby. !PIZZA

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Thank you! Yes, it’s all done at home 😊 The bathroom becomes the darkroom where the magic takes place. I totally love every step of film processing. I should write a post about it.

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