Can I still use this film?

beat2beat · Joined: 12 Jan 2010 Posts: 10

Hey guys, mind lending me a hand on this? I have a few rolls of AGFA MAXI 24+3 XRG 100 and the expiry date was October 1997. It has expired for almost 13 years. Can I still use it?

Thanks so much.

marty · Joined: 09 Apr 2009 Posts: 767 Location: Italy

Hello.
Of course you can use it Smile

, but the result will be largely unpredictable. I'd expect at least a slight loss of sensitivity. The color balance could be from nearly OK to largely off. I wouldn't trust it to shoot my best friend wedding or a trip to a place I'm likely to go to once in a lifetime, but I think making some experiment with casual subjects it's surely worth. I'd start shooting one first roll at box speed and see what happens, then you can eventually adjust the exposure if needed. If the colors are off you may find that the effect suites a particular subject and focus on that kind of subject. My personal experience with expired film has always been good even if I've never had the chance of shooting a color film that old. I once shot a slide film 5 or 6 years past expiration and had good result. In this case the film had been properly stored in dry and dark place. All in all I think the result may be at least interesting.

Cheers, M.

beat2beat · Joined: 12 Jan 2010 Posts: 10

definitely not going to use it on special or important occasions unless I would like to put my head under the guillotine.

But surely will try it out. Thanks so much for the advices!!

Cheers, Roy.

Attila · Expire: 2025-11-18

Expired in 2000, don't know how it was stored before I am storing all my films in freezer.

http://forum.mflenses.com/konica-pearl-i-6x4-5cm-astia-100-buda-castle-t30628.html

I got stronger magenta cast than usual on Fuji+Epson combo.

cooltouch · Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Posts: 9096 Location: Houston, Texas

How has it been stored? If in a freezer for the past 13 years, you might find it's just fine.

I have some Kodak Plus-X Pan that's been frozen since it expired in 1983, and have recently begun to use it. True, it's B&W and not color. But I've been shooting it at box speed and developing it at normal times, and it's come out great. About the only hint of its age is the negatives have a rather strong curl to them.

I also recently shot a roll of 220 slide film that had been in my freezer for who knows how long -- at least 10 years. Had a local lab process it, and it came out fine. No color shift at all.

beat2beat · Joined: 12 Jan 2010 Posts: 10

cooltouch · Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Posts: 9096 Location: Houston, Texas

Yeah, there's a slight magenta cast, which is easily fixable in a decent image processing software package. Pretty much a 1-click fix in Paint Shop Pro X2, and I'm sure Photoshop as well.

I've had to correct for magenta cast in a LOT of old slides I've scanned. This is not uncommon at all.

As for exposure, the photos look fine.