Should I shoot expired film?

The advantages of shooting expired film is obvious - its cheap. As we move towards digital workflow many film labs and professional studios have been throwing out their expired film or letting them go for cheap - but is it worth the trouble?

All undeveloped film will eventually change over time, losing contrast and colour balance. Storing it in hot and humid conditions accelerate this process, while refrigerating it slows it down and freezing stops it.

Storing your films in an old fridge from a thrift store is a good way to protect your investments.

The reason for film manufacturers to indicate an expiry date or more accurately a "process before" date is that most film sold in retail stores are stored in room temperature. This date is often 2 years from manufacture and is a conservative number as film manufacturers would have to assume a large variation of storage conditions by the retailers. However, in most cases, the process before date is usually months before visible degradation is seen. The fact is you still can get excellent images from expired films unless they are stored warmer than room temperature for an extended time.

So, to answer the age old question - how old is too old? Well, to be honest, there is no definite answer to that, but if you have film that has just expired for a week or two, don't toss it as it should be good as new. If you have anything older, colour shifts and increased grain may be evident, but go ahead and do a test roll and see if you like the results. In fact, some photographers are looking for expired films for its dreamy and surreal effects.

Call me lucky as I have been constantly getting good results with expired films, but luck isn't the main reason that has contributed to my success in using them. Most of the expired film that I have used were been bought fresh and kept in a freezer or fridge. These were the old Kodak Portra, Kodak Ektachrome and Fuji Reala which were bought just before production stopped.

Occasionally, I would be presented with an opportunity to acquire a lot of expired film for close to nothing. While its tempting to snag the deal immediately, I would try to get to know the seller better and check on how the film was stored before buying it.

A shot from expired but cold stored Fuji Superia 200. 

More than often, expired films from professional photographers and major photographic suppliers are refrigerated and tend to be more consistent. So if you have to buy expired film either for cost savings or for a particular discontinued emulsion, your best bet is to check out B&H and Adorama where they sell 'short-date' specials or check out my store for some hard to find emulsions.

Some tips of shooting expired film:

• Always shoot a test roll before shooting anything significant.
• Overexpose the film to compensate for lower sensitivity.
• Keep them in cold and dry conditions to reduce further deterioration. 
• Don't research on the effects of a particular expired film. Unless they are acquired from the same batch and stored in the same condition, they are likely to be different.

From the same roll - also looking good.

Well, to answer if its worth the time and money to shoot expired film, my answer would really depend on your needs and taste. If consistency is of utmost importance to you, your safest bet is definitely buying fresh film from the major retailers. But if you are looking for a particular discontinued emulsion, take my advice above and check on the history of where the film is stored. This will give you a good indication if the film is still good for use.

Cheers and enjoy shooting film.