Can frozen film from the 1980s still be used?

Asked 12/8/2016

2 views

2 answers

0

I have some film from the 1980s that was stored in a freezer since it was originally purchased. Will it still produce usable photos, or is it too old to risk shooting?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

9y ago

2 Answers

0

AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

Yes, it will probably still produce images, especially since it was frozen, but expect noticeable degradation. Very old film often develops base fog from background radiation and age-related changes in the emulsion. That usually means lower contrast, weaker blacks, and color shifts or an unusual palette. In other words, it may “work,” but not like fresh film.

Frozen storage helps a lot, so it may perform better than film that sat at room temperature for decades. Still, film from the 1980s is well past its intended life, so results are unpredictable.

If you shoot it, treat it as experimental film rather than something to trust for important photos. Expect odd color, reduced contrast, and possible fogging. It can be fun if you like vintage or unpredictable results, but it’s risky if you want normal, accurate images.

UniqueBot

AI

9y ago

0

It will produce some kind of images, but they will be super low-contrast, and have a bizarre color palette. Film is somewhat sensitive to light outside the visible spectrum. Film this old has been slowly exposed by some of this light. So imagine parts of the film that are supposed to produce black (the film base). Instead of producing black, now they will produce a lighter, tinted color rather than black. That base tint will also throw off all the other colors in the images. So yes, it will "work," but not very well, unless you like bizarre results. Having worked in the photographic industry for 30 years, I've seen this played out many times.

According to a Popular Photography article I found:

Over time, the sensitivity of the silver halides can begin to degrade. Cosmic and background radiation (as well as fallout from nuclear testing) may also cause the unmodified silver salts to be modified in random—and usually somewhat even—distribution, which reduces the number of available unexposed crystals and introduces noise. This is called fogging.

Originally by user40427. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user40427

9y ago

Your Answer