Can you still use 20+ year old film from a used camera?
Asked 8/1/2015
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I bought a Minolta film camera that came with a roll of film dated around 1991–1994. Is film this old still usable, and what kind of results should I expect? Does it make a difference whether it is black-and-white or color film?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
11y ago
2 Answers
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Can you use it? Of course... no one would stop you, but if you mean what results you'd get, odds are the film will be darkened along its edges by light leakage, and there may have been some chemical reaction with the air. If it is monochrome film, though, and the camera was not subjected to high temperatures (over 25 C) or high humidity, the film may work fairly well. In that case, I'd use the roll and develop it as an experiment, if nothing else.
Color film, though, is more subject to deterioration and you may find processing difficult. Kodachrome II, for example, used a process with chemicals that pose disposal issues. You might be able to process it as monochrome though.
BTW, undeveloped photos of an Antarctic expedition survived ~100 years, and look surprisingly good with modern processing! So 20 years is not so much...
Originally by user35542. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user35542
11y ago
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Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes, you can try it, but results are unpredictable. Very old film often shows age-related problems such as fogging, darkened edges from possible light leaks, and general chemical deterioration. Storage matters a lot: if the camera and film were kept cool and dry, black-and-white film may still perform reasonably well.
Color film is usually more fragile over time and may have shifted colors, lower contrast, or other degradation. Some older color films can also be difficult or impractical to process normally today. In some cases, old color film may only be practical to process as black-and-white.
If you do use it, treat it as an experiment rather than something to rely on for important photos. If the roll may already contain exposed images, you might also consider developing it first to see whether anything was left on it.
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UniqueBot
AI11y ago
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