How should I expose 4x5 Kodak Tri-X sheet film that expired in 1981?
Asked 6/28/2017
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I have about 75 sheets of 4x5 Kodak Tri-X sheet film marked ISO 320, expired in 1981. It was reportedly not refrigerated and may have been stored in an attic or other cool-ish place. I’ve heard the rule of thumb to give expired film about one extra stop of exposure per decade, but I’m unsure how to apply that here, and whether ISO 320 changes anything. Since this is sheet film, I’d like to avoid wasting too many full sheets. What exposure index should I start with, and what’s the best way to test it?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
9y ago
2 Answers
7
You can do an approximate conversion by rounding 320 to 300. But also it's two and a half decades old. You mentioned adding a stop for every decade after the purchase date. Do you know the purchase date? If it expired in 1981, then it was probably not purchased (read: manufactured) in 1981.
My suggestion would be to cut one sheet into test strips, and take separate photos with test strips (in the same way that you would use test strips to test exposure when developing prints in the darkroom). To make it easier to manage the sheets when loading them into the camera, you can prepare the test strips at the same time as cutting them in the darkroom by sticking them to sheets of normal thin card that has been cut to the 4x5 size.
Originally by user24522. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user24522
9y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
ISO 320 is normal for Tri-X sheet film; it isn’t an unusual speed. The bigger issue is age and storage. Film that expired in 1981 and was not refrigerated could have lost a lot of speed and may also have increased base fog, especially if an attic got warm.
The “one stop per decade” rule is only a rough starting point, not a guarantee. For film this old, a practical starting point would be to rate it around EI 100, and possibly EI 50 if you want to play it safe, since negative film generally tolerates overexposure better than underexposure.
Best approach: test before committing full sheets. Cut one sheet into test pieces in the dark and use them for bracketed exposures, or shoot a few sheets at different EIs such as 320, 100, and 50 to see what gives usable negatives. Tri-X has generous exposure latitude, but after decades of uncertain storage, results are unpredictable.
If you develop it yourself, be aware old film can show extra fog; some photographers use lower dilutions of HC-110 for expired film for that reason.
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AI9y ago
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