I have always been sceptical about expired film, especially when it comes from an unknown source. How has it been stored? Has it spend a couple of decades in some mouldy cellar? And what happened to the silver halides? How much have they degraded?
Then one day, I was looking for films in an online shop and saw that they have an original Agfa APX 100. Expiration date - 1995. Ouch. Still, the thought that I would be able to try the real Agfa was too tempting. Maybe I should give it a try.
I have heard of the rule that you should expose at lower ISO, one stop per decade. Well, I decided to try reducing just one. ISO 12 is a bit tricky. Doable but often requires a tripod (i.e., increased clumsiness) or at least steady hands (which sadly I don't have).
The film should have a spectacular dynamic range, so even if the photos turn out somewhat underexposed, it should still handle it. That is, if it has not degraded over the decades. There is no way to know before developing it.
When I finally processed and scanned the roll, I was amazed at the result. Probably it was stored properly. The exposure was just fine.
Surprisingly, there was more grain than expected. Maybe that is some effect of the age. Or possibly it has always been like that.
The sky is showing particularly high granularity. On this photo the grain is even overwhelming the clouds.
Still, I am really happy with the results. I just wish I could buy more of it. Preferably fresh, but, well, our hobby is a small niche.
Do you have any experience with expired film?
| Camera | Belca Belfoca I |
|---|---|
| Lens | Meritar 105mm f4.5 |
| Film | Agfa APX 100 (expired 1995) |
| Format | 6x9 |
| Filter | Polariser |
| Post-processing | none |
The photos and the story are (or will be) posted on my other social platforms, too.
