What Do You Do With Expired Film?
p.2 #1What Do You Do With Expired Film?
snegron7 wrote:
I found several rolls of expired (2019) film hidden in a back drawer of my fridge. They are Ilford B&W, Porta, Velvia and Tri-X. Are these still usable, or should I trash them? If they are still usable, do they still capture images at the same ISO?
If it was in the fridge the whole time it's almost certainly fine to run at box speed. Black and white film is exceptionally stable - there are stories of people shooting 30+ year old Tri-X and HP5. Recently there was a bunch of hype over this Kodak SO-078 film which was T-Max 400 on a polyester base. Those reels were found in some old warehouse having expired in 2004, and people are shooting it at EI 400.
If you wanted to be super safe you could overexpose by 1/2 a stop but it's probably not even needed. I've been shooting Provia and Tri-X that expired in 2016 (cold stored) at box speed with zero problems.
I found several rolls of expired (2019) film hidden in a back drawer of my fridge. They are Ilford B&W, Porta, Velvia and Tri-X. Are these still usable, or should I trash them? If they are still usable, do they still capture images at the same ISO?
If it was in the fridge the whole time it's almost certainly fine to run at box speed. Black and white film is exceptionally stable - there are stories of people shooting 30+ year old Tri-X and HP5. Recently there was a bunch of hype over this Kodak SO-078 film which was T-Max 400 on a polyester base. Those reels were found in some old warehouse having expired in 2004, and people are shooting it at EI 400.
If you wanted to be super safe you could overexpose by 1/2 a stop but it's probably not even needed. I've been shooting Provia and Tri-X that expired in 2016 (cold stored) at box speed with zero problems.
Aug 10, 2026 at 12:08 PM
p.2 #2What Do You Do With Expired Film?
Repeating @icarus_ here: if cold, probably fine. I have a bunch of Ilford delta 400 that expired in 2011 that I shoot at 400. Perhaps a questionable move, but I brought it on a trip earlier this year for a portrait project and I loved the results. It’s been in my fridge and then freezer since new with no gaps.
Aug 10, 2026 at 02:44 PM
p.2 #3What Do You Do With Expired Film?
You just gotta try it! Even if there's a good chance of fogging, its part of the charm. Or can sell on ebay because they actually fetcha good price there
Sep 21, 2026 at 11:34 PM
p.2 #4What Do You Do With Expired Film?
I got a good deal on five rolls of ORWO NP27 (120 format) that expired in 1989. It was originally an ISO 400 film; I shot it at EI 50 but could have gone with 100 and will try that with the other rolls. A couple of examples, developed in Rodinal 1:100 semi-stand. HC110 would be a better choice since it does a good job of minimizing base fog, but I don't have any.
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