...basically, I agree with Franz – give the young ones a chance by allowing them to correct any unsatisfactory results in the next roll... Unless, of course, you’ve got crates full of ‘aged’ film to hand... I myself quite enjoy shooting with film that’s already past its sell-by date – especially classics like Isopan F... Here’s an example – Isopan F, expiry date Jan. 78, scanned at 1200dpi, with no safety net or back-up as a ‘scan as it is’ – so no out-of-focus mask or other ‘sleight of hand’. Exposure as 25 ASA, Rodinal 1+50, 10 mins. Camera: Minolta X-700, 3.5/50 Macro-Rokkor.
As you can see, an absolutely flawless result... But – and I was lucky too – you can’t always expect such a result!
With expired films, the problems with speed increase. The chance that, for example, an Ilford Pan F that’s been expired for twenty years will still work perfectly is far greater than with an HP5 of the same age... When I process such material, I usually proceed as follows:
a) I set the light meter or sensitivity setting one stop lower – so I expose a 21DIN film as if it were an 18DIN film.
b) I usually use an ‘authentic, classic’ developer such as Rodinal.
c) As for the development time, I stick to the instructions on the ‘packaging insert’ – despite the higher exposure.
Using this method, I have always managed to produce negatives suitable for printing – provided the film had no other ‘quirks’ apart from the overlay...
Such “quirks” broaden the scope of the hobby enormously – it really is something special when an “authentic” film is found in a camera from the economic miracle era. And when you then select and compose the subjects in the “old-fashioned way”, the whole thing takes on the feel of a “journey through time”...
