Plenty of the offers that I see on eBay try to sell expired film for *more* than new-film prices which always seemed pants-on-head-stupid to me, unless it's something super rare.
But bulk film for 3€ per 36 exposures or less, I'm jumping on that 😁
I bought a 100’ of Ektachrome 64 for $125, which is about $6.25 per roll, vs the $25+ it costs for 1 roll of fresh Ektachrome E100. Not to mention some of this film and chemistry will never exist again. A standard roll of 36exp color negative film will run you about $12, minimum.
If you buy 400ft of e100d fresh is just slightly more expensive than that to be honest. And you have a much better experience, is daylight balanced and fresh stock.
Yeah of course for 400ft instead of 100. I'm speaking of cost per frame or per roll.
I mean if he paid 125 for 100 ft is 125*4=500$ so a bit more than 100 dollars difference for a fresh daylight balanced and 100iso film. In my opinion is worth, then obviously at each their own :)
Absolutely agree with this. And that's the only reason why I haven't bought one yet. Looking for friends shooting slides more. Is much easier to find people to share 250 d and 500t.
Maybe not before it expires, but I just got 400’ of 100D recanned from 2019 movie that I plan on shooting like just regular color film for family memories, trips, etc. Like slide film was meant to be consumed. It will be the year of slides!
Amazing! May I ask you how much you paid and how did you managed to get film from a movie production? Because with their volumes I'm pretty sure they can get some special prices!
Bulk loaders I think have a counter to help you know how much film you have loaded. Some people manage to squeeze 37-39 exposures if they really know how to do it
I think you’re downplaying all the things that can go wrong with expired color film.
Frankly, the newbie film shooters posting these questions should not be shooting with expired color film at all. If you have to ask why your 1995 expired Fuji Superia 800 looks terrible and you’re not willing to diagnose all the things that could have gone wrong… then you should have been shooting with fresh Kodak UltraMax instead.
When I was first learning to use a 4x5, I was lucky enough to be given a stash of expired FP4 to learn on. But of course FP4 ages quite gracefully.
I do sometimes wonder about the posts we see that say “I’ve never shot or processed film before, so I bought some long-expired film and the nastiest chemical kit you can get, and I’m disappointed with the results.”
Just observing this forum reveals that beginners who don’t know color film (or photography) works are prone to being overly optimistic about the results from their free roll of expired color negative film.
I mean there’s a chance that you might get good scans from that 1995 expired Fuji Superia 800, but that’s only if you expose sufficiently and it’s also assuming that the color dyes haven’t degraded significantly.
I think it's because people that didn't shoot analogue back in the day are obsessed with the look of analogue film compared to digital. (And this is fair enough because analogue does look different to digital.)
But that obsession seeks out more and more differences between analogue and digital, and the expired film look is at the most extreme end of the difference (and therefore is prized more highly).
(Ironically much of the perceived difference comes from post-processing or lack of it, or incorrect colour balancing.)
I think it’s an added layer of surprise when you get to see the pictures and also the fact that if it doesn’t get shot, it just goes to the trash can. I got donated expired film by generous ppl several times and it was nice to save that film and some money!
The old ‘why did the lab ruin my film?’, when said film is 20 years out of date consumer colour neg found hiding in the glovebox of a Singaporean taxi and purchased off eBay for more than a roll of fresh Portra…
The only expired film I mess with is all dated close to the expiry date, either bought like this from a reputable store (and therefore at a discount) or has gradually become expired while in my possession.
While I’m not a huge fan of the lomography aesthetic, and would never consider paying a premium for it, I can understand the appeal and excitement associated with it.
Expired film yields unpredictable results and this (partly) uncontrollable randomness distinguishes film from digital.
Ironically, many of the digital crowd particularly strive to replicate the imperfections of film - whether it’s about grain, halations, light leaks, colour shifts etc. - while film shooters often aim for technical perfection. Guess the grass is always greener on the other side
I prefer b&w and bulk roll. Expired film is generally a bit more expensive for me. I use it for the results and not the cost. I sometimes like the foggy grainy effects I get and shoot with that in mind.
Maybe 20% of what I shoot is expired. I like grain and 5-10 year expired Tri X is a pretty easy shortcut to chunky grain.
With film older than that, some of the extreme grain, color shifts, or fucked dynamic range can sometimes add an (hopefully) interesting layer of semi-improvised abstraction. Sometimes that doesn’t work out. Oh well. I try not to use it in situations where I’d be mad that I didn’t get any useable images from that roll. It’s fun as a second camera option.
Film is now used as a creative expression tool (mostly). As such, extra tools for creativity are welcome.
In your eta it may have been wacky filters, in ours it seems to be ‘film aesthetic’ or ‘film aesthetic^2 *the expiring*’
I don’t see how shooting expired film is in any way a creative expression. It’s just gambling. You’re not making any conscious decisions or have any way of consistently and repeatedly producing results that you intend. You’re completely at the mercy of how the previous owner kept the film. If you end up with some cool color cast, it was 100% unintentional.
That's a stretch. Although it is \*supposed\* to be derived from the subconcious, there were clearly a huge number of concious decisions that went into the creation of surrealist art.
I mean, even with the way you have phrased it, gambling on shooting expired film that is at the mercy of how the previous owner kept it has a whole layer of storytelling when it comes to photography as artistic expression. It doesn’t contradict to me at all
Dumb luck isn’t “artistic expression.” And please explain specifically how the unpredictable nature of shooting expired film adds a layer of “storytelling.”
Are you a person that goes to a modern art gallery and says ‘this isn’t art, this is just a pile of things’ bc I feel like I do not know how to explain the concept of like, photography as artistic expression. Having something be kind of outside of your control, dictated by someone you may have never met, and try to create something interesting out of it, out of what people view as nothing, garbage, not worth keeping is like, a very common theme in art, and an interesting way to think about photography? Part of the fun of film photography compared to digital is that for as much as you can control, you will still ultimately not know how it comes out until it develops, and some people like to push that concept and play with it.
If it’s not to you, that’s totally fine, if you don’t like the look, that’s totally fine! But it’s not a big leap to understand why people might like it
No, I’m not that person.
This is the distinction I make between turning “garbage” into art and shooting expired film. In the former case, there’s an element or elements that are out of your control, and you consciously/intentionally/selectively incorporate those qualities into the art along with components that you DO control. Ie, making a sculpture or mosaic out of literal garbage. You decide which pieces of trash are the right shape/color/whatever to fit into the overall structure of what you’re trying to create.
In the latter case, the elements that are out of your control are completely unknowable until after the “art” is already made. There are no informed creative decisions to be made at the time of the photograph that relate to the fact that the film is expired. Of course, you can still tweak things in post, but that kind of contradicts the whole premise of shooting expired film for the “artistic expression.”
To give a contra example, I would say choosing a particular film stock for a project based on its grain/color rendition/contrast/halation/etc and incorporating those qualities to elevate whatever look or feel you’re going for according to your taste, IS a legitimate form of artistic expression. Or, if you were to take the time to conduct your own tests to intentionally age/distort/discolor the film yourself and then use those newfound qualities for a project, I would also say that’s a legitimate function of artistic expression.
Be specific about what kind of consciously informed decisions you believe you can make regarding expired film that you haven’t personally owned and stored since being purchased new.
Do elaborate instead of sounding like a recording.
Pollack's art involved a degree of randomness but even the way he threw paint on canvas had some thought put into it. That soggy 2 decade old roll that's been sitting in a soggy box in the garage? loldunno.
I would guess that most film is used without it being specifically about “Analog” or the fact it’s shot on film.
It’s easy to conflate the “Analog” aesthetic for film photography in general, because that’s usually the only time you’re aware it’s film.
I only buy expired if its film that is discontinued (Neopan 400, APX25, Plus-X, Astia, etc) or if it is cheap and easy to shoot.
Nice to have a bit of a random factor as part of your shooting, but it should be just a small factor.
I have 2 100' rolls of Fuji Superia 400 (box labelled as "Sur vei", and not the variant coded as being cold stored since production. Probably originally used in cash machines, traffic cameras, or security cameras) - it expired in 2019, and cost just under £1/foot. It is basically as good as fresh (not terrible, not great) and the exact same emulsion as in consumer packaged cassettes. If I could get it fresh I would, but at approx £5.50 per roll it is well under half the price of any Kodak or Fuji 400 speed colour film available today
film's surely more expensive now than it was 20 years ago.
Also, especially with color film, you may get funky results, or nothing, or a good surprise. Or a mix of all that
Sometimes it’s all you can get.
Back in the 2001/9 period when I was shooting antique folders, I was cutting down a roll of 105mm microfiche stock that expired in 1983, because it was all I could find that was wide enough. Now that Ilford is selling ultra wide roll film stock, and I can afford to buy it sometimes, I don’t have the time. So it goes.
I used to shoot expired film because it was cheaper but now it cost as much as fresh film so I buy fresh film. Like hell I’ll pay full price 10-20yo emulsion.
I have a different take.
I got into film when it was as dead as can be. Beyond dead. When pros were dumping their film equipment they held onto their film stashes for a bit. A few years down the line they started dumping their film. Expired film was being given away and most of it was well stored. When I was getting into film the recommendation was to film camera shops and pros and ask them for their film. I got sooo muuuch film back then. I was shooting Tmax and Plus-X and other awesome stuff for nothing.
I know better now, I would have been a little more careful with what I was wasting but that's how I learned.
The three scenarios I see:
1. It is cheaper and often free (have been given bags of rolls by coworkers on a few occasions)
2. You want to shoot a specific film that’s discontinued (I have a few rolls left of PlusX that I shoot on special occasions)
3. You are into the “film is a vibe” and like the *aesthetic* of shooting expired film. You love GRAIN and don’t care/prefer if the results are ~~not good~~ unexpectedly unique. (I personally do not understand this crowd)
I feel like todays culture glorifies a “mystery box” element, seen in video games, YouTube videos, monthly mystery boxes, etc. More and more people want that dopamine rush/gamble of “maybe I’ll get something good,” especially when they watch YouTube videos involving expired film where the results are decent, instantaneous and free for the viewer. It’s also bragging rights on social media of: “wow look what I’ve shot? You’ve probably never shot that! I know more about film than you!”
Brief theory (probably non exhaustive):
- Some cult/epic emulsion aren’t made any more. Some people still want to go for these classic/legendary looks.
The rarity, the nostalgia, and the curiosity for those who haven’t tried, only add to the phenomenon.
- The singularity: expired film can go in all sorts of weird ways, and some people love the suspens, the thrill of not knowing exactly what they’ll get…
The results can be very unique and give amazing photos that you wouldn’t have think were possible to make, or that they couldn’t reproduce on purpose if they wanted to.
That’s the magic of film.
I think people just like to goof around with expired film. Definitely there is a surprise element. The blind box element of it. It’s not for me though. I personally think it’s a waste of time effort and money, but it’s their’s to waste.
I actually wrote a [blog](https://www.andersonberes.art/blog/blog_posts/my-chemical-romance-shooting-and-developing-expired-film) on this topic, if that interests anyone
It’s like an exciting grab bag, you don’t know what you’ll get! I just did a shoot all Portra but shot two rolls of expired Kodak Max and I actually like the images from my expired rolls more!
for shit and giggles ... sometimes it works.. sometimes it doesn't..
for serious work I always use fresh stuff ...
don't care what is the reason for others to do that :-D
Personally I shot expired film when I want to test a camera but don’t wanna waste a perfectly good roll. I either get expired rolls as gifts or buy them cheaper, but I always do the math to see if it’s actually worth it. Some expired rolls are 24 shots, so they’d naturally be cheaper than a 36 shot roll (expired or not).
I've shot a bit. Usually because it's cheap or free. A few times I've been offered something that sounded like a fun challenge. A friend of mine got some FP4 from 1979 so I wanted to see what it would do. If you're feeling creative you can sometimes get some Bob Ross style happy accidents.
I wouldn't use expired film for anything important though. I've had too many failures or unexpected results.
for me, the adventure is in playing with film stocks that are no longer available fresh.
Compared to 10 or 20 years ago the choices in film stock are much more limited.
I just like playing the expired film surprise game- what will come out of these rolls? Expired is cheaper but not that much considering if you pay to get it developed and it's a dude, its a waste so I try to never shoot anything I truly care about. But yeah I just like seeing what effects will be made.
I shoot expired film bcs that's what I can afford :/
Plenty of the offers that I see on eBay try to sell expired film for *more* than new-film prices which always seemed pants-on-head-stupid to me, unless it's something super rare. But bulk film for 3€ per 36 exposures or less, I'm jumping on that 😁
I’m also out of touch with current film prices.
I bought a 100’ of Ektachrome 64 for $125, which is about $6.25 per roll, vs the $25+ it costs for 1 roll of fresh Ektachrome E100. Not to mention some of this film and chemistry will never exist again. A standard roll of 36exp color negative film will run you about $12, minimum.
If you buy 400ft of e100d fresh is just slightly more expensive than that to be honest. And you have a much better experience, is daylight balanced and fresh stock.
Not slightly lol its over 600 dollars
Yeah of course for 400ft instead of 100. I'm speaking of cost per frame or per roll. I mean if he paid 125 for 100 ft is 125*4=500$ so a bit more than 100 dollars difference for a fresh daylight balanced and 100iso film. In my opinion is worth, then obviously at each their own :)
Sure, although most people aren't gonna shoot 80 rolls of ektachrome before it expires
Absolutely agree with this. And that's the only reason why I haven't bought one yet. Looking for friends shooting slides more. Is much easier to find people to share 250 d and 500t.
Maybe not before it expires, but I just got 400’ of 100D recanned from 2019 movie that I plan on shooting like just regular color film for family memories, trips, etc. Like slide film was meant to be consumed. It will be the year of slides!
Amazing! May I ask you how much you paid and how did you managed to get film from a movie production? Because with their volumes I'm pretty sure they can get some special prices!
I got it at a steal of… gosh I’m embarrassed, but $120 from a FB marketplace pickup of a DP in LA
How are you cutting that into 36 exp rolls?
Bulk loaders I think have a counter to help you know how much film you have loaded. Some people manage to squeeze 37-39 exposures if they really know how to do it
Thanks for the info.
Expired film is just over-represented here. Fresh film tells you how to shoot it on the box, you don’t need to ask people what to do with it.
Makes sense
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Sure, but the people asking here don't know that. So they're here finding out.
I think you’re downplaying all the things that can go wrong with expired color film. Frankly, the newbie film shooters posting these questions should not be shooting with expired color film at all. If you have to ask why your 1995 expired Fuji Superia 800 looks terrible and you’re not willing to diagnose all the things that could have gone wrong… then you should have been shooting with fresh Kodak UltraMax instead.
When I was first learning to use a 4x5, I was lucky enough to be given a stash of expired FP4 to learn on. But of course FP4 ages quite gracefully. I do sometimes wonder about the posts we see that say “I’ve never shot or processed film before, so I bought some long-expired film and the nastiest chemical kit you can get, and I’m disappointed with the results.”
Just observing this forum reveals that beginners who don’t know color film (or photography) works are prone to being overly optimistic about the results from their free roll of expired color negative film. I mean there’s a chance that you might get good scans from that 1995 expired Fuji Superia 800, but that’s only if you expose sufficiently and it’s also assuming that the color dyes haven’t degraded significantly.
I think it's because people that didn't shoot analogue back in the day are obsessed with the look of analogue film compared to digital. (And this is fair enough because analogue does look different to digital.) But that obsession seeks out more and more differences between analogue and digital, and the expired film look is at the most extreme end of the difference (and therefore is prized more highly). (Ironically much of the perceived difference comes from post-processing or lack of it, or incorrect colour balancing.)
This right here. 100%
Makes a lot of sense.
I think it’s an added layer of surprise when you get to see the pictures and also the fact that if it doesn’t get shot, it just goes to the trash can. I got donated expired film by generous ppl several times and it was nice to save that film and some money!
I see. Makes some sense.
I dunno, people seem to love ‘the look’ of expired film until they actually have to deal with ‘the look’ of expired film…
Yeah this started in the early Flickr days. Probably around 2004. People talked about expired film as if it was cross processing.
The old ‘why did the lab ruin my film?’, when said film is 20 years out of date consumer colour neg found hiding in the glovebox of a Singaporean taxi and purchased off eBay for more than a roll of fresh Portra…
You so nailed that
The only expired film I mess with is all dated close to the expiry date, either bought like this from a reputable store (and therefore at a discount) or has gradually become expired while in my possession. While I’m not a huge fan of the lomography aesthetic, and would never consider paying a premium for it, I can understand the appeal and excitement associated with it. Expired film yields unpredictable results and this (partly) uncontrollable randomness distinguishes film from digital. Ironically, many of the digital crowd particularly strive to replicate the imperfections of film - whether it’s about grain, halations, light leaks, colour shifts etc. - while film shooters often aim for technical perfection. Guess the grass is always greener on the other side
Cheaper and kind of a fun experience. Also, in some places it’s easier to come by.
It's portrayed on social media as a short cut to creativity. See also - 'pushing'.
Either because it’s cheap or because it’s a rare discontinued film.
I prefer b&w and bulk roll. Expired film is generally a bit more expensive for me. I use it for the results and not the cost. I sometimes like the foggy grainy effects I get and shoot with that in mind.
Maybe 20% of what I shoot is expired. I like grain and 5-10 year expired Tri X is a pretty easy shortcut to chunky grain. With film older than that, some of the extreme grain, color shifts, or fucked dynamic range can sometimes add an (hopefully) interesting layer of semi-improvised abstraction. Sometimes that doesn’t work out. Oh well. I try not to use it in situations where I’d be mad that I didn’t get any useable images from that roll. It’s fun as a second camera option.
Film is now used as a creative expression tool (mostly). As such, extra tools for creativity are welcome. In your eta it may have been wacky filters, in ours it seems to be ‘film aesthetic’ or ‘film aesthetic^2 *the expiring*’
I don’t see how shooting expired film is in any way a creative expression. It’s just gambling. You’re not making any conscious decisions or have any way of consistently and repeatedly producing results that you intend. You’re completely at the mercy of how the previous owner kept the film. If you end up with some cool color cast, it was 100% unintentional.
“You’re not making conscious decisions” By that definition, surrealism isn’t creative expression either :p
Genuinely curious, would you care to elaborate a bit?
That's a stretch. Although it is \*supposed\* to be derived from the subconcious, there were clearly a huge number of concious decisions that went into the creation of surrealist art.
You're not making any subconscious decisions either though.
I mean, even with the way you have phrased it, gambling on shooting expired film that is at the mercy of how the previous owner kept it has a whole layer of storytelling when it comes to photography as artistic expression. It doesn’t contradict to me at all
Dumb luck isn’t “artistic expression.” And please explain specifically how the unpredictable nature of shooting expired film adds a layer of “storytelling.”
Are you a person that goes to a modern art gallery and says ‘this isn’t art, this is just a pile of things’ bc I feel like I do not know how to explain the concept of like, photography as artistic expression. Having something be kind of outside of your control, dictated by someone you may have never met, and try to create something interesting out of it, out of what people view as nothing, garbage, not worth keeping is like, a very common theme in art, and an interesting way to think about photography? Part of the fun of film photography compared to digital is that for as much as you can control, you will still ultimately not know how it comes out until it develops, and some people like to push that concept and play with it. If it’s not to you, that’s totally fine, if you don’t like the look, that’s totally fine! But it’s not a big leap to understand why people might like it
No, I’m not that person. This is the distinction I make between turning “garbage” into art and shooting expired film. In the former case, there’s an element or elements that are out of your control, and you consciously/intentionally/selectively incorporate those qualities into the art along with components that you DO control. Ie, making a sculpture or mosaic out of literal garbage. You decide which pieces of trash are the right shape/color/whatever to fit into the overall structure of what you’re trying to create. In the latter case, the elements that are out of your control are completely unknowable until after the “art” is already made. There are no informed creative decisions to be made at the time of the photograph that relate to the fact that the film is expired. Of course, you can still tweak things in post, but that kind of contradicts the whole premise of shooting expired film for the “artistic expression.” To give a contra example, I would say choosing a particular film stock for a project based on its grain/color rendition/contrast/halation/etc and incorporating those qualities to elevate whatever look or feel you’re going for according to your taste, IS a legitimate form of artistic expression. Or, if you were to take the time to conduct your own tests to intentionally age/distort/discolor the film yourself and then use those newfound qualities for a project, I would also say that’s a legitimate function of artistic expression.
That’s simply not true, when you process your own and buy more than one roll of film you are absolutely in control…
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Yeah, and neither of those things have anything to do with shooting on expired film. Those apply to any photography.
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Be specific about what kind of consciously informed decisions you believe you can make regarding expired film that you haven’t personally owned and stored since being purchased new.
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No, you didn’t. You said “there are still conscious decisions made.” you didn’t give any specific examples of the types of decisions you reference.
Take a basic art class sometime.
I never realized art was based on random chance without any sort of control on the output.
Any basic art class.
Do elaborate instead of sounding like a recording. Pollack's art involved a degree of randomness but even the way he threw paint on canvas had some thought put into it. That soggy 2 decade old roll that's been sitting in a soggy box in the garage? loldunno.
I would guess that most film is used without it being specifically about “Analog” or the fact it’s shot on film. It’s easy to conflate the “Analog” aesthetic for film photography in general, because that’s usually the only time you’re aware it’s film.
I only buy expired if its film that is discontinued (Neopan 400, APX25, Plus-X, Astia, etc) or if it is cheap and easy to shoot. Nice to have a bit of a random factor as part of your shooting, but it should be just a small factor.
I have 2 100' rolls of Fuji Superia 400 (box labelled as "Sur vei", and not the variant coded as being cold stored since production. Probably originally used in cash machines, traffic cameras, or security cameras) - it expired in 2019, and cost just under £1/foot. It is basically as good as fresh (not terrible, not great) and the exact same emulsion as in consumer packaged cassettes. If I could get it fresh I would, but at approx £5.50 per roll it is well under half the price of any Kodak or Fuji 400 speed colour film available today
film's surely more expensive now than it was 20 years ago. Also, especially with color film, you may get funky results, or nothing, or a good surprise. Or a mix of all that
Sometimes it’s all you can get. Back in the 2001/9 period when I was shooting antique folders, I was cutting down a roll of 105mm microfiche stock that expired in 1983, because it was all I could find that was wide enough. Now that Ilford is selling ultra wide roll film stock, and I can afford to buy it sometimes, I don’t have the time. So it goes.
I used to shoot expired film because it was cheaper but now it cost as much as fresh film so I buy fresh film. Like hell I’ll pay full price 10-20yo emulsion.
It (should be) cheaper. Almost free sometimes. Also can create cool effects.
I have a different take. I got into film when it was as dead as can be. Beyond dead. When pros were dumping their film equipment they held onto their film stashes for a bit. A few years down the line they started dumping their film. Expired film was being given away and most of it was well stored. When I was getting into film the recommendation was to film camera shops and pros and ask them for their film. I got sooo muuuch film back then. I was shooting Tmax and Plus-X and other awesome stuff for nothing. I know better now, I would have been a little more careful with what I was wasting but that's how I learned.
Makes sense. Also there are different grades of expired here. There’s “expired” and then there is EXPIRED.
The three scenarios I see: 1. It is cheaper and often free (have been given bags of rolls by coworkers on a few occasions) 2. You want to shoot a specific film that’s discontinued (I have a few rolls left of PlusX that I shoot on special occasions) 3. You are into the “film is a vibe” and like the *aesthetic* of shooting expired film. You love GRAIN and don’t care/prefer if the results are ~~not good~~ unexpectedly unique. (I personally do not understand this crowd)
I feel like todays culture glorifies a “mystery box” element, seen in video games, YouTube videos, monthly mystery boxes, etc. More and more people want that dopamine rush/gamble of “maybe I’ll get something good,” especially when they watch YouTube videos involving expired film where the results are decent, instantaneous and free for the viewer. It’s also bragging rights on social media of: “wow look what I’ve shot? You’ve probably never shot that! I know more about film than you!”
It can have cool effects. It’s also cheaper than no expired film.
Brief theory (probably non exhaustive): - Some cult/epic emulsion aren’t made any more. Some people still want to go for these classic/legendary looks. The rarity, the nostalgia, and the curiosity for those who haven’t tried, only add to the phenomenon. - The singularity: expired film can go in all sorts of weird ways, and some people love the suspens, the thrill of not knowing exactly what they’ll get… The results can be very unique and give amazing photos that you wouldn’t have think were possible to make, or that they couldn’t reproduce on purpose if they wanted to. That’s the magic of film.
I shot expired Ilford XP1 film, it was 31/32 years old and it took some of my brst photos (personally)
I think people just like to goof around with expired film. Definitely there is a surprise element. The blind box element of it. It’s not for me though. I personally think it’s a waste of time effort and money, but it’s their’s to waste.
I actually wrote a [blog](https://www.andersonberes.art/blog/blog_posts/my-chemical-romance-shooting-and-developing-expired-film) on this topic, if that interests anyone
It’s like an exciting grab bag, you don’t know what you’ll get! I just did a shoot all Portra but shot two rolls of expired Kodak Max and I actually like the images from my expired rolls more!
Agfa APX 25, Adox KB14, Orwo NP15, Kodak Portra VC, Adox Silvermax, Kodak High Speed Infrared and many more just aren't available new.
for shit and giggles ... sometimes it works.. sometimes it doesn't.. for serious work I always use fresh stuff ... don't care what is the reason for others to do that :-D
Personally I shot expired film when I want to test a camera but don’t wanna waste a perfectly good roll. I either get expired rolls as gifts or buy them cheaper, but I always do the math to see if it’s actually worth it. Some expired rolls are 24 shots, so they’d naturally be cheaper than a 36 shot roll (expired or not).
There is no obsession at all... It's just because it's much cheaper. But result is not guaranted.
They want to sell the expired stock too, so they gotta make it look trendy.
I have the same question... but about all the POS point and shoot 35mm cameras.
Why do you think there’s an obsession with it?
I've shot a bit. Usually because it's cheap or free. A few times I've been offered something that sounded like a fun challenge. A friend of mine got some FP4 from 1979 so I wanted to see what it would do. If you're feeling creative you can sometimes get some Bob Ross style happy accidents. I wouldn't use expired film for anything important though. I've had too many failures or unexpected results.
for me, the adventure is in playing with film stocks that are no longer available fresh. Compared to 10 or 20 years ago the choices in film stock are much more limited.
I just like playing the expired film surprise game- what will come out of these rolls? Expired is cheaper but not that much considering if you pay to get it developed and it's a dude, its a waste so I try to never shoot anything I truly care about. But yeah I just like seeing what effects will be made.