Getting quite old 35mm film developed?

Marcel

Marcel

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Marcel
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My sister took some photos at our wedding back in 2001 :confused:.
They never got the film(s) developed. Infact she has 6 rolls of used film and she can't remember which one it was, so I said I'd get all 6 developed.

Not sure how old they all are, but if our wedding is one of them, then that one will be December 2001 when it was shot / exposed.

What's the likelihood of getting them developed successfully? If so, is there anywhere inparticular I should take them? (i.e. Do I need to find somewhere that really knows what they're doing).
You see normally I'd just drop them in at the local Asda, and pick up the final negs with some 6x4's along with a CD or two.

We're not after getting the best quality out of the film, just the best success of getting something from them.

Is it too late to get them developed perhaps? Would the local Asda be enough?

Cheers :)
 
I don't normally use colour so I'm not qualified to say, but I've processed and printed black & white films that expired four or five years back and they've been acceptable. However, heat and humidity are the two things which will decrease the life expectancy of a film.

With colour film, you'd more than likely have a slight colour cast if the film is very old, but as 'Cherryrig' said it will depend where the film has been stored.

You could try http://www.oldfilmprocessing.com/default.asp in Ruislip, near London. It says they can process outdated film, even film no longer in production. But whether they do a better job than Asda, I couldn't honestly say.
 
I dont think Asda would care to be honest, they would just dev then scan and give you the prints back.

Think as they are your wedding I would go to a better plae than Asda, just not sure who. (sorry bit useless that)
 
Oh yeah I know Asda won't care. Just wondered if whoever processes it would need to do anything specific with it being specific.

They've been stored (as far as I know) on a shelf in a living room, not near any heat sources etc, so nothing serious.

If whoever processes it doesn't need to do anything specific then I might just take them to Asda. Like I say, they may be wedding shots, but we're only bothered about visual reminders rather than quality (if that makes sense).
 
If they are all about the same age why not just get one processed and see how it turns out?
I think when someone asked about this in AP they suggested just getting the film processed and then have look at the negs to see what they are like.
If a bit thin have them printed in B/W.Colour would probably be way out,
although a Pro printer could maybe rescue them, but it would cost.
C
 
Ceejay said:
If they are all about the same age why not just get one processed and see how it turns out?
Click to expand...

Russian roulette :D 1 in 6 chance of getting the wedding :p

I have nothing useful to add but am following as I have some old films lying around
 
Pretty much all the labs, (Boots/Asda/local small independent shops,) will have similar processing machines Marcel. Most of these machines do not allow any user adjustment. It's a case of drop it in, let the machine do it's thing, and see what comes out! :) Having said that, I would not trust my negs to Asda or Boots et al tbh - as the variations in quality will generally come from how well each machine has been maintained and how fresh the chemicals are etc... This varys from place to place enormously.:eek:

If they are faded/thin/or have a colour cast, it will then be down to the skill of whoever is doing the job, to correct said problems when printing or scanning them to CD.

If you get stuck or want me to dev them for you at work, just drop me a PM. ;)

Ian
 
Unused film has a limit to age, but exposed film is almost zero.
 
We found a 35mm film in a drawer, had it developed and it came out ok except for a colour cast, the shots were not important as I would have scanned the neg and removed the cast...................well they were dated and the exposed film was 8 years old.
 
Well I had two of them developed at Asda today.
They came out fine, and they were taken roughly a year after our wedding (or so)

So I'll be taking the other 4 to Asda too I think :)
 
Had the remaining four films developed at Asda yesterday and every single one turned out fine. There were one or two shots / negs that were funny colours, but that's it (y)
 
classcams said:
Unused film has a limit to age, but exposed film is almost zero.
Click to expand...

Not sure what you mean there.

If the film is old (and 2001 isn't old) you can use it and process it and it will probably be fine.

If the pictures were taken in 2001 and it was processed today, some image quality may be lost. Latent images (the chemical action the light has on the emulsion) degrades with time, usually at a greater rate than the actual emulsion degrades.

I have used 1986 dated Kodachrome (last year) with no ill effects. Another roll from the same batch which was exposed around 1986 was processed last year and had very dark images.


Steve.
 
Yes, usually film documentation advises you to develop it as soon as possible after shooting. Doesn't hurt too much to delay it a bit, but certainly the image does degrade over time. Still, developing an old film is better than not developing it at all, in my opinion.
 
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