This Week No. 45: Video: Unboxing a boatload of expired film

My film fridge
My film fridge is totally overloaded now, and I don’t really have room for another single roll. Oh yeah, I bought a film fridge so we can use the crisper drawers for food again. (Daniel J. Schneider)

I don’t usually do this, but I made a video. And I’ve never done this before, but it’s an unboxing video. It’s a crapload of expired film.

I spotted an auction on eBay I couldn’t resist. It was the second most I’ve ever spent on film at once (mostly because I don’t shoot 8×10), but it’s also the most exposures’ worth of film I’ve ever gotten at once.

I decided the easiest way to make this post interesting was to make a short (well, sorta) video as I discovered the contents, so you all could see it at the same time I did.

My attraction to this lot was two things: A bunch of 127 film — which, even expired, will be useful for playing with some old cameras I still have — and a ton of 4×5 sheet film. As I’ve started to think more about making pictures and less about playing with cameras, I’ve started to think more about using the Crown Graphic (which I’ve hardly mentioned before aside from this post) sometimes.

While all of this film is expired — some of it very much so — I think, particularly in the case of the sheet film, I can make a couple test exposures from each box and get an idea how to get a good image from the rest. With fresh film costing $2-3 per sheet, just the two 100-count boxes of Tri-X (a ridiculously stable film in the first place) are worth what I paid for the whole lot and then some.

A few things in the lot will probably go right back to eBay (or contact me if you’re interested) and hopefully help me drive that net cost a little lower still. Some will probably wind up going into the mix for Expired Film Day next year, too.

The video

Be kind, guys. I’m not a moving pictures kinda guy…

The list

Everything that was in there, copied from the auction description and lightly edited:

Movie film

  • Kodak Tri-X reversal film 7278 16mm, 100 feet, no date
  • Kodachrome II Film Magazine 50 feet 16mm, 1964
  • Kodak Plus-X reversal film 7276 16mm film, no date
  • (2) Kodak Kodachrome Double 8 film, 25 feet, 1983

Medium format & misc

  • (8) Kodak CL 127 Color Film, 1987
  • Kodak Verichrome 616 B&W film, 1965
  • (2) Kodak 620 Kodacolor II Film, 77-82
  • Kodak Kodacolor CX 828 film, 1972
  • Wecopan 127 film, no date
  • Wards 127 B&W Film, 1966
  • Famous Brand Color 127 film, 1970
  • Kodak Verichrome Pan 616 film, 1976
  • Kodachrome 120 PKR film, 1986
  • Kodak Super XX 120 film, no date

35mm and smaller

  • Ansco Ultra Speed Pan L36-1, 1949
  • (3) Konica JX200 APS film, 1999
  • Scotch HR 100 110 film, 1989
  • Finest Color 110 Print Film
  • 64 Tungston Micro Film, no date
  • HIT Film 14×14 Idex 6 pcs, 1958
  • Herzog Super Isolux Film SIDA 24, no date
  • Agfa IFF Isopan 35mm film 36, 1972

Sheet film

  • Kodak Tri-X Pan 6×9 Sheet film Pack, 12 sheets, 1958
  • Kodak Verichrome Pan 6×9 Film Pack, 12 sheets, 1960
  • Kodak 4×5 Kodalith Ortho film Type 3, 25 sheets, sealed, 1977
  • Kodak 4×5 Vericolor III Film Type 3 1998, 25 sheets, half full
  • Kodak 4×5 Tri-X film 4164, 100 sheets, nearly full, 1989?
  • Kodak 4×5 Tri-X Pan film, 100 sheets, sealed, no date
  • Kodak 4×5 Vericolor II 1985, half full
  • Kodak 4×5 Vericolor III 1989, half full
  • Kodak 5×7 Royal Pan Plus film, 1975, 100 Sheets, nearly full
  • Arista 10×12 APH Premium Halftone Film, 100 Sheets, half full

Here is a little bit about that Arista halftone film, which is definitely a darkroom tool.

Postscript

The Leitz item is called an Eldia, and it’s a duplicator used for making positives from your negatives. Obviously it’s designed with black and white film in mind — I don’t think you’d get anything like you imagine if you tried to duplicate color negative film onto color negative (slide to slide might work, though).

I found more about the Eldia duplicator here. While it sounds like it could be fun to play with, I have a lot on my shelf already, so this is in the pile heading back out the door.

Post-Postscript

I had to get a small fridge for all my film so we could put food in the main refrigerator. Crazy, right? At first I thought it was too big, but now the film fridge is jam-packed…