Picked up a bulk lot of expired film and my results got way better after two months in the fridge

I bought a box of 40 rolls of Fuji Superia 200 from an estate sale for $20 back in May. First roll I shot looked flat and grainy, like someone washed it in dish soap. Then I stored the rest in my beer fridge for about 8 weeks, and the next roll came out with way more contrast and less color shift. Anyone know if letting expired film sit cold longer actually helps the chemistry settle back down?

2 comments

2 Comments

harperg7618h ago

gonna be honest i think youre giving the fridge way too much credit. expired film degrades over time no matter where you keep it, the cold might just be slowing down how fast the colors go weird but it doesnt fix what already happened. probably more luck of the draw with different rolls or maybe the first one was stored badly before.

olivia39817h ago

Wait did you guys hear about that guy who kept his film in a basement fridge for like 12 years? Not exactly relevant but it came out looking like old Kodachrome from the 70s. @harperg76 you might be right though, my buddy found a roll in his hot car for a week and the colors were completely trashed but another one from the same batch kept in a drawer was fine. Makes you wonder how the first roll even got stored before you had it.