8mm Forum: Oldest un-exposed home movie film?

This is topic Oldest un-exposed home movie film? in forum General Yak at 8mm Forum.

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Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on April 17, 2017, 11:24 AM:

Check this out ...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1933-UNOPENED-ROLL-of-PANCHROMATIC-REGULAR-8mm-KODAK-MOTION-PICTURE-MOVIE-FILM-/262937598704?hash=item3d384d5af0:g:gewAAOSwpP9Y8V-z

Granted, no doubt not good after all of these years, but wow, un-opened, 1933 ... 84 year old home movie film stock.

Posted by Tom Spielman (Member # 5352) on April 17, 2017, 12:20 PM:

Perfect, I've been looking for some film for my father's old 8mm camera. ;-)

Seriously I know people who have shot color film that expired in the 60's and still got some decent images. Not perfect mind you but not awful either.

I'd think with B&W the results would be better if still not perfect. What I've heard is that you set the ASA 1 stop slower for every decade that a film has been expired. I don't know what speed that film is but I would bet anything it's still possible to get an image assuming that the film is intact. Who knows what it looks like inside that package.

Whether you'd want to do that or not is a different question.

Now that I think about it, I might just do it if the price doesn't get ridiculous. But before doing so, I'd like to get your collective opinions. Would it be wrong to open a factory sealed package from the 30's to try something like that?

I'm not at all an expert and as of yet have not developed any 8mm film. Just stills. My father's camera hasn't been used in 30 years. I would definitely clean it up first but maybe it would be better left to somebody with a proven camera who's is more likely to get decent results.

Update: I've asked the seller if it has a vinegar smell at all. They said no, but I know that doesn't guarantee anything. So far it's only $9.00 and for that I wouldn't mind gambling on it.

I've since seen a blog by somebody whose made a hobby out of shooting and processing vintage film. It's not unreasonable to hope that one could still coax something out of that 84 year old spool.

[ April 17, 2017, 10:14 PM: Message edited by: Tom Spielman ]

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on April 18, 2017, 12:27 PM:

That would be really fascinating if someone could actually expose that and get results, say it was someone doing a historical drama film and just to add that extra level of "accuracy", they filmed flashback sequences with actual film from way back when! [Smile]

Posted by Tom Spielman (Member # 5352) on April 18, 2017, 01:17 PM:

Yes it would be fascinating. I've been doing a little research and what complicates matters a little bit is that film was made before there were ASA ratings. I've found some things that suggest what it *might* be but nothing definitive.

Besides that, my father's camera is from the late 50's to early 60's and was designed to work with only two types of film, kodachrome regular or Type A. There are no ASA settings. The shutter speed is also fixed so the only adjustment possible is the aperture.

Given the age of the film, I think wide open or nearly wide open on a sunny day is the only way to get images out of that camera and film combination.

That's a long winded way of saying that I'm a little leery of trying it without experimenting on some film that's not quite so aged first. [Wink]

Posted by Brian Fretwell (Member # 4302) on April 18, 2017, 04:35 PM:

If home developing you could expose a few feet and develop that to see how good the exposure was and compensate. Though development times for an emulsion that old probably would not be available.

Posted by Tom Spielman (Member # 5352) on April 19, 2017, 01:19 AM:

That's a great idea Bryan. I've seen development steps for film almost that old, - from the 1940s. I think it was Kodachrome cross-processed as a B&W negative in one case and B&W reversal in another.

Posted by Bill Brandenstein (Member # 892) on April 19, 2017, 01:40 PM:

To quote Indiana Jones:

IT BELONGS IN A MUSEUM!

[Cool]

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