05-05-2019, 07:10 PM
1
35mm film - a question for people who know about film.
Going through a drawer of stuff, I found my old 35mm camera, (with a roll of film still in it!), and about 15 rolls of 35mm film, 24 exposures each, unused. (Truprint).I can't remember how old they are, but I had a stack of Truprint envelopes with them, for sending off for development, now defunct, of course.
I can't remember when I bought my first digital camera, which superseded this one. Probably around 10 years ago, but might be a bit longer.
Anyway, two questions:
1) Would this film still be ok to use, or does it deteriorate?
2) Plus, some of them are loose, but in little black canisters, and about 4 are still in the sealed foil pouches they came in. I have put the lot in a plastic tub.
Is that ok to store them in?
Any advice would be appreciated.
Oh, by the way, the lithium battery in the 35mm camera has run out. It's a strange looking battery. What are the chances of being able to buy a new one?
It's sort of like a double battery cartridge.
05-05-2019, 07:34 PM
2
Re: 35mm film - a question for people who know about film.
The dyes in the film would have deteriorated over that length of time. I used to store mine in the fridge until ready to use. The one still in the camera could still be developed but expect the colours not to be accurate.05-05-2019, 07:35 PM
3
Re: 35mm film - a question for people who know about film.
Originally Posted by Judd
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The dyes in the film would have deteriorated over that length of time. I used to store mine in the fridge until ready to use. The one still in the camera could still be developed but expect the colours not to be accurate.
05-05-2019, 07:36 PM
4
Re: 35mm film - a question for people who know about film.
Originally Posted by Pyxell
->
Going through a drawer of stuff, I found my old 35mm camera, (with a roll of film still in it!), and about 15 rolls of 35mm film, 24 exposures each, unused. (Truprint).I can't remember how old they are, but I had a stack of Truprint envelopes with them, for sending off for development, now defunct, of course.
I can't remember when I bought my first digital camera, which superseded this one. Probably around 10 years ago, but might be a bit longer.
Anyway, two questions:
1) Would this film still be ok to use, or does it deteriorate?
2) Plus, some of them are loose, but in little black canisters, and about 4 are still in the sealed foil pouches they came in. I have put the lot in a plastic tub.
Is that ok to store them in?
Any advice would be appreciated.
Oh, by the way, the lithium battery in the 35mm camera has run out. It's a strange looking battery. What are the chances of being able to buy a new one?
It's sort of like a double battery cartridge.
I've had a few cameras over the years. Most were 35mm film cameras but getting frames developed is now a challenge.
Then there is cost. Each frame you take has an attendant cost to get developed and you have up to 36 shots per roll.
With digital, you can take as many as you like with no incremental cost, keep or discard as you please.
So who want the unused film for a film camera?
05-05-2019, 07:58 PM
5
Re: 35mm film - a question for people who know about film.
Originally Posted by Besoeker
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A few points in no particular order.I've had a few cameras over the years. Most were 35mm film cameras but getting frames developed is now a challenge.
Then there is cost. Each frame you take has an attendant cost to get developed and you have up to 36 shots per roll.
With digital, you can take as many as you like with no incremental cost, keep or discard as you please.
So who want the unused film for a film camera?
However, if it's likely that the film quality has deteriorated, in view of what Judd says, it wouldn't be worth the risk.
I think Boots might still develop film.
I'll have to get the one in the camera developed, though, as I have no idea what's on it!
05-05-2019, 09:29 PM
7
Re: 35mm film - a question for people who know about film.
There is still a place for film; I found this on the web"
The Digital Resolution of Film
So how many pixels does it take to describe all the detail we can get from film?
Fuji Velvia 50 is rated to resolve 160 lines per millimeter. This is the finest level of detail it can resolve, at which point its MTF just about hits zero.
Each line will require one light and one dark pixel, or two pixels. Thus it will take about 320 pixels per millimeter to represent what's on Velvia 50.
320 pixels x 320 pixels is 0.1MP per square millimeter.
35mm film is 24 x 36mm, or 864 square millimeters.
To scan most of the detail on a 35mm photo, you'll need about 864 x 0.1, or 87 Megapixels.
But wait: each film pixel represents true R, G and B data, not the softer Bayer interpolated data from digital camera sensors. A single-chip 87 MP digital camera still couldn't see details as fine as a piece of 35mm film.
Since the lie factor factor from digital cameras is about two, you'd need a digital camera of about 87 x 2 = 175 MP to see every last detail that makes onto film.
That's just 35mm film. Pros don't shoot 35mm, they usually shoot 2-1/4" or 4x5."
At the same rates, 2-1/4" (56mm square) would be 313 MP, and 4x5" (95x120mm) would be 95 x 120 = 11,400 square millimeters = 1,140 MP, with no Bayer Interpolation. A digital camera with Bayer Interpolation would need to be rated at better than 2 gigapixels to see things that can be seen on a sheet of 4x5" film.
Summary
As we've seen, film can store far more detail than any digital capture system.
The gotchas with any of these systems is that:
1.) It takes one heck of a lens to be able to resolve this well.
2.) It takes even more of a photographer to be able to get that much detail on the film, and
3.) If you want to scan the film and retain this detail, you need one hack of a scanner (320 lpmm = 8,000 DPI).
This is why every time higher-resolution film scanners came out back before amateurs could afford DSLRs, we saw more details where we though we wouldn't see any.
Consumer 35mm scanners hit 5,400 DPI (Minolta) before the amateurs went to DSLRs, and even at 5,400 DPI we still saw more detail in our scans than we did at 4,800 DPI.
Film never stopped amazing us as we scanned it higher, and this is why.
5,400 DPI is equal to 212 pixels per mm, or 0.045MP/mm^2. Thus a 35mm slide, scanned on that Minolta 5400 scanner, yielded 39MP images, without Bayer Interpolation. Open these in PhotoShop, and 39x3 = 120 MB files, again, sharper than the Bayer-interpolated images from digital cameras.
Resolution has nothing to do with getting the right pixels and making a good photo, but if all you want to do is count pixels, count on film. See also Why We Love Film."
05-05-2019, 11:01 PM
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Re: 35mm film - a question for people who know about film.
Originally Posted by Pyxell
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True, but it seems a shame to waste it if it is still usable. However, if it's likely that the film quality has deteriorated, in view of what Judd says, it wouldn't be worth the risk.
I think Boots might still develop film.
I'll have to get the one in the camera developed, though, as I have no idea what's on it!
You could get the one in the camera developed to assess the quality before using the remaining ones but I can't see it being worth the effort or the money.
06-05-2019, 12:34 AM
9
Re: 35mm film - a question for people who know about film.
I have two old 35mm cameras: Canon AE1 and Canon T50.I haven't used them in years, but couldn't bring myself to throw them away. Perhaps I was hoping to make use of them in the future, but having heard that the cost of developing 35mm film is prohibitively expensive, even if it is possible to find anyone who will do it, I must think again.
Now what should I do with these cameras?
It would be really nice if they could be converted to digital by inserting some sort of sensor, but I think I'm living in Cloud Cuckoo Land!
06-05-2019, 05:18 AM
10
Re: 35mm film - a question for people who know about film.
Originally Posted by Besoeker
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But who would use it?
.....as I still have the 35mm camera I used them with.
What Judd says is a good idea, i.e., develop the one still in the camera, see what it's like and take it from there.
Plus, if the cost is really bad, then there wouldn't be any point in using the new ones.
With the battery having run out, I'll have to work out how to rewind the film in the camera manually, though.
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