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Unpopular opinion: stand developing saved my expired film stash and nobody talks about it
I shot 4 rolls of film that expired back in 2009 and every lab quote I got said the fog was too far gone to bother, so I tried stand developing in Rodinal 1:100 for one hour with just 3 inversions at the start. Every single roll came out with usable images and the grain honestly looks better than my fresh stock. Has anyone else messed with semi-stand times for old film, or am I just getting lucky with this batch?
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grant_palmer13d ago
Tbh the 3 inversions at the start is the key part most people skip. If you just let it sit totally still the developer exhausts unevenly and you get those weird streaks, but a few flips at the top keeps fresh chem moving through the shadows where expired film needs it most. And yeah, your grain looking better makes total sense, cause the long dilution lets the highlights build up slow while the fog gets held back instead of getting blasted all at once like a normal aggressive dev would do. I'd push it further and try 1:150 for 90 minutes on your next batch, the extra time barely costs you anything and old emulsions really seem to like that slower pace. Just make sure your temps are stable cause stand dev punishes temp swings way harder than normal agitation does.
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