Film Expiry

I've been shooting digital for a while now, but have plenty of Velvia 50 left in my fridge. I've just noticed the date for expiry is for May 2003. I was wondering if anyone knew how long film will actually keep (in a fridge!) until it will be useless....ie: will be blank when it comes to processing.

I plan to go to Africa next year and shoot mostly film....do you think the film will still be ok then? Or should I try and sell it off now.

Cheers for any help.

Mark

as long as you have kept it in the fridge or freezer. Shoot a roll to test it for color balance.

You will get an image no matter how old it is but if it has not been kept cold you can expect a slight pink/magenta color cast and likely some loss of Dmax. I shoot nothing but expired film and typically have no issues that can not be corrected after scanning.
It is imperative that you cold store it until you are ready to shoot. Stored at room temp, it will start to decay rather quickly.
Just last week I was given a crapload of expired Kodak E100S that has been frozen since 1995. It has very minor pink cast but is otherwise fine.


SJ

Less than a year out of date and stored in the fridge? You'll have a hard time telling it from in-date Velvia. You'll be fine with it. I've never had a problem with it in heat either - but you might want to store it in a small soft-sided cooler. If it gets hot out, put a cold bottle of water in there too.