I received a Mamiya ZE-2 from a family member who discovered it in a closet. Along with the camera were 3 rolls of film - 2 in white plastic holders and one inside the camera.
I have no idea what may be on the film, but they seem to have been used (not developed). Would it be worth it to go develop them, will they still have the photos on them?
The 2 rolls in casings are Fujifilm Superia 400.
This depends totally on the conditions it is kept. The date on the film tends to be a conservative figure and as long as it's been kept cool it tends to last a lot longer than this. If the film is years out of date you have to make a decision if you want to risk it because you may end up with nothing.
well, just this week i found two rolls of film. a 35mm kodacolor 24 exposure. had no idea when it was from. just got the negs and a cd back. turns out the pics are from summer of 1990. very grainy and very washed out colors. but, adobe photoshop "perked" up the pictures and i'm glad i got them developed. the other roll is even older. it's kodacolor 110 cassette film. i fairly remember using this camera around the time of the bicentennial and a few years afterwards; that puts it from 1976 to 1980is. The shop had to send this roll away. I can pick up late tomorrow.
As exposed film ages it fogs - the contrast decreases over the months/years. How quickly this happens depends on the temperature and the type of film. Unfortunately colour print film isn't great, but it's surely worth developing. Even faded pictures of loved ones or half-remembered occasions are worth having. Take it to a professional darkroom and explain the film is old and discuss with them whether they should perhaps process it for longer to try to enhance the contrast. Good luck (PS I did the same with a couple of rolls of B&W and one or two colour films - all were worth having, and the 18 year old B&W shots were amazingly clear)
Be careful where you take the film to be developed. I took a 5 year old disposable camera to a drug store and when I returned for the prints they simply told me the film was too damaged and couldn't be developed.
I assume a proper shop would expend a little more effort, or at least return the film to be tried elsewhere.
Consumer film was designed to last for a fairly long time. Folks would take photos at Christmas in the cold, and then at the beach in July.
Professional film has a very short life, and usually required refrigeration.
But as others have said, take it to a good shop and see, it might be priceless.
