Kentmere Pan 100 .
Kentmere Pan 100 is a fine-grained, sharp black and white film made with the same technology as Ilford FP4 Plus. It has good contrast: not as punchy as Pan 200, but noticeably more than Pan 400. This makes it an excellent choice for a wide range of photography.
It’s great for landscape work where there’s good light. It also captures people well due to its fine grain and restrained contrast. And like other films rated around ISO 100, it’s an exceptional choice for architecture, with excellent detail.
It’s not well suited to street photography unless you like to capture motion. Pan 200 and 400 would be better choices here. Likewise, when shooting at dawn and dusk you may opt for a faster film, as exposures over one second will need compensation.
At this price point it’s a good film for beginners to learn about film and their camera. It’s also well suited to seasoned shooters who want a versatile roll to throw into their camera for a day around town or a weekend away.
If there’s good light in the forecast, Pan 100 is an easy roll to reach for.
- + Architecture for good detail
- + Landscapes in good light
- + A roll to throw in the camera for a weekend trip
- − Scenes where you want more contrast — choose Pan 200
- − When you need faster shutter speed — choose Pan 200 or 400
- − You want finer grain — choose Delta 100
more from their film.
Kentmere Pan 100 is a conventional cubic-grain black and white film rated at ISO 100, designed for good-light conditions. In 35mm, grain is fine: present but unobtrusive under normal exposure, and well-controlled enough for quality enlargements and high-resolution scans. The tonal character is medium contrast with a broad range of mid-tones, sitting slightly above Kentmere Pan 400 in punch but well below Pan 200. Latitude is wide: the film tolerates the full bracket from EI 50 to EI 200 while holding printable shadow and highlight detail. Meter for the shadows and give it a little extra exposure for richer tones. For exposures beyond one second, apply the reciprocity correction formula Ta = Tm^1.26.
The development table provides times for one stop of push to EI 200 and one stop of pull to EI 50 across a comprehensive range of Ilford and Kodak developers. At EI 200, expect a modest increase in contrast from the medium baseline. The one stop of pull (EI 50) reduces contrast and extends shadow detail, useful in harsh or contrasty light. Beyond one stop in either direction there is no published data, so this is not a film to push hard. At box speed the film processes robustly and tolerates less-than-ideal conditions without issue.
Store unexposed film in a cool, dry environment (10–20°C). Fridge or freezer storage is permitted. Allow the cassette to return fully to room temperature before opening to prevent condensation forming on the film surface. Process exposed rolls promptly.