Before I started shooting Kentmere 400, I had kinda bought the Internet “wisdom” that it’s a budget film and performs accordingly. It’s an affordable film, and it punches above its weight class. If it were available in more formats, I think it would be my favorite black and white film. Yeah, that’s probably the case.
Kentmere is a good first film and, if you only ever want to shoot 35mm, it’s a pretty good lifetime film, too. Given the film’s range, the tones, the detail it retains, and the generally classic look it delivers, Kentmere 400 is a fantastic choice as a primary black and white film. So here are a few key lessons to take away from this video:
1- The Internet is often wrong. If you hear a person say a thing, go test it. I mean, unless it would be dangerous to. Like, you can assume those people who say licking plutonium is fine is wrong without testing it. But trying a film stock that people don’t like, that’s not licking plutonium. So go do it. Buy a few rolls, try it out, and see if you like it. Giving a thing a chance gives you the opportunity to learn something new and, in the best case, take your own creative work into a direction you otherwise would not have.
2- Inexpensive does not mean poor, bad, or sub-par. Inexpensive simply means lower-cost. Maybe the materials are less expensive; engineering, research, development, and manufacturing equipment costs long-since absorbed; or maybe the people who run the company focus on creating a product for anyone. Regardless, I don’t know the reasons why Kentmere 400 is a good bit cheaper than most comparable films, but I do know that it handily outperforms most comparable films.
3- 35mm is a lot of fun to shoot, and honestly going into this video I had lost sight of that. Kentmere did a lot for me, more than showing me a great and inexpensive film. Kentmere reintroduced me to 35mm film, which for almost a year I had not done much of, focusing instead on sheet film for testing my Kickstarter cameras and 120 because I tend to like it over 35mm. But Kentmere re-opened a door for 35mm and, yeah, I really enjoy it again.
And I hope you like 35mm, too; enough to try this film and see if it suits your photographic style, anyway. I know of no photographers for whom Kentmere 400 would not have some capacity to support their work. And I think that’s high praise for any film. To say that about a film that’s inexpensive, made in a country with good environmental and work protections, and also capable of delivering more than it promises, well, that’s something else entirely.
Channel Membership:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrZlzcRfCKLngZnqNTmTQjw/join
David's Amazon Author Page
https://www.amazon.com/David-Hancock/e/B0B6DZCD9K
Index:
0:00 - Intro
0:13 - Skip Intro
0:50 - Kentmere Pan 400 Best Tips, Tricks, and Practices
1:36 - Kentmere Pan 400 Subjective Characteristics
4:40 - Kentmere Pan 400 Filter Performance
6:45 - Kentmere Pan 400 Reciprocity Failure
8:52 - Kentmere Pan 400 Development Latitude
9:44 - Kentmere Pan 400 Recommended Developers
10:31 - Kentmere Pan 400 Developers to Avoid
10:54 - Kentmere Pan 400 Narrative Review
Developers Index:
0:23 - Kentmere Pan 400, DK-50 Stock, 400 ISO
1:17- Kentmere Pan 400, Ilfosol 3 1+14, 400 ISO
4:45- Kentmere Pan 400, D-76 1+1, 200 ISO
2:29 - Kentmere Pan 400, D-76 1+1, 800 ISO
2:52 - Kentmere Pan 400, D-76 1+3, 400 ISO
3:44 - Kentmere Pan 400, D-76 Stock, 50 ISO
4:06 - Kentmere Pan 400, D-76 Stock, 200 ISO
9:01 - Kentmere Pan 400, TMax Developer 1+4, 200 ISO
9:23 - Kentmere Pan 400, TMax Developer 1+4, 400 ISO
10:40 - Kentmere Pan 400, Adotech IV 1+75 (Stand Developed), 400 ISO
11:03 - Kentmere Pan 400, Rodinal 1+100 (Stand Developed), 400 ISO
11:22 - Kentmere Pan 400, LegacyPro Mic-X 1+3, 400 ISO
11:56 - Kentmere Pan 400, Polydol Stock, 400 ISO
12:24 - Kentmere Pan 400, Rodinal 1+50, 400 ISO
13:00 - Kentmere Pan 400, DK-50 1+3, 400 ISO
13:26 - Kentmere Pan 400, Ilfosol 3 1+9, 400 ISO
13:42 - Kentmere Pan 400, LegacyPro L110 1+31, 200 ISO
14:05 - Kentmere Pan 400, LegacyPro L110 1+31, 400 ISO
14:56 - Kentmere Pan 400, LegacyPro L110 1+31, 1600 ISO
References:
https://www.ilfordphoto.com/amfile/file/download/file/1922/product/697/
https://www.digitaltruth.com/devchart.php?Film=Kentmere%25&Developer=&mdc=Search&TempUnits=C&TimeUnits=D
http://www.apug.org/forums/forum.php
http://istillshootfilm.org/
http://www.filmsnotdead.com/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/119931904758842/?ref=br_rs
https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/114394153449222831034
http://www.sprawls.org/ppmi2/FILMCON
http://motion.kodak.com/motion/uploadedFiles/Kodak/motion/Education/Publications/Essential_Reference_Guide/kodak_essential_reference_guide.pdf
http://www.covingtoninnovations.com/dslr/Curves.html
http://www.nfsa.gov.au/preservation/handbook/photographic-duplication/characteristic-curves/
"VHS Hero" by Lofive & "Gentle Waves" by Francis Leung used under active license from Epidemic Sound at the time of this video's upload.