Kentmere Pan 100 (35mm film) Review & Photos

Kentmere Pan 100 is a medium-speed, ISO 100 panchromatic black-and-white film recognised for its low cost and high image quality for the price tag. Kentmere Pan 100 is an extremely versatile film. It can be used for a wide range of photography subjects, including landscapes, portraiture, street photography, and documentaries. Because of its low price and high adaptability, it is a favourite among amateurs and professionals alike.

Kentmere Pan 100 is produced by Harman Technology; the parent company of Ilford Photo. It is created using similar production procedures to Ilford films, but with slight variations in the emulsion chemicals. The resulting film has the same high quality as the original, but at a far more affordable price.

Key Features Of Kentmere Pan 100

Pros

• Cheap price, but produces good-quality images
• An excellent film to start your 35mm photography journey
• Surprisingly good shadow detail, even when under exposed

Cons

• Lacks contrast, flatter images compared to other stocks

My impressions of Kentmere Pan 100

I have a soft spot for Kentmere film. The first roll of film I ever shot was Kentmere 400, back in October/November 2022. This seems like such a long time ago, but at the time of writing the present review, I am nearly a year into my analogue film journey. Happy one-year anniversary to me! Please send cake!

My thoughts on Kentmere 100 are much the same as the ISO 400 flavour. I love the latitude of the film; it retains detail in both the shadows and highlights, even shooting inside dark abandoned places with light pouring in from windows on a sunny day. The contrast is certainly less than something like Ilford HP5+. To my eye, the images have a delightful “old-fashioned” feel with this softer contrast so it certainly isn’t a drawback in my view.

The grain is, of course, finer when compared to Kentmere Pan 400. In brighter spaces or outdoors on overcast days the 400 speed film is perfect, for bright days the 100 would be a better choice. For my work, I tend to shoot interiors on a tripod with a remote shutter so both ISO 100 and ISO 400 options are good for me. However, in some situations the ISO 400 film gives me the option to hand shoot whereas with Kentmere Pan 100 I almost always have to shoot on a tripod when exploring abandoned places.

Shooting abandoned places around UK the on a single roll – England, Ireland, Scotland & Wales

Wow, this single roll of film had quite the adventure! I loaded the film right before I travelled to Ireland. I didn’t complete the roll, as it was a short trip and I am still very selective in the film photographs I make. Over the next few weeks I shot some things on day trips to Wales, as well as some more local places around Manchester. A quick trip to Scotland meant this little roll ticked off all four countries in the UK!

I also shot some medium format in Scotland, on a Kodak Duaflex II gifted to me by my step dad. This old box camera belonged to his father, and I happily carried it around Scotland in my backpack next to me grandad’s 35mm Zenit E!

Example photos I have taken on Kentmere Pan 100

Finally, here are the shots from my first outings with Kentmere Pan 100 film. All of these were shot with my trusty Zenit E. Half the roll was shot with a Helios-44, with some later shots on my newly acquired Mir-1b. Enjoy!