Kentmere Pan 100

Kentmere Pan 100 is made by Harman Technology, the same company that makes Ilford, and it shows. The film uses a conventional silver halide structure and responds well to standard developers. It is not a rebadged FP4+, but the shared manufacturing origin means quality control is better than you would expect from the price point. It costs roughly 40 percent less than FP4+ per roll, which matters when you are burning through film learning technique or testing new developers.

Compared to FP4+ the grain is less refined and the curve is slightly more abrupt in the shadows. Midtones are serviceable but not as smooth; a skilled printer can make beautiful prints from Kentmere 100, but the margin for error is narrower than with FP4+. Rodinal 1:50 makes the grain more visible and graphic; D-76 1:1 gives a cleaner, more modern result.

For bulk rolling, Kentmere 100 is one of the most cost-effective choices available in 30.5-meter lengths. Students who go through a roll a day in a printing class, photographers testing their developing consistency, or anyone who treats film as a working material rather than a precious commodity will find it does the job without much fuss.

Available in 35mm and 120. The 120 performs better relative to its price point than the 35mm; the larger frame hides the grain character differences between Kentmere and Ilford stocks more effectively.

Reciprocity exponent is 1.31. Long exposures correct identically to HP5+ and SFX. Zone Light Meter applies the same curve past one second, so if you switch between Kentmere 100 and HP5+ on different days the reciprocity workflow stays consistent.