Previously, I did a review on Ilford Pan 400 black & white film pushed to 1600. That was my first time shooting a black & white film and I sent it to be developed at Triple D. The result wasn’t fantastic.
A few months later, after having learn more and also develop my own black & white film, I realised that developing and scanning pretty much play a part in the film outcome.
So, in this blog post, I am sharing about the characteristic of Ilford Pan 400, shot at ISO 400, without pushing or pulling.
Pushing film
First of all, pushing a black & white film is a personal choice.
Some people do it because other people are doing it (referring to myself when I shot this very first bw film) .
Some people do it because they are shooting in low light condition such as concert and indoor party.
Some people do it because they are shooting street photography and want the shutter speed to be fast and yet able to use f8-f11 aperture for wider depth of field. And they also want to increase the grains and contrast to achieve a certain aesthetic.
But some people like the effect of pushing, some people do not. One of my featured film photographers Dan Ho dislikes pushing film as he said it’s too grainy for his liking.
Anyway, let’s take a look at Ilford Pan 400, shot at ISO 400, developed with Tmax developer, 20°C, 6 mins. Scanned with Epson V600.
Ilford Pan 400 (June 2017)
Ilford Pan 400, Dakota Crescent (June 2017)
Ilford Pan 400, Dakota Crescent (June 2017)
Ilford Pan 400, Thieves’ Market Singapore (June 2017)
Ilford Pan 400, indoor (2017)
The results are quite decent, right? The grains are also less noisy. Shooting at box speed ISO400 gives a smoother image.
Characteristic of Ilford Pan 400
To me, Ilford Pan 400 is an average film that is not contrasty, meaning the tone is quite flat and soft. Personally, I don’t fancy the characteristic of this film. I prefer Kodak Tri-X or JCH Street Pan, which both are able to give the contrasty and darker look.
I heard this film is not sold in the UK? Is it true?
Anyway, you can get Ilford Pan 400 in Singapore for $6.50, cheapest among the black & white films.
Thanks for reading.
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