Kentmere PAN 400 (35mm)

New film stocks are rare. Genuinely new black & white emulsions are rarer still — which is what makes Kentmere PAN 400 worth paying attention to. Harman Technology released it in May 2025 as the third member of the Kentmere PAN family, slotting between the 100 and the 400 and, by most accounts, quietly out-performing both. It is coated in Mobberley, UK on the same lines as every roll of ILFORD film, using classic ILFORD emulsion chemistry with a reduced silver load — the reason a Kentmere roll costs meaningfully less than an FP4+ while still behaving like a properly engineered British film. The trick here is the base: clear and low-density, with a lower dmin, which is what produces the extra contrast without crushing the shadows.

Specifications

• Format: 35mm (135) DX-coded cassette
• Type: Panchromatic black & white negative
• Speed: ISO 400 / 24 DIN, daylight balanced
• Character: Enhanced contrast, fine well-controlled grain, good sharpness
• Base: Clear low-density base with reduced dmin for higher contrast and clean shadows
• Processing: Standard B&W chemistry — ID-11, HC-110, Rodinal, Simplicity kits
• Manufacturer: Harman Technology Ltd, Mobberley, United Kingdom
• Released: May 2025, completing the Kentmere PAN 100 / 200 / 400 range
• Best for: Street, architecture, harsh Indian daylight, anyone learning to develop at home

Condition

• Cosmetic: Fresh, factory-sealed stock. Expiry 01/2031 — the longest-dated film in this batch by a wide margin.
• Functional: Unopened and unexposed. Ships in sealed factory packaging.

Included

• 1 x roll Kentmere PAN 200, 35mm

The most sensible B&W film to learn on right now: forgiving enough for beginners, contrasty enough to look deliberate, and cheap enough to shoot without ceremony. With a 01/2031 expiry these are effectively future-proof — buy a few and leave them in the fridge.