Film Review - Ilford Pan F Plus (35mm)
People often say that shooting in black and white (B&W) is all about form and detail, so what better way to express that than shooting a fine grain film such as Ilford Pan F Plus, rated at just ISO 50. This is the lowest ISO you can get in Ilford’s current line-up and, unless you intend to shoot this on a sunny day wide open, it’s definitely a film stock that will require your camera to spend healthy amounts of time on a tripod. It lends itself to slower, more considered work such as landscapes and still life where you can really maximise the fine grain and sharp details without having to worry about fast shutter speeds.
I took this film as the sole roll to go into my Nikon F100 for a trip away to South Wales, though I was shooting with other cameras I only had thirty-six images to shoot in B&W, so I really had to think and make it count. As I had shot a few other rolls of B&W film before this one (which I will write about in upcoming blogs) I was starting to get a better feel for what shots would and would not work. Thankfully the coast has plenty of inspiration with all sorts of things washing up on the shore as well as the deep contrast between rock and water.
I didn’t find this film to be difficult to use apart from its very poor resistance to reciprocity failure. Being such a low ISO lends itself to being suitable for long exposure photography, however anything beyond a 1/2s exposure requires compensation which made it difficult to use at night. Thankfully I still had an old cable trigger I bought for my D850 some years ago and then never used, so with fresh batteries that came to my rescue for exposures beyond the cameras longest of 30s. It would be useful in these situations if my Nikon F100 had a T mode as well as bulb!
Overall, I was very happy with how these images came out and I am now curious as to how the options on the market with even lower ISO and finer grain will look. The moderate amount of contrast also works to your advantage as you can really make it pop in high contrast situations without losing too much shadow or highlight detail. Coupled with the fine grain you get a very smooth transition into bokeh for when you do open up your lens, this gives a pleasing rendering suitable for still life or perhaps even portraits. Definitely another one to add to my list of films to try in medium format. This cost is also more towards the cheaper end to the market, so you don’t have to worry about breaking the bank in order to get these highly detailed negatives. Though perhaps for those just starting out with film a more standard option with a higher ISO such as Ilford HP5 or Kodak Tri-X would be a better pick. Save this one for when you have a bit more time on your hands and you won’t regret it.
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