Developing Adventures – Pushing Kentmere Pan 400 to 3200

I have pushed Kentmere Pan 400 in previous articles and was happy with my results. It resembles Ilford HP5 400 film in contrast and grain. However, after my results with Kentmere pushed to 1600, I had a feeling that pushing it any further wouldn’t reap very good results, but I wanted to see for myself.

Developing the Film

This roll sat for a while in my queue because I couldn’t find any recommendations on how to push process it at 3200. After a while, I finally just asked Alex Luyckx, and he advised me to add 1.25 more time for each stop I want to push black and white film.

After my calculations, I came to 15 minutes in Kodak HC-110 dilution B (1+31). I fixed it for 5 minutes and agitated 10 seconds every minute.

My Results

Kentmere Pan 400 pushed to 3200 doesn’t seem to hold up as well as Ilford’s HP5. When I compare two photos of Frank in the same lighting (below) you can see that Kentmere has more contrast and grain than HP5.

When this film is pushed, it seems to lose its tonal range. The whites go to pure white and the blacks go to pure black. There isn’t much in between. This is what makes HP5 have a softer look. The tonal range is more subtle than Kentmere.

Also, I tried some shots outside at night.

Final Thoughts on Pushing Kentmere Pan 400 to 3200

I like the look of this film, but honestly I don’t think I will be pushing it to 3200 again. For the price, this is a really nice go-to film. Especially for myself when testing out cameras or just having the urge to take pics around the house. However, it is only slightly cheaper than HP5, and for that little bit of extra tonal range, I find myself reaching for HP5 more often than Kentmere.

When I want a cheaper option, I liked my result with Fomapan, and I will be sharing my results with pushing Arista EDU next week. Stay tuned.

Until next time, stay motivated and keep shooting.