When it comes to slow film, one of my first experiences and still favourite is Pan F+. This is a great film for the summer; it’s slow, high-contrast, fine-grain and sharp. It is also one that I generally shoot at the listed box speed of ASA-50 and have over- or pulled, but have never gone beyond that ASA-50 time. I mean, other films have similar properties at faster speeds that are easily accessible. And I’ve never been in a situation where all I’ve had is Pan F+ and needed more speed. So it’s a lot of fun to finally give this one a good go and see how far I can take this underrated film.
Film Specs
Manufacturer: Harman Technologies
Name: Ilford Pan F+
Type: Panchromatic B&W
Film Base: Acetate
Film Speed: ASA-50
Formats Available: 135, 120
For this roll, I’ll set my benchmark at ASA-50 and shoot between -2 and +2 stops, which translates to ASA-12 to ASA-200. There is only a single time listed on the MDC for Pan F+ and Diafine 3+3 for both ASA-80 and ASA-100 speeds, so I went with that time. It also allowed me to develop this alongside next month’s Ortho+ review. I used my Nikon F5 with the 28mm f/2.8 lens and no filters attached. I set the aperture to f/11, mounted the camera on a tripod, and used a remote release to trigger each shot, adjusting the EV during the shoot.
I’m surprised at how well Pan F+ performed in this review and test. While it’s not perfect, it certainly surprised me. The first thing I noticed when looking at the negatives was how consistent the images were, and most of the scenes yielded clean, usable results with some extra post-processing. It was only in scenes with a radical difference between shadows and highlights that the highlights and shadows were blown beyond saving. But in more consistent conditions, there’s nothing that a bit of work can’t pull details out of both.
Before going into this review, I already liked Pan F+ for its punchy contrast, excellent sharpness, and fine grain. Now, I did expect some changes when pushing/pulling the film, but I also leaned heavily on Diafine’s compensating nature. Neither the film nor the developer disappointed. While you do get changes in contrast, which doesn’t surprise me because I’m not heavily compensating in my development, at the +/- one-stop frames, the contrast is pleasing both with the punch up and down in those frames. But I’m also impressed by how normal the contrast is, though a touch lower, compared to the normal frame. There’s also no real increase in visible grain with the two under-exposed frames. Overall, excellent quality.
While I didn’t have high expectations for Pan F+, mainly because it’s a slow film, I expect it to perform well, about a stop in either direction. But the fact that, in many cases, I got good results even with two-stop changes not only shows how well Pan F+ performs but also how well Diafine does with the slow film. While Pan F+ would not be the first film I would pick to under-expose and push its good, knowing that it is possible and that, with the right developer, it will work well. Plus, who doesn’t like to amp up the contrast in an already contrasty film? For over-exposure, Pan F+ works well here as well, but not in Diafine. I would pick HC-110 with a dilute mix and add a filter to help balance things out.