I have a troubled history with 200-speed films. They’ve always given me more trouble and often try too hard, which can be detrimental. I struggled to find a way through Fomapan 200 and Rollei Superpan 200. Both Svema and Derev Pan 200-speed offerings were far more trouble than they’re worth. And then last year, along came Kentmere 200, a middle child for the Kentmere budget offerings. In all these colour film releases, Kentmere 200 took a backseat. But I latched onto Kentmere 200 almost right away. I already enjoyed Kentmere 100 and Kentmere 400, and the first flush of Kentmere 200 proved a solid performer. It’s an outstanding balance between the 100 and 400 options, handling situations well and offering a good grain structure, sharpness, and contrast. I ran this film through a lot of tests last year in preparation for this review, so I’m finally happy to publish it online! You can also find additional images from that first look, as well as more I shot last year and developed with different developers at the end of this post.
Film Specs
Manufacturer: Harman Technologies
Name: Kentmere 200
Type: Panchromatic B&W, Cubic Grain
Film Base: Acetate
Film Speed: ASA-200
Formats Available: 135 (35mm), 120
Roll 01 – FlicFilm Classic MQ
I’ll admit I did use Kodak D-76 to develop my first two rolls of Kentmere 200 (You can see those in my first look post, linked above), and when developed in the stock form, Kentmere 200 responds well. For this review, I used a 1+1 dilution to assess how it improved sharpness and reduced visible grain. I knew I had a winning roll (aside from a couple shots, which were due to poor compositions on my part) as soon as I got the roll out of the tank. The density was dead perfect, and it looked good. The scan further confirmed this. First off, these images are sharp; you could cut yourself on the edges, but you don’t see much grain increase, which is a nice touch (and something that surprised me). There isn’t too much of a drop in contrast either, and it stays at a nice mid-to-high level. I don’t think you even need to calculate a 1+2 or 1+3 mix for these, but it might be worthwhile to try it at the end to see how sharp you can make Kentmere 200. If this is all you have, you’ll get top results with your Kentmere 200.
Roll 02 – Kodak HC-110
I recently started seeing the power of a more diluted HC-110 mix to help level things out. When I first started planning this review, I was going to run at dilution B (1+31), then my go-to dilution H (1+63). But after seeing how well Kentmere 400 and Ilford HP5+ look in dilution F (1+79), I decided to run with a longer development cycle for this roll. And again, this did not disappoint. I was concerned when I pulled the negatives out of the tank; they were denser than I expected. But in post-processing, I was able to easily recover my images. Again, you get that beautiful sharpness with great grain structure. The one thing that I did note is that there is a drop in contrast, mid to low contrast, so if you want to give it that bump back up, I should have added a yellow filter. HC-110 is an excellent choice at any dilution, if you do go with Dilution B (1+31) you’re going to get similar results to D-76 at stock dilution.
Roll 03 – Rodinal
While I’ve never been a fan of Rodinal or Kentmere films, it’s only fair: after seeing how good Kentmere 200 looks in other developers, I might as well go all-in and develop this roll in a 1+50 dilution. But despite these initial misgivings, I was pleasantly surprised when I pulled the roll out of the tank. The negatives were a little denser than I expected, but nothing too bad. The real magic came when I got these into the scanner. I am impressed by these results. The contrast and tones are rich and deep, with excellent blacks and clean whites. The images are sharp without causing excessive visible grain. I should learn not to be too harsh on Rodinal and Kentmere films.
Roll 04 – ZoneImaging 510-Pyro
I know James Lane has been waiting for this particular roll, and so have I. Since there is no official time for 510-Pyro and Kentmere 200, I went with HP5+ because I’ve found that those times work with Kentmere 200. The one thing I did was rate the film at ASA 160 and drop the time to 8 minutes flat. I knew I had some winners when I pulled these negatives out of the tank. And if you want tones, this is the developer to use. There’s a brightness to these images, something I’ve found with most films developed in 510-Pyro. I would probably add a yellow filter to the lens. It also maintains excellent sharpness and a beautiful grain structure. I’m glad I saved this one for last, because it would have set the bar a little too high for the rest.
Final Thoughts
As I mentioned in the introduction, I have struggled with 200-speed films, but Kentmere 200 is one I got along with right off the bat. In fact, Kentmere’s range of film will probably overshadow Foma as my budget film stocks for when I need rolls for testing. Kentmere 200 is an excellent addition to the line and fills in that middle ground. While Kentmere 100 does underexpose/push well, Kentmere 400 does not underexpose/pull well. So having a film with that standard box speed of ASA-200 is a nice addition. It also means that each film option has a unique character. I like this film, I’m glad to have it in my toolkit, and I cannot wait to test its latitude next year! As promised in the introduction, below are examples developed with Rollei Supergrain, Adox FX-39 II, Ilford Peceptol, FlicFilm Black/White & Green, Ilford Microphen, and Diafine.
Further Reading
Don’t just take my word on Kentmere 200, you can check out the reviews by other awesome camera reviewers!
Random Camera Blog – Kentmere 200 is Here
Yvonne Hanson – Delightful in Daylight: Kentmere Pan 200 | Review & Discussion
Stuck In Film – Kentmere 200: I changed my mind about Budget Films
Pushing Film – Kentmere 200 Review
Sophia Carey – Testing a NEW Black & White Film: Kentmere PAN 200
The Darkroom – The Best Budget Black and White Film: Kentmere Pan 200