{"id":9589,"date":"2026-07-07T06:00:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T10:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.alexluyckx.com\/blog\/?p=9589"},"modified":"2026-06-22T09:14:53","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T13:14:53","slug":"extreme-film-review-no-08-ilford-pan-f","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.alexluyckx.com\/blog\/2026\/07\/07\/extreme-film-review-no-08-ilford-pan-f\/","title":{"rendered":"Extreme Film Review No.08 &#8211; Ilford Pan F+"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>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&#8217;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&#8217;ve never been in a situation where all I&#8217;ve had is Pan F+ and needed more speed. So it&#8217;s a lot of fun to finally give this one a good go and see how far I can take this underrated film.<\/p>\n<p><a data-flickr-embed=\"true\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/axle81401\/55221283956\/in\/dateposted\/\" title=\"Extreme Film Review No.08 - Ilford Pan F+\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/55221283956_5de017d913_b.jpg\" width=\"1024\" height=\"684\" alt=\"Extreme Film Review No.08 - Ilford Pan F+\"\/><\/a><script async src=\"\/\/embedr.flickr.com\/assets\/client-code.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><strong>Film Specs<\/strong><br \/>\nManufacturer: Harman Technologies<br \/>\nName: Ilford Pan F+<br \/>\nType: Panchromatic B&#038;W<br \/>\nFilm Base: Acetate<br \/>\nFilm Speed: ASA-50<br \/>\nFormats Available: 135, 120<\/p>\n<p>For this roll, I&#8217;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&#8217;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.<\/p>\n<p><figure style=\"width: 1600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a data-flickr-embed=\"true\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/axle81401\/55350523515\/in\/dateposted\/\" title=\"Extreme Film Review No.08 - Ilford Pan F+\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/55350523515_e5d83efedf_h.jpg\" width=\"1600\" height=\"183\" alt=\"Extreme Film Review No.08 - Ilford Pan F+\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><script async src=\"\/\/embedr.flickr.com\/assets\/client-code.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>Nikon F5 &#8211; AF Nikkor 28mm 1:2.8 &#8211; Ilford Pan F+ @ ASA-50 (+\/- 2-Stops) &#8211; Diafine (Stock) 3:00 + 3:00<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure style=\"width: 1600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a data-flickr-embed=\"true\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/axle81401\/55350324064\/in\/dateposted\/\" title=\"Extreme Film Review No.08 - Ilford Pan F+\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/55350324064_eb3af4b223_h.jpg\" width=\"1600\" height=\"182\" alt=\"Extreme Film Review No.08 - Ilford Pan F+\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><script async src=\"\/\/embedr.flickr.com\/assets\/client-code.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>Nikon F5 &#8211; AF Nikkor 28mm 1:2.8 &#8211; Ilford Pan F+ @ ASA-50 (+\/- 2-Stops) &#8211; Diafine (Stock) 3:00 + 3:00<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m surprised at how well Pan F+ performed in this review and test. While it&#8217;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&#8217;s nothing that a bit of work can&#8217;t pull details out of both. <\/p>\n<p><figure style=\"width: 1600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a data-flickr-embed=\"true\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/axle81401\/55350104876\/in\/dateposted\/\" title=\"Extreme Film Review No.08 - Ilford Pan F+\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/55350104876_423ac55ebd_h.jpg\" width=\"1600\" height=\"186\" alt=\"Extreme Film Review No.08 - Ilford Pan F+\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><script async src=\"\/\/embedr.flickr.com\/assets\/client-code.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>Nikon F5 &#8211; AF Nikkor 28mm 1:2.8 &#8211; Ilford Pan F+ @ ASA-50 (+\/- 2-Stops) &#8211; Diafine (Stock) 3:00 + 3:00<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure style=\"width: 1600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a data-flickr-embed=\"true\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/axle81401\/55349173277\/in\/dateposted\/\" title=\"Extreme Film Review No.08 - Ilford Pan F+\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/55349173277_8c7aef0e23_h.jpg\" width=\"1600\" height=\"192\" alt=\"Extreme Film Review No.08 - Ilford Pan F+\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><script async src=\"\/\/embedr.flickr.com\/assets\/client-code.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>Nikon F5 &#8211; AF Nikkor 28mm 1:2.8 &#8211; Ilford Pan F+ @ ASA-50 (+\/- 2-Stops) &#8211; Diafine (Stock) 3:00 + 3:00<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n<p>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&#8217;s compensating nature. Neither the film nor the developer disappointed. While you do get changes in contrast, which doesn&#8217;t surprise me because I&#8217;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&#8217;m also impressed by how normal the contrast is, though a touch lower, compared to the normal frame. There&#8217;s also no real increase in visible grain with the two under-exposed frames. Overall, excellent quality.<\/p>\n<p><figure style=\"width: 1600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a data-flickr-embed=\"true\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/axle81401\/55350324054\/in\/dateposted\/\" title=\"Extreme Film Review No.08 - Ilford Pan F+\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/55350324054_1fd369f96d_h.jpg\" width=\"1600\" height=\"186\" alt=\"Extreme Film Review No.08 - Ilford Pan F+\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><script async src=\"\/\/embedr.flickr.com\/assets\/client-code.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>Nikon F5 &#8211; AF Nikkor 28mm 1:2.8 &#8211; Ilford Pan F+ @ ASA-50 (+\/- 2-Stops) &#8211; Diafine (Stock) 3:00 + 3:00<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure style=\"width: 1600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a data-flickr-embed=\"true\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/axle81401\/55350104871\/in\/dateposted\/\" title=\"Extreme Film Review No.08 - Ilford Pan F+\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/55350104871_a60ecdd6e9_h.jpg\" width=\"1600\" height=\"188\" alt=\"Extreme Film Review No.08 - Ilford Pan F+\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><script async src=\"\/\/embedr.flickr.com\/assets\/client-code.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>Nikon F5 &#8211; AF Nikkor 28mm 1:2.8 &#8211; Ilford Pan F+ @ ASA-50 (+\/- 2-Stops) &#8211; Diafine (Stock) 3:00 + 3:00<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n<p>While I didn&#8217;t have high expectations for Pan F+, mainly because it&#8217;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&#8217;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. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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&#8217;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&#8217;ve never been in a situation where all I&#8217;ve had is Pan F+ and needed more speed. So it&#8217;s a lot of fun to finally give this one a good go<a class=\"more-link\" href=\"http:\/\/www.alexluyckx.com\/blog\/2026\/07\/07\/extreme-film-review-no-08-ilford-pan-f\/\"><span>Read More &rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[22,1707,2007,74,129,82,20,29,75,118],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.alexluyckx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9589"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.alexluyckx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.alexluyckx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.alexluyckx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.alexluyckx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9589"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/www.alexluyckx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9589\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9846,"href":"http:\/\/www.alexluyckx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9589\/revisions\/9846"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.alexluyckx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.alexluyckx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.alexluyckx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}