Kentmere Pan 200 is a Brand-New Black and White Film From Harman
Harman has announced Kentmere Pan 200, a brand-new black-and-white film stock available in 35mm (in 36 and 24 exposure DX coded cassettes and 35mm bulk length rolls) as well as 120 roll film.
Kentmere is a sub-brand of Harman (similar to Ilford) and is manufactured in the United Kingdom with the same processes that are used to make all of Harman’s Ilford films and papers.
“The expanding Kentmere range of high-quality yet affordable products now includes some of the best value black & white films, variable contrast papers and filters available, making them ideal for students or those getting started in analogue photography,” Harman says.
Kentmere Pan 200 is described as a versatile film that is formatted to provide a more contrasty look than other Ilford films. It joins Pan 100 and Pan 400, which were originally 35mm film stocks that made available in 120 format back in 2022.
“Kentmere PAN 200 is an ISO 200 black and white film, with enhanced contrast, pleasing, well-controlled grain, and good sharpness, making it suitable for most shooting applications and conditions,” Harman explains. “The film has a clear, ‘low-density base,’ with a lower dmin which enables the higher contrast, whilst retaining shadow detail and ensuring well-controlled grain in the darker areas.”
Harman says that all Kentmere films are panchromatically sensitized, which the company says makes them well suited to darkroom printing and allows them to be processed in a wide range of different black and white film developers.
Below are a few photos captured on Kentmere Pan 200, provided courtesy of Harman:
New options for analog photographers aren’t common, but there are occasional new options that play with tone and color — Harman Phoenix, Harman Red, and Dubbelfilm Stereo are perfect examples and Cinestill has the occasional new option, too. Still, these typically release at a slow cadence, and it’s not uncommon to wait a few years between new film launches. It is much rarer to see a brand-new, “daily driver” versatile emulsion like Kentmere Pan 200 appears to be.
It can take months or years to develop a new film — just look at how much work Light Lens Lab is putting into the development of its new black and white emulsion. Because of the difficulty involved in making new films, some fight over the distribution rights when a new film is even announced, as is the case with Lucky’s upcoming new color negative film. All of this is to say that Harman’s new Kentmere Pan 200 is an exciting new option for analog photographers, regardless of price.
Speaking of price, Harman doesn’t set MAP pricing for its films and that includes Kentmere Pan 200; retailers can charge what they decide. That said, looking at the cost of other Kentmere 35mm rolls, photographers can expect Pan 200 to be available for about $8 for 35mm while rolls of 120 will be around $7. The new film is available starting today from retailers globally.
Image credits: Harman
