KentmerePan 400

Kentmere Pan 400 is a panchromatic ISO 400 black-and-white negative film made by Harman technology, the maker of Ilford film. Harman describes it as a general-purpose film for action and available-light work [1]. It is sold under the budget Kentmere brand, and Ilford’s own site lists it as Kentmere 400 [2]. Some photographers say the AgfaPhoto APX 400 is the same film; that is not confirmed.

Look and color

Kentmere Pan 400 is a panchromatic film, so it turns colors into grays through its own spectral sensitivity. Harman publishes no spectral curve for it [1], and nothing on this page is measured on real film. The Grain Archive style assumes channel weights halfway between its Tri-X and HP5 Plus values [12].

• Classic, soft gradation. One reviewer describes “a very classic gradient” from the darkest to the lightest areas, sometimes muddy, and calls the film an all-rounder [4]. Analogue Wonderland reports balanced contrast and mid-tones that can look slightly murky [5].
• Tones. Parallax found “good even tones in the greys” with plenty of shadow detail [6].
• Highlights. In a side-by-side with Fomapan 400, the Kentmere kept slightly better highlight detail and almost never reached pure white [4].
• Filters. Harman gives no filter factors; it says to follow the filter maker’s instructions [1].

Tonality

• Development sets the contrast. With Harman’s listed times, the film gives negatives of “average contrast” for printing in any enlarger. The times are a guide, and other results are possible by changing them [1]. Examples at 20 °C, EI 400: 9½ minutes in ID-11 stock or Kodak D-76 stock, 11½ minutes in Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 [1].
• Compared with other 400s. Reviewers describe lower contrast than modern T-grain films [7], and “Tri-X with less dynamic range” in the 35mmc review [4]. PetaPixel, summarizing Harman’s launch of the 120 version, puts it slightly below Kentmere Pan 100 in contrast [3].
• Latitude. Reviews call it wide and forgiving [5] [6]. Mr Leica found it better underexposed than overexposed, and shot it at 800 and 1600 with longer development [7]. Harman itself lists times only at EI 400 and 800 [1].
• Long exposures. No correction from 1 to 1/10,000 s. Beyond 1 s, adjusted time is metered time to the power 1.30 [1].

Grain and sharpness

• Harman says the film can make “sharp, fine grain” images [1] but gives no granularity figure and no resolving power.
• Reviews disagree. 35mmc calls the grain cubic and “very fine” except when badly underexposed [4]. Parallax finds it a little gritty but even and fine for a 400, and grainier than Kentmere Pan 100 [6]. Analogue Wonderland calls it prominent at large print or scan sizes [5], and Mr Leica finds the grain more visible than in T-grain films but not overwhelming [7].
• In our style renders, the grain layer is set a little coarser than the HP5 Plus style. That is a choice made to follow the more visible reports, not a measurement of film [12].

Names, status and history

• Brand. Kentmere was a UK maker of photographic paper, bought by Harman technology in October 2007 [9]. Harman uses the name for a budget film range, positioned below the Ilford brand [3].
• Names. The datasheet says “KENTMERE PAN 400” [1]; Ilford’s product page says “Kentmere 400” [2].
• Formats. Harman’s datasheet lists 135 cassettes (24 or 36 exposures, DX coded), 35 mm bulk lengths of 30.5 m (100 ft) and 120 roll film, on 0.125 mm acetate base [1]. The 120 version arrived in December 2022 [3].
• Status. In production: Ilford Photo’s site lists it, as checked on September 30, 2026 [2]. The datasheet we used is dated July 2022 [1]. In May 2025, Harman added Kentmere Pan 200 to the range [10].
• AgfaPhoto APX 400: disputed. Many photographers say it is rebadged Kentmere 400. A 2025 comparison found the two similar but not identical, with different development times in the same developer, and concluded it could not say whether they are the same film [8]. Neither company has confirmed a link.

Also sold as

• AgfaPhoto APX 400 (disputed) [8]