Branching Out: Testing Ilford HP5 Plus 400 and Kentmere Pan 400

When I reach for black & white film, and these days I’m predominantly shooting black and white, it’s almost always Kodak Tri-X 400. Not only because it’s the film I started using when I first jumped into film photography back in my teen years, but because I really like the character of it: the strong contrast, the grain, the general demeanor of it.

There are plenty of other black and white film stocks out there — Cinestill XX, Fuji Acros, Ilford Delta and XP2, Fomapan, Lomography — some of which I’ve used, others I should probably test out. But Tri-X is just what I’m used to, it’s what I like, and it’s widely available.

Still, ruts are best avoided, and as someone who tries to maintain curiosity and a testing mentality, I always wonder, what if…

I’ve used HP5 Plus previously but that was a long time ago, I’ve changed as a photographer, and my gear has changed, and it seemed like a good idea to pick up a roll and give it another shot. At the lab, the Kentmere was stacked in the fridge right next to the HP5, and is about half the price, so I grabbed a roll of that too. I’d never used Kentmere, but I’d seen photos made with it and thought it could potentially work for me.

I shot these two rolls in the streets of SF over two different sessions back in April.

Kentmere Pan 400

Kentmere is generally referred to as the cheaper / lesser version of HP5, as both stocks are made by Harmon Technologies, but this test revealed some important differences between the two. While the broad tonal range and character of grain is close to that of HP5, the contrast of Kentmere is stronger, and I just generally like the overall look compared to the HP5. Ironically, even though I prefer the Kentmere, I got more photos that I like while shooting the HP5. That’s the roll of the dice when you’re out in the streets — you take what you can get, and some days you get more than others.

Ilford HP5 Plus 400

My issue with HP5 is that it’s so consistently mid-toned. What I mean is that its degree of contrast covers a nice midsection of the grayscale spectrum, but it lacks the harder contrast that I want, and that I’m used to, in black & white film. I pushed the contrast a bit while editing these photos to get them more into the tonal range that I prefer, but you can see the general character: gray. I like the density and character of the grain, it’s present but not super chunky, and the film is definitely more forgiving across various lighting scenarios than the Kodak stocks I’m used to, but the lack of strength in contrast why I won’t likely be re-upping on HP5 any time soon.