Move to Kentmere films

Due to QA issues with Fomapan films I chose to switch to Ilford's Kentmere films. On a recent shoot with my friend Jade I was able to shoot both the 100 and 400 ISO variants. The results are quite pleasing I think.

EOS 300, Tamron 17-35mm f2.8-4, Kentmere 100, T-Max 1:4, 20C, 8min

I digitize the films with my GFX50s which captures a much larger dynamic range than the films do, so I do have to adjust the levels at which point it's difficult to determine just how much contrast the films actually have. So keep in mind that the images you see here are edited from RAWs and your film lab may deliver different results even if they use the same developer and recipe.

The Kentrmere 100 turned out quite pleasing and relatively fine grain. I don't have much to complain about. The dynamic range of the film is quite decent as well. Since I was shooting on a semi-clouded day, there were no harsh shadows to contend with.

EOS 300, Tamron 17-35mm f2.8-4, Kentmere 100, T-Max 1:4, 20C, 8min

The Kentmere 400 came out of the developer tank quite thin. That's not much of an issue when scanning, but I can imagine it would make your time in the darkroom quite a bit challenging. Depending what lens you have on your enlarger, even stopping down all the way can still demand very short exposure times.

EOS 300, Tamron 17-35mm f2.8-4, Kentmere 400, T-Max 1:4, 20C, 5.5min

Reviewing the images now, I think I gave a bit more contrast to the 400 ISO film, likely due to the thin density of the film not really showing many mid-points. This meant I also couldn't apply the same preset settings as I did for the 100 ISO film which makes a side by side comparison for the films a bit challenging. I will repeat the process again in the future and see if my results will be consistent.

EOS 300, Tamron 17-35mm f2.8-4, Kentmere 400, T-Max 1:4, 20C, 5.5min

Overall, my experience with the Kentmere films have been quite positive.