It seems like a distant memory now but back at Christmas there was no 2m social avoidance and lockdown. I was up in Edinburgh for shopping and the Christmas market. I’d taken along my then recent Nikon FE10. But as light dropped mid afternoon I decided to push some film. That film was Kentmere Pan 400.
![Edinburgh Christmas Market. Nikon FE10 with Kentmere Pan 400 @1600. Dec 2019](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49860962072_e8a3d77e94_z_d.jpg)
This isn’t a review of the camera nor the 43-86mm 1:3.5 Zoom-Nikkor lens (not the infamous bad 43-86mm nor the actual non Nikon lens the FE10 came with). The FE10, despite not really being a Nikon and having a tendency to fire before you get a chance to meter, performed pretty well. The centre weighted metering was pretty good although as you’d expect did struggle as light fell on scenes with high contrast.
![Edinburgh. Nikon FE10 with Kentmere Pan 400 @1600. Dec 2019](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49867114013_b07ef5e6d3_c_d.jpg)
This is about Kentmere Pan 400. This is a film I’m no great fan of at box speed. Part of this may well be down to it being fickle with developing agents as Alex Luyckx describes in a detailed test on his blog.
![Edinburgh. Nikon FE10 with Kentmere Pan 400 @1600. Dec 2019](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49867959312_69fa3f8067_c_d.jpg)
This is an issue as I’m sure you know I don’t develop my own stuff. I’ve always found it a it to low contrast for my tastes without seriously photoshopping it. I’m not alone but others like Simon King do find something to like about it.
![Edinburgh Christmas Market. Nikon FE10 with Kentmere Pan 400 @1600. Dec 2019](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49860116048_530c135d9a_c_d.jpg)
But I stumbled across some posts about pushing it like Photo-Analogue’s post. Now I don’t have the luxury of a darkroom but I do have a lab willing to push or Pull B&W film. So off to AG Photolab in Birmingham who kindly push processed it ( a wee disclaimer I’m a minor shareholder of AG Photolab).
![Edinburgh. Nikon FE10 with Kentmere Pan 400 @1600. Dec 2019](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49860961947_c2d9a813b8_c_d.jpg)
I’m pretty pleased with the results. It become more contrasty but it retains a good degree of latitude.
![Nikon FE10 with Kentmere Pan 400 @1600. Dec 2019](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49867959747_4d22e2bcee_c_d.jpg)
It makes it a viable high speed film and I overall prefer the results to what I got at box. The film worked well into low levels and I was able to keep the shutter speed up
![Edinburgh. Nikon FE10 with Kentmere Pan 400 @1600. Dec 2019](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49867114198_626940d3e6_c_d.jpg)