Most film companies folded in the new millennial. By some miracle, Bergger survived the purge, and continues to produce the Pancro 400 black and white film. The Pancro 400 is known for being very smooth, and I can attest to that. None of the shots I’ve taken have grain, and the I really like the contrast of the film. It is no wonder they are very hard to find – I’ve rarely see them in stock. I’m glad that this independent film company is still being loved by the community.
Love this film, works amazing outdoors.
[Plaubel Makina 67 | Nikkor 80/2.8 | Bergger Pancro 400]
Perfect exposure, but I think most film would have nailed the shot so doesn’t say much about Pancro 400.
[Plaubel Makina 67 | Nikkor 80/2.8 | Bergger Pancro 400]
Might have to come back to shoot some neon lights on Cinestill 800T. There are lots of neon signs in PDX.
[Plaubel Makina 67 | Nikkor 80/2.8 | Bergger Pancro 400]
Took some shots indoors, no issues as long as there are enough light (weird to say for a 400 speed film.)
[Plaubel Makina 67 | Nikkor 80/2.8 | Bergger Pancro 400]
Here is a weird issue. Initially, I thought I had some duds, but the following were shot on two separate rolls of Pancro 400, at different occasions. Both were developed as soon as possible, and scanned at different times using the same setup. What I’m trying to say is that, the artifacts are most likely from the film itself.
It was pure coincidence I’ve shot both rolls at Ranch PDX, a popular pizza chain in Portland, and you guess it, where you get a little cup of ranch for every slice of pizza. The pizza were great without the ranch, but definitely world class with ranch. I ranked it as a top 5 pizzeria in the city. The location in Baerlic Brewery has a lot of seating, and you could get a drink with the pizza, so I would recommend this location over the others.
[Plaubel Makina 67 | Nikkor 80/2.8 | Bergger Pancro 400]
[Plaubel Makina 67 | Nikkor 80/2.8 | Bergger Pancro 400]
Not sure if you noticed, but in the shadow/dark areas, you can see streaks. I think this is a residue from the backing paper. I send all my film to the same lab, and Pancro 400 is the only film with this issue. Either the chemicals my lab used are incompatible with the film (I doubt), or Pancro film has some issue with glue/backing paper.
[Plaubel Makina 67 | Nikkor 80/2.8 | Bergger Pancro 400]
[Plaubel Makina 67 | Nikkor 80/2.8 | Bergger Pancro 400]
I really like Bergger Pancro 400. The exposures and the smooth grains made every shot looked fantastic. However, the streaks in the dark/underexpose areas are very distracting. This wouldn’t be an issue if the film was used in bright daylight, but this is a 400 speed film. It is not the fastest film in the market, but I use ISO 400 film to shoot indoors all the time. The price, availability and lack of flexibility (shooting indoors) might force me to find an alternative to this otherwise amazing film.
Bergger Pancro 400 Overview
Characterized by a unique dual emulsion design, Bergger Pancro 400 is a high-speed panchromatic black and white negative film featuring a nominal sensitivity of ISO 400/27° and a wide exposure latitude. By employing both silver bromide and silver iodide emulsion layers, an organic grain structure is provided that results in natural tonal gradations and an overall fine grain quality for high-resolution, well-detailed results in a variety of lighting conditions. It also responds well to over- and under-exposure, and can be rated from EI 100-1600 for acceptable results with adequate processing. The film is coated on an anti-curl 100 µm-thick polyester base and also incorporates an anti-halation layer, which clears during development, for improved overall sharpness and highlight clarity.
Film Base Polyester
Layer Thickness 100.0 µm