Bergger Pancro 400 B&W Film Review by James Baturin

Written by James Baturin

It’s no secret to film photographers that the cost of film is on the rise these days.

And so when on my latest online film order I saw that the cost of my beloved Ilford HP5+ had gone up once again, I decided maybe it was time to try looking at some cheaper options.

In my search for a more affordable black and white 400 film stock, Bergger Pancro 400 came up, and so I thought I’d order a couple of rolls and give it a try.

Find Bergger Pancro 400 B&W film at B&H Photo. Available in 35mm and in 120.

An Overview of Bergger Pancro 400

Bergger Pancro 400 is a medium speed, black and white film that was released in 2017.

It includes two emulsion layers (hence “panchromatic”) that each differ in grain size, which according to the Bergger site, achieves an “outstanding exposure range.”

Any film that boasts a high tonal range is exciting for a lover of black and white contrasty films like myself, so I was hopeful that I’d find in the Bergger film a candidate to add to my regular rotation!

As I mentioned before, the cost of Bergger Pancro 400 was one of the first points in its favor for me.

It retails for $6.95/roll in 35mm and $5.98/roll in 120, which, compared to Ilford HP5+ at around $8 per roll (as of August, 2021) for both 35mm and 120 is no small difference.

You can purchase Bergger Pancro 400 in 120 here, and in 35mm here.

Shooting Test Rolls

For this review, I managed to get out and shoot 2 rolls of 120 film with my Hasselblad 500 C/M.

The first I used for a back alley promo shoot I did with a local band, while the second I decided to shoot my more traditional landscape subjects.

For the second roll, I intended to shoot three versions of each image at different exposures to see how the film handled over and under exposure. But the results were not as effective as I hoped (due to metering issues on my part, not the film itself), so I will just include samples of the images I thought turned out best.

Developing Bergger Pancro 400

Both rolls were shot and developed at box speed in Kodak HC-110 dilution B for 9:00 minutes as per Bergger’s data sheet.

After a 1 minute stop bath, I fixed each roll for 6 minutes in Ilford’s Rapid Fixer at 1+4 dilution, as Bergger’s data sheet suggests 1 extra minute of fixing time (perhaps due to the double emulsion layers).

After a 10 minute rinse and a few dunks in some Photo Flo, the negatives were hung to dry and then scanned.

The Results

My first impression of the negatives from Pancro 400 was that I really liked the look of this film. There is definitely grain, but it’s not overbearing.

Bergger’s description of the film having a high exposure range was definitely noticeable, especially in the images that were slightly underexposed.

In fact, in the landscape images especially, my favorite versions of each shot were underexposed by at least 1 stop. The underexposure with the high exposure latitude resulted in punchier shadows, without muddying the highlights, which for someone who loves contrasty photos is really attractive!

A Few Notes about Developing

Two things that came up for me that weren’t as desirable for this film were both related to the development process.

First, the development times were almost twice as long as for Ilford HP5+ in the same developer (9 minutes vs. 5 minutes for HP5+).

That with the added minute in the fixer does mean you’re going to spend a few extra minutes developing this film. It’s not a huge thing, but something to note.

Also, once the negatives had dried, I found that they curled significantly more than other 400 films I’ve developed in the past.

I was especially surprised by this as the Bergger website describes the film as having an “anti-curl layer” as part of the film’s design.

Both the rolls I developed curled up like an anaconda when I took them down to scan, but perhaps others have had better luck with this?

Final Thoughts

Overall, I was really happy with my first experience shooting and developing Bergger Pancro 400.

It’s a cost effective black and white film, with great exposure latitude, grain and contrast, and for me, you can’t ask much more of a black and white film.

There is obviously a lot more to learn about the film as I shoot more with it, but I am excited to add it to the list of films in my rotation!

Thank you so much, James! James is a regular contributor here at Shoot It With Film, and you can check out his other articles here, including Understanding Reciprocity Failure in Film Photography and Fujifilm Acros vs Acros II Film Stock Comparison. You can also check out James’s work on Instagram.

Leave any questions you have about Bergger Pancro 400 B&W film below in the comments, and you can pick up some for yourself at B&H Photo here.

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James Baturin

James Baturin is a long exposure film photographer and a regular contributor for Shoot It With Film. Find his other articles here, including Hasselblad 500 C/M Film Camera Review and Long Exposure Film Photography Tutorial.

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