BERGGER Pancro400 - Exposure & Development
Introduction
ISO 400 is the perfect film speed for many applications like street photography, documentary work and natural light portraiture. Nonetheless, I often find myself in situations where ISO 400 is just one stop too fast or too slow. So I started looking for a film offering a wide exposure latitude without the need of adjusting development times, as this would enable me to change film speed mid-roll.
French film, paper and chemical supplier Bergger advertises its Pancro 400 to be just that film, so I decided to put it through its paces.
BERGGER Pancro400
Exposure Settings & Processing
Crop Area
I taped my A4-sized IT8 colour target from coloraid.de to the wall, put my Minolta Alpha 9 on a Tripod and set up my studio flashes.
The flashes were were adjusted to expose the film at ISO 400. and the shots were bracketed -2/-1/0/+1/+2EV by changing the aperture.
The film was scanned with my Plustek 120 and processed in Silverfast. Results were slightly cropped & rotated (see image on the right).
Development
The film was developed in D-76 (1+1) at 20°C. The recommended Bergger-procedure was applied (1min pre-soak, 30sec agitation in the beginning, then 10sec atop of every minute) at different times:
12min (~ N-1)
15min (~ N-0.3)
17min (recommended by Bergger)
19min (~ N+0.3)
21min (~N+0.6)
27min (~ N+1.3)
Findings
17min - Exposure Latitude & Contrast
Developing the film for 17min as recommended by Bergger delivers very good results overall, especially if you do not underexpose your film.
Underexposed by -1EV, shadow detail is lost and contrast is slightly lower in the dark areas. Underexposed by -2EV, only one more shade of grey on the IT8-target is lost and the contrast decreases further.
Overexposed by +1EV, the highlights are still differentiated - even without running a multi-exposure scan. +2EV and the highlights still hold enough nuances, but require additional editing.
Conclusion: Given the results, Pancro 400 should handle a variety of challenging lighting situations very well. 17min development time is more suitable for overexposure (rich greyscale and pleasing contrast) than for underexposure (slight loss of shadow detail & contrast).
BERGGER Pancro 400 (ISO 400) / -2EV / D-76 (1+1) 17min
BERGGER Pancro 400 (ISO 400) / -1EV / D-76 (1+1) 17min
BERGGER Pancro 400 (ISO 400) / 0EV / D-76 (1+1) 17min
BERGGER Pancro 400 (ISO 400) / +1EV / D-76 (1+1) 17min
BERGGER Pancro 400 (ISO 400) / +2EV / D-76 (1+1) 17min
Best Dev-Time for ISO 800
D-76 is not listed by Bergger as a developer for pushing Pancro400, but it can be done. When exposing the film @ISO800, I recommend increasing the development time to 21min (N+0.6) or even 27min (N+1.3). The following findings are true for both development times:
Shadow detail is improved compared to development @17min, while the highlights are still retained.
The increased development time is beneficial for contrast in the lower tones when the film was underexposed by -1EV aka @ISO800.
The increase of grain is negligible.
BERGGER Pancro 400 (ISO 400) / -1EV (ISO 800) / D-76 (1+1) 21min
BERGGER Pancro 400 (ISO 400) / -1EV (ISO 800) / D-76 (1+1) 27min
Best Dev-Time for ISO 200
When shooting Pancro400 @ ISO200, I’d recommend developing it for the standard 17min: Negative density is very good, the full greyscale is retained and contrast is slightly above normal. There is still room for (at least) an additional +1EV (aka ISO100) of overexposure, as my tests have shown.
However, if you want to regularly expose the film @100ISO, I’d definitely decrease development time to at least 15min (N-0.3).
BERGGER Pancro 400 (ISO 400) / +1EV (ISO200) / D-76 (1+1) @12min
BERGGER Pancro 400 (ISO 400) / +1EV (ISO200) / D-76 (1+1) @15min
BERGGER Pancro 400 (ISO 400) / +1EV (ISO200) / D-76 (1+1) @17min
General Development recommendations
Bergger Pancro400 is not a regular, but a two-emulsion high-performance black and white film. I recommend sticking to Berggers pre-soak & agitation scheme mentioned above.
If you are not grossly overexposing Bergger Pancro400 by more than +2EV, I’d recommend increasing the development times in D-76(1+1) to 21min (N+0.6) or 27min (N+1.3). This gives you more wiggle room in terms of contrast and shadow detail if the film is underexposed by -1EV.
Using Pancro400 in Auto-ISO mode
Due to its generous exposure latitude and overall very impressive performance regarding greyscale and contrast retention, Bergger Pancro400 can be used safely in certain ISO-ranges without adjusting the development time, while still retaining great scan- and (darkroom) printability.
In practical terms, this is very similar to a digtial camera in Auto-ISO mode.
“Auto-ISO” 100 to 400
Develop in D76 (1+1) @20°C for 17min (N)
Best “normal” results @ISO320
Do not rate the film lower than ISO 100, as there might be a loss of highlight detail.
“Auto-ISO” 200 to 800
Develop in D76 (1+1) @20°C for 21min (N+0.6)
Best “normal” results @ISO620
Do not rate the film higher than ISO800, as there is a slight loss of shadow detail & contrast.
Best Image Quality
Apart from my more practical testing with the colour chart, I also tested Bergger Pancro400 according to the Ansel Adams method with a densitometer (RH Designs Analyser Pro).
The following results are optimized for enlarging the negatives with a condenser enlarger or scanning.
True Film Speed - ISO 250
To achieve full shadow detail in Zone I when working with a condenser enlarger, the film has to be exposed at ISO 250.
Normal Development in Kodak D-76 (1+0)
Sticking with the Bergger agitation scheme, the exact development time for normal development (N) according to the Zone system is 7.5min at 20°C in Kodak D-76 Stock (1+0).
This produces in negatives with a relative density of 1.18 in Zone VII and 0.75 in Zone V, taking the film base-fog into account.
Notes
To print the full greyscale, Grade II is a perfect starting point.
Final Thoughts
Pancro400 handles a range of about three stops of exposure deviation while still retaining a fully scannable greyscale (no multi-exposure / high Dmax scanners required). This is an amazing amount of exposure latitude, that is according to my experience only found in chromogenic B&W films like Ilford XP2 (which has to be developed in C-41 colour chemistry and might be a hassle for photographers developing at home).
I therefore wholeheartedly recommend Bergger Pancro400 as a modern, versatile choice for various applications and format. Without hesitation, I bought two bricks for 35mm and medium format, as this film will be my go-to stock for my next projects.
I’d appreciate if you share your thoughts on Bergger Pancro400!
Further Reading
Bergger provides a great overview on the impact of using different developers with Bergger Pancro400. Make sure to check out this link for 135mm and this link for 120 film grain comparisons & sample images.
