Ilford Launches Kentmere Film in Medium Format

By Molly Kate

Today, Ilford launches their popular wallet-friendly Kentmere film in medium format! The black and white film that aims to deliver a good balance of performance and value is stepping up in size.

The company which manufactures some of the most beloved black and white films available today is now targeting photographers looking to save money while still maintaining consistent top quality work.

Ilford says, ‘It is worth noting with both films that unlike all our ILFORD films, they are not intended as ‘professional’ films, yet can still create results all professionals would be proud of.’

The panchromatic black and white film will be available in both 100 ISO and 400 ISO versions. Similar to the 35mm versions, Kentmere 100 features a fine grain and great sharpness while Kentmere 400 is faster with more grain, less contrast, but a wider latitude.

Ilford mentions Kentmere 400 is excellent for “push” ability, which can extend the range of lighting conditions the film can be shot under. They would recommend only pushing about a stop though, compared to some of their other films that can be pushed a few stops.

paris restaurant in black and white film
Photographed by Molly Kate in Paris on the Champs-Élysées

Kentmere 120 is expected to retail around £4.90 per roll, but as the individual resellers set the retail price, this is subject to change depending on distributors. This is competitive with the current retail price of black and white film like Fomapan 100 and 400 which goes for a range of £4.37-£5.75 (source: prices compared at Analogue Wonderland, Bristol Cameras (UK), and Silverprint UK for example purposes).

To read or watch a review of this film, head on over to our full review article here to see sample images and thoughts on the film.

You should be able to find the film at your usual Ilford film retailer but it is also available on Ilford’s direct website here for UK and US customers.

For photographers sharing their results on social media, check out and use the following tags: #kentmere400 #kpan400 #kentmere100 #kpan100

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About The Author

By Molly Kate
Photographer, writer, and CPA currently running a Youtube channel called Eclectachrome. I'm a huge fan of shiny new objects which makes writing news a perfect fit. Favorite cameras are often mechanical rangefinders, folders, and compacts and I love most film stocks. I enjoy developing and scanning my own film as well as printing in the darkroom when there's extra time!
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Comments

John Bennett on Ilford Launches Kentmere Film in Medium Format

Comment posted: 01/12/2022

Much BETTER news than some of the guesses (color, blue tooth speaker, et al) on their "Coming Soon!" Instagram teaser.
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Molly Kate replied:

Comment posted: 01/12/2022

Some of them were hilarious but yeah much better in the eyes of a film shooter that it wasn't anything with bluetooth inside!

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Daniel Castelli on Ilford Launches Kentmere Film in Medium Format

Comment posted: 01/12/2022

Ilford says, ‘It is worth noting with both films that unlike all our ILFORD films, they are not intended as ‘professional’ films, yet can still create results all professionals would be proud of.’ That's walking a knife's edge.
So is Ilford saying that amateurs are less concerned about quality, so don't waste your time on the pro films? But if an amateur happens to create an exceptional photo with Kentmere film, a professional seeing the print would be impressed?
Back in my college days (1970's), I shot a ton of Kodak Tri-X professional medium format for the graphics lab I worked for. The only difference between the professional label and regular Tri-X was that pro stocks were kept in cold storage for a longer period of time and released to camera stores closer to their exp. date and both surfaces of the film could accept retouching dyes. Cost a bit more, but that was it.
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Molly Kate replied:

Comment posted: 01/12/2022

It's a finely crafted piece of copywriting that, I agree, walks a tightrope! Seems here they don't want to say Kentmere is only for "non-professionals". Thanks for sharing the info about your college days! Interesting, seems odd they would not release until closer to their exp date, wonder why that was?

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Bob Janes on Ilford Launches Kentmere Film in Medium Format

Comment posted: 01/12/2022

Good to hear. kentmere is quite a nice film - I wonder if Harman will also end up making it for AgfaPhoto?
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Molly Kate replied:

Comment posted: 01/12/2022

It is a nice one! Interesting, does Lupus Imaging currently make it for AgfaPhoto?

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David Hill on Ilford Launches Kentmere Film in Medium Format

Comment posted: 01/12/2022

So what IS the difference between Kentmere and the Ilford pro lines (Delta, HP5 etc) that make up the price differential?
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Molly Kate replied:

Comment posted: 01/12/2022

Seems to be greater latitude in the pro lines, but also likely more finely confected formula/more silver content but need to break into the Ilford factory to really learn all the exact secrets! Their video about how they make the emulsion and film has some info in it where they talk about the composition of each film, might be interesting if you haven't seen it already! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXpoALotxf0

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Bryan replied:

Comment posted: 01/12/2022

In the guide, "Choosing your first ILFORD film", they mention in regard to the Kentmere films: "These films sit alongside and benefit from the same rigorous production and quality control processes as all ILFORD PHOTO films. While their emulsion is made using the same technology as HP5 and FP4, the key difference is that they contain less silver and therefore don't offer the same quality, versatility or characteristics." https://www.ilfordphoto.com/choosing-your-first-ilford-film/

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Jens on Ilford Launches Kentmere Film in Medium Format

Comment posted: 02/12/2022

Das sind sehr schöne Aufnahmen von Paris !
Guter Film !
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Volker on Ilford Launches Kentmere Film in Medium Format

Comment posted: 02/12/2022

This is great news, although I am pretty sure that it was available before in 120 as Rollei RPX 100 and 400, so Ilford just needed to create some new boxes.

RPX 100 in Pyro510 is my favourite combination at the moment. Sharpness, grainsize and latitude are on par with the „professional“ line
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Bryan replied:

Comment posted: 02/12/2022

I think there are some differences between the Kentmere, Rollei RPX, and AgfaPhoto APX films, but I can't say for sure. I haven't used them all myself and made careful comparisons, but in seeing a range of photographs from others, it does seem there are some differences in the characteristics.

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