5 frames with a Nikon FM2 & Kentmere 400 pushed to 3200

By Máté Krausz

10 June, 2024

Post Categories:

5 frames with...

Post Tags:

Kentmere 400 Kentmere Film Nikon FM2

Leave a comment (16 Comments)

Share this post:

I am definitively a newcomer when it comes to film photography. Apart from a few rolls taken with point-and-shoot cameras as a child, I was shooting only digital until I picked up a Rollei 35 T at a local photo fair in late 2022. As someone with only digital experience, I always felt a bit restrained by the relatively lower sensitivity of the available film stocks, especially with the zone focusing system of the Rollei. As a result, I started experimenting with pushing already with my second roll of film.

Recently, I acquired a Nikon FM2, my first SLR. The camera offers TTL metering up to ISO 6400, and shutter speeds up to 1/4000 second, so it came naturally to me, to test the camera with a roll of Kentmere PAN 400 pushed to ISO 3200 during a recent family visit in Veszprém, Hungary.

Therefore I took the Nikon with a Nikkor 50 mm f1.8 E series pancake lens along on a dog walk to explore a previously unknown part of the city. It was a rather cloudy day, so I did not encounter any real low-light situations. However, I appreciated the fast shutter speeds of the FM2. I tried to be mindful of my metering aiming for a slight overexposure according to the FM2’s internal meter.

Later on, after I had finished the roll, I took my chances and decided to develop the film at home. It felt a bit like gambling, as this was my second time developing film by myself, and my first time using stand development. After researching online, I went with 1+50 Rodinal for 1 hour, with 2 minutes of pre-wash, 1 minute of gentle agitation at the beginning, and an additional 30 seconds of agitation at the 30-minute mark.

Overall I am quite pleased with how the images turned out, both in terms of shooting and developing. I find it surprising, how well Kentmere 400 behaved when pushed 3 steps. I enjoy the added contrast that I miss when shooting it at box speed. In return, some of the frames turned out to be underexposed and missing a lot of shadow detail. In the case of the last picture, probably the reflection on the car window threw off the light meter (and myself), resulting in a dark image.

Pushing Kentmere 3 stops turned out to be a really fun experience for me. I definitively plan to do it again, and perhaps test its limits in low light conditions as well.

You can find me on Instagram.

Share this post:

Find more similar content on 35mmc

Use the tags below to search for more posts on related topics:

Kentmere 400 Kentmere Film Nikon FM2

Contribute to 35mmc for an ad-free experience.

There are two ways to contribute to 35mmc and experience it without the adverts:

Paid Subscription – £2.99 per month and you’ll never see an advert again! (Free 3-day trial).

Subscribe here.

Content contributor – become a part of the world’s biggest film and alternative photography community blog. All our Contributors have an ad-free experience for life.

About The Author

By Máté Krausz

A photograpy hobbyist from Hungary, currenlty residing in Freiburg, Germany.

View Profile

Comments

Massimiliano Grivetti on 5 frames with a Nikon FM2 & Kentmere 400 pushed to 3200

Comment posted: 10/06/2024

Thanks Máté for you article. I really like the rendition of your pictures, the noise seems also quite low... I never tried any Kentmere film but after your article I will for sure.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Máté Krausz replied:

Comment posted: 10/06/2024

Thank you, Massimiliano! I was as well surprised about the low the noise is. I mean it is higher in comparison to box speed in a similar shot, but I enjoy the bit grainier, more contrasty look! Good luck with trying it!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Jukka Reimola on 5 frames with a Nikon FM2 & Kentmere 400 pushed to 3200

Comment posted: 10/06/2024

Mate, I think you succeeded quite well for a newbie (maybe the Lada picture left a little to be desired, exposurewise...). Nice set of pictures, IMO. That FM2 is a great camera. Just keep posting more pictures, please.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Máté Krausz replied:

Comment posted: 10/06/2024

Thank you very much, Jukka, I do not plan to stop at all! My idea with including the Lada picture was to show off some of the "reality" of this roll; I think these pictures/mistakes are great lessons to learn about light and exposure and get more intentional with each picture. With a modern DSLR/MILC I suppose this shot could have been saved in post, without any problems, but also without learning a lesson.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Geoff Chaplin on 5 frames with a Nikon FM2 & Kentmere 400 pushed to 3200

Comment posted: 11/06/2024

The Lada image is probably the perfect match for the car - but the rest are good! I am surprised though that you want to push the 400asa film at all - lighting conditions seemed good and 100 asa film at box speed would have been fine. You have clearly got the hang of self developing film and Rodinal is particularly good and flexible. If you don't like the grain you can easily reduce it in post at the loss of apparent sharpness. Good camera too - keep going!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Máté Krausz replied:

Comment posted: 11/06/2024

Thanks, Geoff! It usually takes me 1-4 weeks to finish a roll. I was expecting to shoot it in worse light conditions as well, which in the end did not happen really, and finished the roll much faster. Pushing in this case was additionally an experiment for me, to see the limits of this film stock.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Graham Orbell on 5 frames with a Nikon FM2 & Kentmere 400 pushed to 3200

Comment posted: 11/06/2024

Mate, We used to manage OK with Kodachrome at 10 Asa, then 25 Asa ( ISO ) Kodachrome was the only film used by National Geographic and they seemed to manage. Fast black and white film like Tri X was around 320 / 400 Asa. Back then film was used for reproduction whether in magazines or making our own prints. By all means have fun pushing the development of your films and the results look passable because we are viewing them on a small back lit screen that penetrates the shadow areas. But if you were to try to print them on paper they would firstly be difficult to print. There would be little detail in the shadows and the grain would be noticeable. Overdevelopment doesn’t actually increase the film speed even though it appears to. It increases the contrast.
If you don’t like the contrast you get exposing at box speed and processing normally, that’s because the film is designed for printing. A better way to increase the contrast is to edit your scans with a software editing program. If your scans are JPEG you could convert them to tiff for editing. The true beauty of black and white photography is apparent when prints are made. But certainly have fun souping up your images for viewing on a screen.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Máté Krausz replied:

Comment posted: 11/06/2024

I use my Fuji X-T2 on auto ISO set to 12800, so an ASA 10/25 film somehow scares me at the moment! I really need to learn and understand light much more, I think. Printing is something I still would need to experience. At the moment I do not have the possibility to (wet) print the pictures, but this is something I definitively plan to try in the future. My father still has his old equipment for it. It would be probably also a good lesson to see the differences of box speed and pushed film on paper!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Julian Tanase on 5 frames with a Nikon FM2 & Kentmere 400 pushed to 3200

Comment posted: 11/06/2024

Well done, Mate. I am not necessarily talking about the photographs, although the second one got my attention, due to clear details and well exposed. I am talking about the courage and curiosity, two attributes that can help one become a better photographer. As someone here said, shooting at box speed would've been enough; but it is always well worth it to experiment and try new approaches in the search of your own path.

Experimenting is a wonderful tool to help one pushing the boundaries of knowledge, and you took that path, which says a lot. Loss of detail, grain, muddy shadows? So what? At least you now know. Kudos to you, keep up doing what you like and have fun in the process.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Máté Krausz replied:

Comment posted: 11/06/2024

Thank you Julian for the honest words, they are deeply appreciated! I agree with you all the way: experimenting and having fun in the process is the key!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Marco Andrés on 5 frames with a Nikon FM2 & Kentmere 400 pushed to 3200

Comment posted: 11/06/2024

Have to second Julian Tanase’s comment. Just add, you were brave to push and publish.

In the Lada image. you discovered the old film adage: for negatives meter for the shadows and “print” for the highlights. But not always.

Continue experimenting:
– push different film stocks [+1, +2 and +3]
– use stand development.
– meter different parts of the scene tio deternine exposure.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Máté Krausz replied:

Comment posted: 11/06/2024

The Lada (and some not posted pictures) on this roll started me on a way of more mindful metering: I started to meter as you also suggest for multiple spots of the scene, to understand the dynamic range I am dealing with. With the Rollei 35 (my other camera) this is not possible, and this being my second roll with the Nikon, I was somehow still sticking to old habits: go with a reasonable exposure, and hope it sticks, which as the pictures show, will not result in great exposure at all times!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Jason replied:

Comment posted: 11/06/2024

Great recommendations and I would add, as you're on that path, be prepared to go through many rolls of films of the same subject with different exposure settings and then, see how different development times (+/- 50%) give what results. For this to be effective, I'd recommend to go with a 4x5 camera since you can expose/develop one sheet at a time. Good luck and have fun

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Máté Krausz replied:

Comment posted: 11/06/2024

Although I would love to try large format, unfortunately I think a 4x5 would be a big leap for me at the moment (technically and financially as well). For experimenting I am planning to try bulk rolling and prepare shorter rolls (10-15 exp), to be able to experiment with stuff you both suggest.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Jeffery Luhn on 5 frames with a Nikon FM2 & Kentmere 400 pushed to 3200

Comment posted: 14/06/2024

Mate,

Thanks for your posting. Quite good for someone new to film! Especially processing the film yourself! Film takes a different mindset in all respects, especially ISO. ISO 400 used to be 'fast' film and pushing it to 800 was the max for me. I never cared much for the grainy look and loss of shadow detail. With a F/1.8 lens and a monopod you can get good sharpness and longer gray scale at just 1 stop push. Monopod can help you get decent steadiness at 1/30th sec. You will see this more when you enlarge images. Save the high ISO shots for digital...IMO. Keep shooting!!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Máté Krausz replied:

Comment posted: 14/06/2024

Thank you for the encouraging comment, Jeffery! A monopod is someting, I never considered before, maybe I will give it a try! Also after reading all the comments on the post, I think I will try to change my mindset, how I think about film speed and (at least for the rest of the summertime) try to embrace low(er) speed and get comfortable with it.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Photography & Projects

Looking for some inspiration, or just want to flick through the project work and photos?

Reviews & Experiences

If you're looking for photography equipment and peripheral reviews, this is the place to start!

Theory & Reflections

If you're looking for photography equipment and peripheral reviews, this is the place to start!

Tutorials & Knowhow

If you want to learn or discover a new technique, build on your skills, or be inspired to have a go at a bit of DIY or camera modification, then you’re in the right place.