Summary: Outstanding for duplicating photographs! I very recently shot some 80-100-year-old family photographs measuring 2x2 inches, yes, 2x2 inches, with my 60mm Leica macro lens with Technical Pan in my R8 camera at the given film speed on a copy stand and, upon processing the film in Technidol and printing the negatives in my darkroom, I was astonished about what brilliance in sharpness and tonality this film captured!!! Next will be my old, old Zap comic books from the 60s which are aging horribly, for this film is recommended for document and line art duplication as well. Try it for these purposes...you'll be amazed!!
Strengths: Grand photo and document duplication capabilities!
Rating Reviewed by: Randy Leong(Unregistered User)
(Expert)
Review Date July 7, 2001
Overall Rating 5 of 5
Value Rating 3 of 5
Visitors rate this review 5.00 of 5,
3 votes
Review 2 of 22
Summary: Kodak's Technical Pan film is one of the best films I have used for black-and-white outdoor photography. The prints I had printed from this film are tack-sharp - so much that I could have blown the images up all the way to 32x48" without sacrificing much in the way of image quality. And the grain is of the "Huh? What grain?" variety.
This is the good news. Now for the not-so-good news: Technical Pan film requires the use of special Technidol developer for continuous-tone pictorial processing - and that developer, though I have had no trouble whatsoever using it, takes some getting used to in terms of developing technique. (For pictorial use, Technical Pan is rated at ISO 25.) Conventional developers, such as D-76, HC-110 and Xtol can be used with Technical Pan film, but only for super-high-contrast line art (ISO speed range varies with the developer used). And these days, the price for a 36-exposure roll of this film is considerably higher than for an equal-exposure roll of my old standby, Kodak Tri-X (ISO 400).
So, if you want the ultimate pictorial results, particularly for outdoor photography, and you are willing to invest time and money in special processing, then Technical Pan is the film for you. Otherwise, for general B&W photography, there are more suitable choices, such as T-Max 100.
***Note that my value rating is based on today's over-inflated prices on this film.***
Weaknesses: Slow speed when used as pictorial film (ISO 25), requires special Technidol developer for pictorial processing, somewhat expensive for B&W film
Rating Reviewed by: Tim Robinson Photography(Unregistered User)
(Professional)
Review Date July 1, 2001
Overall Rating 5 of 5
Value Rating 5 of 5
Visitors rate this review 1.00 of 5,
1 votes
Review 3 of 22
Price Paid:
$5.00
from L & P
Summary: I either like no grain or obveous but nice grain.For grain i feel tri x is the go and for no grain then tech pan is the best.One big thing to think about for all of you super sharp freaks is that films like APX 25 realy need high light levels.They are not at there best in long exposure ,low light situations .The shadow detail suffers.Tech pan is just superb for those inside natural light 20 second exposures.I shoot Leica & Linhof so lens quality is not a problem for me but if you use zooms orlower quality lenses then you will be under uterlising this film.The speed is not bad when you take into account that the extended red sensertivity means you don't need a light yellow filter.To dev make sure you always use a pre-soak and put the film into the dev not the other way around and agitate very very vigorously before you even think of putting the lid on your dev tank.After that remember to agitate for 2 seconds every 30 ,not 2.5 seconds or 1.6 seconds.This advise is more for the 120 size than 35 mm .The fist time i used this film i didn,t like it but i remember reading about Ansel Adams recomending students of his use it in their 35mm cameras while doing one of his desert tutorials so i gave it another few tries. Perservere it realy is worth it .It is also worth buying an Leica M for.
Strengths: The finest crispiest film i have used.Very easy to print,holds shadow & highlite detail better than most
Weaknesses: In the 120 size it is almost imposible to dev an even sky without uneven dev marks
Similar Products Used: agfa 25 , pan f ,panatomic x
Rating Reviewed by: Andrew Davies(Unregistered User)
(Professional)
Review Date June 27, 2001
Overall Rating 2 of 5
Value Rating 1 of 5
Visitors rate this review 1.00 of 5,
2 votes
Review 4 of 22
Price Paid:
$5.00
from Melbourne, Australia
Summary: A great film if you want something different, but if you want fine grain and sharpness, use Agfa APX25 or larger film.
Strengths: As fine grained and sharp as photographic film can be. Good for smoothing out blemishes in skin tones due to extended red sensitivity.
Weaknesses: As the ISO of this film changes with the amount of red light in a scene, it is a poor choice when consistency and predictability are required. The extended red sensitivity leads to inaccurate, if interesting results. Very difficult to fine-tune processing and don't even think about zone system control.
Rating Reviewed by: Anthony Atkielski(Unregistered User)
(Intermediate)
Review Date May 23, 2001
Overall Rating 5 of 5
Value Rating 5 of 5
Visitors rate this review 5.00 of 5,
1 votes
Review 5 of 22
Summary: Technical Pan has no competition in the domains for which it is best suited, but it isn't suited for everything. If you've always wanted to be able to read street signs a mile away in your 35-millimeter negatives with a 28-mm lens, or if you check for grain in your negatives with a scanning electron microscope, this is the film for you.
If you just like extremely faithful, extraordinarily detailed and precise representations of real-world scenes in black and white, Tech Pan is also for you.
If you are put off by developing your own film according to strict protocols, or paying a lot per roll of film, or searching around for rare developer solutions, this may not be your film.
I like to alternate between Tech Pan and Tri-X. Tech Pan is the racing car that will whip anything else on the track with enough tender loving care. Tri-X is the dented but reliable utility truck that will get you to your destination even if you're tired and lazy, and no matter what the road conditions are like.
Strengths: Unique in its class.
Unbeatable for resolution and absence of grain.
Has a distinctive, hyperreal look to it in many applications.
Weaknesses: Very particular about exposure and development.
Requires special developers, and you typically end up developing it yourself, since hardly any lab will do it (especially at any reasonable price).
It's an expensive film.
Requires lots of experimenting to get things just right.
Similar Products Used: None. Tech Pan is in its own class.
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