Since getting back into film photography, I’ve been on a mission to try pretty much every filmstock out there. It was that mission which motivated me to order a few rolls of Bergger Pancro 400 from B&H Photo and Video in New York City a few months back and give it a try. I was suitably impressed.
Bergger is a French photographic materials company with a rich history, offering a range of products including film, paper, and darkroom chemistry. Their sole film product is Bergger Pancro 400, a black and white film sold in 135, 120, and various large format sizes as well. It is the 120 film that’s the subject of this review, but presumably, the others will perform similarly.
The film is set on a PET base, which presumably means polyethylene terephthalate — a/k/a polyester — on which Bergger claims to integrate both anti-curling and anti-halation layers. The film is said to be somewhat unusual in that it has a dual emulsion, combining two different silver halide molecules (silver bromide and silver iodide), which the company promises gives the film an extended latitude — something I’ve not expressly tested to-date, but I’ll take them at their word.
It’s glaringly obvious that Bergger Pancro is manufactured for Bergger by Harman Technology (a/k/a Ilford); the backing paper is identical to Ilford rolls, the spool is identical to Ilford, the seal tapes have identical print marks and the same water-activated (lick ’em, stick ’em) adhesive as Ilford, the box has the same style of printed manufacturing codes and expiration dates and in the same location on the box, and the lettering burned onto the film rebate is the same typeface and style as Ilford. Of course that’s not a bad thing; Ilford’s 120 films are extremely well made to tight tolerances with near flawless consistency — something that appears to extend to Bergger Pancro, based on my experience so far. But if I’m right about this, then the “Made in Germany” legend on the film box seems a little disingenuous. Perhaps Harman has a facility there? Perhaps it’s just packaged in Germany? I honestly have no idea, but the coincidences are hard to ignore.
What I Like
Bergger Pancro 400 certainly does impress:
- Nice Grain
I’ve only experienced this film one way: developing it at home with Kodak HC-110. The normal dilution, Dilution B, produces great results with Bergger Pancro, and so does Dilution H (which I use the majority of the time). Quite honestly, I can’t discern any real difference between the two in terms of grain. HC-110 is supposed to have some level of solvent action, which would suggest that the stronger Dilution B should result in reduced perception of grain over the weaker Dilution H images. In the sample images, I’ll include some of both; you can judge for yourself.
I find the grain qualities to be quite pleasing. Some have said that Bergger Pancro can get very grainy in the highlights, especially when overexposed or overprocessed. To me, this is more subjective than objective, and it depends on what you expect or want out of your images, I suppose. For me, the film has pleasing, soft grain, and while I do see it in the highlights, I’m not sure it’s any more pronounced than other black and white films I shoot. - Beautiful Tonal Range
Shot at box speed (I’ve not yet done otherwise), and developed the way I do it at home, the results are superb, with excellent contrast and tonal range. Others have remarked on the similarity of the film to Eastman Double-X; I’ve not shot much Double-X, and comparing a 35mm film to 120 is fraught, but I do see the similarities: There’s a very similarly strong contrast (or can be) with rich blacks and lots of range and detail in the midtones. Simply put, the film produces a beautiful image. - Competitively Priced
At just under US$6.00 per roll (from B&H Photo and Video, anyway, in late 2019 / early 2020), Bergger Pancro 400 compares nicely price-wise with other good quality film stocks, including the Ilford range.
What I Don’t Like
Only a few very small things go on the “don’t like” list:
- Availability
As is the case with Foma, or any non-Kodak, non-Ilford film, finding Bergger Pancro 400 can be half the battle. I’ve only once seen this in a retail store, which is a real shame, because it’s a great product that deserves to be sitting next to the big boys. I always have to buy it online and have it shipped, and given the excellent results, as I write this article, I’m waiting on a B&H order of a dozen rolls. I love my local camera shops, but they just don’t seem to want to stock much beyond the usual. - Curling
Bergger claims that the film has an anti-curling layer, but to be blunt, it’s not particularly effective. (To be more blunt, it’s not effective at all.) The film curls laterally in the same way as Ilford films usually do, but it also curls up on itself longitudinally. The curling tendency is not as strong as some films, but it can make scanning a little more difficult than it should be, due to the difficulty in getting it into the film holders of my Epson V800. In some instances it’s been so bad I couldn’t even mount the negatives into the holders, and was forced to jerry-rig a scan by holding down the strips under a piece of glass from a small picture frame. - Development Times
This seems almost gratuitous to even mention, but Bergger Pancro has some pretty lengthy development times, at least in my preferred HC-110; a full 9 minutes in Dilution B which isn’t terrible, but a whopping 18 minutes in Dilution H. Admittedly, that’s the same as Ilford FP4 Plus, and it’s close to CatLABS X FILM 80 — but it’s much longer than most films I home process, and it’s a very, very long time to wait.
The Proof
Here are a few example shots taken on Bergger Pancro 120:
The Verdict
In my experience with the film, Bergger Pancro 400 is a beautiful, reliable, high quality film with extraordinary detail and a tonal range that’s stunning. I’ll eventually try processing this film with other developers as I branch-out from my standard HC-110, but until then, the impressive results just make me want to keep shooting more.
Processing Notes and Development Times
- Presoak for 1:00 minute, as per Bergger’s datasheet; as one might expect, given the entire presoak vs. no presoak arguments in general, I’ve skipped the presoak step without adverse effect.
- HC-110 Dilution B, 9:00 minutes at 20°C.
- HC-110 Dilution H, 18:00 minutes at 20°C.
- Stop, fix, rinse, hypo clear, wash and surfactant as normal / desired.
