Don't Miss This Beautiful New Large Format Film

The beloved Ilford Pan F Plus is now available in 4x5 and 8x10 sheet film for the first time, and it's a bigger deal than it might seem at first glance. Sheet film manufacturing isn't as simple as cutting down roll film stock, as the base thickness has to be different to keep the emulsion stable, aligned with the film plane, and practical to load and process, which is exactly why not every emulsion makes it to large format.

Coming to you from Mat Marrash, this hands-on video puts Ilford Pan F Plus 4x5 through its paces across six pre-release sheets with portraits, nature scenes, different lighting conditions, and two different development times. Marrash was sent the film before the official announcement and had to make every frame count, which shapes the whole approach here. He shoots family portraits with a bulb release, hauls his large format kit to Hocking Hills, and develops in stainless steel hangers and tanks using HC-110 dilution B at times as short as 3.5 minutes. Pan F Plus builds density fast, so development time is something you'll want to dial in carefully depending on whether you're scanning, printing, or both.

The portrait work is particularly interesting because Marrash comes into this with a complicated history with Pan F Plus. He's not a bright-daylight, wide-open-aperture shooter by habit, which is exactly where this film thrives. He adjusts his shooting window, shoots at f/5.6 through f/11 depending on conditions, and uses a squeeze bulb cable release on a 30-foot run to get himself into the frame alongside his family and dogs. The results show the film handling a wide range of contrast and printing through even the denser negatives without much trouble. He even made an 8x10 enlargement from the portrait of his wife and dog that he says he prefers to the scan.

His overall take on the film itself is positive. He can see himself shooting it regularly in both formats, and the Devil's Bathtub shot he made with a circular polarizer is sharp enough that he's offering enlargement prints in sizes up to 16x20. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Marrash, including all six frames, the contact prints, and his specific development times for each session.