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Ilford Pan F Plus Now Comes in 4×5 and 8×10

Chris Gampat
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Last updated on 05/07/2026
05/07/2026
3 Mins read
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Last Updated on 05/07/2026 by Chris Gampat

It’s nice to know that brands are introducing new formats of film emulsions they currently have. And in today’s case, Harman Technology is introducing the new Ilford Pan F Plus in both 4×5 and 8×10 large formats. Most of us might find this a bit too inconvenient for us to photograph. But if you ever have the chance to make images using the 4×5 or 8×10 formats, you’ll see that they can offer a rendering that you can’t quite get from smaller formats. Additionally, when you learn to master it, you’ll create images that aren’t at all possible with even medium format digital.

All images were provided to the Phoblographer with permission.

Two boxes of Ilford Pan F Plus 50 black and white film, one large and one small, on a white background.

I used Ilford Pan F Plus 50 back in 2017 for an article that was published in The Phoblographer’s now gone publication, La Noir Image. In that review, I stated:

Ilford Pan F Plus is arguably the sharpest black and white film out there with TMax and Acros being a bit behind, but if it was sharp even in the days before all of these fantastic new lenses started coming out, then when using these new lenses the film should arguably be even better.

I made the following images with Ilford Pan F 50 10 years ago.

This is an important one for Ilford because it’s apparently their oldest emulsion, according to the press release.

Here are sample images provided to the Phoblographer by Ilford. to be quite frank, while the photographs are nice, I don’t think any of the work (even mine) presented here demonstrate what this film is capable of except maybe in resolution. But large format can do things like tilts and shifts so well and the darkroom lends itself to really experimental processes that still can’t be duplicated digitally.

Black and white photo of a rocky formation reflected in a calm pool under a dramatic sky.
Black and white photo of a rocky canyon with a stream, trees, and fallen branches reflected in the water.
A cyclist stands on rocky terrain by a stream, with a mountain bike lying nearby.

Additionally, Ilford sells other large format emulsions such as ILFORD HP5 PLUS, ILFORD FP4 PLUS, ILFORD Delta 100, and ILFORD ORTHO PLUS.

There really isn’t much else to say about this film. But if you wish, you can read the full press release below.

HARMAN TECHNOLOGY ANNOUNCES ILFORD PAN F PLUS IN SHEET FILM.

HARMAN technology Ltd, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of analogue photographic  films, darkroom papers, and photo chemicals, has today announced the launch of their  popular ISO50 ILFORD PAN F PLUS film in 4×5” and 8×10” sheet film formats, expanding access  to one of the world’s most iconic black & white films for large format photographers. 

Renowned for its ultra-fine grain, exceptional sharpness, rich contrast, and beautiful tonal  range, ILFORD PAN F PLUS has long been a favourite among photographers shooting  landscapes, studio photography, portraits, and fashion. While the film has been available for  decades in 35mm and 120 roll film formats, this marks the first time photographers can enjoy  PAN F PLUS in sheet film sizes. 

“While the film has existed for many years in 35mm and 120 formats, a sheet film version has  been on the wish list for film photographers for a long time,” says Giles Branthwaite, Sales &  Marketing Director at HARMAN Technology. “In fact, it is possibly the single most requested  

product we have, so I’m delighted to say we have listened and we have finally been able to  deliver this on behalf of the film photography community.” 

As one of the oldest continuously manufactured black & white film emulsions in the world,  ILFORD PAN F PLUS is known for delivering outstanding detail, smooth tonal gradation, and  beautiful high contrast. “ILFORD PAN F PLUS is our oldest emulsion, and we know it is especially  popular for genres such as fashion, portraiture, and landscapes, where light can be controlled  and its extremely fine grain and gorgeous tones really come into their own,” adds Giles 

Expanding the ILFORD Large Format Film Range 

The addition of PAN F PLUS strengthens ILFORD Photo’s growing portfolio of professional black  & white sheet films, joining: 

• ILFORD HP5 PLUS 

• ILFORD FP4 PLUS 

• ILFORD Delta 100 

• ILFORD ORTHO PLUS 

The new PAN F PLUS sheet film is available from 7th May, in both 4×5 and 8×10″ 25 sheet packs. Photographers interested in learning more about ILFORD PAN F PLUS and the full ILFORD black  & white film range can visit ILFORD Photo or follow @ILFORDPhoto on Instagram, Facebook, X,  YouTube, TikTok, and Bluesky.

4x5 8x10 black and white ilford ilford pan f plus large format sharpness
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Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.
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