Kiki Pan 320 Film Review

Kiki Pan 320 is a medium-speed black-and-white film by a Hong Kong analogue photography distributor, Camera Film Photo.

Kiki Pan is a German-made emulsion packed in a super-cute box with its DX-coded canister and negatives featuring a design inspired by the shop’s resident cat, Kiki. 🐾

In this review, I’m exploring the results I got with this film in an early point-and-shoot, Nikon L35AD2, and one of my favourite pocketable cameras, Olympus Mju I. Nikon photos were developed in Ilford DD-X, whereas Mju I’s were dunked in Rodinal at the 1+25 dilution for 9:00.

In this review: Dynamic range, contrast, and exposure. Grain structure, resolution, and sharpness. Scanning Kiki Pan 320. How much does Kiki Pan 320 cost, and where to buy it. Support this blog & get premium features with GOLD memberships!

Dynamic range, contrast, and exposure.

I like to describe black-and-white films in terms of their dynamic range, contrast, grain, and resolution. Sample images can be helpful to see what the results may look like, but manufacturer datasheets are typically the best way to objectively understand and compare emulsion specs.

Unfortunately, as it goes for rebranded emulsions, Kiki Pan 320 doesn’t have a data sheet available.

When Kiki Pan launched a few years back, I loved the design and bought a few rolls. I used it in various cameras and dunked in two film developers, which produced different but identifiable results. I hope this is enough to get a good idea of how this film would look for you.

Both developers made what seemed to be medium-contrast images with a limited dynamic range. As you’d expect from a negative film, this one handles highlights better than shadows, but, to be frank, I’m not particularly impressed with either. Both extremes seem to disappear into darkness or pure white much easier than on something like Ilford HP5+.

This is not to say that this film is bad, but given what’s available on the market today, it falls short, at least when it comes to my preferences. An ideal film for me would produce medium-high contrast images and retain a good amount of information in the shadows and highlights (in case I want to edit it or if I’m shooting a high-contrast scene). JCH StreetPan is an example of such emulsion; alas, Kiki Pan is not.

Grain structure, resolution, and sharpness.

I like sharp grain, which is why Rodinal is one of my favourite developers. However, this sharpness comes at a price: it accentuates the grain, which can give photos a coarse sandpaper look for certain films. Kiki Pan appears to be one of those films. You can see this effect in the image above (provided you’re reading this on a big screen).

Thankfully, the coarseness that Rodinal brings out in Kiki Pan fades in bright, evenly-lit scenes:

If you can avoid the shadows, which can look too crunchy for my taste, high-key parts of your scenes may actually look really good with Kiki Pan and Rodinal. The grain becomes softer but remains present, giving a pencil drawing feel. I like that.

Ilford DD-X tends to produce softer grain. But I’m not sure it improves Kiki Pan in the shadows. Instead of the coarse texture of Rodinal, it creates what seems like a messy mix of granules. This is, of course, a preference thing, but to me, the results do not look great in DD-X with this film.

If I were to shoot more Kiki Pan, I’d look for high-key, well-lit scenes. I’d also keep dunking it in Rodinal to let the grain purr or try another developer.

Scanning Kiki Pan 320.

Kiki Pan dries flat, which is always nice, and as a bonus, it features the thematic “Meow!” printed on the edges. Love this.

Inverting the negatives isn’t particularly difficult, although the film renders some fog and fairly low max density. Many films do that, so I wouldn’t worry about it unless you are trying to scan it with a very cheap scanner.

How much does Kiki Pan 320 cost, and where to buy it.

This film is difficult to get in North America nowadays; it’s even sold out at the store that produced it originally. But you may be able to find some at the link below from another distributor:

❤ By the way: Please consider making your Camera Film Photo Kiki Pan 320 film purchase using this link so that this website may get a small percentage of that sale — at no extra charge for you — thanks!