Kodak Ektapan P 3200 is a 135 black and white negative film, 36 exposures, rated ISO 3200. It is the Ektapan T-grain family at the opposite end of the scale: flat tabular crystals let the speed go up without turning the frame into porridge.
How the picture looks
T-grain keeps resolution and sharpness above those of classic high-speed emulsions and gives cleaner edges. Grain at ISO 3200 will be visible — that is unavoidable — but it is finer and more even than the speed would lead you to expect.
What to shoot on it
Everything that happens in bad light and does not wait: a gig, reportage, a street at night, an interior without flash, handheld work on a long lens. ISO 3200 is the difference between a frame taken and a frame smeared.
How to shoot it
Meter at ISO 3200. The Ektapan family has wide latitude and the maker states push and pull processing outright, so the film can be shot at another speed if you need to — but tell the lab before development.
Processing and scanning
Standard black and white processing; if you did not shoot at box speed, say so at the counter. When scanning, go easy on noise reduction: it eats fine detail along with the grain.
How it compares
It competes directly with the other high-speed black and white films. The alternative is an ordinary ISO 400 pushed two stops: cheaper, but with markedly bigger grain and narrowed latitude.
