Film Guide

Lucky Pan 400

Modern apartment building on a street corner. Lucky Pan 400. 01A Frame 1 of 26

Lucky Pan 400

A 400 speed black and white film from Lucky, the Chinese manufacturer. It is the SHD400 emulsion Lucky sold for years and brought back in 2024. The roll here is a walk around town: a cemetery, a theater, porches, and a woven sculpture.

How it behaves

A panchromatic black and white negative on the contrasty side, with visible grain and blacks that close down fast in flat light. Plenty of shooters rate it nearer ISO 200 than the 400 on the box, and the distributor suggests the same, so give it light and do not lean on thin shadows. It develops in standard black and white chemistry, and D-76 is the developer named on the box insert. The frames here came back punchy: hard sun, deep shade, and honest midtones where the light was good.

Questions people ask

How should I shoot Lucky Pan 400?

Give it light. Box speed works in hard sun, but rating it at ISO 200 keeps the shadows open, and the distributor suggests the same.

Is Lucky Pan 400 the same as Lucky SHD400?

Yes. Pan 400 is the older name for the same Lucky black and white emulsion, sold today as Luckypan SHD 400.

What process does it use?

Standard black and white development. The box insert names D-76, and common black and white developers have published times for it.

Is it still made?

Yes. Lucky brought the film back in 2024 after a long absence, and it is sold overseas in 35mm through Reflx Lab.

If you like this, try

Lucky SHXLucky's other black and white roll in this guide, with far thinner documentationKentmere 400another budget 400 speed black and white, with published data sheets

The full set

All 26 frames, in the order they came off the rolls. Tap one to see it full screen.

Modern apartment building on a street corner. Lucky Pan 400.
Cloth draped figure lying beside a gravestone in a cemetery. Lucky Pan 400.
Figure under a cloth beside a headstone in a cemetery. Lucky Pan 400.
Tree lined road through a cemetery. Lucky Pan 400.
Shaded road running through a cemetery. Lucky Pan 400.
Tall historic office building seen from below against the sky. Lucky Pan 400.
Ornate theater building with a vertical marquee on a city street. Lucky Pan 400.
Dark wood paneled interior with long benches and a globe lamp. Lucky Pan 400.
Mirror self portrait in a doorway, camera in hand. Lucky Pan 400.
Street and historic building seen through diagonal railing shadows. Lucky Pan 400.
Close view of a woven wooden outdoor sculpture. Lucky Pan 400.
Twisting woven sculpture on a plaza. Lucky Pan 400.
Woven arch sculpture spanning a walkway bridge. Lucky Pan 400.
Woven sculpture rising from tall grass by a railing. Lucky Pan 400.
Winged M emblem sign on a slatted gate. Lucky Pan 400.
Painted wall mural along a sidewalk. Lucky Pan 400.
Empty grass lot with houses and sun flare behind. Lucky Pan 400.
Residential sidewalk and houses under a big tree. Lucky Pan 400.
Columned building across a street with a utility pole out front. Lucky Pan 400.
Victorian house porch behind ornamental grasses. Lucky Pan 400.
House porch with chairs seen past tall grass. Lucky Pan 400.
Columned building facade with W crest panels. Lucky Pan 400.
Big porch house seen through blurred foliage. Lucky Pan 400.
Flat roofed pavilion and a tall pole on cracked pavement. Lucky Pan 400.
New apartment buildings along a fresh street with mountains behind. Lucky Pan 400.
Stone church facade with tall arched windows. Lucky Pan 400.