The Pentax 17 is a completely new 35 mm half-frame film camera designed from the ground up for film enthusiasts. This sleek and easy-to-use camera is the first release from Ricoh Imaging/Pentax’s Film Project initiative, and its design draws heavily on Pentax’s long heritage of film compact cameras.

Advantages of the half-frame format

The Pentax 17 differs from traditional 35 mm “full-frame” cameras with its 17 x 24 mm image area. The Pentax 17 uses standard 35 mm cine film but captures two images on one frame. This smaller and more unique format offers several advantages:

• You get twice as many photos on a roll of film compared to full-frame. With a 36-exposure roll, you can take about 72 photos.
• Because the film moves through the camera horizontally, the 17 x 24 mm image area is naturally vertical, making the camera excellent for portrait orientation photography, similar to a smartphone. By turning the camera upright, you can also take landscape shots.

Easy to use and versatile

The Pentax 17 is designed to be easy to use, featuring precise automatic exposure so you can focus on shooting. However, you can still adjust ISO sensitivity (50–3200), exposure compensation (+/- 3 EV), and use different shooting modes.

The Pentax 17 camera has a manual film winding mechanism based on the mechanisms found in Pentax-branded SLR film cameras. The film advance lever allows the user to enjoy the film winding and the winding sound after each shutter release. Its easy loading system is designed to prevent film loading errors, especially for first-time film camera users. The camera also includes other film camera-specific mechanisms, such as manual film rewind using a rewind crank, exposure compensation with an exposure compensation dial, and ISO sensitivity setting with an ISO dial.

With the camera’s mode selector, you can turn the flash on or off. When the flash is on, you can choose an automatic program with flash or slow sync flash. When the flash is off, you can use the automatic program, long exposure, or a special Bokeh mode that uses the widest aperture (f/3.5) to achieve shallow depth of field. Additionally, the camera features an automatic mode that automatically selects whether to use flash or not.

Main technical specifications:

• Film format: 35 mm half-frame
• Lens: Fixed HD PENTAX HF 25mm f/3.5 Traditional (approximate 35 mm equivalent)
• Focus: Manual zone focusing (6 zones)
• Exposure: Automatic exposure, exposure compensation (+/- 3 EV)
• ISO sensitivity: 50–3200
• Flash: Built-in flash
• Other: Film advance lever, tripod socket, remote shutter release connection