Pentax 17, just before the launch of the Fujifilm X100 VI, is the year of modern retro cameras. But what makes the new Pentax special is that it shoots film. Against the odds, analog photography has been quietly growing in popularity in recent years—but few major camera manufacturers have bothered to pay attention to the trend.
Sure Leica will sell you a fancy film rangefinder and Kodak will sell you a basic Ektar H35N as an upgrade from a disposable camera. Only Pentax has stepped up to dust off old design plans and produce a new film camera for a new generation of non-digital photographers.
But what do you get for your $500 / £500 investment? And aside from the design (with subtle references to vintage Pentax models), are you really getting what you think you’re getting?
The reality is that the Pentax 17 isn’t quite the pocket-sized camera you might expect – and it doesn’t offer the creative control you might hope for. Let me explain…
1: Zone focus
The Pentax 17 makes you work for your photos at some points – but not at others. Unlike most cameras at this price, there’s no autofocus – so you have to make sure the shot is sharp. On more basic cameras (such as a disposable camera) the focus is fixed – so you don’t need to do anything. There are six different focus distances on the Pentax 17 that you can set using different icons.
This zone focus system requires you to estimate the distance of your subject (there are scales in feet and meters) – or trust the vagueness of the icons (is this a shot of one or two people, you ask?). However, there is a risk that you will misjudge the distance – or simply forget to set it at all (although at least you can see the selected icon in the viewfinder).
If you’re worried, you can always switch to full AUTO mode, which disables zone focus. The camera will then try to keep everything sharp from the 1 mk horizon.
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2. No manual exposure. No aperture priority.
The Pentax 17 has an impressive looking mode dial, and you could be forgiven for thinking it would give you some control over exposure settings. But no – it’s an AE-only camera with a choice of several different program exposure modes – which set both aperture and shutter speed for you. For example, Bokeh mode (confusingly referred to as “maximum aperture priority AE program”) keeps the lens at its maximum aperture of f/3.5 (but you won’t know what shutter speed was selected). The available aperture range is f/3.5 – f/16 and the shutter speed that can be set is from 4 seconds to 1/350s (with a separate .
You can at least override the automatic metered exposure – as there is an exposure compensation dial – offering up to +2 to -2 over/underexposure (in 1/3EV increments). And of course you can also compensate exposure using the ISO dial.
3. Manual film advance. Manual film rewind.
Above: a helpful YouTube video explains the entire rewinding process well for the uninitiated
Pentax is really proud of its film shift lever – the sound and mechanism encapsulate everything that was great about the golden era of film photography. And it is quite simple to use (but there is a risk that you did not wind up when you want to urgently shoot).
But without any motorized film transport, the film also needs to be manually rewound after completion. As someone who grew up with basic film SLRs, this is not a problem. But there are generations of people who think it’s right.
You have to turn off the clutch with the button on the bottom. Unfold the handle on the top and then turn it until you feel or hear the foil is securely locked back in its light-tight container. Open the back too soon and your film will fog up and ruin your photos. Not surprisingly, one of Ricoh’s first YouTube videos shows how. It also made a similar video about the complex process of loading film.
4. Non-rechargeable battery
No one would buy a film camera for its eco-friendly features, but the battery that the Pentax 17 uses is not rechargeable. And in addition, it is a CR2 type 3 lithium pack, which is not sold in every mini market. CR2 rechargeable batteries exist, but Pentax specifically warns you not to use them. And unfortunately, despite the manual film advance/rewind mechanism, you can’t shoot without a battery (like some vintage cameras of this type).
5. Film and processing
Those used to using phones or digital cameras may not appreciate having to keep buying rolls of 35mm film and paying for processing/printing for each one. And those who do may not realize how expensive film and lab costs are these days. But that’s obviously the case with any film camera…
But you should also be aware that although you get twice the number of shots per roll with half frame, you will undoubtedly pay more per roll for printing. And some labs (often the most affordable ones) just don’t handle half frame. If you have a home scanner, you are also unlikely to have a mask that allows each frame to be 17x24mm.
6. Fixed prime number
There is no zoom on the Pentax 17 – and you cannot change the lens. This gives you a solid wide-angle 25mm lens that gives you an effective focal length of 37mm like a full-frame camera.
There are no wide-angle or teleconverters to screw onto the front of the lens (via the 40.5mm filter thread) – although there’s always the possibility that someone will offer one at some point in the future.
7. Partial measurement
Without a digital sensor to measure light levels, the exposure meter on this camera is a small window above the lens that reads light from the center of the frame. Pentax calls this partial metering. However, there’s no exposure lock and you can’t force it to read from the corner of the frame – so you’ll have to read the contrast and brightness of the scene and work out the necessary exposure compensation yourself.