What nobody is mentioning is the fact that the marketing team at Pentax seems to have finally understood how marketing works these days. There are so many photography channels who got a camera to review. Great work Pentax for not only making this awesome camera but also getting people to talk about it. Wish them big success and hoping for a 35mm and maybe even a medium format camera in the future.
Just saw the price. It will drive up film and the vintage market prices, but building it shows Pentax has not lost its soul. Love the fact that it brought the old boys back to help.
There are a few people on RU-vid who show how big you can enlarge half-frame and to be honest they can be printed pretty large. I would think really high res scans would give some good results. I love the Olympus Pen EE3 which gave really good results and the freedom of 72 shots and using 2 shots as diptychs is all fun to do and pretty freeing. Now I'm patiently awaiting the return of the king... the GR1!
Yeah there's a lot of detail in film even at smaller sizes. And the lower cost could make it easier to shoot more expensive film like portra and still get great looking images.
I've found anyone 100 iso (maybe not gonna) is fine for me at 8x10. 400 iso is good at 5x7, and the right shot can go bigger. It's all personal taste at the end of the day. For B&W I find staining Devs (e.g. 520pyro, Pyrocat, obsidian aqua) help hide the grain a touch too
No matter what the old grumpy people say. I think Pentax did a great job. Regarding the half frame. The lab here saw a very prominent shift in how pictures are taken. Majority now is vertical. So Pentax is getting the target audience.
Amazing Pentax left the film winding and unwinding manual instead of automatic. It should be much more fun for people getting into film. Quite a peculiar camera. Hopefully it finds it's public. Half format is usually quite grainy I wonder if the smartphone generation will like it.
Gen z is really diggin on digicam/ point and shoots cameras at the moment so they might be more open to grain than we may believe, buuuut idk how many of them are pentax fans (or are consumers of photography media) to know this even exists
I have a konica EF3 that's very similar to this in that manner, and it is quite fun in a way that I think is much easier to tell in hand. The grain is the point for some people I know, so it might work out as a plus. As someone who was very young when digital transitioned in, I certainly don't mind it; I'd choose grain over excessive HDR 9 times out of 10. Time will tell if there's enough of a market of new photographers to get the manufacturing ball rolling, my hope is it appeals to people who might otherwise have gotten an entry level DSLR and let it sit.
Due to the new coatings it might look better compared to an older half frame camera I think. I saw some example photos online they looked very sharp and good
I think the grain can be part of the appeal for new film shooters. They want that 'film look' and half frame will deliver more of that for better or worse.
Oh, yes! It's very interesting! Half frame, it's a godsend! The most important thing is that the camera is reliable, you don't want to lose 72 pictures, so the new camera is a big event for connoisseurs of film photography. Thanks!
I am very surprised with the end product pentax released. It feels like a product from the prime years of japanese camera manufacturing. Everything is well put together ergonomically, it feels like there is nothing missing from the important features and it looks tight aesthetically. I hope they release a pro version with the apparture numbers on the lens instead of the prosumer version with the subects icons and ideally add half steps in it as well. Overall this product doesn't feel like it came from a company that most people forget it exists, that's for sure.
A big big thank you to PENTAX for their effort in keeping film photography alive.. (again PENTAX I will forever be a fan. for your efforts. )Now Nikon come on give us what we want.
Just to add I am a huge fan of Nikon, I have the F2 and F5. But Big Big respect to PENTAX for the giant leap of faith in the film community. Can't say it enough thank you PENTAX. PENTAX. PENTAX.
Best coverage of this new camera from anyone on RU-vid. Placed a preorder thanks to your review, even though I own several film cameras. It’s important to support companies who manufacture new film cameras.
HF Stands for hyper focal focus. Fix aperture. Sounds like leaf shutter. I like your new cap very much. It's a little pricey for me, but nice to see a new film camera on the market. Enjoy your new toy and congratulations to Pentax. Rollei brings also a new camera 35 AF. Nothing for me but hope it will be hype the analog market. Cu, best wishes for your family, sofian & damo .
After the Lumix S9 trainwreck, it is so cool to see a company actually releasing a very clever camera that has a specific purpose - snapshots. Just keep cranking that lever, choose the zone and fire away. Also, built-in flash will make this viable for low light.
It makes it far easier to achieve larger beautiful grainy images, with the romantic look from people like Sarah Moon, and the historic Autochrome look. Great move from Pentax!
I need this camera to do well so we can get a full frame version, half frame sounds interesting, having more shots in a single roll does sound fun though
Neat camera. I learned to shoot on a Pentax K1000, but I don't have any need these days for a film camera. I do hope it does well for the small community of film enthusiasts though.
This could really become my new camera that I always have with me. I've never had a P&S because they often break, but I really like the concept, especially 70 frames. I definitely want to try it out! I'm excited to see how Pentax will change the market for analog photography 🤩 Wieder ein sehr gutes Video, hat mir gefallen!
I saved your video to watch first!! I love that you share your excitement for photography and the brand; there's nothing wrong with that. This is exciting! I hope it does well, and that film photography and digital photography continues to grow!! Thank you for your video!!
SOO good, samuel. yours was the first video i watched on the pentax. its pretty damn cool, i have to say. it looks so fun to use. i LOVED the bit with your brother. so fun!!
The Pentax 17 looks awesome, sounds awesome, and looks awesome to use, this is what film users need and prayed for, a new beginning, the Pentax 17 will show what a joy shooting film can be. I'm overjoyed. Great video, many thanks.
The best 'review' so far. I see my 1st pro camera! Olympus Pen-S. 1960's. Love vertical format! Note negative size fits paper sizes better! Inches not metric! Bravo! bravo pentax!
I pre ordered one on analogue wonderland it’s coming tomorrow can’t wait !!! I want that hat so bad 😂 it’s actually a cool design good for the summer, I doubt it comes with the package but who knows!
As much as I roasted the camera, I know deep down I will get one sooner or later lol. Great video and you should definitely put out more videos with your brother.
Wow!! I like he grip on it looks good. And you can fit it in your pocket too. I like the different modes. I like the shop reminds me of a place that I have in my home town they sell refurbished cameras and all types of film.
Sehr lustiges Video besonders mit deinem Bruder am Ende. Tolle, mutige Entscheidung von Pentax. Wer hätte das gedacht? Ich wünsche mir eine klassische Kleinbild (also full frame) Nikon FM 4, vielleicht klappt es ja … 👍🏻✊🏻
Enjoyed the entire video immensely, not even talking head w/music stuff you see so much, great interviews and such, awesome job, the ending had me laughing out loud and smiling ear to ear. Great job Sam!
Thank you for this video that was obviously made with a lot of love. My Pentax 17 will arrive today and I can't wait to go out with it. (I die a little death every time I hear "Instax Polaroid camera" 😉)
Such a thoughtful and well-done video capturing different perspectives and the OBE at the opening was a highlight. Thank you for all of your quality work. This video has me thinking again about Pentax’s Monochrome SLR.
The ending 🤣 So amazing you and your brother are so into photography. This is such a good thing for film photography, excellent overview of the new camera.
Very cool! I might actually put my GR down for a moment and give film a try again. I used to shoot on the Nikon F3 10 years ago when the film trend was just starting. I didn't like it because of the weight and bulk, but also the repairs and worries coming with old second hand gear.
Oh yes a new Medium Format camera please. Would be the only reason for me to go analog. :)
3 месяца назад
This has to be the best video of the release of the Pentax 17. I particularly liked the end, great job and thank you for sharing! It's a bit pricey, but I'll definitely will buy it as soon as I have the chance this year.
On the "portrait by default" thing. I do think that, for the target audience, it wont be an issue. If you are mostly taking photos of people, they tend to be portrait shaped, heads especially so 😂 I use my Pen FV a lot, and have found portrait-first provides a nice change, letting me explore a different compositional style. I wont be buying the 17 soon, i have too many CLAs to pay for, but i hope it does well, and i wont rule it out in the future
Raised 2 boys 6 yrs apart myself. Was quite a handful, both of them. Older boy was film, then the younger was digital. Seems easier to look back thru prints than digital files. This camera has attractive finish but I’m not a big fan of half frame. Looking forward to the Rollei reissue! Good luck with your son! Maybe he’d love a little sibling?! Mine did…
To me this is the greatest news for analog photography since Kodak resuscitated Ektachrome. Thanks for the great video! By the way I like the pictures your brother took very much. Great composition and great color. Was he using reversal film by any chance?
That is such a beautiful camera that Pentax has built. I already consider it a design classic. However, for beginners, it absolutely should have had autofocus or some other form of focus besides just estimating the distance. That's more for good street photographers but not for beginners. Half frame is pretty cool since you normally shoot portrait, and when you share on Instagram, you don't really need high image quality anyway. :D
Agree on AF! Although I have a lot of friends with instax cameras and they also have these silly distance icons on the lens 😆 And it works. But 35mm half frame has more resolution so critical focus becomes more important. I guess Pentax thought that AF was too modern and they wanted people to experience the "manual" focus experience. We will see. I hope they sell a ton of them and then make more cameras because if this is their first, then the next one cannot disappoint : )
The price works against the camera. I mean, cameras were always expensive but is it reasonable to price a camera with these characteristics with half the price of a flagship smartphone?
@@tj2375 It's the price you got to pay if you want to keep film alive. Pentax needs to make money or they won't continue with the development of new film cameras. They had to bring back retired technicians to teach the new generation how to make film cameras. And of course there were many limitations they had to deal with. It comes at a cost.
Thank you Ricoh Pentax. I hope consumer film photography, and photographic prints, can regain the consumer's attention. Are prints and film AI? To me, my R6 Mark II is way more capable, and requires way more concentration and discipline. Particularly if I want more than a JPEG as the final output. Thanks for the review. Good luck. Have fun.
If you want better scans you can just shoot the real iso that the developer and process gives you (most give lower than box speed) and then develop slightly shorter for thinner negs. Detail will remain in the shadow, but overall density will decrease and it's easier for the scanner. Also shorter time gives less grain.
My only worry is the high cost of the half frame scans. Labs around here charge extra, and depending on the lab, it starts to get prohibitive. Hopefully labs don't try and gauge people on this, because it could really kill the growth of the camera. Also, what was that tool you were using to get the video of your negative 25:20?
Seems like a fun camera. Maybe it's just because I've been photographing for a long time but the "simplified" controls and focus distance readouts (the shapes) confuse me more than if there were just actual values for distance/shutter/aperture. If this was in the same style as something like the old Canonet or Yaschica Electro "cheap" family rangefinder fixed lens cameras that would be more appealing to me and probably more seasoned photographers. Hope this model does well for them though.
I only shot a few rolls of film while at art school, but how on earth is this the promise of more to come? Is film photography so desperate that this £500 toy is a good sign? Am i just being "toxic"?
I own an Olympus Pen FT half frame camer, the feeling of having it in your hands is amazing. Solid, metal, functional, interchangeable lens, shutter sound is like that of thunder..Is this camera somewhat similar or feels/weighs like plastic lomography cameras?
While on the subject - I have a couple Soviet analog cameras along with some lenses (helios'es, jupiter, mir1b). Do such analog camera shops might be interested to buy them in bulk? Or I am better off listing them on Ebay separately?
