Who Is the Pentax 17 For? Why Is It $500? - Q&A 14 

Okay guys let’s cut to the chase, and that is kudos to you two guys for an honest run down on this new camera.

With how many "why did my roll came out blank?", "what are these lines in my photo?", "why is my photo only partially exposed?" posts you see in the film communities over at Reddit and such, you can tell how bad we needed this camera right now

Good, even-headed discussion about a charmingly weird new thing. Looking forward to using mine!

$500 USD I think is quite reasonable. New camera means there’s a ton of R&D, engineering, manufacturing, marketing and much more. It comes with a manufacturer warranty, parts, service and more. The Polaroid I-2 was similarly bashed by those who have unrealistic expectations as to what $500 or $600 gets. I got the I-2 and in my opinion it’s an amazing camera! I’m keeping my eye on this Pentax as well. I’ve seen some very good results with it.

This was great!! I am just excited that it's here and I hope it is a huge success. Thank you!!

I think Pentax knocked it out of the park for the market they're trying to get in front of. I placed my order yesterday and should have this camera in my possession next week, and I'm stoked. The Pentax 17 will serve as an excellent companion for my Nikon FM2N, Spotmatic SP, and k1000. $500 for a brand new camera with a warranty is a steal for me. Hopefully, this sells like hot cakes, and Pentax continues to make newer advanced cameras.

I've been using Pentax for more than 10 years (I'm 27), starting from Pentax K-x DSLR, then moving to Pentax P50 because it's film (and full frame), then to Pentax MZ-30 cause you can adjust the aperture on the modern lenses, and finally to Pentax MX cause it's fully mechanical and reliable (MZ-30 mirror got stuck because the plastic gears don't age well). Wish all the luck to Pentax with the new SLRs cause at some point my MX will probably also break and in that case I would definitely buy the new mechanical SLR from them.

Good review, thanks!

Thank you for the Q&A! Hope that you will continue with it on the weekly basis🙂

Enjoying the info and answers very much. One note: if, in fact, this camera is aimed at the beginner/novice photographer looking for a way into a little bit deeper journey in analog photography, you need to give more info in your answers. Just saying “…get a ND…” or “it’s good the camera has a 40.5…” would, I think, cause a lot of confusion for those newbies! I taught beginning photo classes at our local community college for 20+ years, so maybe I’m a little hypersensitive to that cavalier tossing about of tech lingo as if everyone already knows what is being discussed. Great job otherwise!

I mostly shoot digital but am old enough to have started with film in the 90's. I have a couple of old ish 90's Canon EOS SLRs and I agree about the worry about reliability. Like you say, I feel each day they still work is a blessing and would love to have a new affordable film SLR camera that I didn't have that reliability worry. Hats off to Pentax for making this camera and i keep my fingers crossed that they someday, make a full frame SLR!

I'm a proud owner of an original Pen FV. If someone was starting out in film, the Pentax 17 is a better option. There are a lot of Pen F's, FT's and FV's out there. THe FT's are really expensive as they have a light meter, but have a dimmer viewfinder, and are more prone to mirror corrosion. The F and FVs are cheaper, but lenses aren't cheap, and *a lot* of this gear is not in great condition. The lenses are expensive, and again, not all in great condition (there's a 70mm that I would love, but it well over £1k). In the UK there's one place I know of that does a CLA (I have mine with them right now), but you need to add another £100 to the price. So maybe you can get a good Pen F or FV for a similar price, with a CLA added in, but that's full manual (even with external meter), and you're going to have to keep it maintained.

You will def need NDs. I was getting overexposures with a 100iso film.

I've had a few issues with vintage film cameras, and yeah, it sucks. For this reason, and many more, I'm so excited to see new film cameras being released. I'm happy to hear that a lot of stores sold out of their pre-order stock. Pentax did say they were designing multiple cameras. Maybe a future model will be a better fit for people who weren't into the Pentax 17.

I just laugh at the smooth brains who can't help themselves but hate on a product they weren't ever going to buy. Also, why is everyone so hung up on "who is this camera for?" Who cares - either you want it, or you don't. I don't get the amount of discourse I see due to Pentax saying it would be good for social media. I don't see why people only think it is for people new to film photography. I am a very, very experienced film photographer (30+ years shooting film, currently shoot and develop 110, 35, 120, and 4x5) and I preordered mine the day it became available. Why? Because it is a perfect stick-in-the-pocket-causal camera. Being half frame it means I don't have to carry extra film, and it is way nicer and better build than things like the Kodak H34 and stuff from Lomography. I can spray-and-pray my way through the day. Also, people trying to compare this to an SLR are just silly. Apples to orangutans. The brigade of dingleberries who say things like "zone focus is for toys" obviously have zero experience with zone focusing and very little experience with film gear. My Fuji GS645W has a vertical viewfinder, zone focus, and is awesome to use. People be acting like the Pentax is the only camera every made with zone focusing and vertical viewfinder. Half frame is fine, everyone complaining about the "resolution" like they are going to make a 48 foot by 90 foot print from the negative. It is perfectly acceptable for casual use cases. I will be printing some of the pics I take (Canon Pro300) and they will be just fine. And yes, you can roll the dice on buying a 40+ year old film camera for .36 cents - but you are taking a gambled there (If I could post pics in these comments I would of my pile of old rangefinder cameras like HiMatics, Canonets, etc that are all broken in some way and the lot cost me more than the Pentax......) Considering the digital equivalents of cameras similar to the Pentax are in the $500 range - price is fine. It is a brand new f*ckin' film camera in 2024, from a quality manufacturer, with a fun and interesting feature set. So buy it, take pics, have fun, and stop being dildos trying to over analyze something simple.

Not for me, but really excited for folks getting into film, or even getting into street photography. This camera is perfect to learn from with a good mix of auto and manual controls to help make anyone take a great photo. Pentax did a great job with the design, but more so, creating a hit list of what to have on and what not to have on the camera for simplicity and for the market they are targeting. I really hope this takes off and gets more people involved with film. Stoked to see images from these out there.

I am a 54 y old fart and this camera is not for me...but I will not complain and I think it is a good sign for younger people, even if this strange camera is currently a niche product. But maybe this will generate a new dynamic, Pentax will carry on, Nikon, Canon (and others) will reconsider things and re-enter the analogue camera business ?

Can you go as low as iso 6 with compensation? Low iso films are ideal for fine grain on half frame.

I own many film SLR and I'm planning to buy one I want film to thrive. We need new cameras with warranty and service in the market. A few days ago I had to cannibalize one Minolta XE-7 to keep the other one running. The XE will be 50 years old this year, I'm pretty sure no one at Minolta thought that camera was going to last 50 years.

I totally agree with you. There's not a word about the picture quality in this review and according to other ones (very few) I guess this camera is worth the money. And what if a beginner, with is new and lonely camera, really fell in love with photography and wanted to print ? Should he buy something else and pay again ? Why would people be stuck in one category ? But let's keep calm. I this channel is mainly market oriented and thinks this way. This said, I think they miss a large range of potential consumers who aren'y only waiting for the next "pro" camera that they "deserve".

How does the camera smell?

how does Pentax think, that people will finish their pictures? (scan, photolab, ...) what do you think or recommned? thank you

I have yet to see anyone put a lens hood on this.. might help the exposure metering

Will you be getting the Rollei 35 AF when it comes out?

Some reviewers have said the top and bottom plates are made of titaium so there's already some misinfomation out there

Nice discussion. I'm an old-timer - grew up with TLRs. I have a ton of digital and film cameras, 35mm and 120. I'll probably get one of the 17s out of curiosity - never had a 35mm half frame - and working with the vertical format. Meanwhile I've ordered a Ricoh Caddy to see if the 17 is something I'll want to pursue. BTW - no one ever mentions that processing/scanning half-frame costs more than full frame.

Pretty sure that the 25mm lens is equivalent to *37*mm for full-frame, not 35. Small difference, but it's there....

I think Pentax really thought through this one. I’ll be buying one.

I don't need this camera but I ordered it to show Pentax my support for the project.

This could have been fun to try something besides digital for me around $250. I’ll stick with instax wide camera when I have a bit of a film itch.

I wish it wasn't $500.

Given that they seem to have sold out the first run in 3 days, sitting there amongst all those boxes looks like you're just showing off.

Is this the best (film) camera I can buy for $500? Only tell me the truth.

More expensive than my used Leica SL2 including a CLA with conversion to S76 battery. My EOS 5(A2E) cheaper yet. So, it isn't clear that it is a useful film camera except maybe to wealthy beginners.