About
Film photography has experienced a quiet but persistent resurgence in recent years, drawing photographers who value the deliberate pace and tactile engagement that digital workflows have largely abandoned.
The Pentax 17 is a half-frame film camera that captures two 17mm x 24mm pictures within a single 35mm-format film frame, producing vertical-format pictures with similar ratios to those captured by smartphones, and with the distinctive image quality created only by a film camera. It features a 25mm F3.5 lens treated with HD coating to optimize the image quality of half-size pictures. The design incorporates manual operations unique to film photography: a selectable zone-focus system, manual film winding, manual film advance lever, and exposure compensation and ISO sensitivity adjustments, each with their own dials.
The Pentax 17 takes a hybrid approach, feeling like a point-and-shoot but providing enough tactile cues to ensure engagement with the film experience. It weighs 290g without film or battery, and the top and bottom plates are made of magnesium alloy. The half-frame format means more frames per roll, making the economics of film photography more approachable. This is a camera for those who want to slow down without sacrificing accessibility, whether they're returning to film after years away or discovering it for the first time.
