Film never left — many of us who read this site regularly know that. And the new Pentax 17 is a reassurance of just that same statement. Ricoh had been teasing for a while that they’d come out with a film camera. And now, it’s finally here. The Pentax 17 has a half-frame system with a 25mm f3.5 lens and 1/350th max shutter speed. But most of us wouldn’t know that because there are also no real manual shooting modes to speak of. It also has zone focusing, which requires you to be really in-tune with your environment to get the shots you want. And trust us, that’s a wonderful thing.
Table of Contents
Declarations of Journalistic Intent
The Phoblographer is one of the last standing dedicated photography publications that speaks to both art and tech in our articles. We put declarations up front in our reviews to adhere to journalistic standards that several publications abide by. These help you understand a lot more about what we do:
- At the time of publishing this review, Pentax Ricoh is not an advertiser with the Phoblographer. During our meeting with Ricoh, we spoke nothing of advertising efforts.
- We’re initially publishing this review with a pre-production unit. Ricoh clarified that it’s a near-final beta camera. Later, we’ll update it with a production unit.
- Note that this isn’t our final review of the camera. It will be updated, and it’s more of an in-progress review than anything. In fact, almost all our reviews are like this.
- This review, and none of the reviews on the Phoblographer, are sponsored. That’s against FTC laws and we adhere to them just the same way that newspapers, magazines, and corporate publications do.
- Ricoh loaned the Pentax 17 and accessories to the Phoblographer for review for an hour and a half in Ricoh’s NY offices. There was no money exchange between Ricoh and the Phoblographer for this to happen. Ricoh and several other manufacturers trust the Phoblographer’s reviews, as they are incredibly blunt.
- The Phoblographer is based in NYC, and so we went straight to the Ricoh office.
- The Phoblographer paid for our transportation to the Ricoh offices. Ricoh offered us refreshments and all we had was some carbonated water. This, in no way, influences our coverage.
- The Phoblographer paid for film development, though Ricoh offered to cover it for us. We used Luster Photo Lab in Manhattan for this rush job.
- Ricoh knows that they cannot influence the site’s reviews. If we don’t like something or if we have issues with it, we’ll let folks know. They’ve known for years now that we aren’t covering their DSLR products anymore and we only cover other products of theirs if we have enough time to complete our coverage.
- The Phoblographer’s standards for reviewing products have become much stricter. After having the world’s largest database of real-world lens reviews, we choose not to review anything we don’t find innovative or unique, and in many cases, products that lack weather resistance. We’ve also steered away from Micro Four Thirds and APS-C as they’re dying formats. This is a conclusion that even the other members of TIPA agree on. Unless something is very unique, we probably won’t touch it.
- At the time of publishing, the Pentax 17 is the only new reusable 35mm film camera available from a Japanese camera manufacturer. Leica and a few others make them too.
- In recent years, brands have withheld NDA information from us or stopped working with us because they feel they cannot control our coverage. These days, many brands will not give products to the press unless they get favorable coverage. In other situations, we’ve stopped working with several brands for ethical issues. Either way, we report as honestly and rawly as humanity allows.
- At the time of publishing, the Phoblographer is the only photography publication that is a member of Adobe’s Content Authenticity Initiative. We champion human-made art and are frank with our audience. We are also the only photography publication that labels when an image is edited or not.
More can be found on our Disclaimers page.
The Big Picture: Pentax 17 Review Conclusions
I’m going to start my conclusions by saying who this camera isn’t for. The Pentax 17 isn’t for anyone who already has multiple film cameras, so it’s not for me. It wouldn’t even really make sense for me as a point-and-shoot camera, as I already own and adore my Fujifilm Natura S so much. If you’ve got a few rangefinders, SLRs, medium format cameras, and point-and-shoot film cameras, you can safely skip this one while appreciating what this is.
So what is the Pentax 17? It’s a camera for the new film-photographer. A decade and a half ago, folks would label these people as hipsters. But there’s a new generation of them who want to experience film photography and embrace the authenticity, vibe, and look that film delivers. These folks also can’t afford to spend a whole lot of money. They’re probably not very experienced with settings, light meters, etc. Alternatively, they might be too nervous to mess with the manual settings of a film camera because they consider each frame to be very precious.
If digital is a conversation with success and film is a conversation with failure, the Pentax 17 is a conversation with how to overcome failure.
Ricoh did nearly everything right with the Pentax 17. It’s got the looks, the controls, the feeling, the excitement when you hold it, etc. And they did this through authenticity by borrowing things from their past and even bringing back former film camera engineers to make it all happen.
Perhaps the biggest question though is what the Pentax 17 will do for you that thousands of other cheaper film cameras on the market can’t do? It starts with a guarantee of working, then it delves into being a half-frame camera to make your film last longer, and then it finds a way into your hand where you’ll always want to bring it with you.
Is it perfect? No. At least not for me. But I strongly commend what Ricoh is doing here. We’re giving it 4 out of 5 stars. And for the first time in the Phoblographer’s decorated 15-year history, we’re giving this camera the Editor’s Choice award for the sheer bravery that Ricoh is showing to the film community and to the Japanese camera market.
It’s time for Sony to remember that they came from Minolta. It’s past time for Canon to wake up and stop waiting for everyone else on the market to do something first. It’s long past time for Nikon to stop half-way embracing their history. But most of all, it’s time for Fujifilm to remember that the word “film” is still in their company’s name.
Our rating might change after we review a fuller production unit.
Pick up the camera on Amazon.
Pros
- Half frame means that you’re getting more film use for the money
- Small
- Lightweight
- Pretty cool looking
- Retro design aesthetics down to the font, color coordination, etc.
Cons
- No real manual controls besides exposure compensation
- No autofocus, which honestly isn’t even a bad thing.
- No weather resistance
- 1/350th max shutter speed
Who Should Buy the Pentax 17?
- First-time film photographers
- Pentax and retro-aesthetic lovers
Gear Used
We tested the Pentax 17 with the strap provided to us and Kodak Color Plus 200 film. We bought the film from Blue Moon Camera in Portland, and who is our long-time favorite film lab in America. We developed the film this time at Luster Photo Lab here in NYC, our long-time favorite local lab.
Innovations: What Makes the Pentax 17 So Great?
In some ways, the Pentax 17 isn’t really innovative. Instead, it’s an amalgamation of various things from Pentax’s past and vintage cameras that they’ve sold. Modern camera makers do the same thing with various digital cameras, but they don’t tend to go all that far back when it comes to making and designing parts. In fact, the Pentax 17 was crafted from designs found in Pentax’s archives.
Hardware
- Vintage design
- Plastic and magnesium alloy
- Nice dial clicks
You’d think that the Pentax 17 would be made from all plastic. But believe it or not, the top and bottom plates are made from magnesium alloy, which is what so many camera manufacturers put into their higher-end cameras. It’s a fascinating camera to hold and use. That’s an idea that I think both experienced and greener photographers will share. The grip on the camera isn’t removeable, for example. Hoping that it would give me a more rangefinder aesthetic, I tried to take the grip off. Instead, I found that it’s what houses the battery.
That’s fine — I can live with that. And in real-life use, I think that the grip is nice enough — though I still prefer gripless cameras.
The dials all click really nicely — far better than most digital cameras currently on the market. And if you’re in this for the tactile experience, we think you’ll like it. What you’ll notice as well is that the film advance doesn’t go all the way out — and that’s because it’s a half-frame camera. When the lever is out, then it also acts a bit as a thumb rest. However, on the back of the camera, there is an area for a threaded shutter release that I also think could’ve been perfect for a thumb rest. I’m sure a bit of gaffers tape could fix that.
Ease of Use
- Simple for experienced film shooters, even though there is no manual shutter speed or aperture control
- It will be simple in time for newer film shooters
- Remember to focus
If you’re an experienced film shooter, then you’ll know just how simple this camera is to enjoy. The Pentax 17 has all the basics: exposure compensation, film advance, shooting modes for flash, shooting modes for without flash, simulated viewfinder, zone focusing markers, etc.
I’ll put this bluntly from the viewpoint of a native New Yorker explaining from a place of love. I’m a clinically low-vision man who runs one of the world’s largest photography magazines. You, reading this article, perhaps have correctably perfect to perfect eyesight. If a blind man can figure out the Pentax 17 and you’re considered able-bodied, what’s stopping you from working with it?. You need to treat your journey with the Pentax 17 like a relationship where you’re putting blinders on all the other options out there that might not serve you as well. To that end, just be patient, turn dials, read, watch videos, etc. In 2024, people have access to nearly endless resources on how to use cameras. Just commit to the education, and you’ll find yourself with a camera that’s worth using.
Perhaps my biggest gripe with the camera is that sometimes I felt like it had shutter lag; but Ricoh told me that the shutter is so quiet that all I’m hearing is the end of the shutter closing.
Focusing
- Zone focusing is done manually according to markers.
- 25mm f2.5 half-frame lens
The Pentax 17 works by zone focusing. Combined with the fact that it’s a wide-angle lens and an f3.5 lens at max aperture, shooting with this camera should be really simple. Can you get bokeh from the lens? Sure, by using the designated focusing modes. But I wouldn’t really obsess over it the way that digital camera language does.
For your convenience, we’re pasting a video we made years ago about this process.
Remember first and foremost, this isn’t a camera where you talk about the numbers and all that. It’s just a film camera.
Image Quality
Of course, the image quality that you’re going to get comes from the film that you’re using. With all honesty, this is basic point-and-shoot film quality. It’s a highly sought after aesthetic, but this camera isn’t going to give you all the stereotpical beautiful photos that you see on Reddit getting thousands of upvotes. The running joke is to use Kodak Portra and then photograph a beautiful woman or a gas station.
Just don’t expect the quality that you can get from a much more full-featured camera.
Extra Image Samples
The Phoblographer has been huge on transparency with our audience since day one. Nothing from this review is sponsored. Further, many folks will post reviews and show lots of editing in the photos. The problem then becomes that anyone and everyone can do the same thing. They’re not showing what the lens can do. So, we have a section in our Extra Image Samples area to show edited and unedited photos. From this, you can decide for yourself.
Unedited
Edited
We didn’t edit any of the scans we got.
Pentax 17 Tech Specs
These tech specs were taken from Ricoh:
- 24×17 frame size
- 1/350th max shutter speed
- ISO 50 up to 3200
- Manual film advance
- Magnesium alloy top and bottom plate
- 25mm f3.5 lens with three elements in three groups
- Needs one 3V lithium ion battery.