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like cassettes and vinyl records (and even dumb phones), film photography is making a resurgence. But getting a new record player or cassette deck is easier than getting a new 35mm film camera, unless you want toy camera or a $5600 Leica Rangefinder. The new Pentax 17 I recently shot fills that needed a great combination of manual handling and point-and-shoot performance in a compact design.
While it’s easy enough to find a used camera, the $500 Pentax 17 idea is to enable those new to film shooting without worrying about the condition of the camera or lens. The camera specs are a step above $400 Lomo LC-Wide and well beyond bare bones $45 Kodak Ektar H35. It’s a 35mm half-frame camera, so you get two 24x17mm pictures for every 35mm frame. Film prices are quite high and so is development, so getting 72 frames from a roll of 36 certainly helps. Plus, vertical frames are better for phone photography.
The Pentax 17 is a half-frame camera, so you get two pictures for every 35mm film frame.
The Pentax 17 uses an Albada bright-frame viewfinder with composition frames for normal and close-up shots. It has an f3.5 37mm lens (35mm equivalent) based on optics from the Pentax Espio Mini, which has been redesigned for the half-frame format. In fact, several of the design features are borrowed from previous Pentax cameras, including the manual film advance lever and shutter release, the manual film rewind unit, and the built-in flash.
The camera uses a zone focusing system from 0.8 feet to infinity.
Instead of full manual or autofocus, the camera uses a zone focusing system with six zones: 0.8, 1.7, 4, 5.6, 10 feet, and infinity (0.25, 0.5, 1.2, 1.7 , 3 meters and infinity). Just rotate the dial around the lens to the icon representing what you’re shooting and you’re good to go. If you can’t remember the subject distance for each zone, they are marked below the lens and you can see the icon through the viewfinder to double check the setting.
Focal zone distances are indicated below the lens.
Shutter speeds range from 1/350 to 4 seconds. There’s also a bulb setting and an optional cable switch, sold separately, so you don’t accidentally shake the camera while holding the shutter open. There are two sets of shooting modes — with and without flash — and in between on the dial is a fully automatic mode that uses built-in metering to trigger the flash.
In addition to Full Auto, there is a standard program, Slow-speed Shutter and Bokeh (maximum aperture priority) without flash. The flash has a program (daylight sync) and a slow speed program. There is also a ±2EV exposure compensation dial on the opposite side of the viewfinder from the mode dial.
The mode dial is split into flash and non-flash modes, with full auto in between.
The manual controls—from loading film to advancing frames—give it the tangibility that regular point-and-shoot film cameras like the Kodak I mentioned earlier lack. And it’s definitely missing from the phone’s photography experience. The body is relatively light at 10.2 ounces (290 grams), and while it’s not thin (in part due to the right hand grip that holds the single CR2 lithium battery), storing it in a backpack or jacket pocket is no problem. The Pentax 17 is mostly plastic, but the top and bottom are magnesium alloy, giving it a nicer look and feel. I wish metal was used for the dials, film advance lever, and shutter release, but balancing cost (and weight, for that matter) can’t be easy.
Pentax included a note holder on the back to hold the tab on the end of the film pack.
The camera supports nine ISO speeds: 50, 100, 125, 160, 200, 400, 800, 1600 and 3200. A manual winder on top opens the back, allowing you to quickly release a roll. With about four or five turns of the forward lever, you’re ready to start shooting. A note holder on the back cover gives you a place to tear the tab off the film pack so you know what film you’re shooting.
I haven’t made a film in about a decade, except with instant camera. I’m excited to see the results of the roll I shot with the Pentax 17. (Well, except for the first few shots where I forgot to remove the lens cap; there’s a warning light to the right of the viewfinder to help prevent that, too.) Similar to the imperfections of records and tapes, film photos look more real than digital photos. Holding a print that I captured without being able to magically remove the flaws is something special. And while the camera, film, and processing aren’t cheap, shooting film can change the way you think about photography and capturing your friends, family, and experiences.
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