Pentax17

The Pentax 17 comes out of the years right before discontinuation notices became routine. Catalogued as a half-frame compact, it pairs the Pentax 25mm f/3.5 (≈37mm equiv) with a 35mm half-frame film path. A bit of background: the first all-new film camera designed by a major brand in over 20 years.

Format

35mm half-frame

Year

2024

Lens

Pentax 25mm f/3.5 (≈37mm equiv)

Min. focus

0.25 m

Flash

Built-in

Battery

1× CR2

The Pentax 25mm f/3.5 (≈37mm equiv) doesn't chase exotic specifications; it just renders cleanly, focuses predictably, and gets out of the photograph's way. Half-frame doubles a 36-shot cassette to 72 exposures, which changes how you shoot — pairs and sequences instead of single hero frames. It runs on CR2 lithium cells, still stocked online but worth ordering a pair before a trip. The built-in flash will fire whenever the meter decides it should, so learn the override before your first night out. Minimum focus is 0.25 m — unusually close for a compact of this era and a genuine advantage over rivals that stop at 0.7 m or 1 m. You can fill the frame with a coffee cup, a flower, or a face without stepping back. One thing worth knowing before you load a roll: half-frame means 72 shots on a 36-exposure roll — TikTok's dream. Best for visual diaries, long holidays and contact-sheet-style shooting where pairs of frames talk to each other.

Half-frame is having a quiet renaissance; the Pentax 17 costs a fraction of a Pen F and shoots twice as many frames per roll. Worth remembering: designed by TKO at Pentax in Japan, championed by product planner Takeo Suzuki.

• §1The first all-new film camera designed by a major brand in over 20 years.
• §2Half-frame means 72 shots on a 36-exposure roll — TikTok's dream.
• §3Designed by TKO at Pentax in Japan, championed by product planner Takeo Suzuki.