Key Takeaways
Pentax 17 makes use of half-frame to double pictures on a 35mm roll, excellent for smartphone display ratios after scanning.
Designed for novice lovers, Pentax 17 permits straightforward focusing, numerous modes, and movie monitoring. A mixture of trendy and classic options.
Priced at $499.95, the Pentax 17 goals to draw new era movie photographers and affords a bundle with movie and processing.
The primary Pentax movie digicam in over 20 years is a half-frame designed for the side ratio of smartphone screens. On June 17, Ricoh Imaging, greatest recognized for its GR III line of compact cameras, introduced the Pentax 17, a compact 35mm half-frame movie digicam designed to mesh basic ergonomics with trendy simplicity and a smartphone-friendly side ratio. The corporate first introduced that it was creating a brand new movie digicam in December of 2022.
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The Pentax 17 accepts 35mm movie, however shoots at half body to get twice as many pictures out of a single roll of movie. By splicing the normal 35mm in half, the digicam captures vertical photographs that fill a smartphone display after movie improvement and scanning. (Horizontal photographs can nonetheless be captured by holding the digicam vertically).
A beginner-friendly movie digicam
With a not-so-beginner-friendly value
With a set 25mm lens (a 35mm equal of 37mm, due to the half-frame format) and its lack of full guide management, the Pentax 17 is geared in direction of novice lovers who won’t be assured sufficient to select up a used movie SLR digicam. The Pentax 17 makes use of zone focusing, with a management on the lens setting the specified focus distance. To help new customers, the main target is ready from one meter to infinity in auto mode.
The digicam has a handful of modes, together with a programmed auto mode. It additionally homes bulb, bokeh and evening modes, however lacks the total guide, aperture precedence, and shutter precedence discovered on movie SLRs. The digicam does, nonetheless, have an publicity compensation dial and one other dial to set the ISO to match the movie.
Just a few options constructed into the digicam’s viewfinder additional assist the novice lovers the Pentax 17 is focused in direction of. The zone focus is displayed on the backside of the viewfinder, whereas a set of two lights signifies when the picture is simply too darkish, when a more in-depth focus vary is required, or when the battery is operating low.
Whereas the Pentax 17 merges a couple of trendy concepts, a lot of the digicam’s design is a mish-mash of previous inspirations. The movie is wound with a guide crank quite than a motor and the movie door retains the notes window to simply monitor the movie sort that’s inside. The movie advance lever was taken from drawings far again within the firm’s historical past, whereas the fabric on the grip is similar texture from the Pentax DA WR lenses and the font on the entrance is similar as on the Pentax 67. The lens is taken from the design of the 1994 Pentax Espio Mini and 1962 Ricoh Auto Half. One trendy function that’s lacking is rechargeable batteries, because the Pentax 17 takes CR2-type batteries.
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The corporate says that the Pentax 17 is designed for individuals who wish to get into movie, however don’t need the dangers or repairs that may generally include choosing up a used movie digicam. Whereas there are a handful of contemporary movie cameras available on the market — a lot of them instantaneous movie — the Pentax 17 is a step above disposable cameras however beneath SLRs. The Pentax 17 mixes the texture of conventional movie with the guide wind, however with a set of modes which are simpler to make use of than a sophisticated SLR. In contrast to the movie toy cameras available on the market, the highest and backside plates of the Pentax 17 are made with magnesium alloy.
“Many photographers had been first launched to the thrill of images utilizing a PENTAX movie digicam. We’re hoping to introduce a brand new era to the world of movie images with the PENTAX 17,” Ken Curry, president, Ricoh Imaging Americas, mentioned in a press launch. “It is a perfect mannequin not just for movie digicam lovers who’ve loved movie images for years, but additionally for photographers who’re enthusiastic about making an attempt movie images for the primary time.”
The Pentax 17 is anticipated to listing for $499.95, with gross sales starting in late June at a number of retailers. The digicam comes with a one-year producer guarantee. Pentax can even supply a bundle straight from the corporate web site that provides two rolls of movie, movie processing by The Darkroom, and a free prolonged two-year guarantee for an extra $100.