i didn’t see a reason to buy this camera when it came out in 2024.

so, i waited for the initial reviews to trickle out of the film photography youtube marketing machine.

and for all the reasons reviewers loved or hated the camera, it sounded perfect for me.

then, a few months later, i upgraded my paycheck significantly and bought one.

i love this camera.

if you shoot film photography on a regular basis, the pentax 17 saves you money. it saves you 50% on the cost of film but depends on if your lab charges you extra to scan it which mine does. i’m still saving money overall though and if i do it at home, it’s even more.

more than the cost savings though, it’s a brilliant new film camera design with thoughtful engineering. a piece of history. perhaps the last film camera to be made by a large manufacturer?

that remains to be seen and i hope not.

one of the best parts of this camera is the light meter. it’s spot on every time, especially with mixed lighting.

the lens is a treasure. there’s a beautiful contrast to it. it’s also high quality and captures photos that look rich and full of life.

the only major challenge is the close focus. i get this wrong a lot. to the point where i’m going to attach a tape measure to my camera strap.

i’ve put 8 or so rolls through this since it landed on my doorstep, so that’s really 16+ regular rolls of film. i haven’t changed the battery once yet and I think it’s still good!

i heard from one youtuber that the battery had to be changed every 5 rolls or so and was worried about that since it seemed like a lot of batteries to burn through. however, that’s one person and perhaps they leave the camera in “ON” mode all the time? i turn the camera off after every shot to save the battery.

the pentax 17 is a perfect everyday carry camera for film photographers that are not picky or snobbish about their manual settings. It was made and targeted towards beginners aka potential new film photography addicts.

there is no control over shutter speed. the only ‘manual’ aperture setting is to force the camera into BOKEH mode. there IS an iso setting which is great because I don’t think the camera can read dx codes.

i am so glad i made the investment into purchasing this camera and it’s been such a joy to use.

if you don’t want to pay full price for a new one, i have seen quite a few around the used market already, so check it out there, ebay or used sections of camera store websites!