We took a closer look at the appearance of the PENTAX 17, a full-fledged film camera that has appeared in the Reiwa era

Ricoh's newly developed film camera ' PENTAX 17 ' will be released on Friday, July 12, 2024. The PENTAX 17 is a full-fledged film camera that uses a newly developed prime lens and also has an automatic exposure function. I was able to borrow the PENTAX 17 early, so I first took a closer look at its appearance.

PENTAX 17 | Products | RICOH IMAGING

When I opened the box, the instructions appeared.

At the bottom of the instructions it says 'It's Time for Film!'

Inside the box were the PENTAX 17 camera itself, an instruction manual, a strap, and batteries.

◆Appearance check
This is what the PENTAX 17 looks like from the front. The gray parts on the top and bottom are made of magnesium alloy. The grip part has a plastic-like texture, and the black part on the front has a synthetic leather-like texture.

The lens cap has 'PENTAX' written on it. Incidentally, the same one is available for purchase at

The lens is a newly developed HD PENTAX lens with a focal length of 25mm (equivalent to 37mm in 35mm format), an aperture of F3.5, and a maximum shooting magnification of approximately 0.13x.

The focus is zone focus, and by turning the zone focus ring around the lens you can change the focus range to one of the following: macro (0.24m to 0.26m), table photo (0.47m to 0.54m), close range (1.0m to 1.4m), close distance (1.4m to 2.2m), medium distance (2.1m to 5.3m), or long distance (5.1m to infinity).

The viewfinder is vertical. A major feature of the PENTAX 17 is that it allows you to take photos with a vertical composition when held sideways.

It also has a built-in flash.

There is a memo holder on the back where you can clip information about the film.

This is what it looks like when you look through the viewfinder.

There is also a cable switch terminal, so you can connect a cable switch (sold separately) and use a tripod for shooting.

The top plate looks like this. From the left, there are the ISO sensitivity dial and rewind crank, the ISO sensitivity dial unlock button, the exposure compensation dial, the mode dial, the shutter button, the power lever, and the film advance lever.

Here's a closer look at the ISO sensitivity dial and rewind crank.

When you lift the rewind knob it looks like this.

The mode dial allows you to select exposure compensation modes from 'AUTO,' 'Standard,' 'Slow Shutter,' 'Open Aperture Priority,' 'Bulb,' 'Slow Sync,' and 'Daylight Sync.'

The shutter button and winding lever look like this.

The bottom is made of magnesium alloy.

There is also a rewind button and a tripod screw hole on the bottom.

On the left side of the camera is a strap attachment and a grip. The grip also serves as the battery cover and is secured in place with a screw.

When you open the battery cover it looks like this.

One battery is included. If the battery runs out, you can use a commercially available 3V lithium battery CR2.

There is a strap attachment point on the right side.

◆ Try inserting the film
I bought some film.

Pull the rewind knob upwards.

Then the back cover will pop open.

Load the film. Then, close the back of the camera, wind the film, and press the shutter button. Repeat this process until the filter counter reaches zero.

Finally, cut off the side of an empty film box and fit it into the memo holder and you're ready to start shooting.

The actual weight with the battery and film installed was 319g.

This is what it looks like when you hold it. It has quite a luxurious appearance.

Examples of photos taken with the PENTAX 17 can be viewed at the following link.

I tried taking a nice photo of the Osaka cityscape in 2024 with the new film camera 'PENTAX 17' Review [62 example photos] - GIGAZINE

The suggested retail price of the PENTAX 17 is 107,000 yen excluding tax and is scheduled to be released on Friday, July 12, 2024. The PENTAX Store Rakuten Market is selling it for 81,541 yen including tax, but it is out of stock at the time of writing.

[Scheduled for release on July 12th] PENTAX 17 Dark Silver Original Set (PENTAX 17 Half Format Film Camera, Compact, Half Format, Uses 35mm Film, Takes 2x the Pictures) [Direct from the Manufacturer]