A Modern Half-Frame Gem - Pentax 17

 

A little over a year ago, the Pentax 17 was released into the world.  This contemporary half-frame camera from Pentax seemed like an odd choice at the time. I know that I was skeptical of the camera, and I certainly wasn’t willing to plunk down $500 to just experiment with it.  Not being one of those “big-name” YouTubers, I certainly wasn’t sent one by Ricoh Imaging to test it.  Nonetheless, despite my initial skepticism, I felt that the Pentax 17 could be one of those cameras that are destined to be indispensable for some people.  

My love/hate affair with half-frame 35mm began over 20 years ago. I once owned an Olympus Pen D, which is a compact but sturdy little camera that I had acquired.  I think my biggest complaint with that camera was that it took forever for me to shoot a roll of film with it. It was also a bit fiddly setting the aperture and shutter speed, and the Selenium meter was not working.  At some point, I sold it.  It would be a while before I was tempted back into the half-frame world, and it was via a small camera called the Konica Eye, as well as it’s Soviet counterpart, the FED Micron.  The Micron is almost an exact copy the Konica Eye.  The Eye/Micron has a circular Selenium cell arranged around the lens, and while I shot with both cameras, the Eye was more reliable than the Micron.  I was discouraged by the film transport, though, and often got overlapping frames.  The FED Micron had some minor issues, as well, but no overlapping frames.

In 2020, I ended up with an Olympus PEN EE, which is pretty much a half-frame version of the Olympus Trip 35, with its coaxial Selenium cells surrounding the lens.  No batteries, no adjustments needed, just point and shoot.  With its 28mm f/3.5 lens, everything was in focus from 6 feet to infinity. Two shutter speeds of 1/40 and 1/200  took care of most situations. If anything, the PEN EE was the perfect pocketable camera.  Alas, it was only in my hands for testing.  Later, I tried out a Canon Demi and a Canon Dial, and both cameras suffered from reliability issues.  Since it takes a while to test any half-frame camera, it’s better to roll your own cassettes to 12 exposure rolls, so you get 24 frames.  

I’ve never tried using the lovely Pen F SLR, but I’ve held a few.  Beautiful cameras, but, there is no automation with them.  What Olympus should have done in the 1980s is make a half-frame version of the XA.  That really would have adhered to the original idea of the reason for the Pen.

Earlier this year, I tried one of the half-frame Ilford color cameras,  and I was pleasantly surprised at my results. Still, they are limited in what conditions they can be used. But for what they are, they do well.  I’ve not tried the Kodak H35, because it’s barely above a disposable camera, and if I am going to buy a reloadable half-frame, it's going to have to be a better camera.

So, that’s my experience with half-frame cameras -- until April 2025.  I was at the Beers and Cameras and FPP meetup in Bowling Green Ohio,  and had a chance to sit down with Trev Lee and talk with him about the Pentax 17.  He’s been using one for about a year, and has come to find that it’s the “take-everywhere” camera.  That conversation convinced me that I should take the plunge, so I sold my Fujica GL690 a few weeks later, and used the funds to buy a Pentax 17 with 3 rolls of HP-5 from Focus Camera at the price of $475, including a discount.  A few days later, it arrived, and I have made a few hundred exposures with it so far. 

There are lots of early reviews on YouTube, and you can search for those to see other users’ opinions. My experience with this camera has been quite positive.

First of all, opening a box with a brand-new camera inside is always a bit of a thrill, and especially so if it’s a film camera.  Even more so if it’s a Pentax.  The last time I purchased a new camera from Pentax was 1982, and it was a Pentax MG SLR.  So, 43 years later, here I was, unboxing a new camera from Pentax.  Everything was well-packed, and the camera even came with a fresh CR-2 battery.  The only thing that I would have preferred is that the Pentax 17 come with a neck strap, not a little wrist strap. The strap lugs are small, but I found an old camera strap with perfectly sized connectors.  You don’t need a big strap - this is a very lightweight camera.  

The small manual covers most of  the functions and use of the camera quite well.  Going to the Ricoh website is also quite useful in understanding the controls -This is an automatic-exposure camera, but you can control the exposure compensation via a dial, up to +/- 2 stops.  The ISO range is marked from 50 to 3200, an appropriate range for most users, but by using the exposure compensation dial, I could use an ISO 12 film. In fact,  this camera offers more features than any other half-frame camera that I’ve used. Operating Modes

The Pentax 17 mode dial has AUTO as the main setting, and you can leave it at that for most of your photography. Note that there are three zones on the mode dial, one in white markings, AUTO, and one in orange markings. The white zone has P, a crescent moon, BOKEH, and B.

• P= Standard Program mode
• crescent moon - slow speed shutter without flash
• BOKEH - maximum aperture priority
• B = bulb mode for time exposures
• Orange P = Daylight sync for fill flash
• Orange crescent - Slow-speed sync - flash fires with slow speed shutter

Having these options as settings on a dial are so much better than having a small button to push for an LCD to show the changed settings.  It’s obvious that a lot of thought went into making this a truly analog experience.  

Focus

You merely have to set the zone focus, and as this is a 25mm f/3.5 lens, it’s going to have pretty depth of field, giving some leeway in focusing from .25 meters to infinity.  The icons on the lens barrel are easy to set the focus:

• Flower - Close-up, macro, and I mean really close-up, about 9” away!  The framelines in the viewfinder show what you’ll cover.
• Knife and fork - close-up (tabletop photo) - 1.6 to 1.8 feet 
• one head - 3.3 to 4.6 feet.
• two heads - 4.6 to 7.2 feet
• three people - 6.9 to 17 feet
• mountains - 17 feet to infinity

Pretty good range of zones, and if you are just walking around with this camera, keeping it at the mountains setting will suffice for a lot of the images. However, having that close-up ability is a wonderful thing. Note that when you press the shutter button, the lens automatically extends/contracts as the exposure is made.  There is no manual focus, so this makes sense. 

LEDs in the Viewfinder

The viewfinder has frame lines for normal distance and parallax-corrected frame lines for closeups. There are also two LEDs at the edge of the eyepiece - Pay attention if they are blinking:

• Solid Orange LED: Indicates the flash is fully charged and ready to fire. 
• Blinking Orange LED (with or without blue):
• Blinking Orange & Blue: May mean you haven't advanced the film or the battery is low. 
• Blinking Blue Quickly: Low light warning; you might need to use the flash or you have the lens cap on. 

• Blinking Blue Slowly: Indicates a close-focus situation. 

Ricoh/Pentax engineers thought this out quite well.  I think alerting shooting with the lens cap on is going to be the most used feature!  

The film advance lever appears to be nearly identical to the lever used on the Pentax Auto 110 SLR - short  easily advanced.  The on/off switch surrounding the shutter button is also a great feature.  On the rear of the camera to the right of the viewfinder  is a small opening for a 2.5mm plug.  This is for the remote switch for using the camera in Bulb mode.  While Ricoh lists the CS-205 remote switch for this, at $50, that’s quite pricey.  You can buy a generic one for less than $15 that works just as well, and with a longer cable.

A nice touch is also including a film reminder slot on the back door of the camera.  It sure beats taping a note on the back of the camera.

The Pentax 17’s filter thread on the front of the lens housing is 40.5mm - a somewhat odd number, but maybe not, if you have used any Leica rangefinder lenses.  In a previous post, I show how you can use a 40.5 to 49mm adapter, or you can look for a 40.5 to 46mm or a 40.5 to Series 6 adapter to use series  filters. 

After using this camera for a few months, and seeing the resulting images from it, I totally appreciate the design.  The grip/battery cover makes it easy to hold the camera, and all of the features combine to make this little camera a joy to use.  I’ve shot it with several rolls of C-41 and a couple of rolls of different b&w films, and all of the resulting images have been very good. It takes a bit of time to become used to the vertical format, so if you want a landscape orientation, you rotate the camera vertically.  It’s not a  big thing, though.  The half-frame format has always been that way, and once you get used to the portrait orientation, you get a different perspective, too.

If you have large hands, this camera might not be for you, but it fits my hands really well.  Shooting with it is quite easy, and the short throw of the film advance is perfect.  Some people have complained about how easily the mode dial can accidentally be turned, but I have not had any problems with mine. Being able to switch to slow shutter without the flash is a great thing.

Overall, the Pentax 17 is a great little camera that can be your daily companion.  The lens is SHARP, and finally a half-frame camera has a lens that can produce decent enlargements. If I have any criticisms, it’s not about the camera, but the manual.  It does give you the basics to operate the camera, but there is next to no information in it about the LEDs.  I’m a very experienced photographer, and I can see where an inexperienced person would be confused by them and not seeing a full explanation in the manual is disappointing.  You will find that information on the website, though.

Some have balked about the price on the Pentax 17.  Well, it’s a new camera.  If I were to compare what a Pentax MG cost me in 1982 in today’s dollars, it would have been over $1000.  This is a well-made camera, and while yes, it’s got a plastic body, so do most all the other cameras today. The $500 price point isn’t a deal-breaker.  Yes, you can tell me how cheap a used PenD or other half-frame camera from the 1960s/70s  is today, but they are not this camera. 

I don’t know if Ricoh/Pentax will produce another film camera after the Pentax 17 - which is a unique camera.  But if they do, it ought to be a K-mount SLR.  Whatever OEM made the Vivitar V3800 SLR (possibly Cosina) could certainly produce the next Pentax 35mm SLR.

About the images that follow - All have been developed by me, and scanned on my Epson V700 scanner at 3200 dpi.  In scanning with the 35mm holders, it's easiest to just let it scan as the thumbnail images show, and then you are left with a series of diptychs, or 2 frames of 17x24 in each image.  You can then crop and "save as" framexxx-a and framexxx-b, still keeping the original scan.  That's far easier than going into "normal view" and selecting each frame to scan manually. That takes too much time and is a PITA.  If you are "scanning" with your digital camera, do whatever you want.

Here are a bunch of images from my Pentax 17.  Enjoy!

example of a diptych

Using Filters on the Pentax 17

The Pentax 17 with an 85b filter

About a month ago, I purchased a new Pentax 17 half-frame camera. While it does have its peculiarities, I enjoy shooting with it, and hope to do a full review of it soon.  One of the peculiar things about it is the 40.5mm diameter for a threaded filter.  While not a common thread size in most cameras, it is shared by Leica and some other 35mm rangefinder lenses.  There are a couple of ways to go with using filters on the Pentax 17, and since the light sensor is next to the lens, it will include the filter in its exposure calculation.  You can attach filters on the Pentax 17 a few different ways as follows:

• Purchase a set of 40.5mm filters - which can be pricey
• Buy a 40.5 to 49mm step up filter adapter, allowing use of readily obtainable 49mm filters
• Buy a 40.5mm to Series VI filter adapter.  
• Tape a bigger filter over the lens - works, but looks like shit.

Series 6 filter unit

Options 2 and 3 are the best, in my opinion.  If you already have some Series 6 filters, all the better. It just so happens that I already had the 40.5mm to Series 6 adapter, and me, being the old guy with all the old stuff, I have a shoebox full of Series 6 filters and assorted adapters.  So, I put together a kit with Series 6 filters, which include:

• Red 25A filter
• Yellow K-2 filter
• 85B warming filter
• Polarizing filter

Series 6 filters, with the adapter retaining ring on the left, and the adapter base on the right

The beauty of Series filters is that you can also use gels or other circular materials to create filters - or a piece of window screen, plastic wrap, or other material to provide a special filter effect.  Series filters consist of a screw-in adapter (or a push-on adapter for some older lenses without screw threads), and a screw-in retaining ring that holds the screw-less filter in place.  No one is making Series filters today, but they are easily found on eBay as well as your traditional old camera store - in the junk boxes.  

The light sensor is above the lens, but within the filter ring.

Why would I want to use a filter?

If one is using black and white panchromatic (full-spectrum sensitivity) film, using a colored filter can open up your creativity.  With some films that are more sensitive to the red end of the spectrum - as in near infrared, a deep red filter will give you the "Wood effect" which is when leaves and other surfaces reflecting infrared look a ghostly white with deep black skies.  I've not tested the Pentax 17 with near-infrared films, but it might be able to use something like the Ilford SFX 200 with a red 25A filter.  Since the camera is auto-exposure, using an R72 deep IR filter is out of the question.

In more typical panchromatic films, a red filter really darkens the skies and gives clouds more contrast. An orange filter also does that without as extreme a result, and a yellow filter is that sweet spot of enhancing tonality in landscapes as well as every-day photography.  

Okay, I listed the 85b warming filter, so why would I use it with b&w film?  My fellow photographer, Russell Young, got this tip from the great Laura Gilpin.  Using an 85b filter with panchromatic b&w film subtly renders better contrast in many subjects, and also gives wonderful skin tones to most subjects.  It's especially valuable using it in the skies of the West.  I've been using such a filter a lot in the past few months, and I do think it enhances the images.  So, give it a try.

Using a polarizer without seeing its effect in the viewfinder may seem like a bad idea, but in reality, it's great to use to reduce reflection from shiny surfaces and also as a kind of neutral-density filter.  

Neutral-density (ND) filters are helpful if you want to use higher ISO films to create slow-moving effects, such as waterfalls.  The slowest shutter speed on the Pentax 17 is 4 seconds, as well as B.  So, using an ISO 50 or 80 film with an ND filter should give you good results if you want that silky waterfall look.

As far as filters for color film, you could use the 85b with any Tungsten film (such as Kodak Vision 200T) in daylight, providing more natural color.  In addition, the polarizer and ND filters could also be used.  Hey, you have a lot more exposures per roll with the Pentax 17, so feel free to experiment!

 

K&F Concept 40.5 to 49mm filter adapter

the 49mm filter will obscure part of the viewfinder

Ilfocolor Rapid Half-Frame camera

I thought that I had sworn off single-use cameras, but a few months ago, I purchased three Ilford Ilfocolor Rapid Half Frame single-use cameras from Reformed Film Lab for $7 each. I probably should have gone with the special price of $6 each if I had purchased 10.  I’ve always had a sort of love-hate relationship with half frame 35mm. I loved the compactness of the cameras, but churning through a roll of film took some time, and the vertical format wasn’t exactly a favorite.  However, I figured that the price was too good to pass up, and I could always wind the film into the cassette in the darkroom and use the film in another camera should I want to.  

First of all, at this price, it was too good to pass up, and I opened the package to get a look at the camera — it looks pretty much like any other single-use camera, but with a viewfinder that matches the half-frame aspect.  A 27-exposure roll of film becomes 54 half-frames.  Certainly enough to evaluate the camera.  The camera has a built-in flash, activated by a switch on the front.  The film is stated to be 400 ISO color, and I have no idea what emulsion it is supposed to be, but it looks a lot like Kodak Gold 400.  It is NOT the same film that’s labeled as Ilfocolor 400 Plus Vintage Tone, which I will review separately. In addition, the only color film that Ilford/Harman is currently making is the Phoenix 200. So, these cameras are using some other outsourced film. They are made in China, not the EU. While the film is "expired" in 02/2025, it should be good for a few years more.

Over the course of a couple of months, I shot the roll and took it to Ball Photo in Asheville to be developed.  After scanning the film myself, I have to say that I am pleased with the results from this camera.  For one using this camera, like any other single -use camera, is easy. There’s no focusing, just point and shoot.  To be fair, I picked subjects that I thought would work well with the film format and exposure latitude of 400 ISO color film.  I used the flash only a couple of times, and you definitely need to be within 8 feet of the subject.

Here are some examples from the first roll, all scanned on my Epson V700 scanner:

Some of the images with clear blue skies had yellow streaks
in the sky as shown in the enlargement below.
 

I don't know if this is an emulsion defect, or x-rays or development. But it did not appear on other rolls that I had processed.  It did not go through any airport scanners, but maybe the shipment from China did? A curious thing.

I sent one of the cameras to my daughter, and I cannibalized the other one for the roll of color film inside.  Note - you need to wind the film into the cassette before you open the camera.  You can do this by taping over the lens with black tape and shooting the roll, and it winds into the cassette with each exposure, or in this case, unexposure!   Then, you crack open the camera to retrieve the cassette. If you have wound the film all the way into the cassette, a leader retriever will get the end of the film out.

Now that I see the results from this camera, I’ll have to see if Reformed Film lab has any left to sell. While I’m not ready to plunk down $500 for the Pentax 17, this Ilfocolor camera will give you a good idea what to expect with half-frame cameras.   I know that Kodak has a simple half-frame plastic camera, but their H35N sells for between $45 and $60, a far cry from the $7 I spent, and I would expect similar results from the Kodak.  The Kodak H35N does have a bulb mode and a coated glass lens, but I have yet to try one out.  If anything, the Ilford Rapid Half-Frame is a good introduction to the world of half-frame 35mm, and I highly recommend it if you can find one.  I ordered 10 more of them from Reformed Film Lab on 3/30/25, so they are still available.

Half-Frame Interlude - the Olympus PEN EE

I interrupt this typical stream of full-frame cameras with a short review of the Olympus PEN EE (Electric Eye) half-frame camera.  Olympus is well-known for its line of PEN 35mm half-frame cameras.  From the lovely PEN F SLR, to the various flavors of PEN rangefinder and zone-focus  bodies, the PEN cameras were well-built, dependable cameras with metal bodies and excellent Zuiko glass.  I think the original intent was to make these cameras as ubiquitous as a pen - carried everywhere, ready to use when needed.  The half-frame of 18 x 24mm on a roll of 35mm film allowed one to double the number of shots on a roll of film versus a full frame camera.  That kind of economy appealed to thrifty shooters, and those that used a PEN as a sort of documentary device.  Imagine going on a trip with just a few rolls of 36 exposure film -- a PEN would give you 72 images per roll. Now, imagine carrying this PEN EE with you. No batteries, no adjustments needed, just point and shoot.  With its 28mm f/3.5 lens, everything was in focus from 6 feet to infinity. Back in the day, you could shoot Kodachrome with this little camera and get your slides back, properly mounted in half-frame masks on regular 2x2 slides.

The specifications for the PEN EE

Introduced 1961
Lens 2.8 cm f/3.5 D. Zuiko. It takes 43.5mm screw-in filters.
Aperture f/3.5 - f/22
Shutter speed 1/40 and 1/200 sec  auto-selected.
ASA settings - 10, 25, 32,50, 64, 80, 100, 160, 200
Focus - Fixed
Weight - 12.5 ounces (350 gm)
Flash - PC connector for flash, no built-in flash shoe, but a screw-on flash bracket attaches via the tripod socket.
Manual is available at Butkus.org

flash bracket attached with tiny flash unit

There's lots of information about the PEN series via the web, so I'm not going to reiterate what's already been put out there.  My first foray into half-frame cameras took place over 15 years ago, when I purchased a PEN D, which was a lovely little rangefinder half-frame camera that was built like a tiny tank.  I shot a few rolls of film with it, and it sat in a drawer until I sold it a few years later.  I had other cameras that I shot with far more, and I didn't appreciate the camera as much as I should have.  Since then, a few other half-frame cameras have come my way, such as the Konica EYE and its Soviet-era copy, the Micron, as well as a Canon Demi S (which I have yet to shoot).  Then, this PEN EE recently came my way, and I knew that I had to test it out.

Not much smaller than the Olympus Trip 35!

While the PEN EE is small, it's not a whole lot smaller than my Olympus Trip 35, which works pretty much the same as the PEN EE.  The Trip 35 however, is full-frame, and is manually focused.  The PEN EE is tiny enough to fit in a shirt pocket though, and is pretty much as point and shoot as you can get.  I only have to set the ASA (ISO) to the proper film speed.  I have kept in one of my camera bags and taken it out on various short outings to see how it performs with a roll of Eastman 5222 (Double-X), which is a 200 ISO black and white film.

The PEN EE selenium cell that surrounds the lens provides the metering and power for the exposure system. In dim light, the shutter defaults to 1/40 sec, with the apertures ranging from f/3.5 to f/8, and in brighter conditions, 1/200 sec from f/4.5 to f/22. So, for a 200 ISO film, pretty much any normal situation.  I did test out a flash, which the camera sets the shutter speed at 1/40 sec.  The flash result seemed pretty satisfactory.

Overall, the PEN EE is easy to use, as you might imagine.  Note that in half-frame cameras, the vertical (portrait) orientation is the default, and you must turn the camera 90° for horizontal (landscape) shots. 

Here are a series of scans from the Eastman 5222 film. It was developed in D-76, diluted 1:1 for 7.5 minutes.  I think that with half-frame, it is best to shoot as fine-grained a film as possible, and there are slower films such as T-max 100 that would be perfect for this camera.  The negatives were scanned on my Epson V700 scanner.

indoors with window light

drive-by shooting

indoors with ambient light

with external flash unit

Marshall, NC

Marshall, NC

Marshall, NC

French Broad River, Asheville, NC

French Broad River, Asheville, NC

French Broad River, Asheville, NC

Does the PEN EE live up to the idea that a camera could be as easy to use and ubiquitous as a pen?  It pretty much does. Before the age of smartphones and tiny digital p&s cameras, the PEN cameras would have been great to always have with you. Yes, the Rollei 35 was about the same size, but it is fiddly compared to the PEN EE. The PEN EE and EES (pretty much the same, but with adjustable focus and and an f/2.8 lens) would have been easily carried along, ready for a snap on a moment's notice. However, I think that you really have to have a mindset that half-frame is right for you.  For me, it's a curiosity to play with, and as I noted earlier, my Olympus Trip 35 is full-frame, and gives me results that I am happy with. I am not knocking the cameras -- they are wonderful gems.  I just am not the happy half-framer!  I think that if you want full-frame with a camera even smaller than the pen, the Olympus XA series is exactly fitting in with the idea of the PEN.