With how many "why did my roll came out blank?", "what are these lines in my photo?", "why is my photo only partially exposed?" posts you see in the film communities over at Reddit and such, you can tell how bad we needed this camera right now

Excellent review, thanks!

Good review, thanks!

Pretty sure that the 25mm lens is equivalent to *37*mm for full-frame, not 35. Small difference, but it's there....

This was great!! I am just excited that it's here and I hope it is a huge success. Thank you!!

I have yet to see anyone put a lens hood on this.. might help the exposure metering

I just laugh at the smooth brains who can't help themselves but hate on a product they weren't ever going to buy. Also, why is everyone so hung up on "who is this camera for?" Who cares - either you want it, or you don't. I don't get the amount of discourse I see due to Pentax saying it would be good for social media. I don't see why people only think it is for people new to film photography. I am a very, very experienced film photographer (30+ years shooting film, currently shoot and develop 110, 35, 120, and 4x5) and I preordered mine the day it became available. Why? Because it is a perfect stick-in-the-pocket-causal camera. Being half frame it means I don't have to carry extra film, and it is way nicer and better build than things like the Kodak H34 and stuff from Lomography. I can spray-and-pray my way through the day. Also, people trying to compare this to an SLR are just silly. Apples to orangutans. The brigade of dingleberries who say things like "zone focus is for toys" obviously have zero experience with zone focusing and very little experience with film gear. My Fuji GS645W has a vertical viewfinder, zone focus, and is awesome to use. People be acting like the Pentax is the only camera every made with zone focusing and vertical viewfinder. Half frame is fine, everyone complaining about the "resolution" like they are going to make a 48 foot by 90 foot print from the negative. It is perfectly acceptable for casual use cases. I will be printing some of the pics I take (Canon Pro300) and they will be just fine. And yes, you can roll the dice on buying a 40+ year old film camera for .36 cents - but you are taking a gambled there (If I could post pics in these comments I would of my pile of old rangefinder cameras like HiMatics, Canonets, etc that are all broken in some way and the lot cost me more than the Pentax......) Considering the digital equivalents of cameras similar to the Pentax are in the $500 range - price is fine. It is a brand new f*ckin' film camera in 2024, from a quality manufacturer, with a fun and interesting feature set. So buy it, take pics, have fun, and stop being dildos trying to over analyze something simple.

Pentax misfired. Instead of finding a way to reproduce a classic manual film camera, they went for a plastic, ugly camera that gets in the way of learning photography. Half the appeal of film is the process and ergonomics of taking the photo as well as the look of the camera. Pentax missed on all counts.🙄👎

If i had the money to spend i would buy this camera, even though maybe the old models are better, cheaper. I would buy this one just because it's new, the joy of getting film cameras back into production, the joy of being a part of it. I've never had the feeling of buying a brand new film camera at a store because I was just born too late. The feeling that the story that was lost, continues.

$500 USD I think is quite reasonable. New camera means there’s a ton of R&D, engineering, manufacturing, marketing and much more. It comes with a manufacturer warranty, parts, service and more. The Polaroid I-2 was similarly bashed by those who have unrealistic expectations as to what $500 or $600 gets. I got the I-2 and in my opinion it’s an amazing camera! I’m keeping my eye on this Pentax as well. I’ve seen some very good results with it.

Enjoying the info and answers very much. One note: if, in fact, this camera is aimed at the beginner/novice photographer looking for a way into a little bit deeper journey in analog photography, you need to give more info in your answers. Just saying “…get a ND…” or “it’s good the camera has a 40.5…” would, I think, cause a lot of confusion for those newbies! I taught beginning photo classes at our local community college for 20+ years, so maybe I’m a little hypersensitive to that cavalier tossing about of tech lingo as if everyone already knows what is being discussed. Great job otherwise!

I think Pentax knocked it out of the park for the market they're trying to get in front of. I placed my order yesterday and should have this camera in my possession next week, and I'm stoked. The Pentax 17 will serve as an excellent companion for my Nikon FM2N, Spotmatic SP, and k1000. $500 for a brand new camera with a warranty is a steal for me. Hopefully, this sells like hot cakes, and Pentax continues to make newer advanced cameras.

I am a 54 y old fart and this camera is not for me...but I will not complain and I think it is a good sign for younger people, even if this strange camera is currently a niche product. But maybe this will generate a new dynamic, Pentax will carry on, Nikon, Canon (and others) will reconsider things and re-enter the analogue camera business ?

great Q&A - $500 for half the resolution? Not for me! And hopefully, in the future, there will be zero plastic used. We don't need plastic!

The most STUPID camera in 2024, it looks like a very cheap pile of s... !No one should use film now, I have been environmental fighter against chemicals all my life, so I was very happy when digital cameras arrive, no more chemicals, but a flock of morons do it again, idiots !

Not for me, but really excited for folks getting into film, or even getting into street photography. This camera is perfect to learn from with a good mix of auto and manual controls to help make anyone take a great photo. Pentax did a great job with the design, but more so, creating a hit list of what to have on and what not to have on the camera for simplicity and for the market they are targeting. I really hope this takes off and gets more people involved with film. Stoked to see images from these out there.

I wish it wasn't $500.

Some reviewers have said the top and bottom plates are made of titaium so there's already some misinfomation out there

Thank you for the Q&A! Hope that you will continue with it on the weekly basis🙂

Okay guys let’s cut to the chase, and that is kudos to you two guys for an honest run down on this new camera.

Will you be getting the Rollei 35 AF when it comes out?

I've been using Pentax for more than 10 years (I'm 27), starting from Pentax K-x DSLR, then moving to Pentax P50 because it's film (and full frame), then to Pentax MZ-30 cause you can adjust the aperture on the modern lenses, and finally to Pentax MX cause it's fully mechanical and reliable (MZ-30 mirror got stuck because the plastic gears don't age well). Wish all the luck to Pentax with the new SLRs cause at some point my MX will probably also break and in that case I would definitely buy the new mechanical SLR from them.

Can you go as low as iso 6 with compensation? Low iso films are ideal for fine grain on half frame.

This could have been fun to try something besides digital for me around $250. I’ll stick with instax wide camera when I have a bit of a film itch.

Good, even-headed discussion about a charmingly weird new thing. Looking forward to using mine!

How does the camera smell?

Zone focus. Come on.

Maybe they should have made it Pentax A110 mount, to at least have a 5 lens option?

Glad about Pentax, but I expected more, especially for the money it's selling for.

Whyyy NOT AF like the super successful MJU ?? This plastic zone focus machine is a joke. Why/??? If they’ve put the af like so many cheap camera from the 90s it would make a bit more sense to spend more than half thousand euro on this, and probably I would have

£500 for a film camera that can be beaten with a £10 eBay special 🤔

$500

I already placed my order!

As I recall, the main drawback of film cameras was that if they malfunctioned, the film would be wasted. So what makes people drawn back to using film cameras today?

Thanks. I like your style in reviewing this little varmit. The outdoor sessions on your videos always interest me because I like seeing Finland - being curious about your country. That camera is a lot cuter than I expected. I cut my teeth 50 years ago using a Mercury II half-frame camera with Kodachrome. I’m in Victoria, BC. Ten time zones from Finland!

Ok let's pretend we didn't notice the smashed Leicaflex on the right and this has not disturbed our whole concentration during the video

$500 for a point and shoot no thanks

Great review with alot of good points. I hope they have great success. I won't be able to justify the price for now but hope enough people can. BTW, "God Rays" are also known as Crepuscular rays :)

👏👏👏👏👏

Great review on that camera! Although it does not peak my interest by being a half frame camera it still is great to see a big step up from the cheaper reusable Kodak/Lomo cameras. The advancing lever, mode button and exposure compensation are a nice touch and some of those I wasn't expecting.

Those old FD lenses practically threaded themselves! Canon FD breech-lock system - superior!

If we really want to see camera makers roll out new models we have to show them there is a market for them. Glad to see this release and I just placed my order. Hope that they sell enough to make a full frame version with manual features in the next phase. I am tired by Leica being the only choice to get a brand new film camera or the second hand market. We spend a lot on film and processing, we deserve access to new

While this camera is not exactly to my liking, I know the next step depends on the success of this one, so I am choosing to preorder one because of that, I want them to secede and build the next two, I hope others also see that need to support Pentax, in order to get the fully mechanical one at the end

Thank you for this, love the fact that new cameras are coming out. Film is the thing...

$500

Do you know how much a K1000 cost when it was launched? $1000 adjusted to inflation. This is half the price.

Nobody builds a good film camera anymore. Your better off taking a chance buying a old film camera that is 30 or 40 years old, at least you get a range of f-stops and shutter speeds. You can get lenses and other accessories. It's too expensive.

Name of the slr on the right

Looking hot as always.

Where can I find information on the T2’s custom functions?