Topic: Pentax 17

[Indofunk]

Have we discussed this yet? Pentax is about to release a 25mm f/3.5 half frame camera. Looks like it's already available in Germany for 550 Euros. Hamish Gill's review here: https://www.35mmc.com/17/06/2024/pentax-17-review/

[Indofunk]

Also, I really like how he phrases the "equivalent" on 35mm.

The lens is a 25mm f/3.5, giving it an approximate equivalent field of view and depth of field to a 35mm f/5 lens on a full frame camera.

I really hate when people just say "oh, it's a 25mm lens, which is the equivalent of a 35mm lens". No it's not, it just has the field of view of a 35mm lens 😂

[EarlJam]

The press embargo must have lifted today. There's also a review on Casual Photophile, good for an alternate perspective and more sample pictures.

https://casualphotophile.com/2024/06/17/pentax-17-new-film-camera-review/

From my perspective: happy to see it, hope the Insta Influencers rave about it and Pentax sells a gazillion of them, and it takes price pressure off of the classic 35mm compacts (and, risking blasphemy here, the Fuji X100 series digital cameras).

[Indofunk]

and it takes price pressure off of the classic 35mm compacts (and, risking blasphemy here, the Fuji X100 series digital cameras).

Let's hope!! 😁

[Flippy]

Am I the only one that has noticed that the camera is perfectly sized for a full-frame film gate?

I will not be even slightly surprised if a full frame version gets released in the future.

As for me, the $499 price seems steep. I feel like they're competing to some extent with the $300 Lomo LCA+, and if they could narrow the gap by about $100 they'd be golden. Then again, for all I know, the thing is packed with brass gears and roller bearings.

[Francois]

Yesterday my YouTube feed was spammed with videos about this one.
I must admit that I'm quite impressed by what they came-up with.
And yes, I did notice that the back has plenty of place for a full 35mm frame. I suspect that this was a planned move too.
As far as I'm concerned, just adding either a speed control knob or aperture dial on the front à la Leica CL and I'd be quite happy with the design.
The introductory price is a bit steep, but lets face it, nothing sells for the MSRP anyways, so it's bound to drop within a few months.

[Bryan]

I thought they mentioned two cameras this year, maybe the second is a full frame with more advanced features.  A better focus system would be a good upgrade, rangefinder or focus.  I don't think SLR would work with that design.  Right now the focus is a flower, Knife and fork, people at different distances and mountains.  I guess a fork and knife is to take pictures of your meal.  I thought that was just an iPhone thing. 

[EarlJam]

Adjusted for inflation, the US $499 msrp is in line with compact, scale focus camera pricing in the mid 1970s, in the $75 - 80 class: Minolta Hi-Matic G, Canonet 28, Rollei B35, etc. I imagine there's quite a bit of tooling and dies cost that Pentax/Ricoh needs to amortize as well.

[Indofunk]

I think $500 is a good price point ... I feel like their target demographic (young folk who take pictures of their food 😂) will definitely scoop it up at that price. I'm curious how much they'll go for on the used market, which is where I plan to pick one up 😉

[Francois]

I'm curious how much they'll go for on the used market, which is where I plan to pick one up 😉

I wonder what the devaluation on those will be?

[EarlJam]

I'm curious how much they'll go for on the used market, which is where I plan to pick one up 😉

I wonder what the devaluation on those will be?

(Based on my too-many-years in product marketing) I think there are two yet unknown wildcards: how many cameras Pentax can or intends to make; and where pricing of the Mint Rollei 35AF ends up.

- If Pentax has done its homework and has reasonably accurate sales modeling, undershoots volume so there's always a small shortage and a short wait (couple of weeks or so), demand will be decent and used values will be close to new. If the supply exceeds demand and there's a new shiny bauble in the market too soon, used prices will drop rapidly.

- The Mint at $650 will likely force Pentax to realign new pricing a bit, in the $425 - 450 range, and depress used pricing. At $800, there's enough differentiation for the 17's $500 price point and used pricing to hold.

https://petapixel.com/2024/06/11/see-real-world-photos-from-mints-long-awaited-rollei-35af-film-camera/

Pentax is making at least a calculated guess on market viability and there's considerable brand equity from the popularity of the K1000 in the used market, so I think they'll have decent success with the 17, hopefully enough to justify future development of a full-frame camera and perhaps something in the Nikon 28/35Ti class, to launch when the 17's user base starts to demand more features and capabilities.

[Francois]

And lets not forget that Pentax has much more potential manufacturing capacity than Mint does.

Which leads me to wonder: how long does it take to manufacture and assemble 1 camera when compared to a digicam?

[Phil Snaps]

Am I the only one that has noticed that the camera is perfectly sized for a full-frame film gate?

It jumped to my mind as soon as I saw a picture of it.
I attended the Paris event yesterday evening, and was able to meet TKO! I had a quick chat with him and asked about the film gate. And he nodded, yes the plan is to be able to build other future cameras on the same base. But first they will see if the 17 sells well.
They had several 17s we could try. I won't buy one, I'm not interested in a half frame, but the camera feels really good.
Oh and you can see the guy from Kamerastore on the first picture, to the left.

[Kai-san]

If I was planning to waste that kind of money on a P&S I would wait for the Rollei 35AF. Full frame, autofocus and the classic Rollei look.

https://uncrate.com/rollei-35af-film-camera/

[Francois]

But on the up side it has done something good for me... I feel like I really need to get back on the half-frame bandwagon 😁
I still have a Chaika to try out...

[Phil Snaps]

Added a few more pics in this Flickr album: https://www.flickr.com/photos/elv/albums/72177720318050606/with/53801265642/

[Francois]

It definitely looked like it was a fun event.
Where are all the film geeks around here?

[EarlJam]

Struck me on this morning's walk that the 17 is the first fixed lens, manual focus 35mm compact with a Pentax brand. In the heyday of compacts in the 60s and 70s, the lineup came primarily from other Japanese manufacturers: Canon, Chinon, Konica, Minolta, Olympus, Petri, Ricoh, and Yashica; plus Rollei and the Minox EL, and maybe one or two others that I've forgotten. Pentax didn't jump into 35mm compacts until autofocus came along.

[Francois]

Funny that I hadn't realized that...

[Phil Snaps]

It definitely looked like it was a fun event.
Where are all the film geeks around here?

Oh and it was really crowded! I took these pictures early, but later both the shop and the sidewalk were totally packed. I'd say at least a hundred people showed up.

[Francois]

If they were to do such a launch where I live, I'd be there chatting with the store clerks... maybe Less than 5 people would be present.
My local camera store posted me that the camera was available in their shops. No fanfare. No nothing.