The Picture Of Pentax's New Half-Frame Film Camera Has Been Leaked

The new model is PENTAX 17 (half-frame 17), equipped with a 25mm F3.5 lens, 40.5mm, with a built-in flash and viewfinder, and is expected to be officially released soon.

According to the blog published by Pentax on 01.03.24, the features of this camera are： 

• 35mm-format compact film camera

• Designed for vertical-position shooting, using a half-size format in which two images are captured in a single frame of the film

• Hand-wound film-advance mechanism using a winding lever and a rewinding crank

• Manually set zone-focus system

The PENTAX Film Camera Project is designed to challenge the development of a new film camera, responding to the growing popularity lately of film photography among younger photographers.

The reason why Pentax launched the half-size format film camera is probably to test whether there is enough demand for film cameras in the market in 2024. Because of the rising film prices, half-size format film allows photographers to take more photos with one roll of film.

Film cameras cannot change ISO, so film cameras cannot have the same good low-light shooting ability as digital cameras. Therefore, in low-light environments, you can use a slower shutter speed to fully expose the film. However, long exposures with a hand-holding film camera may result in blurry photos. Because film cameras do not have ibis. Therefore, you can buy a kfconcept tripod. Mounting the camera on a tripod can avoid shaking caused by hand-holding. The price increase of the film is surprising. Using a tripod in low-light environments is a reasonable choice to reduce shooting errors and avoid wasting film.