The official reveal for the Pentax half-frame 35mm camera
(Image credit: Pentax)
Breaking news:
We know that Pentax has been working on a new film camera for some time, but now it has been confirmed that the official launch of the Pentax 17 half-frame compact will be tonight...
Excitingly, there is also a YouTube of the launch - so that we can all watch when the full details of this analog camera are released to the world. The premiere kicks off tonight, June 17 at 4pm Eastern Time, 9pm British Summer time - and you can follow along here.
Called the Pentax 17, the fixed-lens camera gets its name from the dimensions of the film format - 17x24mm - which is just under half the width of a normal 35mm frame. So twice the exposures for each roll you buy - and where the default is a vertical aspect ratio, rather than a landscape one.
Can't wait... then get a sneak peak in the YouTube video short from influencer Mistral Soixantequinze, who amusingly concludes it is a "more sustainable alternative to disposable cameras"…
The Pentax 17 will go on sale at the end of June for $499 / £499 / AU$849
Chris George has worked on Digital Camera World since its launch in 2017. He has been writing about photography, mobile phones, video making and technology for over 30 years – and has edited numerous magazines including PhotoPlus, N-Photo, Digital Camera, Video Camera, and Professional Photography.
His first serious camera was the iconic Olympus OM10, with which he won the title of Young Photographer of the Year - long before the advent of autofocus and memory cards. Today he uses a Nikon D800, a Fujifilm X-T1, a Sony A7, and his iPhone 15 Pro Max.
He has written about technology for countless publications and websites including The Sunday Times Magazine, The Daily Telegraph, Dorling Kindersley, What Cellphone, T3 and Techradar.
