I started my half-frame adventures with the Kodak Ektar H35N early last year, getting a bit of a taste for the economical format with a lightweight take-anywhere camera. Just months later the photography world was surprised by the release of the Pentax 17, the company’s first film camera in decades, and it just happened to be half-frame as well.

This new camera intrigued me, but with a retail price of £499 I didn’t feel I could run right out and buy one. After selling some digital camera gear earlier this year though, I started wondering about the 17 again, especially as I started to grow a little frustrated with the limitations of the dinky H35N. Searching through ebay I managed to find a “only used once” Pentax 17 with a Buy it Now price of £330. Whilst still not cheap this did seem a much more reasonable amount, so I slept on it for a few days, then eventually took the plunge.

My first impressions of the camera were that it was light, but not as light as I’d feared, it still has a substantial quality to it and feels good to hold. It’s also not quite as small as I imagined, not being too different in size to my venerable old Pentax ME-F.

I loaded it up with some Kodak ColorPlus 200 and chucked it in my bag. With 48 frames to fill, it took several weeks to actually finish the film, just taking a few snapshots here and there. Whilst offering a few more controls than the H35N, the 17 was still incredibly easy to use. I mostly left it in Programme mode, and I didn’t have too many problems with the zone focus system as I’ve been familiar with it on other cameras such as the Olympus Trip 35. My only niggle was the one many others have pointed out, and that’s the issue of the mode dial being far too easy to inadvertently turn. Fortunately I mostly noticed when this had happened.

Many more of my shots were in portrait too, this being the default position of the camera. Obviously there’s no issue just turning it 90 degrees to take a landscape, but it was interesting to notice how often I chose not to do that, and to seek out subjects that suit portrait framing.

I had the film developed and scanned at Aperture Printing in London, and they did a great job, I’ve not made too many tweaks. The colour and sharpness in the photos is very pleasing, I just about got the focus right in most shots, thanks in part to bright sunny weather which no doubt kept the aperture tight and the depth of focus deep.

So the camera is a complete gem, fun to use, people are interested in it when you bring it out. I’m definitely going to keep it, it can stay in my bag and it will be perfect for trips and holidays too. In fact I took it to Berlin last month, and those photos will be coming right up.