Some Pentax 17 Reviews (with Sample Photos)

1. B&H:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/videos/photography/finally-a-new-film-camera-announcing-the-pentax-17/BI/2446/KBID/3285/SID/DFF/DFF/d50

2. Kosmo Foto:

https://kosmofoto.com/2024/06/pentax-17-first-impressions/

3. 35mmc:

https://www.35mmc.com/17/06/2024/pentax-17-review/

4. Casual Photophile:

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

5. Mobile 01 (in Chinese):

https://www.mobile01.com/topicdetail.php?f=543&t=6975873

6. Cool3c (in Chinese):

https://www.cool3c.com/article/218393

My opinions on the camera it's fun and interesting. However, the guessing focusing is just not my cup of tea, especially for a $500 camera. I also have some doubt in the image quality of the 3-element lens. 

And, I just wonder why it is stated in the spec that rechargeable CR2 cannot be used, as I have been using a Chinese model in my Fujifilm instant film camera without any problem. The battery life for one single disposable CR2 for only ten rolls of film seems a bit too short. 

Lastly, the manual film speed setting would be a good idea as I usually set a lower speed to expose more to make grains less visible, especially for negatives. However, a DX coded system is yet more fool-proof for novices, though.

Read Also:

The Word First / Pentax First: My Obsolete Pentax Collection

KF Full Review at DC Watch

https://dc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/review/newproduct/1482066.html

In Japanese, Google translated page here.

K-3 III Has Eye AF, Firmware is Finalised

Two Chinese Pentax users posted at the Xitek Pentax Forum that they received an early production K-3 III which is confirmed to have the Eye AF function and the firmware has already been updated to V1.0 production version since 1st of March. One tester even posted the below viewfinder snapshot to illustrate the Eye AF does work, even with a flat displayed picture like this: 

It seems that the design is ready for the new body but yet Ricoh have faced difficulties for mass production so that they could not sell the new product, since they have not yet announced the revised launch date of the K-3 III.

Besides, two screen captures of the K-3III's Info screen and its AF options are also posted:

Official: More Technical Information about the K-3 III

 

Claimed new improvements or new features include: 

- New viewfinder optics with a higher magnification factor of which the displayed image is also brighter, with the addition of a new condenser lens and with an overlaid LCD information display, too 

- New metering system with 307k colour pixels which has better metering accuracy and also helps the tracking of moving objects

- New high-speed mirror and shutter driving mechanism 

- New PRIME V processor and high ISO performance which is better than that of the K-1 II in terms of noise/details as well as reproduced colours (but that the ISO performance of the K-1 II is really rather outdated by today's standard, nonetheless). New Fine Sharpness II setting option is also made available for in-camera JPEG sharpening.

- New SAFOX 13 AF module of which the layout is shown in the below diagram

Legend: Red squares = Crossed AF sensors (25 nos.), Red and Blue squares = Selectable AF points (41 nos.), Deep Blue "circled" sensors = -EV4 low light capable and F2.8 lens aperture compatible (9 nos.)

:

DC Watch's Hands-on of the K-3 III

https://dc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/1296875.html (Google English translation here)

https://dc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/1297078.html (Pentax' brand statement with the K-3 III, Google English translation here)

And, the below video recorded the shutter sound and demonstrates the burst modes of the K-3 III:

 

(https://youtu.be/Pmfrk038Go4)

Confirmed SAFOX 13 Layout (in K-3 III)

13 x 9 AF point matrix with 16 points omitted near centre, 41 selectable points

Source: Chinese Pentax Quick News

(with also some dissection photos of the new body in article)

SAFOX 13 (in K-3 III)

Credit: Mistral75 @ DPR Forum

Legend:

Grey squares - Selectabe crossed AF points 

Hollow squares - Selectable linear AF points 

Small circles - Non-selectable linear AF points 

Btw, Mistral, where did you get this diagram? :-o It must belong to a product story later!  ;-)

Update (Nov 9): 

Mistral75 advised in his reply (via his latest comment below) that the above SAFOX 13 layout was a sensible guess based on the original official diagram showing cut-outs in the lines (as broken lines) of the finder marks and brackets, which was actually a collaborative work created among three members in the French CDI Forum.

To verify if this could be really true, I have made a new overlay diagram with their assumed SAFOX 13 with an official SAFOX 12 one. Note that with the new magnified APS-C viewfinder of the K-3 III, now the covered AF areas of the K-3 III and the K-1 are more or less the same, except the extreme peripherals:

My own wild guess Pentax has opted to keep the old SAFOX module and add/build new AF points based on the old AF module, since the number of crossed AF points remain unchanged, i.e. at 25 nos. 

In this connection, I don't think the above brand new layout is completely an accurate guess. Instead, a 5x5 crossed AF points surrounded by another 6x6 linear AF points in alternative / interlaced manner would be more sensible. As for the remaining linear 40 points, they can be put/added at the two sides as well as at the top and the bottom, surrounding the central part of the AF point crowd, making up a total of the 101 points, which are all visible and selectable in groups.

Besides, just for the sake of seeing what the SAFOX 12 would look like if it is yet put into the K-3 III, the following overlay diagram is also made:

Too Much Bullshit about the K-New by Ricoh Pentax Recently

The talks by Ricoh Pentax become more and more absurd recently. This time they argue on keeping the old body design without any flipped monitor.

This move again disappointed many Pentaxians. Live viewing and framing will become difficult on quite some occasions. Even worse, it is widely believed that the K-New does not even have any GPS module built in. And, they compared the thickness of the K-New against the K-1, which is utterly nonsense.

A Pentaxian at the Chinese Xitek quickly compared the thickness of the K-new and KP and he proved that the two cameras actually measure similarly, even the KP equips with a flipped monitor.

 

 

So, the fact is simply that Ricoh Pentax has been too lazy and too mean to build a newer and better featured body but opted to modify the old K-3/II's one in a very moderate way. Period.

Dimensions and Wireless+Power Info of the K-New

https://twitter.com/nokishita_c/status/1289117575759032320

(in Japanese)

Wi-Fi(11b/g/n) with Bluetooth; Dimensions: 134.5mm W x 103.5mm H x 73.5mm D without protruding parts (138.5mm W x 103.6mm H x 80.4mm D maximum), i.e., a little bit larger than the K-3/II but with less depth; Power: D-LI90 with optional vertical grip D-BG8.

Btw, the previous secret unmarked button is just the lock button. :-(

What is the LCD Screen Size of the K-New?

Since Pentax (Ricoh) has yet not told us more specs of the K-new, in order to estimate the rear LCD screen size of the K-new, which they told us that it was "huge", I took a much similarly angled picture of my KP and then measured the dimensions of the same different parts.

In particular, I measured the dimensions of the rear wheel/dial openings, and then the diagonal lengths of the screens, calculated and got the ratio for each camera and then calculated again the ratio between the two ratios. :-)

It is found that the K-new's screen is about 1.13X diagonally larger than that of the KP. Hence, since the KP's screen is in 3 inches, it is estimated that the K-new's rear LCD screen should be in about 3.4", case closed.


Read Also:  100% Bingo! I Derived Exactly Correctly for the 645D Actual Sensor Size!

FA*85 Vs D FA*85 Size Comparison

Comparing the Optics of the Contemporary Giant 85mm Lenses

1. Pentax DFA 85/1.4: 12 elements in 10 groups, 1255g (without hood), 82mm filter thread

2. Canon RF 85/1.2: 12 elements in 10 groups, 1195g, 82mm thread

3. Sigma Art 85/1.4: 14 elements in 12 groups, 1130g, 86mm thread

4. Zeiss Otus 85/1..4: 11 elements in 9 groups, 1200g, 86mm thread 

Well, whilst the new Pentax is similar to the Zeiss in design (but with one additional element), it wins in weight amongst the four, which is actually the heaviest 85mm prime ever made on Earth. Good! ;-P

A Closer Look at the Focus Screen Etchings of the K-New

A careful-minded Pentaxian at the DPR Pentax DSLR forum spotted that there were interesting etchings and marks on the focusing screen of the exhibit of the K-new prototype displayed back to September last year, here we go:

First we look at the center of the screen, there is an inner set of brackets of four, in addition to the central spot circle. Note that I have increased the contrast of the above and below pictures for the sake of easier viewing of the marks.

And then at the outer, there is yet another pair brackets of two which covers almost the whole picture frame horizontally. Hence, the AF area of this K-new as a DSLR, i.e. the TTL phase-matching AF, is really very wide. Good! :-D

Furthermore, at the upper right corner there is a mark of a letter "O" which is supposed to mean "Optical". This coincides my guess in the new year for the likehood of a new hybrid optical/electronic viewfinder in the K-new.  Really nice! :-))

I am happy this time, and so do many Pentaxians and fans, I suppose. Good news from Pentax (Ricoh) should come soon!

"There Will be No K-3II Sucessor, but a K-New Body of a New Line"

See what the Japanese Pentax insider Tanaka says:

http://thisistanaka.blog66.fc2.com/entry/1202/
(Google translated to English)

What we shall get is a K-3II based body with new sensor, new image processor, camera menu and much improved image quality as a result. No new feature of any is mentioned, though, e.g. the guessed new-type hybrid optical/electronic viewfinder.

What's Inside the Pentaprism Housing of the New APS-C Flagship?

Quick check of a few Facts:

1. Top of K-3 II, separate plastic top cover on pentaprism, with GPS button (at the left side) and function:

2. Top of K-1, integral top plastic cover, with GPS button (at the right side) and function:

3. Top of the New Flagship, looks like an integral metal top cover but without any GPS button (on any part of the body) and possibly no such function built-in:

So, what's the conclusion and my somehow wild but yet sensible guess? Something new is incorporated inside the Pentaprism housing of this new camera! :-D

And, it does quite make sense to accommodate this new facility with the large space made available:

Patent link: https://ipforce.jp/patent-jp-A-2018-151588

I believe more so it is a hybrid OVF/EVF finder with the existence of a new unmarked secret button at the rear top left (where used to be the playback button on the K-3 and K-3 II) plus a new infrared proximity sensor under the viewfinder, which is a standard design for automatic EVF/LCD on/off toggle switching for mirrorless bodies equipped with EVFs:

I hope it will happen. ;-) With this, it will be a meaningful breakthrough in truly combining a DSLR with a Mirrorless, so as to get the best of both worlds. And more importantly, old Pentax users will NOT need a new mount and the K-mount will continue! After all, we shall know before this Summer!


Last Related:

The New Sony APS-C Sensor

New K-mount APS-C DSLR Flagship is to be Announced

http://news.ricoh-imaging.co.jp/rim_info/2019/20190920_027962.html

(English Google Translation Here)



Exhibit is to be put on show starting Sept 21, i.e. tomorrow. Nice. :-) But the real product is to be marketed in 2020 - not ideal but still better than none!

Highlight on (possible) new features:

- new proximity sensor under finder, hinting at least automatic switching of the rear LCD or even an optical/electronic hybrid finder?

- new joystick for AF navigation, hinting a new and improved AF system with more AF points?

- an updated and better APS-C sensor?

- re-designed new GUI

Well, I have thought that Pentax has been dead these months but today it's good to see there is yet something new and meaningful, although it is actually rather late already.

More Info about the DFA*50/1.4

http://thisistanaka.blog66.fc2.com/entry/1153/
(In Japanese)

11cm long, 8cm diameter, 830g heavy, 72mm thread, 0.4m closest focus.

Size Comparison of the DFA* 50/1.4 against the DFA 24-70/2.8

Source

Top 26 Best Pentax Lenses 2017 (Selected by ePHOTOzine)

https://www.ephotozine.com/article/top-26-best-pentax-lenses-2017--25685

Over years, I have bought 13 of those, all brand new. However, I haven't bought the recent and newer "Pentax" lenses for quite a while. It is because they are not attractive enough and are not value for money in my eyes or being too bulky and heavy. Is it only me?

Size Comparisons of KP (against K-1, D500 and 80D)

Source: Xitek Forum