EP243: Metering Is Easy. Focusing Isn't. — Pentax 17 with Lucky SHD 400

Roll #243 — finally getting a few frames that feel like full-frame 135, but only a few

Film: Lucky SHD 400, metered at ISO 400
Developed & scanned: Li-lai Photo, 2025/2/5
Camera: Pentax 17 25mm f3.5

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Life has gotten busy enough that I'm working evenings again — something I haven't done in two or three years. Back when I had free time at night or on weekends, I'd spend it researching film cameras. Now that time goes straight to work. It took some adjustment; I'd gotten too comfortable. But this is just what a normal working life looks like in Taiwan.

The work itself hasn't changed — I'm still a freelance web designer — but the scope has expanded. Beyond web design, I've started taking on marketing and design retainer work, where clients bring me in on a monthly basis to handle whatever comes up across marketing and design. I find this setup genuinely satisfying: the client relationship goes deeper, I understand their business challenges more fully, and I keep finding new ways to help. I'm grateful they've given me the space to try something new, and I'm putting everything into it.

On the photography side, the article backlog from 2024 chased me hard enough that I've had to rethink my shooting habits. I experimented with a rule: finish writing about a roll before shooting the next one. That turned out to be too extreme. So I landed somewhere in the middle — no more shooting just to shoot, just a slower, more deliberate pace. And when I do clear the backlog, I'll use that time to work on what I'm calling my image content reorganization project: a paid film photography database. If I can get that together, I might not need to write a book after all.

By the time you're reading this, my Pentax 17 is already sold. One evening an eBay notification appeared in my inbox: a Voigtlander Ultron 40mm f2 SL Aspherical in Olympus OM mount was listed for sale. I'd been waiting for that lens for a year or two — I wanted to know how it compared to the Olympus OM Zuiko 40mm f2. But it was just before the Lunar New Year and I was short on cash. Every rare lens listing is a one-time opportunity, so I turned my attention to the Pentax 17.

I figured it was a good moment to sell — people would have just received their year-end bonuses. And if I held on to it any longer, it would only keep depreciating. So I listed it, intending to use the proceeds to buy the Voigtlander.

Selling a camera is never as simple as it sounds. The market is crowded. I went through four or five conversations — people who said they wanted it, then went quiet, or stopped replying mid-thread. After enough of that, I raised the price by 1,500 NTD and put it on Shopee. Sold immediately. Honestly, Shopee is just cleaner for both sides. Facebook group search is terrible and there's too much fraud. I'd struggle to recommend it at this point.

Maybe I'll build my own e-commerce site eventually. I'd want an English version.

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#1
Opened Dazz Cam again recently. But phone film simulations get old fast — maybe because they cost nothing, so it's hard to feel anything for the results.
Pentax 17, no flash, P mode, focus distance 0.25m

 

#2
Just finished a roll on the Pentax 6x7 MLU and heading to drop it off — though that roll came back blank because the shutter problem still hadn't been fixed.
Pentax 17, no flash, P mode, focus distance 0.25m

 

#3
The lab.
Pentax 17, no flash, P mode, focus distance infinity

 

#4
There was someone ahead of me at the counter, so I used the wait to test the Pentax 17's zone focusing. Honestly, having this many focus zones to think about makes shooting feel like work. Not a pleasant experience.
Pentax 17, no flash, P mode, focus distance 1.2m

 

#5
What money looks like. About 100,000 NTD in that bag.
Pentax 17, no flash, P mode, focus distance 0.5m

 

#6
After the missed-focus disaster on my first Pentax 17 roll, I brought a laser distance meter this time.
Pentax 17, no flash, P mode, focus distance 1.2m

 

#7
Having the laser meter meant feeling obligated to measure before every non-infinity shot. At some point I lost track of whether I was taking photos or doing site surveying.
Pentax 17, no flash, P mode, focus distance 0.5m

 

#8
After a few frames, it was nearly my turn at the counter.
Pentax 17, no flash, P mode, focus distance 3m

 

#9
Li-lai stocks some Cinestill film. It's genuinely expensive — I still haven't shot any.
Pentax 17, no flash, P mode, focus distance 0.25m

 

#10
Haven't shot Harman Phoenix 200 in 120 format either.
Pentax 17, no flash, P mode, focus distance 0.25m

 

#11
Empty canister — the previous roll was shot on the Olympus O-Product 35mm f3.5 with Ilford Delta 400 Professional.
Pentax 17, no flash, P mode, focus distance 0.25m

 

#12
What first drew me to the Pentax 17 was the claim that the lens resolves close to full-frame 135. When I got my first roll back, I did have that impression — but I came to think of it as an illusion, because it only appeared on certain frames: infinity focus, stopped down. When I compared those frames against actual 135 film at infinity with a stopped-down lens, the 135 was noticeably stronger.
Pentax 17, no flash, P mode, focus distance infinity

 

#13
The Taipei MRT visual identity is over twenty years old. The most interesting thing about it, typographically, is the "Exit" signage — the way the large and small text are mixed. Mirrored horizontally, the whole thing rearranges into a completely different character.
Pentax 17, no flash, P mode, focus distance 1.7m

 

#14
Does this one feel like full-frame 135 to you?
Pentax 17, no flash, P mode, focus distance infinity

 

#15
Walking to meet a friend for lunch. A cement company billboard on the way.
Pentax 17, no flash, P mode, focus distance infinity

 

#16
And this one doesn't feel like full-frame at all.
Pentax 17, no flash, P mode, focus distance infinity

 

#17
If you've heard that the Pentax 17 lens is genuinely sharp — it is.
Pentax 17, no flash, P mode, focus distance 1.7m

 

#18
This one is something else.
Pentax 17, no flash, P mode, focus distance infinity

 

#19
Lunch with a friend at Second Floor Restaurant (貳樓餐廳).
Pentax 17, no flash, P mode, focus distance infinity

 

#20
Just picked up my son from school — heading to get haircuts on the scooter.
Pentax 17, no flash, P mode, focus distance 0.5m

 

#21
Getting a haircut before the New Year.
Pentax 17, no flash, P mode, focus distance 3m

 

#22
Fresh cuts for both of us — I asked my son to take a photo of me. The Lucky SHD 400's shadow detail is rough though. In hindsight I should have metered at ISO 100. Never used a black and white negative film with this little latitude before.
Pentax 17, no flash, P mode, focus distance 1.2m

 

#23
My son, post-haircut. Wash and cut, 250 NTD each.
Pentax 17, no flash, P mode, focus distance 1.2m

 

#24
People often praise the Pentax 17's metering. My honest reaction: almost every camera I use meters accurately. I genuinely couldn't tell what was supposed to be special about it.
Pentax 17, no flash, P mode, focus distance infinity

 

#25
I won't be reaching for the Lucky SHD 400 again. Photos are irreplaceable. That said — it does pull off a clean silhouette in an urban setting, so credit where it's due.
Pentax 17, no flash, P mode, focus distance infinity

 

#26
I deliberately shot a lot of infinity frames on this roll, specifically to test whether the "rivals full-frame" claim could hold up across multiple shots. My conclusion: I'll keep it to myself.
Pentax 17, no flash, P mode, focus distance infinity

 

#27
My son watching something on my chair (Herman Miller Aeron size B — the whole family competes for it).
Pentax 17, no flash, P mode, focus distance 3m

 

#28
Thank you, Lucky SHD 400, for hiding how messy my desk actually is.
Pentax 17, no flash, P mode, focus distance 3m

 

#29
This FamilyMart in Neihu used to be where I'd meet up with cycling friends before a ride. I miss having that kind of stamina.
Pentax 17, no flash, P mode, focus distance infinity

 

#30
Forgot to switch from infinity to 0.5m. Classic.
Pentax 17, no flash, P mode, focus distance infinity

 

#31
Can't remember if this was a drop-off or a pickup.
Pentax 17, no flash, P mode, focus distance infinity

 

That's the full roll — Pentax 17 25mm f3.5 with Lucky SHD 400. Thanks for reading.

Note: I'm aware Lucky SHD 400 is typically recommended to be metered at ISO 200 — I shot it at ISO 400 on purpose. Seeing it for yourself beats taking anyone's word for it.