EP241: Thinking Too Much — Pentax 17 25mm f3.5 with Kodak Ektachrome 100D/5294 (E-6 Cross-Processed, Half-Frame)

Roll #241 — when it comes to zone focus cameras, infinity is where they shine

Film: Kodak Ektachrome 100D/5294 (那時慢 repackaged version), cross-processed (E-6), half-frame
Developed & scanned: Li-lai Photo, 2024/12/28
Camera: Pentax 17 25mm f3.5

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I finally picked up the Pentax 17 — about six months after its June 17, 2024 release date.

Pros first, then cons.

The Pentax 17's biggest standout feature is its slow-sync flash (front-curtain sync, up to 4 seconds). This is genuinely rare on film point-and-shoots. Most cameras that offer slow-sync at all come with a forced red-eye reduction mechanism, which means the flash fires multiple times — giving you the flat, conventional flash look rather than the dreamy, motion-blur effect that makes slow-sync interesting. The Pentax 17 actually does it right.

As for the lens — before I owned one, I kept reading that its resolving power rivals 135 full-frame. Based on my own experience, I can't feel any meaningful difference between the Pentax 17 and the Olympus Pen F system in terms of resolution. And when I put Pentax 17 frames side by side with actual 135 film, the full-frame images are clearly sharper. Half-frame is half-frame.

My theory on why people think the Pentax 17 punches above its class: most of them come from a digital background and aren't particularly sensitive to the grain structure of film. They may assume grain is just "how film looks." In reality, the silver grain in 135 film is far finer than most people imagine.

My assessment: the Pentax 17's lens doesn't clearly surpass the Olympus Pen F 25mm f2.8. If anything, it feels comparable to the Lomo LC-Wide 17mm f4.5 in half-frame mode.

Now the cons. Beyond habit-related frustrations, I pay more attention to what I'd call design flaws.

I mentioned the slow-sync flash as the Pentax 17's strongest advantage — which means it's well-suited for creative low-light portraiture. But the indicator lights next to the viewfinder are brutally bright. In dim conditions, looking through the viewfinder while those indicators flash is enough to blind you to the composition. Practical result: shooting in the dark with the Pentax 17 is almost always a guess.

But the indicator lights aren't even my biggest issue. The Auto mode is worse.

When you turn the Pentax 17 to Auto, the zone focus ring becomes inactive. There's no warning, no safety mechanism. Anyone who hasn't read the manual will likely assume Auto just means automatic exposure — but it actually switches the camera into a fixed hyperfocal/pan-focus mode. The result is a noticeable drop in sharpness, like a mild miss-focus. I tested it against manual infinity focus, and the difference is visible in the frames. If the mode were called "Low Quality Mode," it would at least be honest. I have never encountered another camera — film or digital — where the Auto setting actively degrades image quality. The Pentax 17 is the only one.

Making matters worse: Auto mode is easy to accidentally dial into. So on top of checking the focus zone before every shot, I now also have to confirm I'm not in Auto. That's a lot of mental overhead for a camera that's supposed to be fun to carry.

I've used a lot of zone focus cameras — the Olympus XA2 (35mm f3.5), Cosina CX-2 (35mm f2.8), Lomo LC-A (32mm f2.8), Lomo LC-A+ (32mm f2.8), and Lomo LC-Wide (17mm f4.5). Every single one has a proper Auto mode. The CX-2 and LC-A even offer aperture priority, letting you lock in f2.8 with a shake-free shutter — 1/45s on the CX-2, 1/60s on the LC-A. The Pentax 17 has seven shooting modes total. None of them feel intuitive.

Finally, on the close focus: the Pentax 17 offers six zone distances — 0.25m, 0.5m, 1.2m, 1.7m, 3m, and infinity. But at 0.25m and 0.5m, the depth of field is razor-thin. If your subject isn't exactly at that distance, focus falls apart quickly. The tolerance at 0.25m is approximately ±1cm (0.24–0.25m); at 0.5m it's about 3–4cm (0.47–0.54m). Without precise measurement, close-focus failure rates are high. If you want to use the Pentax 17 for close-up shooting, I'd genuinely recommend a wrist strap with distance markings, or carrying a laser distance meter.

After spending time with the Pentax 17, I finally understand why so few zone focus cameras bother with close focus at all. The Olympus XA4 (28mm f3.5) goes to 0.3m across six zones — about as demanding as the Pentax 17. It's a genuinely difficult thing to execute well.

Overall: the Pentax 17 is a high-difficulty camera. I wouldn't recommend it to beginners. If you're new to film in 2025 and want a zone focus camera that's currently in production, can be serviced, has manual film advance, custom ISO, and solid image quality, the Lomo LC-A+ 32mm f2.8 or Lomo LC-Wide 17mm f4.5 are both better starting points.

As for why the Pentax 17 is still worth buying — I think part of it is just supporting the idea that new film cameras can still exist. Sometimes participating in something matters more than owning the object.

And for all my complaints, I'm genuinely grateful to TKO Suzuki Takeo for pushing this camera into existence against whatever odds he faced. For experienced shooters, the Pentax 17 is a real challenge to master. I'm still working on it.

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#1
Just loaded the film into the Pentax 17 — shooting at the sky to burn through the leader frames.
(Focus: infinity, P mode, no flash)

 

#2
Still in test territory — counter hadn't hit 1 yet.
(Focus: infinity, P mode, no flash)

 

#3
A special day — Interstellar was re-released in Taiwan on December 5, 2024. A friend and I booked the first IMAX screening at Miramar in Dazhi. This was me on the scooter from Banqiao to Neihu, waiting to turn left.
(Focus: infinity, P mode, no flash)

 

#4
Looking down from inside Miramar in Dazhi.
(Focus: infinity, P mode, no flash)

 

#5
Two IMAX tickets. My first time seeing Interstellar in a cinema.
(Focus: 0.25m, slow-sync flash mode)

 

#6
The individual taxi sign common around Taiwan. I've always felt the spacing between the "A" and "X" in "TAXI" is too wide — shifting the X a little to the left would balance it out visually. But this design's been around long enough that probably no one's thinking about it anymore.
(Focus: 3m, P mode, no flash)

 

#7
If I could choose for my son, I'd ask him not to become a police officer. It might sound selfish, but the working conditions and risks for police in Taiwan are genuinely difficult.
(Focus: 3m, P mode, no flash)

 

#8
A cat walked over but I couldn't get the frame. This was probably set to 0.25m or 0.5m.
(P mode, no flash)

 

#9
Since attending the first official Pentax 17 event in Taiwan, I've been getting SMS notifications for new events — and I've signed up for every one. Today's presenter was Kazutoshi Yoshimura, a landscape photographer who travels the world shooting with a Pentax 645N medium format camera, typically wide-angle on a tripod.
(Focus: 3m, Bokeh mode)

 

#10
Yoshimura-san and TKO Suzuki-san are longtime close friends — so Yoshimura was also invited to shoot with the Pentax 17 during its development phase.
(Focus: infinity, P mode, no flash)

 

#11
After Yoshimura-san's talk, indoors with ISO 100 film — I figured flash was necessary.
(Focus: infinity, P mode, with flash)

 

#12
TKO Suzuki Takeo, the father of the Pentax 17. Incredibly warm in person.
(Focus: 3m, P mode, with flash)

 

#13
The subject here is at infinity — flash doesn't reach. According to the manual, the Pentax 17's flash is effective up to 1.7m with ISO 100, and up to 3m with ISO 400.
(Focus: infinity, slow-sync flash mode)

 

#14
Surprised this MRT interior shot came out at all without flash.
(Focus: infinity, P mode, no flash)

 

#15
Eyeballing the distance and hoping for the best.
(Focus: 0.25m, P mode, with flash)

 

#16
A Saturday — heading to Yoshimura-san's second talk later, killing time at MOS Coffee in the morning.
(Focus: 0.25m, Bokeh mode)

 

#17
A Pentax 67 on display at the Pentax counter in Syntrend, Taipei — the third generation model, not the original Pentax 6x7 or 6x7 MLU.
(Focus: 0.5m, Bokeh mode)

 

#18
Waiting for the second Yoshimura talk to start, spending time at the Pentax counter playing with a Ricoh GRIIIx. Genuinely impressive camera — the interface is exceptionally well thought out.
(Focus: 0.25m, Bokeh mode)

 

#19
The second Yoshimura-san event about to begin — this one went deeper, more focused on film cameras specifically. Grateful to Pentax Taiwan distributor Fuqian for putting these together.
(Focus: infinity, Bokeh mode)

 

#20
After the event — testing indoor shots. First one, no flash.
(Focus: infinity, P mode, no flash)

 

#21
Same scene, with flash. I prefer this version.
(Focus: infinity, P mode, with flash)

 

#22
Dinner out with my wife and son — pasta. The Pentax 17's flash is reassuringly reliable. The only thing worth worrying about is whether I've put on weight.
(Focus: 1.7m, slow-sync flash mode)

 

#23
Eyeballed the distance. Missed. — Lunch near Shuanglian MRT Station at "35 Dumplings." Not recommended: the dumplings sit in a puddle of water, the skin is on the soft side, and soy sauce has to be drizzled on top since they don't give you a dipping dish — so the flavor just gets diluted. Not sure what I was eating.
(Focus: 0.25m, P mode, no flash)

 

#24
Heading to Kao Sheng in Neihu to drop off a camera for repair.
(Focus: 0.25m, P mode, no flash)

 

#25
I can't remember the last time I saw someone actually using a phone booth. Maybe during military service, at the barracks.
(Focus: infinity, Bokeh mode)

 

#26
Riding to Kao Sheng in Neihu.
(Focus: infinity, Bokeh mode)

 

#27
The Kao Sheng sign reads "All brands of digital cameras — repair and maintenance." I exclusively bring film cameras.
(Focus: infinity, P mode, no flash)

 

#28
An interesting Jay Chou advertisement — at first glance I thought it was shot in a sewer.
(Focus: infinity, P mode, no flash)

 

#29
What one candle's worth of light looks like. Just got home and needed to decompress — lit a candle, put on Nujabes.
(Focus: 0.5m, Bokeh mode)

 

#30
After school, just riding around with my son — no particular destination.
(Focus: 3m, P mode, no flash)

 

#31
My son refueling mid-ride.
(Focus: 3m, P mode, no flash)

 

#32
He's eating a pork bun from Xiang Fu Mantou. Good value — a large bun for 30 NTD.
(Focus: 0.5m, P mode, no flash)

 

#33
We have a whiteboard at home that my son sometimes draws on. Today he drew an angry dinosaur, pointed at it, and said: that's you.
(Focus: 1.7m, slow-sync flash mode)

 

#34
Work has been busy enough lately that meals keep getting skipped. Looked at my watch and it was already past 3pm.
(Focus: 0.25m, P mode, no flash)

 

#35
I keep forgetting to take my car key off my belt loop. I know it makes me look old, but it's so convenient. My son took this one — slow-sync flash is genuinely fun.
(Focus: 1.7m, slow-sync flash mode)

 

#36
The 珍煮丹 bubble tea brand updated its logo — at first glance it looks like they just fixed the "丹" character to make it less readable as "母," but on closer inspection all three characters were redrawn. The legibility issue is solved, and the whole wordmark is more cohesive.
(Focus: infinity, P mode, no flash)

 

#37
Testing the difference between pan-focus Auto mode and manual infinity focus. This is manual infinity.
(Focus: infinity, P mode, no flash)

 

#38
Same scene in pan-focus Auto mode. You can clearly see the background signage go soft — the sharpest point is actually closer to the camera, in the foreground.
(Pan-focus Auto mode)

 

#39
My current phone home screen — stripped down to one page. Given that nearly every 0.25m shot on this roll missed focus, I'll seriously consider using a strap-based distance gauge on the next one. (Seriously considering, not committing.)
(Focus: 0.25m, P mode, no flash)

 

#40
Slow-sync flash at its most interesting. This is the Pentax 17's genuinely unique advantage.
(Focus: 3m, slow-sync flash mode)

 

#41
Kura Sushi in Taiwan. First time I ate Kura was in Okinawa, Japan — about 25 NTD per plate at the time, which felt like a miracle. That was around age 30. Now at 38, I find myself preferring to just sit and eat without constantly getting up to grab food. Conveyor belt sushi and buffets both require a kind of divided attention that makes it hard to actually relax at a meal.
(Focus: 1.2m, Bokeh mode)

 

#42
My son on the left — his kindergarten class ran a Christmas fair booth. First time any of them had played "shopkeeper." A genuinely fun and meaningful activity.
(Focus: 1.7m, P mode, with flash)

 

#43
His job was to explain the game and teach visitors how to play. The game: shoot a slingshot to knock over blocks, then win a prize. Everything except the prizes was handmade by the kids.
(Focus: 1.7m, P mode, with flash)

 

#44
Christmas artwork posted on the classroom wall — each student made their own. My son led me to his: a poinsettia and gemstone made from cut paper and crayon.
(Focus: 1.2m, P mode, with flash)

 

#45
Parents don't usually get into the school, so the Christmas fair was a chance for my son to give me a tour. This is the inside of an outdoor play structure — he told me it's where they "pilot the ship" (or the plane, I can't remember).
(Focus: 1.7m, P mode, with flash)

 

#46
A letter my son wrote to Santa, posted on the window — with a drawing of the gift he wanted: a Lego robot set rated for ages 12 and up.
(Focus: 1.2m, P mode, with flash)

 

#47
Same scene, switched to pan-focus Auto mode to test whether it's as versatile as advertised. You can see the image quality drop noticeably.
(Pan-focus Auto mode)

 

#48
A Saturday morning — taking the MRT into the city to meet someone selling a black Olympus Mju II 35mm f2.8. Arrived early, so I wandered the station for a while. It was cold.
(Focus: infinity, Bokeh mode)

 

#49
Same scene again in pan-focus Auto mode. Soft again.
(Pan-focus Auto mode)

 

#50
Waiting at Da'an MRT Station for the seller to arrive.
(Focus: infinity, P mode, no flash)

 

#51
Transaction done — heading back to Banqiao. I don't ride the Wenhu Line often, but I love the views from it. It's the only MRT line that gives you a close-up, elevated look at the city from above.
(Focus: infinity, P mode, no flash)

 

#52
One genuine advantage of zone focus cameras over autofocus point-and-shoots: you can easily take a mirror selfie. No focus confusion.
(Focus: 3m, P mode, no flash)

 

#53
Lunch with my wife and son at an affordable Japanese restaurant — sat at the counter and watched the chef work. Entertaining.
(Focus: 0.5m, P mode, no flash)

 

#54
My regular dumpling spot in Banqiao is the Jiaozi Brothers location on Minxiang Street in Zhonghe. That day I was in Tucheng and discovered there's one there too, so I tried it. The soul of a dumpling restaurant is its soy sauce, and every location has a different philosophy on that. The Zhonghe one is still my favorite — specifically for the soy sauce.
(Focus: 3m, Bokeh mode)

 

#55
Picked my son up from school on a Friday and told him we needed to buy firewood for the campfire the next day. So we rode over together. Small enough packages to fit on the scooter's footboard.
(Focus: 1.2m, Bokeh mode)

 

#56
I'm drawn to the look of brushed metal. Maybe that's why I keep coming back to Asahi Dry.
(Focus: 0.25m, no-flash slow shutter mode)

 

#57
Moved the coffee setup directly to my desk.
(Focus: 0.5m, no-flash slow shutter mode)

 

#58
Same scene — testing the difference between Bokeh mode and no-flash slow shutter mode. From what I can tell, Bokeh mode caps the minimum shutter speed at something like 1/30 or 1/60 to avoid camera shake. But honestly I find the Bokeh mode a bit pointless: with a max shutter of 1/350, there's barely enough speed differential in bright light to produce meaningful background separation at f3.5. You'd need 1/1000 to make the Bokeh mode actually show a difference across varied lighting conditions.
(Focus: 0.5m, Bokeh mode)

 

#59
Our 2019 Nissan Kicks at the dealership for its regular service. I always enjoy the light in this waiting area.
(Focus: infinity, Bokeh mode)

 

#60
Freshly serviced. Everything feels right again.
(Focus: infinity, P mode, no flash)

 

#61
After school, took my son to the Rainbow Riverside Park Wheel Sports Practice Area in Neihu for BMX. House rule: homework first. So he sat on the sidelines and worked through it — not ideal posture without a table.
(Focus: 1.2m, Bokeh mode)

 

#62
Weekday afternoon — almost nobody here. Perfect.
(Focus: infinity, no-flash slow shutter mode)

 

#63
Our two BMX bikes — his and mine.
(Focus: 1.7m, P mode, with flash)

 

#64
Waited nearly half an hour at a McDonald's for my order. They'd already cleared the number from the screen, keeping me standing there. Probably some internal audit metric at play.
(Focus: infinity, no-flash slow shutter mode)

 

#65
Gone slightly retro — listening to music through the iPhone's built-in Music app. Songs that aren't on any streaming platform, transferred from the computer the old way, with a cable. Hearing that music again takes me straight back to ten, fifteen years ago.
(Focus: 0.25m, Bokeh mode)

 

#66
ISO 100 film plus f3.5 indoors without flash — as expected, not enough light. ISO 400 with f2.8 would have a fighting chance.
(Focus: 0.25m, Bokeh mode)

 

#67
Just realized World Gym is a publicly listed company.
(Focus: 1.7m, P mode, no flash)

 

#68
On the Huajiang Bridge — slow shutter, camera shake included.
(Focus: infinity, no-flash slow shutter mode)

 

That's the full roll — Pentax 17 25mm f3.5 with Kodak Ektachrome 100D/5294, cross-processed. Thanks for reading.