Ricoh announced the Pentax Film Project back in 2022 and the film photography world was excited. But the Pentax 17 was a weird little camera that pretty much nobody bought. Today Ricoh cancelled the Pentax 17 and paused the Pentax Film Project entirely. Hit the jump to find out what happened!
Pentax 17 Cancelled Already
When Ricoh Imaging announced the Pentax Film Project back in 2022 a lot of film photographers (myself included) were super excited. The fact that any camera manufacturer was making a brand new film camera was music to my ears. But this was different. Because it was being made by Ricoh Pentax.
Just imagine if they re-released the venerable Pentax K1000. Or what about the legendary Ricoh GR1 series of point and shoot film cameras. The sky was the limit… And they gave us the Pentax 17. A camera that pretty much nobody wanted.
The Problem With The Pentax 17
The Pentax 17 was a quirky little half frame camera that left most film photographers scratching their heads.The controls were obtuse and difficult to use and considering the $500 price tag it just felt cheap.
Most film photographers were aware that they could go to any Goodwill and grab a point and shoot for a few bucks. So why would anyone get a Pentax 17?
Apparently Ricoh Imaging banked heavily on the idea of a half frame camera that provided twice as many shots per roll of film. Sounds good on paper. Until you realize the quality and resolution is literally cut in half for every one of those shots. And nobody wanted that.
Just about every review of the Pentax 17 stated firmly that this was an important camera because it was a new camera and we should all support Ricoh’s efforts. Even if the Pentax 17 was bordering on being unusable.
And it was very that.
Ricoh Calls It Quits On The Film Project
And that brings us to today.
Ricoh has announced that the Pentax 17 is cancelled and they’re pressing pausing the Pentax Film Project while they “re-assess market demand” for a new film camera.
That’s French for “nobody bought this camera.”
According to Kosmo Photo, Ricoh Imaging has has put the Pentax Film Project on hold while it investigates whether there is demand for further new film models. TKO, the designer of the Pentax 17 has also left Ricoh Imaging to pursue other projects. Though it’s unclear which came first.
On the business side of things, Ricoh acknowledge that film cameras play a much smaller role than their established GR line of digital cameras. So they want to takes some time to figure out what went wrong before making decisions on future film products.
And that’s French for “there are no future film products.”
The Last Word
This is a tough one for me.
There were so many possibilities surrounding the Pentax Film Project and I REALLY wanted the Pentax 17 to be good. Actually, I really wanted to the Pentax 17 to be a re-release of the Ricoh GR1V. Or a brand new version of the all mechanical K1000. Seriously, Ricoh would have won the world if they had done either of those things.
Instead they came out with the Pentax 17. A quirky little half frame 35mm point and shoot with faulty controls and industrial design that looked like something designed by a group of marketers sitting around a table.
The problem isn’t demand for film cameras. The problem is demand for THAT FILM CAMERA. Ricoh got us all hyped up with the talk of the great things they could do. And then they released a camera that felt cheap and was next to impossible to use.
And nobody bought it.
It’s really that simple.
What’s your take on Ricoh Imaging announcing that the Pentax 17 was cancelled? Is this a bad omen for the future of film photography? Or just another misguided attempt by a big camera manufacturer to capitalize on the film community with a crappy product? Post your ideas in the comments below and keep the conversation going!
I agree. Great intention but poor execution. Decision makers were too worried over 36 exposures not being enough. It is not an attractive design as well. I suspect there was much internal battling between management and the design team that resulted in terrible compromises. A new film GR would have probably been a hit.
Thanks for the comment, Peter!
I really wanted this camera to be something special but I would have even taken something usable. And I don’t think I’m the only one who felt this way – I have a few friends that work in camera stores and they have had problems selling this camera since day one. I think a P&S was probably a good place to start for mass appeal but there were too many comprimises with Pentax 17 to make it desirable for any serious film shooters.
I think everyone wanted their dream 35mm camera. You are NOT going to get the build quality of a K1000 for $500 bucks. It would cost at least $2000. And at that point who will buy it with thousands of used K1000 SLRs out there at used prices? Pentax 17 hearkens back to the days of the Olympus half frames known as the Pen EE series. Except the Pentax 17 has way more exposure modes and control. Calling it “a camera designed by marketers” is disingenuous. It was the design of basically one person. It won the 2025 German Design Award for Excellent Product Design.
One year later compare it to the ridiculously over priced Fujifilm X half Digital Camera.
It’s nearly twice the price of the Pentax 17 and has a digital sensor not much bigger than a smartphone. Oh, but it has a crank to “advance” to the next digital frame.
Thanks for the comment, Russ!
Nobody said anything about wanting the new camera to be $500. Of course there would be a cost involved and of course it would be more than purchasing on the used market.
But I’d gladly pay to have a working full frame 35mm camera than the “barely usable” half frame toy that they made. And considering the history of Pentax as a company it makes sense to point towards the venerable K1000 as a solid mechanical body that people would embrace. I think there’s actually lots of people who would buy a new K1000 in spite of used ones being available… Of course they could also make improvements to the original design but the basic functionality of a K1000 would have been great to see in a new camera with a fully warranty.
As for the Pentax 17 winning a design award? The award it was given was the “IF Design Award” which is self described as a “Special Show for Well-Designed Industrial Goods.” This has always appealed to me as being more of a product showcase rather than some kind of indication of excellent design but that could just be my own personal bias.
I wasn’t a fan of the Pentax 17 and it’s unfortunate that the film project has been paused based on lackluster demand for a less than desirable product. Fingers crossed something else comes along!
🙂