Pentax has launched an innovative addition to its lineup with the Pentax 17, a new film camera designed to bridge the gap between smartphone photography and traditional film cameras. Priced at $500, this camera offers a unique proposition in the world of film photography.

Embracing Half-Frame Technology

The Pentax 17 stands out with its half-frame format, allowing it to capture 72 smaller frames on a standard 36-exposure film roll. This approach not only doubles the number of photos per roll but also introduces a vertical framing style, reminiscent of smartphone photography. For users accustomed to the convenience of digital devices, this format offers a familiar shooting experience.

Design and Build Quality

While its appearance may resemble entry-level SLRs of the past, the Pentax 17 is far from ordinary. Boasting a robust build and equipped with a sharp lens (albeit with a maximum aperture of f/3.5), it promises reliable performance for both novice and experienced photographers alike.

Automatic Features and User-Friendly Design

Targeted towards smartphone photographers transitioning to film, the Pentax 17 simplifies the shooting process with automatic exposure modes. These modes cater to various lighting conditions and even include options for combining ambient light with built-in flash, catering to creative needs. Despite the lack of manual controls, users can still adjust exposure compensation to fine-tune their shots.

Creative Possibilities and Future Prospects

One of the exciting features of half-frame cameras is their ability to create diptychs effortlessly, allowing for unique storytelling through paired images. As Pentax looks ahead, the 17 is just the beginning, with plans for future models including an SLR and a fully manual SLR. This expansion promises to revive interest in film photography among a new generation of enthusiasts.

How did you develop the palette for the film?

We found five color photos that Lyon took which helped a lot. After looking at so many black-and-white photos from the book, it was strange to see what his world looked like in color suddenly. Those photos were especially helpful with costuming and hair and make-up. Using those photos, we developed an overall palette for the film.

Mitch Paulson was our color grader and he helped us keep all the colors pretty warm. When we did our digital intermediate, we had the colors be a little saturated and a little on the sepia side, which helped pop greens and reds, like the red shirt that Johnny wears.

What was particularly memorable in shooting this film?

We hadn’t shot in film in a while, especially since so much is digital right now. We had to get out our light meters out and start taking reference photos. Shooting film again felt a little like getting back on a bike. The thing that is interesting about shooting celluloid is you never know what you’re going to get. No one knows what the film’s going to look like until you get it developed and look at the dailies.

I remember we were shooting Cockroach (Emory Cohen) at the end of the day in a location in Ohio, just above Cincinnati. The clouds were moving in and suddenly there was no more light. We just shot it and had to wait to see what we got. It went really blue, but we just kept it in the film. I’m sure that when Danny was shooting his book, he ran into situations where he had to shoot when the light was gone and create what he could from the elements he had. That’s kind of what we did for that scene.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

A new book collating early photography of Manic Street Preachers has been announced.

The band’s fusion of left-wing, anti-authoritarian politics, glam metal riffs, and eye-linger made them instant cult heroes, splitting opinion like few other groups in their era. Gaining copious amounts of inches in the weekly music press, Manic Street Preachers quickly built up a profoundly influential visual identity, echoed by thousands of fans.

Incoming tome Little Baby Nothings – the title echoes a song from their debut album – collates work by photographer Valerie Phillips, who shot them countless times during their open era.

A limited edition book published by Longer Moon Father, the idea was sparked into life after bassist, lyricist, and effortlessly stylish gentleman Nicky Wire found some long-lost negatives in his home archive.

Touching base with Valerie Phillips, the book was brought into being through those conversations. The photographer comments…

“When I was a baby photographer obsessed with records and seeing bands, I was asked to get a train to a small town in Wales to take pictures of Manic Street Preachers. I hadn’t yet figured out how to take the kind of pictures I wanted to take. So I made it up. That day. With the beautiful Manics. We were both in our own starting-out all-consuming little worlds and now those worlds collided.”

Nicky Wire pens the introduction to the book, and an excerpt has gone online:

“It was a bitterly cold day in late winter March 1991 – Vox magazine are coming down for a photo shoot – like everything back then it feels important and vital – then a ball of American energy bursts through the door – wide eyed optimism and thankfully some severe sarcasm are quickly evident, It doesn’t take long to realise that some magic is happening.”

Little Baby Nothings is limited to 2000 copies and is available on its own or as part of a bundle with a small run of t-shirts (the t-shirt is also available on its own via Manic Street Preachers website here).

Very limited copies of the book will be available on the forthcoming Manic Street Preachers sold out joint headline tour of the UK with Suede.