The Pentax 17 is a 35mm half-format film camera designed from the ground up for film enthusiasts. The Pentax 17 differs from conventional 35 mm "full-frame" cameras in its 17 x 24 mm image area. It uses standard 35mm film, but shoots two frames per image. This smaller and unique format offers several advantages: You get twice as many images on a roll of film compared to full-frame.

With a roll of film with 36 exposures, you can take about 72 pictures. As the film runs horizontally through the camera, the 17 x 24 mm image area is naturally vertical - making the camera particularly suitable for portrait shots such as a smartphone. If you hold the camera upright, you can also take landscape shots.

The Pentax 17 is user-friendly and has a precise automatic exposure so that you can concentrate on taking pictures. However, you can adjust the ISO sensitivity (50-3200) and exposure compensation (+/- 3 EV) and use different shooting modes.

The Pentax 17 has a manual film winding mechanism, as found in Pentax brand SLR cameras. The film winding lever allows users to enjoy the feel and sound of film winding each time the shutter is released. The simple loading system is designed to avoid mistakes when loading film, especially for those using a film camera for the first time. The camera also features other mechanisms characteristic of film cameras, such as a manual film rewind function with a rewind handle, exposure compensation with an exposure compensation dial and ISO sensitivity adjustment with an ISO sensitivity dial.

You can switch the flash on or off using the camera's mode switch. When the flash is switched on, you can choose between an automatic programme with flash and slow sync with flash. If the flash is switched off, you can use automatic programmes, long exposure times or a special bokeh mode that uses the largest aperture (f/3.5) to achieve a shallow depth of field.