A while ago, I wrote about ‘Project 17′. My aim was to sell cameras and stuff I was no longer using to raise enough money for a Pentax 17. Well, here we are! Erm… no, actually. A lovely friend lent me this one. I decided not to save for one, as the comments from the post about the project made me change my mind. I also hoped I would get my hands on one some day. Well, here we are!

As you can see, this Pentax 17 has been pimped with a new skin, a focus guide and a grip. As far as I can remember, they were all supplied by PPP. I like the look of the skin, and the grip felt very comfortable.

I was planning on taking the camera on a camping trip to North Wales, so to become more familiar with it, I put in a test roll of very expired Kodak RAR and shot it around my home.

Here are some random shots from that roll.

Very random. The camera was easy to use, quick and responsive.

I have to say, the focus guide on the back of the camera came in very handy. The strap also acted as a focus guide for the very close-up setting at allegedly 24cm. I still missed the focus on the fairy door and a few others when I used it, so that aspect of the camera was not my favourite.

I left the camera on auto and never felt the need to remove it from that. My friend said the mode dial can easily be knocked out of position, but I didn’t find that at all.

All set and comfortable, I loaded the camera with a roll of Kodak 200 and headed to North Wales. I wanted to use a colour film to get it processed and scanned at a proper lab. They are always of a higher quality than those I do at home. That will really let me see what the camera can do.

I stopped on my journey to the campsite at RSPB Conwy, it is much nicer doing things like that than stopping at a service station.

I left the double scans in as I took them to create a panoramic shot. I used the app called Panorama Stitcher, which did a fantastic job putting the 8 frames together.

The next day, I headed to Anglesey for a boat trip I had booked, but if you look at the two shots of the boat, you will see why it was cancelled. I wasn’t going on that boat, but a RIB. It was rescheduled for the next day. So I took the opportunity to wander around Beaumaris Castle and town. The day before, I had bought a three-day explorer pass to, well, explore. It was great value for money as I ended up visiting at least 6 places, which meant the entrance fees were half price or less.

With a half-frame camera, you don’t have to worry about running out of film. I even had a few shots left for South Stack.

That was the worst day for the weather, after that it was lovely, blue skies and sunny. So of course I loaded a roll of Fomapan 100 and I ended up shooting most of it at a place called Dinorwig Valley, which was absolutely stunning. It was a spur-of-the-moment trip one morning. I have a habit of placing pins in Google Maps when I see something I might like to visit. This placemark was very close to my campsite, so why not take a mooch?

I think it is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have long to explore as the rearranged boat tour was later the same day, plus the museum wasn’t open. But I enjoyed the view and the short walk I took. I will definitely be going back to have a much longer exploration one day.

Again, I took a few photos to create a panoramic shot of the view. This is the result of just layering them with Acorn.

I reverted to using Panorama Stitcher again; it is much easier.

Next, I used the camera around Penmon Priory. Neither of these places were included with the Explorer Pass, but the quarry was free, and the Penmon car park was just £3.50.

Of course, the Pentax 17 is a half-frame camera, which meant I still had film left for my journey home, where I stopped at Conwy Castle. This is on the other side of the River Conwy to the RSPB reserve in the first set of photos.

If you are ever in Wales, I recommend visiting Conwy. To be honest, just go to Wales, it is all stunning, no matter where you are. These are from the castle though.

And there you go. As this is a new camera, there are many reviews of it and information on its specs online. So I am not going to go into technical details here. I am just going to say…When I started using the camera, I wasn’t overly thrilled, and I was glad I had not sold cameras to buy it. Having just written this post, I have changed my mind. The colour shots, especially, are stunning. If I had lots of money, I would be tempted to get one.

If you don’t have a half-frame camera and have spare cash, I do think it is a great investment. I have a few other half-frame cameras and no spare cash, so I am happy to have tried this, but also happy to give it back to the owner with no regrets, just like the Olympus SP I just tried.

Oh, I took a couple of other cameras to Wales, so expect to see a few more posts about it in the future.