Pentax 17vs BF
Pentax
Pentax 17 (2024)
Starting from £400 new
Best for Film photography enthusiasts & diptych storytelling
View Pentax 17
Sigma
BF (2025)
Starting from £1799 new
Best for Photographers who want to strip back every distraction
View BF
GearScore™ Verdict — Which should you buy?
Film Photography Enthusiasts & Diptych Storytelling — Pentax 17 (2024): The best new film camera of the decade — manual controls, a sharp lens, and a half-frame format that doubles your roll and forces a new way of seeing.
Photographers Who Want To Strip Back Every Distraction — BF (2025): The most radical camera in years — no dials, no buttons, just a flat aluminium body and total creative minimalism.
Who should buy what
BF (2025)
- Photographers who find camera menus and dials a distraction from the creative process
- L-mount system users who want the lightest, most minimal full-frame body available
- Design enthusiasts who value the object quality and philosophy as much as the output
- Sigma fp/fp L users ready for a more radical step toward minimal photography
Quick take: The pentax 17 is the most affordable; only the bf is weather sealed. Scroll down for the full spec breakdown.
Full specifications
| Specification | Pentax 17 (2024) | BF (2025) |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £400 | £1,799 |
| Sensor | 35mm half-frame (18 × 24mm) | 24MP full-frame BSI CMOS |
| Resolution | — | 24.0MP |
| Video | N/A — film camera | 4K/30p, 1080p/60p |
| Autofocus | Zone focus (0.35m / 1m / 3m / ∞) | Phase-detect AF — face and eye detection |
| Stabilisation | N/A — film camera | 5-axis IBIS — 7 stops |
| Burst Rate | Manual wind-on | 9fps electronic |
| Battery Life | 2× CR2 lithium batteries | ~400 shots (CIPA) |
| Weight | ~165g (without batteries) | 427g body only |
| Dimensions | 113 × 66 × 44mm | 127.0 × 75.0 × 45.0mm |
| Weather Sealed | No | Yes |
| Viewfinder | Optical viewfinder with half-frame framelines | EVF 0.75× 3.68M-dot |
| Screen | N/A | 3.15" fully articulating touchscreen — primary interface |
| Mount | 35mm film (ISO 25–3200 via DX coding + manual dial) | L-mount (Leica/Panasonic/Sigma) |
| Memory Cards | 35mm 135-format film cartridge | Single UHS-II SD slot |
| Connectivity | N/A | USB-C, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth |
Suitability by genre
| Genre | Pentax 17 | BF |
|---|---|---|
| Street | ||
| Travel | ||
| Portrait | ||
| Everyday | — | |
| Landscape | ||
| Low Light | — | |
| Sports | — | |
| Vlogging & Video | — |
GearScore™ suitability scores are based on aggregated purchaser reviews weighted by photography genre. See how scores are calculated →
More comparisons with Pentax 17