Pentax 17vs A9
Pentax
Pentax 17 (2024)
Starting from £400 new
Best for Film photography enthusiasts & diptych storytelling
View Pentax 17
Sony
A9 (2017)
Starting from £1999 new
Best for Professional sports, wildlife & action photography
View A9
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.
Professional Sports, Wildlife & Action Photography — A9 (2017): The camera that changed professional photography — the A9's 20fps blackout-free burst and silent shutter proved mirrorless had definitively surpassed the DSLR.
Who should buy what
A9 (2017)
- Sports photographers who want the original 20fps mirrorless at a lower used price than the A9 II
- Wildlife photographers who need blackout-free burst with fast, reliable tracking
- Sony FE system users who want a professional sports body
- Photographers interested in the camera that changed the industry
Quick take: The pentax 17 is the most affordable; only the a9 is weather sealed. Scroll down for the full spec breakdown.
Full specifications
| Specification | Pentax 17 (2024) | A9 (2017) |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £400 | £1,999 |
| Sensor | 35mm half-frame (18 × 24mm) | 24.2MP Full-Frame Stacked BSI CMOS Exmor RS |
| Resolution | — | 24.2MP |
| Video | N/A — film camera | 4K/30p, 1080p/120p |
| Autofocus | Zone focus (0.35m / 1m / 3m / ∞) | 693 phase-detect + 25 contrast-detect, real-time eye/body tracking |
| Stabilisation | N/A — film camera | IBIS — 5-axis, up to 5 stops |
| Burst Rate | Manual wind-on | 20fps (blackout-free, silent electronic shutter with full AF/AE) |
| Battery Life | 2× CR2 lithium batteries | ~650 shots (CIPA) |
| Weight | ~165g (without batteries) | 673g (with battery and card) |
| Dimensions | 113 × 66 × 44mm | 126.9 × 95.6 × 63.0mm |
| Weather Sealed | No | Yes |
| Viewfinder | Optical viewfinder with half-frame framelines | EVF, OLED 3.69M dots, 0.78× magnification, 60fps refresh (blackout-free) |
| Screen | N/A | 3.0" tilting touchscreen |
| Mount | 35mm film (ISO 25–3200 via DX coding + manual dial) | Sony FE (full-frame E-mount) |
| Memory Cards | 35mm 135-format film cartridge | Dual SD UHS-II slots |
| Connectivity | N/A | USB, Wi-Fi 5GHz, Bluetooth, HDMI |
Suitability by genre
| Genre | Pentax 17 | A9 |
|---|---|---|
| Street | — | |
| Travel | ||
| Portrait | ||
| Everyday | — | |
| Landscape | — | |
| Low Light | — | |
| Sports & Action | — | |
| Wildlife | — | |
| Wedding & Events | — | |
| 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
Camera family history