After announcing the development of a film camera about a year and a half ago, Pentax has revealed the Pentax 17. It is a half 35mm frame with very simplified automatic exposure and focus controls.

Usually I go hard for manual controls on everything for cameras, but I already have loads of those, and my slow fiddling with controls frustrates my wife when I am shooting with her. It'll be nice to have something to take quick, casual photos with rather than agonizing to get the exact results I want. And half frame means twice the amount of pictures on a roll, so I'll be less concerned about wasting film on exposure. For once, it'll be nice to have a film camera that is small, fast and easy to use where I can stop overthinking and just take the damn picture. Maybe I can even get my wife and son open to the idea of using it.

The small, quiet, fast operation also makes me hopeful that I can finally take the first steps into being the street photographer I've always wanted to be.

I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on one. I was ready to wait a bit and be responsible, but the more I watch hands-on videos (I think I'm nearing ten at this point) the more I'm ready to run out to the local camera shop and gobble one up when they are released.

I'm so excited for the future of film cameras. I really hope this leads to a new film SLR or, Cartier-Bresson willing, a new medium format camera. But mostly I'm excited to take pictures in a way that I haven't in a long time: worrying less about perfection and just having fun.