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PENTAX 17 compact film camera wins Red Dot Design Award 2025
PhotofocusRICOH IMAGING COMPANY, LTD. recently revealed that PENTAX 17 won this year’s Red Dot Design Award in Germany, one of the world’s most prestigious design awards. Each year, products launched on the market over the previous two years are judged by nine different criteria, including degree of innovation, functionality, ergonomics, durability and ecological compatibility. The announcement follows two other two other important awards garnered by PENTAX 17: the German Design Award for Excellent Product Design, Computer and Communication, and the iF Design Award 2025 under “Product Design” category in March. This wave of recognition comes at a time when PENTAX 17 became the first film camera to be developed and released by a major brand in years, a testament to the continued interest in film photography even among new photographers. RICOH writes in their announcement: “The PENTAX 17 was developed using a vast amount of knowhow and technology which RICOH IMAGING/PENTAX had accumulated over the years, with experts and younger engineers working closely together. The camera was designed to allow photographers to express their originality and creativity by leaving some room for manual operation, rather than making it a fully automatic camera. “The PENTAX 17 lets photographers fully enjoy the world of film cameras — the origin of photography. It is an ideal model not only for film camera enthusiasts who have enjoyed film photography for years, but also for young photographers who are excited about trying film photography for the first time.”
