Ricoh launches project to launch Pentax film cameras

Ricoh Imaging Company announced a new project involving the research and development of new PENTAX-brand film camera products. The company said it “will be developing and launching new products and providing aftercare services so experienced film camera users and younger photographers who want to try these cameras for the first time can fully enjoy the experience of film photography.”

The film camera project includes:

Development of new film camera products

Ricoh Imaging/PENTAX will begin research into developing new PENTAX-brand film camera products, bringing “together both veteran and younger engineers to take advantage of the film camera expertise and technologies created and retained by Ricoh Imaging/PENTAX while also incorporating the latest technologies and concepts.”

Working together with camera enthusiasts

“With digital cameras now the mainstream of photography, it can be challenging to procure the parts needed for film cameras, so this project`s success will involve other manufacturers,” the company said. “More importantly, Ricoh Imaging/PENTAX is counting on the support of film camera aficionados, photographers, and creators, so we plan to promote the project through various online and offline events and social media while listening to comments and suggestions from film camera users about product development. We are also planning a way to communicate effectively about the project’s development to users worldwide and to work closely with them.”

The company said the drive to develop film cameras is driven by the continued popularity of the film format, including among young photographers. In an online questionnaire that Ricoh Imaging/PENTAX conducted with some 3,000 users in Japan, approximately 20 percent of camera users owned film cameras, not including disposable or instant cameras, the company said.

“In January 2022, we declared the rebirth of Ricoh Imaging,” said Noboru Akahane, president and CEO of Ricoh Imaging Co. Ltd. “We affirmed that starting with Japan, we would more carefully listen to the voices of our users through stronger digital online communications with users by submitting our products to crowdfunding websites and founding a PENTAX clubhouse. All of this was done with the goal of developing and marketing new products that can fully satisfy user needs. We have taken on exciting new challenges, some of which push beyond the boundaries of conventional wisdom. We also are selling new products which were only made possible by our unique technologies and craftsmanship, such as the worldwide marketing of special-edition, limited-quantity models.

“One of the new challenges we have taken on is the development of PENTAX-brand film cameras,” he added. “We feel this will provide camera fans with a joy of photography totally different from what they experience in the digital format. I want to stress that this announcement does not mean we will release new film cameras. Instead, it’s an ongoing project based on the assumption that, as long as photographers remain obsessed with the ambiance of light and environment, there will also be some who will want to use film cameras as their tool of choice in capturing unique images. But we also know how difficult it will be to restart the production of film cameras long after production was terminated. In fact, we’re only at the starting line right now.”