Film News: A new film camera from Pentax?

Big breaking news. Over on the Pentax Japan website they have released a statement and a video, a pretty important one at that. Just have a wild guess what it is about? Yes, that is right, calm yourselves. A new film camera from Pentax. Or at least the intention to start earnest work on researching one. Now if that doesn’t sound great then I don’t know what will make you happy. So let’s have a delve into it.

Pentax/Ricoh

As many of you may know, Pentax and Ricoh are now the same company, and although the announcement was made by the Ricoh CEO Noboru Akahane, it was made under the umbrella of Pentax. Which inevitably leads to a few interesting thoughts. They could have gone with Ricoh, which would have almost certainly meant a compact camera, but with the announcement under Pentax, that opens the possibility of a new SLR or even a medium format camera. This is very exciting indeed. The official title for the announcement is “Film Camera Project”, which sounds like music to my ears.

Firstly though, let’s have a look at the teaser video that they released as well, which is rather tantalizing.

Initiatives

The camera project states there are two initiatives for this project. To begin considering the development of a new film camera, using the experience of veteran engineers to work with young designers and engineers. This could lead to some very interesting ideas, with new and more modern materials and techniques.

The second initiative is work with film fans to find out what they want from a new camera, utilizing social media and events to aid the development. This is a very nice touch, it shows that not only are they listening, but they are open to feedback. This is a breath of fresh air for a traditional Japanese company like Ricoh.

Both Pentax and Ricoh bring a real wealth of heritage and experience to the table. If any company in Japan can make a new film camera it will be these two. When I was asked if a Japanese company ever make another film camera, Pentax and Ricoh were the only ones I really thought that would have the onions to do it. And well, now they have announced that they are going to give it a crack of the whip.

You can read the full statement from Pentax on their site here. You may need to use google translate for this.

But I will add the statement from the CEO here, as it is a really exciting piece of news. It seems some companies out there have been listening to us all banging on about #believeinfilm

Message from President and CEO Noboru Akabane

Ricoh Imaging has declared that it will be “reborn” in January 2022. As a new initiative in Japan, we will listen to the voices of our fans more directly, such as strengthening digital and online communication, listing in crowdfunding, opening a PENTAX clubhouse, etc., and products that are close to their feelings. We have continued to “challenge” that is not bound by conventional wisdom, such as creating and selling In addition, we have started offering products realized through “workshop-like” manufacturing, such as developing special models in limited quantities worldwide.

As a new “challenge”, we would like to declare the challenge of developing a new film camera under the PENTAX brand in order to provide enjoyment different from digital cameras. This declaration is not a promise that we will release a new film camera product, but it is a declaration that we believe that as long as people are faithful to the air and light of nature, there will always be film camera fans. . I know how difficult it is to develop a film camera once finished. We are only at the starting line of the investigation.

We would like to hear the voices of fans through various events and digital communication (SNS, etc.) and update the development status as much as possible. Nothing would make me happier than to be able to take on the challenge of a new film camera project in the spirit of co-creation, with the support, approval, and occasional criticism of everyone.

Over the moon

This is Christmas come early for me. All I want is a new film camera, and a new Pentax would be brilliant. And at least us mere mortals would be able to afford it too, as it will not be red dot prices. Let’s all hope that Pentax does come through by showing our support for this project. I want a new LX.

JCH