Creating new film cameras strikes many as odd. Why might the Pentax Film Camera Project be successful?
Film photography is becoming more popular
Pentax designer Takeo Suzuki states that they received many opinions and suggestions. From that, they were inspired to design completely new film camera models.
Suzuki also revealed that approximately 20% of camera owners in Japan still own traditional film cameras, not including disposable or instant cameras.
That’s a substantial amount of the population.
Because of this, we’ve seen new film stocks. We’ve also seen the revival of once-discontinued films by manufacturers. Kodak has reintroduced its Ektachrome film. CineStill, Ilford, Wolfen and others have reintroduced film.
And they’re clearly not having any issues finding film labs to process their film either. In Japan and elsewhere, many people mail their film in to labs for processing.
Leica has begun manufacturing their M6 35mm film camera again. And many older film cameras have been steadily increasing in value.
Enter Pentax and their Film Camera Project and their promise to create new, affordable film cameras. In fact, they’ve already announced that they will release two compact film cameras in Spring 2024.
Pentax intends to remain a “very niche, niche company”
Pentax has operated in the margins. Indeed, some of my non-photography friends have never heard of Pentax.
This appears to be by design.
Yazid Belmadi, a promotions manager at Ricoh Imaging France, said, “Our strategy for quite a few years now has been to work with very, very niche products.” He added that they were doing quite well, stating that their management team relies on “surveys carried out among Japanese consumers, consumers of the brand, of course, but also beyond.”
In other words, there’s a difference between not releasing new mirrorless cameras because they are oblivious to the market and wanting to explore niche markets such as film cameras.
Pentax sales are very profitable
Ricoh, the parent company of Pentax, reported annual operating profits increased by 97%, in part driven by “ongoing profitability of camera business.” The reporting period ran from April 2022 through March 2023. This means that it did not include strong presales of the Pentax K-3 III Monochrome or the Ricoh GR III Diary Edition, and just two months of the Ricoh GR III Diary Edition Kit, all of which has sold extremely well for the company.
One huge reason younger people love film
Younger people’s love of film is not a fad. I believe it’s part of a larger need.
I have observed that many young people are attracted to manual and mechanical items. Young people seem to crave tactile things that older people took for granted growing up. In music, it’s younger people that are primarily attracted to patchbay and modular synthesizers, with their knobs, cables and sliders. It’s younger people that have largely driven up the sales of records for the past fifteen years. And younger people are also largely responsible for purchasing old film cameras. In fact, someone paid more for my Yashica T4 35mm point-and-shoot film camera than I initially paid for it.
I discussed my theory for this during our Nightaxians YouTube podcast #15 a while ago when we also discussed Pentax’s announcement to release film cameras.
Innovative features forthcoming?
Given the innovations and amazing functions that Pentax regularly puts in their cameras, I have a feeling that we might see some surprisingly innovative features in their film cameras going forward. After all, this is the company that also puts Astrotracer for tracking stars, built-in time-lapse mode for in-camera stacking, body illumination, Night Vision LCD, and other features. I discuss some of these in the article Seven reasons I now use a Pentax K-1 camera.
What sort of features would you want to see in their film cameras? What features would you want to see if they ever release the K-1 Mk III? Leave your suggestions and thoughts in the comments below!
What would I anticipate in terms of features for the K-1 Mark III? The same redesign implementation of the glass Pentaprism that went into the K-3 III for a larger brighter image. Including the adoption of all the new technologies of the K-3 III. I would expect a full Magnesium allow chassis in order to provide full assurance when attaching flashes and other gear to the hotshoe. I would also expect a touchscreen LCD while maintaining the pull-out LCD screen design. I would also like to see the PENTAX logo more subdued on the the PENTAPrism, perhaps embossed in black… Read more »
Touchscreen would be huge. I do like that already, on the existing K-1s, there tend to be more dials and buttons than there are on the average digital camera.
As far as a K-1 iii it must have at least 50-63MP sensor. Much faster AF, subject recognition as in all other brands. I realize not being mirrorless will impose limits but there must be a solution similar to the K3iii. Keeping the lunar lander with a touch screen for AF tracking and even shutter activation. Finding some way to lessen the body weight without compromising its current strengths. While I have moved on to a Sony a7rV, I still use my vast library of Pentax/Takumar lenses on the Sony body As far as the Pentax film project, I am… Read more »
The AF really needs some improvement, and if they can get subject recognition (eyes especially), that would be fantastic.
As for the Pentax Film Project, I hope Ricoh/Pentax can walk and chew gum simultaneously. Regardless, I would agree that it should be K-Mount. I would be surprised if it weren’t. Unless they are intent on using the advantages of a wider diameter for mirrorless, something that they don’t seem like they will do any time in the near future, I have to think that they would continue using K-Mount.
The problem is that subject recognition would need the mirror up, so that the light could reach the sensor, and a electronic viewfinder and that is not how SLR cameras work. That’s the realm of mirrorless cameras but Pentax lenses are not optimized for that. A pellicle (translucent like Sony called them) mirror could work but that would result in a darker viewfinder (fine by day but not so in the dark) and less light on the sensor (moving the pellicle mirror to solve that would be difficult since they are fragile)
I don’t see Pentax implementing subject recognition any time soon. I am sure Andy is simply providing a wish list.
Film LOL… Aren’t there enough old Pentax film cameras around as it is? Maybe they could setup a Pentax camera refurbishment plan where you could pay to send in your old Pentax film camera to have it cleaned and adjusted. (It would also be nice to have more than one place in the U.S. to have Pentax cameras and lenses serviced.) By the way, last year I gave my oldest daughter my Pentax ME Super, a few lenses, a new battery and a roll of film. She never actually used it, and now has it as an ornament on a… Read more »
Joe, I am 27, a ‘kid’. Been shooting film on my Spotmatic for a decade. It is not a “fad” for some. I haven’t shot digital in a long time. In fact I don’t even have a working digital camera anymore. Film is the only way for some. I am certainly delighted to see there is an interest in film at all as I keep buying more cameras, more chemicals and more film by the day, ha! I 100% agree about a refurbishment plan though. Besides Gary and Eric, there’s not much useful information for refurbishing these cameras. I would… Read more »
Film, like vinyl records, analog synthesizers/modular synths, and so forth, has been increasing in popularity for years among younger people. It’s not a fad. I doubt any of these things were ever a fad. I cover this in my article. I also feel that dismissing something as a fad is something you might reserve for teenage fashion, not so much film cameras. Someone doesn’t decide to invest in film cameras, processing film, and so forth on a whim, I don’t think. A refurbishment plan might be of benefit, and I love the idea of a touchscreen on a K-1iii and… Read more »
It is not a fad. If anything, digital is the fad. All the disposable cameras just like cell phones. I was a commercial photographer at the height of film in the 90’s into the 2000’s and really came to dislike the business as digital gained momentum. I became a high school film photography teacher, now near 20 years ago. I watched all the other schools switch to digital as I scooped up all their enlargers and supplies. I advocated the benefits of film even back then, and my administration listened. So now I still get to live 8 hours a… Read more »
That’s quite a collection. And we can add “self-timer” to the list of things that people would like Pentax to add. Perhaps they just might hear us.
Yes, of course there are still a lot of old film cameras in the second hand market. BUT a film camera with all modern aspects e. g. today’s autofocus systems, using all modern lenses and much more modern electronic features and so on could be something to think about. Film need not be consequently something old … The next K-1 III (I personally own a K-1 (I), a K-3 II and K-5 II)? As a night and landscape photographer the autofocus speed for me is absolutely unimpotant (the things I shoot mostly don’t run away). More MP on the sensor… Read more »
That’s exactly right. I think many assume that if someone reissues a film camera, it has to be exactly like film cameras from yesteryear. I look forward to what features Pentax chooses to include with its new film cameras.
But I think we should not be too dissapointed in the first step. If I am right – on the road to a new potential SLR Pentax plans to bring compact cameras to the market in a first step as these film techologies has to be developed new to get the knowledge back.
As to your reason why younger people love film cameras…..it’s kind of like a steampunk item. All the knobs and gears…the bells and whistles and younger people have an affinity and gravitation towards those things. Hell, so do I and I’m 71. I still shoot film for more serious projects. I can’t wait to see the full line Pentax will come up with. They’ve always been in the top 5 back in the day and still appear to be even now. Thank you for the info.
Cool. I really wish it were steampunk. If it were, just about everyone would purchase one, haha!! My pleasure.
Yes, the tactile qualities of film are ongoing as a way of connecting the emotional component of creativity with the physical world. People roll out dough, bake, play cards, write with pens in journals, and garden for similar reasons. We want the sense of touch. Henri Cartier-Bresson drew in a sketchbook and not as adjunct activity but as something that was central to his artistic vision.
Thanks for your comment. I really think this is a huge component of it. When I mention this to people in their 20s or 30s, so far they seem to agree with it.
That could be why the Nikon df camera has been popular.
It could be. The access to knobs and such is appealing. And let’s face it, that form factor is pretty great for a lot of things too.
Would definitely like to see a shutter priority mode as well as aperture priority. Highspeed flash sync with built in rf triger for external flashed. Cannon did it with their qf and Minolta did it with the X 600, so I know it’s possible for manual lenses But what I would absolutely love to see, as if they the ability to record photo settings on a microSD card. So let’s say you have a few different rolls of film, and one has 36 exposures and his color the other one has less exposures and is black and white. Well like… Read more »
That’s an intriguing idea!
The mz-s wrote to the sprocket edge some data so this might be expanded?
Hurray for Pentax!
I love that people are returning to film cameras. I am begining to shoot film again and I want to develope my own b/w film. I would like to see film cameras have faster shutters and higher f stops w/ good light meters.
I want to see this in 35mm and medium formats. I agree having shops to adjust and fix older film cameras is a must in the US. I use an old Minolta that is very limited in f stops and shutter speed.
It’ll be interesting to see how far Pentax goes with this. And also to see what ways, if any, they modernize or improve them.
The source article says “approximately 20 percent OF CAMERA USERS [in Japan] own film cameras” – NOT 20 percent OF PEOPLE!
Thanks for pointing this out. I’ve managed to mess this quote up. It will be corrected very soon, though.
I’d like to see new medium format cameras from Pentax, especially 6×6 with autofocus.
I think that Pentax has a few ways forward. Something like the excellent MZ-S would offer a great feature set and a brilliant meter for film shooters (mine is still running fine after 20+ years), or a top grade SLR like the LX or Pentax could do the Leica thing and build a new type of K1000. A point and shoot would compete in the crowded low end of the market so likely not worth the effort.
I look forward to see what Pentax is going to do, especially after the two compact film cameras.
As for the possible future K-1 III, I’d say keeping all that the K-1 II has while increasing the sensor to 50 Mpx and having faster/better buffering of images. The other things will follow from the K-3 III improvements, naturally. Improved ISO, like in the K-3 III Monochrome camera, would be a given, as would the sensor that turns off the rear screen when the eye goes to the OVF… and I’m sure that the autofocus would be improved. Adding Astrotracer3 to the K-1 III would be great, also.
All that sounds great although I’m not certain how many more megapixels we need in a camera, particularly if it comes at the expense of low-light performance. But sure, more megapixels allow you flexibility and color accuracy and allow you to crop in further, so I get it. Will this ever see the light of day? Who knows.