Tokyo, Japan—Ricoh Imaging Company reports that the Pentax Film Camera Project, first announced in December 2022, has shifted to the next stage. It is now developing a Pentax-brand film camera product.
“While digital cameras are the mainstream of photography today, the Pentax Film Camera Project is designed to challenge the development of a new film camera, responding to the growing popularity lately of film photography among younger photographers,” the company stated.
Pentax Film Camera Project
The project was in the research stage, during which time the company tried to overcome a broad range of difficult and complicated issues. These included the procurement of the parts needed for film cameras; rediscovering the skills as well as technologies unique to film camera production; and the status of film manufacturing, stocking and distribution. Another concern was the availability and infrastructure of film development facilities, both in Japan and overseas. After this stage, Ricoh Imaging decided that all requirements were met for the actual development of a new film camera. 
Furthermore, during the research stage, the company also reported it received many valuable pieces of advice and suggestions from film camera enthusiasts around the world. “We will try our best to develop a film camera that will satisfy their expectations,” Ricoh Imaging noted.
What’s more, development is now underway, and the company expects to make an official announcement soon. The new film camera will launch in summer 2024.
Ricoh Imaging also said the new product is a 35mm-format compact film camera. Moreover, the company will design the camera for vertical-position shooting. It will also use a half-size format in which users can capture two images in a single frame of the film. Both these features cater to a younger audience who share their photographs on social media channels where the vertical format is more useful. 
The vertical format also mirrors the smartphone shooting experience. In addition, the vertical format allows Ricoh to double the number of photos captured with a roll of film. Other features will include a hand-wound film-advance mechanism using a winding lever and a rewinding crank. Further, it will have a manually set zone-focus system.
The company also uploaded a new video, “Film Project Story No. 3,” on the Pentax Film Camera Project website.
