Japanese company Ricoh Imaging announced on June 18 that it will launch a new Pentax film camera for the first time in two decades, amid a growing trend of vintage-style photography among young people.
In a press release, the manufacturer of camera lenses, camera lenses... emphasized that the popularity of film cameras has increased rapidly in recent years, especially among young photographers. Film photos bring a "special, somewhat nostalgic atmosphere", different from photos taken with digital cameras.
The Pentax 17 camera is scheduled to launch in the US and Europe this month, followed by a launch in Japan next month.
In a company video, product designer Takeo Suzuki said the Pentax 17 is the brand’s first film camera in about two decades. The camera has a classic black design, with an original modern feature: each frame is split into two vertical images. That means a 24-exposure roll of film holds 48 images, and vertical images can be taken without rotating the camera.
According to local media, most Japanese camera manufacturers stopped producing analog film models in the 2000s as digital cameras took over. However, as the trend of sharing vintage-style photos on social media grew, instant cameras and disposable film made by Pentax’s rival Fujifilm also became popular.