(Tokyo) A new Pentax film camera will be launched for the first time in two decades as demand for retro photography grows among young people, its Japanese maker said Tuesday.
“The popularity of film cameras has increased rapidly in recent years, especially among young photographers who have discovered this type of camera,” Ricoh Imaging Company said in a statement.
Photos captured on film have a “distinctive and somewhat nostalgic vibe” that is different from photos taken with a digital camera, Ricoh added.
The Pentax 17 will be launched in the United States and Europe this month, and in Japan next month, said the group, which displays on its website a price excluding tax of around $810, and 107,000 yen for the archipelago.
According to Japanese media, most Japanese camera manufacturers stopped producing film models in the 2000s, as digital models became predominant.
But with the growing trend of sharing “old-school” photos on social media, instant and disposable cameras made by Pentax’s rival Fujifilm have also become popular.
The Pentax 17 is the brand’s “first film camera in about 20 years,” product designer Takeo Suzuki said in a company video.
