A new Pentax film photography Instagram account has been launched by Ricoh Imaging, adding to speculation the new Pentax film compact camera may be unveiled soon.
The new account was launched on Monday (26 February) and links to a page where people can register their interest in the proposed new Pentax film camera.
The account’s first post reads: “We are pleased to announce @pentax.film.photography as the official Instagram account for the Pentax Film Camera Project.
“The team in Japan are working hard to make the dream a reality. Please make sure to follow the account and register your support by signing up for the latest updates.”
The Instagram account’s profile page links through to a sign-up page for a newsletter which promises that subscribers will be “the first to know” about updates.
The new Instagram channel is the latest development since Ricoh Imaging – which owns the Pentax brand – announced that work was beginning on possible new film camera models in December 2022.
Back then, Ricoh Imaging said: “Ricoh Imaging/Pentax will begin research into developing new Pentax-brand film camera products. We will bring together both veteran and younger engineers to take advantage of the film camera expertise and technologies created and retained by Ricoh Imaging/Pentax while also incorporating the latest technologies and concepts.”
Ricoh Imaging outlined its plans after a sur vey of some 3,000 Japanese photographers found more than 20% of them regularly shot with film cameras.
While Ricoh Imaging was initially coy about confirming any particular camera, as 2023 progressed there were more and more clues that the company would be releasing a compact film camera.
In March 2023, it was announced that the intention was to build a manual-winding compact film camera, according to an interview with Pentax product designer Takeo Suzuki by the Japanese magazine Barfout!
Read more: Could the new Pentax film compact camera be a half-frame?
In a video interview in May, designer TKO said: “Our goal is to develop a camera that younger photographers will enjoy – our development effort is focused on this goal. We want to make a camera that makes taking photos a joy and that’s a pleasure to carry around every day.”
Ricoh Imaging denied an initial report from a French representative that two film compacts would be appearing early in 2024 which surfaced late last year, but by the end of the year the project was advanced enough for a prototype to be featured in an interview with the magazine Barfout! and a Japanese influencer – though no pictures of the actual camera have yet been leaked online.
I'm a New Zealander who has been living in London since the mid-1990s, shooting film seriously since the year 2000. Kosmo Foto was launched in 2012 and has since become a film brand, with the release of my first films Kosmo Foto Mono 35mm (2017) and Kosmo Foto Mono 120 (2019).
I’m doing everything I can to promote film photography in the 21st Century, and help it survive and thrive. If you want to write something for Kosmo Foto, please drop me a line at foto.dowling@gmail.com.
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