Ricoh Imaging may be considering producing another film camera as a follow up to the Pentax 17.
The camera in question, however, wouldn’t be a new Pentax model but a revived Ricoh one – the cult GR1 35mm compact.
The Ricoh GR1 was originally released in 1996 and was a high-end compact featuring a 28mm f/2.8 autofocus lens. The camera was hugely popular and led to a string of follow up film models before morphing into the GR digital range in 2005.
In an interview on photographer Bobby Tonelli’s YouTube (via Digital Camera World) seemingly recorded last year but published last week, Ricoh Imaging’s product planning department manager Tetsuya Iwasaki acknowledged there was much interest in the prospect of a new film GR model.
“With GR, it is true that many people say they used film GR in the past, or that they want us to make it again,” Iwasaki said in the interview. “For us as well, the film GR is something we value greatly.
“Next year, it will be 30 years since the film GR was created… in that sense, we place great importance on the very first film GR, that is true. As for whether we will make a film GR again, at this point in time I cannot say anything definitively. That is how I feel now.
“However, depending on how much expectation users have, and if there are many voices saying they want to take photos with a film camera, then that is something we cannot help but consider.”
Iwasaki’s careful recognition of the GR’s standing comes at an interesting time for Ricoh Imaging’s Pentax Film Project, which was launched in 2022 to investigate the viability of more film cameras under the Pentax name.
The Pentax Film Project eventually led to the Pentax 17 half-frame 35mm camera designed by Takeo Suzuki (known as TKO) which was released in June 2024. Since then, however, the proposed follow-up models – a 35mm compact and an SLR – have failed to materialise.
TKO left Ricoh Imaging in early 2025 and earlier this month links to the Pentax Film Project were removed from the Ricoh Imaging homepage in Japan (though it does still remain on the website). Ricoh Imaging has said the project is not mothballed, but has said it wants feedback from the film community about whether it should produce more film cameras.
Iwasaki told Tonelli that the Pentax 17 showed them those interested in returning to film “were more numerous than we had expected”.
You can see Tonelli’s full interview below:
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It would be great if Ricoh did resurrect the GR1 35mm compact camera series. I have a Gr1v. Some years ago the lenses of the viewfinder separated as the camera body conducted a lot of heat whilst being used in an extreme climate (Africa). Attempts to get it repaired locally were unsuccessful and after one or two attempts to contact Ricoh to enquire about a repair, their response was “sorry no spare parts are available and the technician expertise no longer exists to carry out a repair.” Perhaps if the camera is reintroduced, perhaps it might be possible to repair legacy 35mm GR1 cameras that are in need of repair? I can but live in hope!