Pentax announces that they're working on new film cameras!

[Cholentpot]

I like that their spokesman is a hipster.

What's hipster in Japanese?

 

[Ballinderry-Michael]

There are now three threads.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I like that their spokesman is a hipster.

The spokesman has big hips? I did not know that.

 

[MattKing]

Three threads combined.

 

[Cholentpot]

Three threads combined.

It's a magic number...

 

[Sharktooth]

That has been tried several times in the past by several companies. And all have totally failed with only one single exception - Leica.
But the Leica digital module was'nt an success either, because of too much restrictions and a huge price point.

As you can meanwhile buy a used DSLR for extremely low prices, such a product would not make any sense, as you can get much better digital performance at much lower price by using a used DSLR compared to your 'Hybrid' solution.

And therefore Pentax will not go that way. Fortunately!!!

All those failed attempts happened many years ago when digital was just emerging. After a certain point, it seemed likely that film would disappear entirely, so there was no point in pursuing it further. It's now more than 20 years since the last serious attempts, and digital technology is far more advanced. We now can handle 20 mega pixels or more in a cell phone, so we should have the capability to make the electronics small enough to fit in a package the size of a film canister.

Clearly, cell phones have already won the imaging battle for the masses, and digital camera makers seem to be struggling to remain relevant. The niche stuff is all that's left, so that doesn't really bode well for the huge companies that remain. Pentax, being smaller, may have a slight advantage here, since they can be more flexible.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Three threads combined.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I hope to see more companies come back to introducing new cameras. If they do, it probably will only be 35mm cameras. I do not see that happening for MF cameras, but someone may bring out a new 4"x5" camera.

 

[Sal Santamaura]

Hopefully a new Pentax 67 III (version 3) is on their list of possibilities...

That would be the best possibility. Actually, not even a version 2 is needed, just bring back the 67 (the one with mirror lockup) and a 100% coverage prism finder with better eye relief. Nirvana.

 

[Ernst-Jan]

I hope to see more companies come back to introducing new cameras. If they do, it probably will only be 35mm cameras. I do not see that happening for MF cameras, but someone may bring out a new 4"x5" camera.

There are multiple companies making new 4x5 camera's. Only problem are shutters.

 

[Helge]

If we’re talking medium format only 645 would make sense. The reasons for the 67 format are gone. 66 will often get cropped.
645 is 16 exposures and a smaller lighter camera with faster lenses.
You could even do a camera with a shift lens and shift mask, and pull 32 45x28mm exposures from a roll of 120.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

What's hipster in Japanese?

ヒップスター (hippustaa)

 

[flavio81]

If we’re talking medium format only 645 would make sense. The reasons for the 67 format are gone. 66 will often get cropped.
645 is 16 exposures and a smaller lighter camera with faster lenses.
You could even do a camera with a shift lens and shift mask, and pull 32 45x28mm exposures from a roll of 120.

According to whom? According to Purple Tentacle?

Among camera collectors, the popularity of the Pentax 6x7 is on the rise. Pentax produced the 6x7 camera from 1969 to 1975, then improved it on 1976, kept producing it until ca. 1989, then revamped it as the Pentax 67, then in 1998 they released the entirely Pentax 67II that was produced into the DSLR era.

If there are reasons for using film then there are reasons for using 6x7: dramatically increased clarity and crispness, reduced grain, and, above all, lots of control over depth of field (narrow bokeh keeping excellent optical properties), reduced problems with dust and scratches, easier scanning, etc.

 

[flavio81]

That would be the best possibility. Actually, not even a version 2 is needed, just bring back the 67 (the one with mirror lockup) and a 100% coverage prism finder with better eye relief. Nirvana.

As a P67 user... i'd also wish for 100% coverage, and a better mirror dampening system. More leaf-shutter lenses too. Try to make a 105/2.0 so we can drool.

I want it to cost $99. Thanks Ricoh for listening.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

...or just ヒップ (hippu)

 

[flavio81]

What's hipster in Japanese?

I don't know, but I do know that to indicate "damaged with many problems" in japanese, you just need to write "EXC+3"

 

[lxdude]

I don't know, but I do know that to indicate "damaged with many problems" in japanese, you just need to write "EXC+3"

 

[Helge]

According to whom? According to Purple Tentacle?

Among camera collectors, the popularity of the Pentax 6x7 is on the rise. Pentax produced the 6x7 camera from 1969 to 1975, then improved it on 1976, kept producing it until ca. 1989, then revamped it as the Pentax 67, then in 1998 they released the entirely Pentax 67II that was produced into the DSLR era.

If there are reasons for using film then there are reasons for using 6x7: dramatically increased clarity and crispness, reduced grain, and, above all, lots of control over depth of field (narrow bokeh keeping excellent optical properties), reduced problems with dust and scratches, easier scanning, etc.

Why not 69 then?
The 645 format is a sweet spot.
Significantly higher resolution and less grain than 135 put manageable still.
67 cameras are much bigger and the lenses comparatively slower.
Of course they are not “bad” or superfluous, but they do come with a set of compromises. I don’t think the majority of new and old film users is going to be willing to deal with.
If you need really high resolution and no grain whatsoever, then shoot 69 or 4x5 and use a tripod.

 

[lxdude]

Those cars that were also boats never really took off.

To take off, they would have had to be planes, too.

 

[lxdude]

It’s marketings job to look at markets.

Input very quickly turns into demands.

I worked for a company that viewed itself as, quote, "marketing driven". It was an utter shit-show.

 

[Film-Niko]

Ricoh/Pentax has announced that they’re working on designing new film cameras. This video has the details:

In summary, they recognize the demand for film cameras, and that there are only a very few new film cameras available. Meanwhile older cameras have service and spare parts constraints.

They have started making a concerted effort to have older and retired engineers with film camera knowledge teach younger engineers so the knowledge isn’t lost.

They will start with a compact 35mm camera, then a premium compact, then an SLR, with their ultimate goal being to eventually produce a fully mechanical SLR.

I think this news was inevitable, but also I’m very excited about it. I don’t use Pentax gear (except for the Auto 110), but I will 100% buy what they come out with just to support the good people doing the work to make this happen.

Wow, that is really good news !
Go Pentax, go!

Not these numerous scams and total rip-offs by dishonest tiny film or used camera shops, who just want to exploit new, uneducated film shooters with their repackaged film scams.
If Pentax is considering going back to film camera production, that is really very positive and significant for the whole film community. And if they are successful, others will follow.
Well, Leica has been very successfully produced film cameras for years, and has introduced two new film cameras (M-A and M6new).
And I think that has been an encouraging signal to Pentax, too.

 

[Cholentpot]

I don't know, but I do know that to indicate "damaged with many problems" in japanese, you just need to write "EXC+3"

This tickles!

Wow, that is really good news !
Go Pentax, go!

Not these numerous scams and total rip-offs by dishonest tiny film or used camera shops, who just want to exploit new, uneducated film shooters with their repackaged film scams.
If Pentax is considering going back to film camera production, that is really very positive and significant for the whole film community. And if they are successful, others will follow.
Well, Leica has been very successfully produced film cameras for years, and has introduced two new film cameras (M-A and M6new).
And I think that has been an encouraging signal to Pentax, too.

Richo/Pentax has shown they're willing to go out on a limb in the past. I hope they make something like a Mju mk1. Simple with a fast high quality lens.

 

[Film-Niko]

This tickles!



Richo/Pentax has shown they're willing to go out on a limb in the past. I hope they make something like a Mju mk1. Simple with a fast high quality lens.

Pentax has made some really outstanding products in the last years, for example the K-1 and K-1 II, the K3-III, and their amazing recent DFA lenses like the 1.4/50 and 1.4/85. They have improved their product quality a lot in the last years, and are even surpassing the competition on several levels.
I have not been a big Pentax fan in the past, but in recent years, I like them much more from year to year........
They are "reinventing themselves" in a very good way!

 

[WhereSs]

I really think that the Pentax DA 21mm limited lens looks fantastic, and I'd love to see them have an incoherent enough product direction that they engineer a new film camera that can use it properly.

 

[Huss]

"all they have to do is".....

Nope. It's really not that simple, as others have explained. Old knowledge dies quickly. Just look how fast the change from cine cameras to camcorders killed the super 8 camera market and within a decade it was practically impossible to make a new super 8 camera. Look how Logmar/Kodak have spent years trying. Canon were the last mainstream manufacturer and were approached in the late 90s and they explained that even then they had no blueprints, no parts, no tooling, nobody in the company left who had designed super 8 cameras.

Look at cassette decks. All the major players from a market that was ubiquitous from the 1960s into the early 2000s have been asked and NONE can manufacture a hi-fi cassette deck. Not a single one. The knowledge has all gone. The tooling has all gone. There are no blueprints. There is not the ability to reverse engineer a 90s cassette deck because nobody in the world makes certain parts.

Pentax are probably the best placed to do this because they kept their blueprints. They've reached out to retired engineers and clearly have a culture where the younger engineers respect their elders allowing them to work together. It will take a few years, no doubt. And in that time I full expect people to demand news and ask monthly where the "promised" new Pentax is. The fact is that in the video, the chap says they may not succeed. But they're seriously trying, and that is to be supported.

This does, for sure, add to the evidence that there's some sort of film revival going on.

But it's just a fad. Nothing to see. Going to fade out any time now. Any time. Just you watch. Going to fade out. Mark my words.

This is why it has been so hard to go back to the moon. The first lunar mission was over 50 years ago. And you think with the advancements in technology, if they could do what they did back then, then it should be pretty easy now.

Of course, all they really need to do is build that lunar landing set in that studio in Burbank, and re-shoot the thing...

;P