A new film camera from Pentax will be launched for the first time in two decades as demand for retro photography increases among young people, the Japanese manufacturer said on Tuesday.
“The popularity of film cameras has grown rapidly in recent years, especially among young photographers who are experiencing this type of camera for the first time,” Ricoh Imaging Company said in a press release.
Film clips have a “distinctive, somewhat nostalgic feel” that is different from digital camera photos, the report said.
According to Ricoh, the Pentax 17 will launch this month in the US and Europe, and next month in Japan.
According to local media, most Japanese camera makers stopped producing analog film models in the 2000s when digital models became dominant.
But as the trend for sharing old-world photos on social media grows, instant and disposable film cameras made by Pentax’s rival Fujifilm have also become popular.
The Pentax 17 is the brand’s “first film camera in about two decades,” product designer Takeo Suzuki said in a company video.
The camera has a classic black design, with an original modern feature: each frame is split into two vertical photos.
This means that a 24-exposure film contains 48 exposures and vertical photos can be taken without turning the camera over.
