Film cameras are back – and Pentax’s new compact camera could soon suck you into the analogue revival


  • Pentax’s new film camera will finally be launched in mid-2024
  • It will be a half-frame compact camera, with both electronic and manual controls
  • The lens will be based on the Ricoh Auto Half and Pentax Espio Mini

The development of Pentax’s new film camera has taken quite a long time, and the project was first announced back in 2022. But if you’re longing for an analog sidekick that isn’t your family’s dusty old SLR, we’ve got good news: Pentax’s new film camera. The unnamed camera will be fully launched in mid-2024.

The news came in an update shared on YouTube (below) by Pentax’s parent company Ricoh. In the video, camera designer Takeo Suzuki says the project has now reached “the next phase of product development” and that the company has “finished putting together a prototype” which he has been using.