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05-14-2018, 05:29 AM   #1
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Petition Pentax

What do you think should we start a petition to Pentax to bring back at least two film cameras?

One completely manual for the control freaks and the other a completely electronic for the tech savvy types.

What your thoughts on this idea?

I say yes let's do this. Tell them film is not dead. Let's tell them film is reborn. Let's start a revolution. Let flim be heard.

05-14-2018, 05:55 AM - 1 Like   #2
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Pentax can't compete against it's own legacy. Just start a kickstarter or buy a K1000 of ebay.
05-14-2018, 06:11 AM - 2 Likes   #3
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QuoteOriginally posted by hippie_2000 Quote
What do you think should we start a petition to Pentax to bring back at least two film cameras?

One completely manual for the control freaks and the other a completely electronic for the tech savvy types.

What your thoughts on this idea?

I say yes let's do this. Tell them film is not dead. Let's tell them film is reborn. Let's start a revolution. Let flim be heard.
No thanks. I lived through the film era and appreciate the freedom from nights spent in the dark and with smelly chemicals. If you want to do film, I am sure there are plenty of bodies available to do so. I still have two myself. And most importantly, I don't want Ricoh's efforts to be diluted by going after an even smaller niche.
05-14-2018, 06:18 AM - 2 Likes   #4
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Their limited resources are better devoted to new lenses and bringing to market bodies that will keep the tech spec monsters happy.

Buy an LX

05-14-2018, 06:20 AM - 1 Like   #5
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Considering:

A) Ricoh/Pentax has limited resources as it is, which greatly restricts what they can produce.
&
B) Legacy Pentax film bodies are readily and cheaply available.

I say 'no'. What exactly would you hope to gain from a modern all mechanical film body that a K1000 can't deliver?
05-14-2018, 06:25 AM   #6
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If you want a new 35mm SLR, you have one real option: a Nikon F6. And you'll pay ~$2500 for the privilege.



It would be difficult to bring back one film SLR, let alone two.



And most likely, it would involve Cosina building the body, based on one of their old designs.
05-14-2018, 06:33 AM - 1 Like   #7
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With so many good Pentax bodies going for almost free compared to what they were worth when released, why do we need a new production? Even with a CLA they are still very very affordable.

05-14-2018, 07:55 AM - 1 Like   #8
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Even if it wished to do so Pentax probably no longer has the manufacturing equipment or experienced personnel required.

Even Cosina has stopped making 35mm film cameras, so IMO the chances of Pentax finding
a decent manufacturer to OEM a new film camera with the Pentax name is highly unlikely.

Chris
05-14-2018, 07:55 AM   #9
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What is needed is a scale focus, non metered, manual exposure, 40mm f2.8, big viewfinder camera, shutter speeds B 15 - 250, in chunky polycarbonate for 129 dollars.

Last edited by Ranchu; 05-14-2018 at 08:02 AM.
05-14-2018, 11:32 AM - 2 Likes   #10
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QuoteOriginally posted by hippie_2000 Quote
What do you think should we start a petition to Pentax to bring back at least two film cameras?
What your thoughts on this idea?
Tell them film is not dead.
I love the idea, especially as a photo teacher with 40-60 film students per year needing an SLR/TLR/rangefinder film camera.

But it's a business that needs to turn a profit and plans for growth, and as they say in Shark Tank, "....and because of that, I'm out."

A petition will do nothing. Money talks. And so maybe if Elon Musk or Bill Gates or someone with enough ego or passion and money to burn were to resurrect not just a system, but also the whole infrastructure of buying film, developing, printing and scanning.

Digital changed photography forever, and now it's smart phones. And who would buy new if the flagship was anything less than the already incredible Nikon F6 or Pentax 645NII? Both the Pentax LX and Nikon F3HP are not rare enough, nor are the Pentax K1000 or KM and Nikon FM or FM10.

The best thing to keep film alive is to keep buying it, shooting it, sharing it. Support a camera repairman!!!
05-14-2018, 11:51 AM   #11
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Alex said it all. I'd love to see a new one myself, but not at the $2500 price tag of the Nikon. I've got more than 10 working film cameras at the moment. Each one is seeing it's way to my camera repair man for a CLA before he retires. And there's plenty more where I got those.

Buy more film. Keep the film companies in business and we'll always have some to shoot!
05-14-2018, 12:20 PM - 1 Like   #12
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I applaud the OP for dreaming big - not just one, but "at least two" film bodies! However, I don't think the thing holding back the film revolution is a lack of bodies. If it were, someone (Cosina) would still be making them. There are thousands upon thousands of great 35mm SLRs available right now for next to nothing.

Why does Ricoh Imaging need to be the company to lose money on a vanity project like this? The Pentax that built their last film camera fifteen years ago has been sold, broken up, stripped, sold again, and trimmed down to the bare minimum. This isn't what they do any more. This is a job for someone like Lomography, or Meyer-Optik, or one of those companies that sell Chinese-made gear using a venerable brand name under license.
05-14-2018, 01:23 PM   #13
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I'm sure there remains an inventory of Nikon F6 cameras in the warehouse,
but I doubt this or any other model of 35mm film SLR is still in production.

Chris
05-14-2018, 03:10 PM   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by Ranchu Quote
What is needed is a scale focus, non metered, manual exposure, 40mm f2.8, big viewfinder camera, shutter speeds B 15 - 250, in chunky polycarbonate for 129 dollars.
Wanderlust tried that, though it was a chunky polycarbonate 4*5 and you had to bring your own lens...

I think they filled the first batch of orders and then went under...

I think they had production issues with the ground glass and the focusing helicoid...

Was still a good idea...

-Eric
05-14-2018, 03:26 PM - 1 Like   #15
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QuoteOriginally posted by hippie_2000 Quote
What do you think should we start a petition to Pentax to bring back at least two film cameras?

One completely manual for the control freaks and the other a completely electronic for the tech savvy types.

What your thoughts on this idea?

I say yes let's do this. Tell them film is not dead. Let's tell them film is reborn. Let's start a revolution. Let flim be heard.
I've picked up mint Pentax SFXn bodies for as little as $35. There's no money to be made in the manufacture of a new film SLR. Film is not dead, but it is a very niche product.
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