When my daughter went to college, the first thing she asked for was a film camera. After I searched B&H Photo and Amazon, I realized that you can either get a $6,000 Leica M film rangefinder camera or a crappy compact film camera that will probably break shortly after the purchase.
Most of my daughter’s friends are buying old/used film cameras from eBay. There is nothing wrong with that, but the problem with service and parts will come sooner or later. This is where Ricoh/Pentax comes to the rescue: they already announced that they will release several new film cameras: from a beginner to a pro-level and they will be all covered by a warranty + service for years to come.
Ricoh to release two new “affordable” Pentax compact film cameras in Spring 2024
I just hope that one of the new models will be based on the old Ricoh GR film cameras.
Sneak peek of the new Pentax film camera currently under development
If there is a nice, reliable, and affordable compact film camera available today that I may have missed, please let me know in the comments section.
Five Pentax compact 35mm film cameras Ricoh should bring back
I also think that Nikon and Canon should bring back their classic film cameras.
Amazon is selling refurbished Pentax K1000 SLR film cameras with Pentax 50mm lens for $300
