Film Well, How 'Bout This: Ricoh/Pentax Film Camera Development?

Iron

Hall of Famer
Location
New Zealand
Name
Tímo
I still have all my film camera gear that I had before converting to digital.

3x OM bodies, plus 5-7 lenses

Pre-war Minox

Rolleiflex 2.8f

Plus tanks, enlargers, trays, etc.

Also plus slide projector, film scanners.
Nice. Rumours say that film stocks, just because the manufacturers are committed to the long run, are going to be cheaper soon. I will just wait and see as they're ridiculously marked-up here.
 

William Lewis

All-Pro
Location
Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Name
William Lewis
Nice. Rumours say that film stocks, just because the manufacturers are committed to the long run, are going to be cheaper soon. I will just wait and see as they're ridiculously marked-up here.
Having gotten back into medium format semi-seriously, I hope you're right. Right now, I would love to shoot more Kodak Gold & Ektar as well as Ilford XP2 Super. The other thing I'd need, though, is for the price of C41 chemicals to come down out of the stratosphere!
 

Iron

Hall of Famer
Location
New Zealand
Name
Tímo
Having gotten back into medium format semi-seriously, I hope you're right. Right now, I would love to shoot more Kodak Gold & Ektar as well as Ilford XP2 Super. The other thing I'd need, though, is for the price of C41 chemicals to come down out of the stratosphere!
Yup. I hope so too. At least, some photo-sensitive paper got discounted recently. I missed out on those, but hey, that's a good sign right? Cup half full?
 

JensM

All-Pro
With the exception of my Yashica T3 and 5, which I have sold, I have the rest of my film gear (and most of the extended familys, for that matter), as well as a complete darkroom sans black bag.

As far as I know, whatever maintenance is needed on the lot, is new light seals on the OM1s, which I have bought but not replaced. I have normally tended to run the mechanisms on them one or two times a year, so that they shouldn't stiffen up in storage.

That said, I don't see myself taking up analog shooting again with any regularity. I shot one roll through each of the Yashicas before off-loading them, and found the experience to be both tedious, expensive and with mediocre results. It was not without reason I pensioned off the Canon EOS 620 in 2005, and went fully digital from there. The only exception I see to that, would be dabbing with analog medium format, but with the prices on those these days, the fujifilms GSX50s are getting within reach, and I think that is a more interesting option than paying a premium on some rather old and finicky gear.

With that analog nay-saying off my chest, I`ll admit to having looked into both the Pentax Spotmatics and the Pentax 110s as well as the Leica III on several occasions, over the last couple of years. God knows why. :drinks:

Edited to add: When Will Micro 4/3 Equal Medium-Format Film? :hiding:
 
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Brian

Product of the Fifties
20+ years ago I bought a pair of new Nikon F3HP's, in case my F3AF died. It was 20 years old at the time. It still works. I took one of the new F3HP's out of the box, used it. Left the other one in the box. Sold that one- paid for a new Nikon Z5. Just back from the camera store, Same place that I bought the Df from 9 years ago. Same sales team working there.

I Favor the Nikon Rangefinder cameras over the F3HP. Once I retire, and have time for the Darkroom- will be shooting B&W.
 

Iron

Hall of Famer
Location
New Zealand
Name
Tímo
These videos were posted by @gordo on another thread. I'd like to share them here, too. Can a merge be done, by the way?

So many manufacturers are in on the project. It's got overwhelming support.

The first to be released is a compact fixed-lens with a manual winder. I will get that. I am not sure if I will skip the advanced SLR as the SFX that I have here still works. If the DC and PLM lenses will work with the advanced SLR, that's a different experience. The full-manual one is a must-have for me.

Regarding the question of @gordo regarding the release, we're not sure. Knowing Pentax they may announce tomorrow and release in 5 months, announce tomorrow and release in 5 or 10 years? Haha. TKO, the one in the video, can be followed and he shares a a lot of info about the project.

Mm, does MFT match medium format film these days?
Inspired by @JensM
Thanks Jens!
It's difficult to answer, but for me, it's apples and oranges. Film is actual light while digital is a simulation. Check out Fuji's film stocks when scanned vs their film simulations.

Regarding MFT or digital, in general, matching film, for me, it depends on the final product of the shooter. If the final product is a soft-copy/digital one and is to be viewed on a laptop, smartphone or a 27" 8K screen, no cropping, there is a chance that good colour science can match medium format film. If the final product is to be pixel-peeped, medium format film will provide a lot of details but the digital equivalent will depend on the scanning sampling of the film. If the prints are 10x15cm, even 20MP 1" sensors can match medium format film with a good simulation. Large format printing depends on the sampling, printer, paper, etc. so the final product varies.

Overall, though, a 12MP MFT has waaaaay too much data and resolution for me already. B&W A2 prints with the GF1, for example, are already too glorious. With that aside, we can all happily go out and enjoy lighting and composition!!! :D
 

gordo

All-Pro
Location
Arizona
Name
Gordon
I'm not sure I'm going to be in the market to get back into film, but I'm certainly glad to see this. IMHO it would be a shame for film to fade away. Who knows, depending upon costs, I might want to support the project and get one, even if I only run a few rolls through each year.
 

dionhouston

Regular
I'm watching this with interest - my Dad gifted me a whole slew of Pentax film-area lenses, and now four Pentax bodies (including 2x LX). I love the fact that you can change your "sensor" as easily as changing your film... Or go to true B&W (vs. colorized).

I would buy a modern film camera - assuming it takes a K-Mount. But film is expensive, so to make up for it... Not sure what features it would have to have. Maybe some kind of augmented reality features for focusing? Hard to say...
 
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