In a recent interview on the eve of the opening of the Salon de la Photo in Paris, Ricoh Imaging Europe representative Yazid Belmadi confirmed that the company will release two new “budget” compact film cameras in the spring of 2024:
“Last December we announced the launch of film camera development. Of course, the project is still under development. They will be presented in the spring of 2024. As for the type of future film camera, it should be two high-end compact cameras in terms of technical characteristics, but not in terms of price. They will be relatively affordable. The first step will be two compact film cameras, followed, of course, by DSLRs, which are the cornerstone of this type of camera.
Since this project was announced, we have received a lot of feedback from resellers and potential consumers who have told us how excited they are to see these products available. There appears to be quite a bit of interest in film cameras.
Our strategy for several years now has been to work with very, very, very niche products, and that has suited us very well. To do this, the management relies on surveys of Japanese users of the brand, but not only among them
As with the GR series, the film camera project is the result of extensive consultation with a number of players in the photo industry, especially consumers in Japan. And this experience has shown us that when you produce in response to consumer demand, it works quite well.”
