Pentax has released several short teasers about a brand new film camera over the past few weeks, and has now shared a teaser video (embedded below), revealing part of the camera's design for the first time, including a film advance lever, shutter release and a wheel that is presumably used for shutter speed.
The increased number of teasers indicates that the launch of the camera is getting closer after the project was originally announced at the end of 2022. The number 17, which appears in one of the teasers, could be a reference to the name of the camera. All that is known so far is that it is a half-format camera that uses standard 35 mm film rolls, but records the photos on an area of 18 x 24 mm instead of the usual 36 x 24 mm for 35 mm cameras.
Although the smaller film surface potentially compromises the image quality, 72 instead of 36 photos can be taken from a standard roll of film, which effectively halves the cost. According to Pentax, this camera is not intended for old hands at photography, but at the younger generation, who are to be reintroduced to the joys of manual, analog photography with all its peculiarities.
For this reason, the teasers also focus on noises such as the mechanical shutter release or the film advance, which are simply not present in digital cameras and smartphones in particular. According to rumors, the camera has a fixed lens instead of a bayonet for interchangeable lenses. Concrete details on price and availability are still pending.