Canon and Ricoh Are Not Rushing to Make New Vintage-Inspired Cameras

Photographers have repeatedly asked camera manufacturers to lean into their heritage and produce modern cameras with vintage design and charm. While some companies, like OM System and Nikon, have done so, both Canon and Ricoh Pentax don’t seem interested in following suit if design is the only reason.

Speaking with Canon and Ricoh Pentax separately at the CP+ show in Yokohama, Japan in February, executives from both organizations were clear about their feelings regarding a vintage-inspired camera design.

“We’re aware of the fact that other companies have provided vintage cameras that have become very popular and we know that there is an expectation for us to provide the same,” Manabu Kato, Unit Executive in Canon’s Imaging Business Operations, tells PetaPixel.

“But for us, we wouldn’t be happy with just developing a vintage-looking design. We would need to design everything from scratch for the lens, the accessories. We need to make sure that the entire system is well-balanced. So I think from that perspective, our perception is that this is a consideration, a study that would be very labor intensive for us to look into.”

Kato adds that vintage-inspired cameras don’t have a reputation for the best ergonomics, which is another factor it considers.

“For us, we’re very particular about the operability, like the grip and the handling. And we’re not sure that all of that can be delivered in a vintage design. So hereafter, we will need to look at all of these different aspects before we make the final determination on whether we should do it, to pursue it as a business or not.

So while Kato didn’t outright say “no” to the request for a vintage camera, the company’s notes of possible issues indicates it doesn’t feel as though making a vintage-inspired design would be the best decision for the company at this point.

Pentax Ricoh echoes these sentiments. Speaking to PetaPixel, Kazunobu Saiki — General Manager, Camera Business Division, at Ricoh — says the company wouldn’t make a vintage-looking camera without that choice having a purpose behind it.

“We don’t give special interest to making something based on a historical design, because that is just a model of acting by how something looks. That is not our philosophy,” Saiki says.

“Ricoh and Pentax have long histories, and our users know about our historical products, but the past is the past. We don’t give any priority to make our products nostalgic for that purpose alone. If there is a link to the function or features, of course, that is another story, but we don’t want to attract people because of the style, cosmetics, or decorations.”

Saiki’s note of an exception points to Ricoh Pentax’s design choices found in the Pentax 17 camera, which looks vintage because the form followed the function.

So while many photographers greatly desire a return of designs like the Canon Canonet or the Pentax K1000, both companies have expressed hesitance. That said, when PetaPixel suggested to Canon that a fixed-lens, compact camera would alleviate many of its stated concerns, Kato smiled politely.

“Yes, you’re absolutely right,” he says, although without providing much sense that this was a plan.