Japanese website MyNavi has interviewed staff at the Kitamura Camera Shop in the trendy Shinjuku district of Tokyo to investigate the rising popularity of film cameras with Generation Z – teens and twenty-somethings born during the late 1990s and early 2000s. And there are some fascinating – not to mention downright hilarious – insights.
It seems that many young buyers of film cameras have absolutely no knowledge of how film actually works, such as the need for processing, the necessity of printing, or the importance of holding onto the negatives.
The website spoke to Yurika Mori, who heads the film sales floor. She revealed that the store is overwhelmingly populated with youngsters: "The reasons why people of Generation Z want to try taking photos with film seem to be that they received a film camera as a gift, or they came across a film camera that's been all the rage lately when they were cleaning out their parents' house, or it's simply because it's trendy, or because the images are a little different from smartphone photos."
"When people come to the store to have their film developed and ask if they can remove the film from the camera, many just pop open the back of the camera right there and then. Some customers don't understand how film develops, and say they don't need it developed, they just 'want the data'."
"Most just want the photos on their smartphone. I tell them I can print them, but almost no one orders them. That's why I don't give them prints as standard, but rather give them scanned film data."
"I always ask my customers what they want to do with their negatives. Most young people throw them away. These young people have no qualms about throwing away negatives, but they are still keen to save money, so cheap plastic half-size cameras are selling well. They also seem to take each shot with a sense of urgency, and many are shocked when they see the finished product is just a little dark. However, these people often end up buying film again, and in a way, many of them are positive people who enjoy failure, thinking, 'I'll try to put in a bit more effort next time,' or, 'I'll try using a flash next time'."
While most new film cameras are inexpensive, simple models, there's a thriving secondhand market for SLRs and compact cameras. Osawa Kimin, the man in charge of the secondhand camera floor, offered the following: "The reason why young people want film cameras is because today's digital cameras, including smartphones, take pictures that are too beautiful. Cameras that don't take beautiful pictures and pictures that aren't beautiful are fresh to Gen Z. For our generation, used cameras are like going back in time, but the younger generation feels like they've encountered something new."
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"For young people, it's natural that they can take beautiful photos, so it's new to see images that have noise, ghosting or flare, are out of focus, or have blurred colors. There's no need for them to take beautiful photos like those taken with a smartphone or digital camera."
"Compact cameras are popular. Among them, Olympus' μ series is overwhelmingly popular. Apparently influencers and YouTubers have introduced them, and μ is the only camera people buy by name. Even when we suggest that there are other cameras available, they don't even look at us, and if we don't have them in stock, most people just say, 'Never mind,' and walk away."
You can read the full story (via Google Translate from the original Japanese) on the MyNavi website. If you fancy making your own foray into film, see our guide to the best film cameras, and best film stocks to put in them.
