Rumors Panasonic announcement on October 17th

[Jonathan-Mac]

A surprise announcement on the 17th - I've no idea what it could be but hopefully something good for the L-mount rather than something micro-four-thirds.

An S9+ with viewfinder and shutter?

Some compact primes at last?

 

[dirk]

Maybe it has something to do with the upcoming Leica M EV1.



But in my view this would rather mean that Panasonic will not introduce an S9 with EVF, because it is too much competition for Leica and Leica is the L-Mount owner.

 

[Jonathan-Mac]

I don't see why Panasonic would have an event for a Leica release despite working very closely together.

 

[xaviergut]

I'm afraid the socioeconomic profile of a Leica buyer is different from that of a Lumix buyer, in the sense that Leica stands out for the high-quality construction of its gear and the status symbol associated with its cameras. I'm afraid a new Leica M with an EVF could be priced three or four times higher than a Lumix S9 with an EVF...

 

[dirk]

I don't see why Panasonic would have an event for a Leica release despite working very closely together.

This is not what I meant.

I linked that video to show what Leica will announce in October and because of that I do not think that Panasonic will announce a product which could be similar to that Leica EV1.

Although it is a different mount, it would eat from Leica's target group and Leica will not allow this - if Panasonic still wants to use an LMount licence in the future.

This is the same political game like with the Leica Q.

 

[dirk]

I'm afraid the socioeconomic profile of a Leica buyer is different from that of a Lumix buyer, in the sense that Leica stands out for the high-quality construction of its gear and the status symbol associated with its cameras. I'm afraid a new Leica M with an EVF could be priced three or four times higher than a Lumix S9 with an EVF...

Exactly. And this is the threat for Leica. Most people would buy the Lumix version. Even die-hard Leica fans.

Look at the new Leica Digilux. Why is there no Lumix counterpart anymore?

Why no Lumix Q?

Why there is no 60MP Lumix body for photographers?

IMHO there was a strategic change with the L2 alliance between Leica and Panasonic. Specific products are not allowed anymore for Panasonic.

 

[Nevyn72]

I expect the long awaited and promised firmware update for the S5ii(X) and GH7.

Lumix Flow support and some other upgrades, like improved autofocus.

Might be the last real update for the S5ii(X)- I hope not though.

 

[Babylonia]

Why there is no 60MP Lumix body for photographers?

From a purely technical perspective, relative to the photographic optical quality of lenses
in a "sub" segment that Panasonic and Sigma focus on, this makes very little sense.

With this pixel count and the smaller pixel dimensions, diffraction begins to take its toll even sooner, at "larger" aperture values.
Before a lens "with lower brightness" even reaches its maximum optical quality.

At 60 megapixels, the highest achievable sharpness by diffraction already decreases from apertures F5.6 - F6.3 and smaller aperture openings.
Typical focal lengths of "super zooms" no longer benefit from this high pixel count.
Remember that a lens always needs to be stopped down one or two stops to achieve the highest achievable optical quality.
So also lenses using F 5.6 - do have less benefit as by this high pixelcount.

For example, lenses such as:
Lumix S 18-40mm f4.5-6.3 Macro OIS
Sigma 20-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DG Contemporary
Lumix S 28-200mm f4-7.1 Macro OIS
Sigma 60-600mm f4.5-6.3 DG DN OS Sports
Sigma 100-400mm f5-6.3 DG DN OS Contemporary
Leica Vario-Elmar-SL 100-400 f/5-6.3
Lumix S 100-500mm f5-7.1 OIS
Sigma 150-600mm f5-6.3 DG DN OS Sports

Don't benefit of it.

Not to mention the significantly increased noise levels at not too high ISO values.

Personally I think sensor size / pixel size / Megapixel count in relation to diffraction.
And optical quality of lenses. The balance is reached by about 44-47 Megapixel count. As for the 24x36 mm sensor size.
That's why brands like Nikon, Canon, Panasonic... the maximum MP count for their sensors already use even for a longer time.

If you want higher Megapixel count, better start investing in bigger "medium" sized sensors, like Fuji, Hasselblad.
Phase One digital backs.

So I wonder what Panasonic shall be launching ?

 

[dirk]

Same arguments are valid for all brands. Nevertheless Sony offers the A7RV and A7cR2 and people jump on it.

I would not like to have 60MP. But others do.

...
So I wonder what Panasonic shall be launching ?

My guess is a software update or a minor product launch, i.e. a lens.

 

[pdk42]

Why not the S1Hii ?

 

[dirk]

If it would be something as big as a S1Hii, why they turned the announcement screen video to "private"?

There could be another reason: Maybe the date is in conflict wizh another big announcement? Maybe the Leica EV1?

If that would be the case, you would postpone the announcement for a few days to get the maximum attention of the audience later on.

 

[Quentinquirelino]

Exactly. And this is the threat for Leica. Most people would buy the Lumix version. Even die-hard Leica fans.

I don't think so. The red dot is very appealing for many. Also the Leica comes with M mount what makes it a totally different concept of a camera.

Look at the new Leica Digilux. Why is there no Lumix counterpart anymore?

While compact cameras are getting a little more popular again, they are far from the sales volumes of early days. Leica has a better margin and the drop in sales are less affected on luxury compacts. The market is just much less attractive for Panasonic compared to Leica.

Why no Lumix Q?

The market for this kind of camera was never big. That's why the only compactor is the Sony RX1 series, and even Sony took a long time for the third version after discontinuing the second.The big players, Nikon or Canon, never entered the market.

Why there is no 60MP Lumix body for photographers?

The sensor is way to slow for video and Panasonic only does hybrid. The 44 Mpix Sensor is a much better choice.
Welcome to Gboard clipboard, any text you copy will be saved here.

IMHO there was a strategic change with the L2 alliance between Leica and Panasonic. Specific products are not allowed anymore for Panasonic.

Maybe. But maybe the market situation was harder than expected and Panasonic had to concentrate on it's strength.

 

[dirk]

Check the Leica Forum how many users have a Lumix camera. You will be surprised.

Look at the sales numbers of the Fuji X100 and Ricoh GR. There is a huge market out there. Digilux and Q with Lumix brand name would be a hit. Of course with better prices.

My guess is that Leica does not want to risk that. There is no other logical explanation for this.