Just what is going on at Lumix?
Nobody except Panasonic knows the real answer to this. We can only speculate.
First, the data of this article is wrong. The S1R and S1 were available earliest March 2019, if not later. People often interprete the press announcement of the LMount alliance with the date of product availability. Therfore it was rather 5 years than 6 years at the time of writing of that article.
Second, we tend to forget often, what kind of macro environment we had for a couple of years. We had a worldwide pandemic, a global shut down and a massive problem in the supply channel. AND nobody wanted to buy photo gear because nobody was allowed to travel. It would be naiv to expect normal product cycles in that environment.
Even Nikon did not do anything for years. Look at Z6, Z6ii (more cosmetic) and now many years later the Z6iii. A Z7iii is still not in sight.
I am sure that neither at Panasonic, nor at Nikon the delays would have been so long without Corona and all its consequences.
I have not read the whole article, but the summary directs into the wrong interpretation IMHO. These articles only cause panic because they do not put the facts into the bigger picture. The whole industry had problems and delays. Of course the ones with the lower market share have to be more cautious with new models. Look at Pentax/Ricoh or at Hasselblad.
So do not get stressed by these kind of articles. There will always be articles like that. Remember how often MFT's death was announced by youtubers.
There are reasona for these delays for sure. The Pandemic is only one of them but not the only one. Could be a contract between Leica and Panasonic, could be problems with AF improvements, you name it...
But for sure it is not the plan to give up the LMount. Panasonic is way too big to switch back and forth with such a commitment within only 6-10 years.
Look at Samsung. For Samsung and its MLU system this was different. They were alone. No alliance. They had to prioritize their R&D efforts. Either MLU photography or Smartphone photography. But they could not do both at the same time and be among the best in both worlds (the Samsung MLU were really good). Therefore Samsung decided to close again its MLU business after only a few years, because the could earn a lot more money with smartphones.
But for the L-Mount alliance this is different. They achieved already in only 6 years to have a similar sometimes even better lens line than the since decades established brands Nikon or Canon.
You do not do all this effort to say goodby afterwards. With the new AF and the S5ii and S9, they now get more and more attention. High end will follow for sure.
The real threat is the alliance in itself. The main problem of the L-Mount alliance is the same as the MFT alliance: It is a nightmare for the marketing.
You have 3 (MFT 2) founders and everyone is on its own ego trip. Look at the official L-Mount.com website. They even donit have all products listed there and there is no support/information contact for ALL alliance members in one person. No costumer will contact 3 or 10 companies to collect all necessary information together. They just go to Nikon. Lost sales.
It is a lot harder to "market" an alliance of 3 different companies with different target groups than if you would be one company only. But it is possible, if there is a will. Since 6 years, there is no will. I learned it the hard way in many presentations and discussions with these companies.
It is 10x easier to do marketing for Nikon, Canon, Sony or Fuji than for the "LMount alliance" or for "MFT". Hundred of thousands of € are wasted because they do not have a united marketing strategy.
New buyers compare i.e. Nikon only vs. Leica or Nikon vs. Panasonic or Nikon vs. Sigma, but never Nikon vs. "L-Mount".
As long as the Alliance does not change its marketing behaviour, this will not improve and they will never ever have the chance to get close to the maket share of others.
This is the same as with Geopolitics. Europe has way more people than i.e. the USA. Europe is a huge economic power. But the world sees Europe only as a collection of meaningless mini-states.
Why? Because the Europeans are not able/willing to speak with one voice. Therefore Europe makes itself a lot weaker than it should be in reality, because of its wrong attitude/ behaviour.
The same happens with L-Mount & MFT.
The Ansel Adams documentaries are good to watch. He would love today's gear but his gear got the most skill out of him. He's no whinger either
