Is Panasonic rethinking high-end full frame mirrorless line-up?

[ND64]

Some of these rumors are written by a child I assume

[KnightsFan]

3 hours ago, ND64 said:

Some of these rumors are written by a child I assume

...aren't all camera rumors written by children?

[Al Dolega]

22 hours ago, MrSMW said:

Has to be pixel-pixel which on a large sensor is not far off APSC crop.

The rumor lists all of those modes as FF, though, not a crop.

[MrSMW]

1 hour ago, Al Dolega said:

The rumor lists all of those modes as FF, though, not a crop.

Ah well no idea then! Possibly one of those ‘lost in translation’ games things…

[ND64]

4 hours ago, KnightsFan said:

aren't all camera rumors written by children?

Not always. If the one who leaks the specs is a photographer who has access to pre-production unit, would exaggerate about the experience, like "AF is two generation ahead of the competition". You know its probably not true, but you know why he would make that statement. That's different from a bullshitter that think sensor resolution determines the price, or a single model changes overall market share in a meaningful way, and does it instantly! 

[Emanuel]

3 hours ago, ND64 said:

Not always.

Both? ; )

[eatstoomuchjam]

5 hours ago, ND64 said:

If the one who leaks the specs is a photographer who has access to pre-production unit, would exaggerate about the experience, like "AF is two generation ahead of the competition". You know its probably not true, but you know why he would make that statement. That's different from a bullshitter that think sensor resolution determines the price, or a single model changes overall market share in a meaningful way, and does it instantly! 

I'm still very much of the opinion that at least some of the leaks come from the marketing departments at the camera companies.  What better way to build hype for an upcoming release than to trickle out information?  And what better way to gauge the reaction to upcoming new features than to watch the responses to those rumors?  People are excited about something?  Focus on it a lot more in your release announcement.

[MrSMW]

Lumix needs to work harder on their trickling then!

(Unless there is nothing worth trickling…)

[Davide DB]

If the latest rumors are correct, Panasonic is in more trouble than I thought
An old S5 with improved evf? Unless they give it away inside Easter eggs, I don't understand who would buy it, and anyway marketing image-wise it does more damage than anything else. IMHO.
 

[MrSMW]

1 hour ago, Davide DB said:

marketing image-wise it does more damage than anything else. IMHO

That would be my concern.

Or rather, is my concern as in it sends a sign that at least at this time, they no longer wish to compete in the mid/upper end of the market and people like me then think, well I can’t invest any further and may just jump ship sooner rather than later whilst I can still get something out of it financially.

So if there is not one single juicy thing announced, then yes, I’d have concerns over this and much as I find Sony somewhat boring, I don’t think there is any chance of them stopping.

[MrSMW]

Having said that, even if they do not announce and never make another camera for me, I’ll most likely stick with L Mount for at least another 2+ years because it just makes more sense than any other option and is already ‘peak camera’ for my needs.

And I am already with Sony for stills.

[BTM_Pix]

On 10/6/2024 at 12:44 AM, ND64 said:

Some of these rumors are written by a child I assume

Or their father who has abandoned them inside the log cabin to keep the log fire stoke while he does an urgent emergency live rumour broadcast from the verandah.

With only one day to go before this announcement, if this announcement is something as major as the v2 of the S1 cameras then I would have expected to see tweets from the usual suspects humble bragging about the strains of having to go overseas as they are wolfing down Takoyaki in Osaka with the rest of the bros.

But there haven't been so maybe it isn't significant enough to take them all to Osaka.

It doesn't rule out them having been sent them or there being localised events but my reading of this is that this is (white) smoke without a lot of fire.

[MrSMW]

We need 360 Live installing on the Lumix Bros phones and then we’d know for sure.

Land of the rising sun, then S2R and/or S2H.

A branch of WEX somewhere Southern UK, some derisory piece of crap no one was asking for.

[Davide DB]

4 hours ago, BTM_Pix said:

It doesn't rule out them having been sent them or there being localised events but my reading of this is that this is (white) smoke without a lot of fire.

By now I think it is 100 percent certain that there is not so much fire under the smoke.
The S5 was never declared EOL so according to their insanity, I would choose the S5 or S5II depending on my needs.
This is after years (rightly or wrongly) Panasonic has been slaughtered for not having PDAF. Now they change EVF to the corpse and it magically turns into a newborn baby. The only impression I get from this (Panasonic user from GF1) is that they are emptying the warehouses and goodbye. Then again, it may not be true for sure, but on a marketing level it's a real suicide.
You want to introduce this crap? Fine! Do it when you also have something substantial.

[Andrew Reid]

There is a rumoured Panasonic... i mean Leica SL3-S coming soon, and another sign things are not well. Panasonic have given Leica an S1R Mark II and an S1 Mark II, and it would be trivial to put the same thing in a Panasonic body with a Lumix badge...

But they haven't.

It's all very suspicious in my view.

[Thpriest]

I hope that they do announce that the S1H2 will be appearing in 2025 as well a strong hint about the specs, even if tomorrow is really to announce lesser stuff.

The Panasonic line up has been the best bang for buck video kit for a number of years. It's versatile, reliable and enjoyable to use. It'd be a real shame if they don't follow up on the success of the S5mk2/X.

[Phil A]

39 minutes ago, Thpriest said:

I hope that they do announce that the S1H2 will be appearing in 2025 as well a strong hint about the specs, even if tomorrow is really to announce lesser stuff.

The Panasonic line up has been the best bang for buck video kit for a number of years. It's versatile, reliable and enjoyable to use. It'd be a real shame if they don't follow up on the success of the S5mk2/X.

Where I live, the S5 II came out for 2450 EUR equivalent at today's exchange rate... and since a month, with the current discount, it sells new for 1299 EUR.

To be honest, as a former Product Manager, you don't give nearly 50% discount because your product is doing amazing. So hard to say how much of a success it was.

I still believe the weakness is the lens eco system of L mount for a lot of people.

[Davide DB]

2 hours ago, Phil A said:

To be honest, as a former Product Manager, you don't give nearly 50% discount because your product is doing amazing. So hard to say how much of a success it was.

 

These are the hard numbers. 260K cameras of all types. The next in the list went out of business years ago... long life to blenders, electric toothbrushes and vacuum cleaners!

Number of cameras sold worldwide in 2023:

1. Canon … 3.34 million units (46.5%)
2. Sony … 2 million units (27.9%)
3. Nikon … 810,000 units (11.3%)
4. Fujifilm … 430,000 units (6.0%)
5. Panasonic … 260,000 units (3.6%)
6. OM Digital … 180,000 units (2.5%)
7. Ricoh Imaging … 60,000 units (0.8%)

 

[ND64]

14 minutes ago, Davide DB said:

Panasonic … 260,000 units

And that includes a lot of sub $800 m4/3 cameras.

[Davide DB]

5 minutes ago, ND64 said:

And that includes a lot of sub $800 m4/3 cameras.

I asked to a Japanese friend of mine to read the original Nikkei report to find for some detail. No luck, they refer generically to "camera". IDK if compact cameras or what remained are included.