(FT4) Panasonic LC2 with H.264 movie recording and tiltable-LCD?

In the past days I found some rumors talking about a possible Panasonic LC2 announcement. I didn’t post anything because until today I didn’t believe them! BUT I just found a very new patent which shows a LC1 similar camera with tilting-display (which the Panasonic DMC-LC1 has not) and Video recording!

The filing date is 10/19/2009. That is the first proove that this patent is not referred to the older Panasonic DMC-LC1.
Small update: This application is a continuation of International Patent Application No. PCT/JP2008/002299 filed on Aug. 25, 2008. The entire disclosure of International Patent Application No. PCT/JP2008/002299 is hereby incorporated herein by reference.This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2007-222395.

Also the back design of the camera is very different:

The back shows”a release button 30, a mode switching dial 26, a cross key 27, a menu setting button 28, a set button 29, a viewfinder switching button 34, and a moving picture photography button 35. ”

Thea most interesting part of the very long text are:
“…The display unit 20 is a variable-angle monitor with which the angle can be freely changed with respect to the case 3a of the camera body 3, and the angle can be tilted upward by means of a hinge mechanism”
“…further comprising a display unit configured to display a real-time image acquired by the imaging unit in the moving picture photography mode”
“…two different methods can be used for focal point detection, namely, a phase difference detection method in which the above-mentioned focal point detection unit 5 is used, or a contrast detection method based on the image signal outputted from the imaging sensor”
“…The compression method can be, for example, JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) in the case of a still picture. In the case of a moving picture, MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) is used. Also, an H.264/AVC format in which a plurality of frames of image signals are compressed together can be used.”

Sounds like Panasonic is really working on a the DMC-LC2! Let’s see if they will transform the drawings in a real camera :)

The “Old” Panasonic LC1 isn’t in Stock in most shops. But you can still find very few on Ebay US / Ebay UK / Ebay DE