Panasonic Interview at Dpreview.
Panasonic Mangers Michiharu Uematsu and Yoshiyuki Inoue have been interviewed by the DPreview team (Click here). Here are some interesting points:
1) It is not possible to add Focus Peaking and Zebra Pattern on the GH3: “We haven’t been able to offer it – because of the limits of resources and of the Venus Engine processor.”
2) And Panasonic also admits that they are rethinking the whole G product strategy. Something I suspected after the “non-GX2 release” in late 2012: “We are considering the next GX, that’s all I can say. It’s been better received than the GF series in European countries. Our first thought was that the people who would want our cameras were step-up users from compact cameras. Outside of Japan this hasn’t been true and some high-end amateurs have accepted the cameras.”
3) About the future compact camera strategy: “Maybe we should have a premium model, maybe with bigger sensor. However, that takes engineering resources and you have to worry about price and the extra quality it will offer people – if we can sell 100,000 or 200,000, we will make it”
4) And than some very honest words about marketing: “We have to consider how to market image quality. Other people can say “we have a bigger sensor,” but a combination of a not-so-big sensor and a brighter lens can be maybe better, but you have to explain F-number – it’s very difficult.‘”
Yep, we know it…it’s hard to make people understand that sensor size is just one of the many factors that do matter for image quality. I believe that usability and well thought features are now more important than a tiny difference in image quality. But as a filmmaker and photographer I can say that even most of my so called (pro) colleagues do not really understand this. And they keep wondering when tey see me using the Olympus E-P1 with a Nokton 25mm lens!
nobody
4 months ago |Sigh! At least Panasonic understand that you need a faster lens to compensate for a smaller sensor. Unfortunately, not everybody does…
(Ducks and covers)
Tron
4 months ago |This is true. I hope we’ll see production of fast, sharp tele lenses to drive the point home – sooner rather than later.
Mr. Reeee
4 months ago |You mean fast zooms like the 12-35mm and 35-100mm? If you check, I think you’ll find that they’re available now.
Me, I’d like to see Oly release a M4/3 version of the 12-60mm with constant f2.8. That seems like a much more flexible range to me.
Mr. Reeee
4 months ago |You mean fast zooms like the 12-35mm and 35-100mm? If you check, I think you’ll find that they’re available now.
Me, I’d like to see Oly release a M4/3 version of the 12-60mm with constant f2.8. That seems like a much more flexible range to me.
Tron
4 months ago |Tele primes at 250mm+
Anonymous
4 months ago |No focus peaking. Sucks.
Albert
4 months ago |It’s foolish imo to build a camera mainly for video, but doesn’t provide focus peaking feat. The price of GH3 is quite close to 5Dm2, if I’m a videographer, I will definitely keep the 5dm2. The 35mm-sensor size is a big plus too.
true homer
4 months ago |So youll take a bigger sensor over image quality?
Mr. Reeee
4 months ago |A camera with a Canon logo is crucial for some.
Albert
4 months ago |Yes, GH3 can give sharper and better quality ONLY if you manage to nail the focus. It’s very hard to do it when the subject is moving (which is what I intend to use it for). Misfocus video is alot worse than the quality from prev generation sensor.
true homer
4 months ago |Are the canons easier to focus?
Albert
4 months ago |Yes, it offers focus peaking with magic lantern hack.
true homer
4 months ago |So youll take a bigger sensor over image quality?
Michael D&RFilms
4 months ago |I’ve shot with the MKII and the MKIII and there is NO way in hell I’d pick either one over a GH3. No way, no how… they can keep those short clips, DSLRs with video mode tossed on as an afterthought cameras for the stills shooters that want to do some video. The GH3 is head and shoulders superior for shooting video.
Duarte Bruno
4 months ago |What a load of BULLSHIT!!!:
“We haven’t been able to offer it – because of the limits of resources and of the Venus Engine processor”
Who do they think they are fooling?
Any camera engine that does lens correction in FullHD could do Focus Peaking (FP) at the same resolution 10x as fast. FP can be trivially implemented by building a contrast map with a first order filter (like sharpening) and a saturation XOR with the original picture. You don’t even need memory bandwidth for that as this is easily done locally. Check it out, if you don’t believe me: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/post/32667860
My point is: The only reason there is no FP is because Panasonic DOESN’T WANT it to be there. They have an upper market to protect. Even the OMD users have already found an artisan path to FP on a camera that has a much less powerful engine.
It’s either that or these guys are technically clueless, which I find very hard to believe.
Olf
4 months ago |“[...] and some high-end amateurs have accepted the cameras.”
They know it since the GF1…
rufus44
4 months ago |unfortunately, oly has been bootstrapped with a bad rep for not actually fulfilling that promise of faster lenses with FT (14-35 a compromise on wide angle and only the long lenses are equivalent competitive). with mFT, and the OMD, its possible to do that, but i doubt they will. oly to conservative to commit that much resources to fast lens equivalent to having a smaller sensor (as in a pro line of 1 stop faster lenses). remember, the excellent 12mm f2.0 is not a fast lens by mft standards, especially since pro FF has such at f1.4. with wide lenses, oly can’t compete or offer what their marketing implies or states.
whiskybravo (bean5y)
4 months ago |The Oly 12mm is a bargain compared to the fast 135 format 24mm lenses!
So even though it is expensive for m43, it is good value. They have come down n price if you check ebay.. perhaps via slidoo
mhbgk
4 months ago |that’s because a FF F4 does the exact same job how many times do you idiots need to be told that,if aperture is the same all round why not save a bundle of cash and pick up the Panasonic LX7 WOW 24mm at F1.4 and for you tele shooters Panasonic have the FZ200 with a 600mmF2.8 , seriously how dumb can you all be
Nope
4 months ago |Get a life you dipshit. You lame can you be to spend your time trolling?
lk[p'
4 months ago |To be fair while the guy might be being unnecessary rude , he is essentially right , if F2 =
Benny Young
4 months ago |Let me help you out dude lol , I think what you were trying to say is that if F2.8 was comparable across systems them it would be the same case with the cameras he mentioned.
Comparing apertures on a camera with a sensor quarter the size of another is just as daft whether you compare F2.8 on mFT to FF or on a P&S to mFT.
Every time this is pointed out here some folk moan oh no we know what equivalence means, then you get someone wrongly posting F2 is F2 ,so sadly then someone corrects their mistake { for it is a mistake} and we end up in abusive circle of posts.
bart
4 months ago |Benny, f2 is f2 simply because relative aperture is defined as focal length / diameter of the entrance pupil.
Just talking 35mm/full frame/135 format, f2 on a 35mm lens means the same as f2 on a 200mm lens in terms of exposure. That the diameter of the entrance pupil for an f2 35mm lens is much smaller then the one of a f2 200mm lens is true, and an inherent consequence of those f numbers being relative.
DOF is inherently different as well.
But, both lenses are f2.
Equivalence says that a 24mm f4 lens on a 135 format camera will do approx the same as a 12mm f2 lens on a m4/3 camera. That is true, but doesn’t change that f2 is f2, and neither does field of view change the actual focal length.
The to some people annoying thing here is that the words ’35mm equiv’ are a placeholder for ‘field of view’. Technically wrong, but thats the way it is.
Abraham
4 months ago |Calling people idiots isnt very nice. All equivalence drummers love to leave out that when you throw a 24mm f4 lens of a $2000+ FF body you just got the performance of a camera that you can buy for $600.
You have less light, therefore questionable AF in darker environments, a dimmer VF etc etc.. Well good job you for making that expensive, and large camera behave like a cheap small camera.
Equivalence cannot speak to lens pricing. The 43mm f1.2 lens from Panasonic will have similar challanges to the 50mm f1.2 from Canon. They both have very similar focal length, and identical apertures for the focal length. So a 12mm lens that has an aperture of F2 is a challenging lens to make. Banging on about how if you have a 135 sensor is is really an F4 lens show you understand nothing about what makes a lens a lens.
Benny Young
4 months ago |“Calling people idiots isnt very nice. All equivalence drummers love to leave out that when you throw a 24mm f4 lens of a $2000+ FF body you just got the performance of a camera that you can buy for $600”
The , GH3 costs £1200 compared to the £1439 D600 here in the UK and the rest of the EU .The low end cameras in mFT have a poor feature set including not coming with EVF etc and most still use the dreadful 12mp sensor . And unless you cannot get a suitable shutter speed for your subject ,or cannot use any support , there is no need to up ISO simply adjust the shutter speed { with the reciprocal of the focal length in this case b, so you still get all the advantages of the FF camera.
“You have less light, therefore questionable AF in darker environments, a dimmer VF etc etc.. Well good job you for making that expensive and large camera behave like a cheap small camera”
The claim is that 12mm F2 on mFT is the same as F2 on FF { it’s not } and moving off at a tangent to discuss factors irrelevant to the discussion does not change this. F4 is of little challenge to any FF AF system, and mFT is generally very poor in low light not forgetting useless for moving subjects. When there is an 12mm F1 mFT lens with full AF then get back to me about the price. The Nikon 85mm F1.8g outperforms the Olympus 75mm even on APS for half the price. You don’t have less light that is the exact point!
“Equivalence cannot speak to lens pricing. The 43mm f1.2 lens from Panasonic will have similar challanges to the 50mm f1.2 from Canon. They both have very similar focal length, and identical apertures for the focal length. So a 12mm lens that has an aperture of F2 is a challenging lens to make. Banging on about how if you have a 135 sensor is really an F4 lens show you understand nothing about what makes a lens a lens.”
That argument is ludicrous there are p&s cameras with an equivalent AOV as a FF 24mm namely the F1.4 4.7mm lens on the Panasonic . Obviously to all but the most hardened fanboy making a lens for a sensor four times the size is more difficult. So now we are talking about “similar actual focal lengths” as opposed to the effect mounted on the camera it was designed for , please get a grip. If you want the same performance [ DOF, AOV , total light } as the Canon 50mm F1.2 you need a 25mm F0.6 that is simple even for the fanboys here. And on full frame an 84mm F2.4 , gives the exact same AOV,DOF and total light as the 43mm F1.2 it really isn’t brain surgery .
Here is how the Nikon F1.8g compares to the Olympus 45mm , maybe the Panasonic F1.2 will be 100% better or maybe not lol
http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/Lenses/Compare-Camera-Lenses/Compare-lenses/%28lens1%29/823/%28brand%29/Nikkor/%28camera1%29/0/%28lens2%29/532/%28brand2%29/Olympus/%28camera2%29/0
You are all so ridiculously and generally incorrectly defensive that any forum where mFT users {especially of the Olympus kind} lurk becomes a comical cavalcade of ill informed nonsense.
whiskybravo (bean5y)
4 months ago |I don’t usually bother with responses like mhgbk’s, but I thought I should clarify myself.
I think the price advantage of the Oly 12mm over the FX 24mm f/1.4 is enough to make up for the inferior shallow DOF.
Many people mistakenly assume that m43 users do not own other systems. When we express our delight at lenses such as the 12mm, we do so because of the qualities of the lens and not because of the qualities (or lack of) of some other lens with the same FOV.
Yes, a Nikon Fx 24mm f/1.4 will probably blow the Oly 24mm out of the water. Unless you are in low light, need more DOF and have to stop the FX down to f/4 to get the DOF of the Oly wide open!
LOL equivalence.
AndrewJ
4 months ago |You conveniently forget ff more than compensates with high iso performance that allows it to outperform a mft f2 with ff f4 in IQ. I shoot a crop camera, but i am no denial about the trade offs.
I WANT a fast mid price zoom PLEASE $900 12-60mm f2.8-3.5
I cant justify $1500 on a standard zoom
street
4 months ago |+1000 or better +100000
and what do you need for a 20×30 print?
E-1
4 months ago |So if you crop your FF image in Lightroom, the image gets suddenly darker because the lens retroactively becomes a F4 lens? Magic!
MarcoSartoriPhoto
4 months ago |simon
4 months ago |open your eyes and ears panasonic. people who are interested in a LX7 know what the aperture means, but even if the LX7 is equal or maybe even a little better at the long end than the rx100, the rx100 still easily fits in your pockets while the LX7 doesn’t! if the LX7 was the same size than the rx100 it would sell much better I’m sure. same for the xz-2. we are not that stupid.
YouDidntDidYou
4 months ago |Panasonic needs to do more market research and be bolder and innovative…
Also the reality outside of Asia is that most point and shooters aren’t stepping up to mirrorless or DSLR because they are the wrong demographic those using P&S will 98% move onto smart phones.
YouDidntDidYou
4 months ago |Panasonic shouldn’t bother with a larger sensor because the DSLR market is coming round to sensible size sensors.
vhtjk
4 months ago |The DSLR market is coming round to FF sized sensors as stated by Canon as FF is the future of their semi pro market , apart from the FF models all other DSLR cameras have APS sized sensors just as has been the case since the launch of the DSLR. Here is the chain of events you should use before posting, first think! ( very important ), then check ( is there some revolutionary new DSLR sensor size , No) what you are about to post , then very importantly think ” will I look like an idiot when I post ” then don’t post.
true homer
4 months ago |Did you do that yourself? What about the ridiculous amount of people migrating from ff to m4/3? What about the disappointment the 5dmk3 was for video? What about all those reviewers talking about leaving the ff at home and taking the m4/3s instead?
UYLKL;
4 months ago |@true homer , here are some actual genuine honest to god check-able facts with links
1. Even in Japan the land of mirror last year only 42% of new interchangeable lens cameras shipped in Japan were mirrorless { that is all mirrorless not just mFT}
http://www.sansmirror.com/newsviews/bcns-preliminary-2012-numbe.html
2.Outside Japan in the USA and EU the whole mirrorless market is around 20% in America mFT will be lucky if it makes up 5% of the interchangeable market
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_hi_3?rh=n%3A172282%2Cn%3A!493964%2Cn%3A502394%2Cn%3A281052&ie=UTF8&qid=1360027845
3.Thanks to the combination of the superb detail of the D800/E and the lower priced 6D and D600 the uptake of FF is the highest it has ever been.
4 No one mentioned the 5D youdidntdidyou ,the resident village idiot around here { and that is quite an achievement considering competition like you.}was making one of his many stupid statements in this instance about and I quote “the DSLR market is coming round to sensible size sensors” seeing as you are jumping in defending the VI perhaps you could enlighten me where exactly the evidence is that DSLR users are looking for smaller sensors.
Here are the top selling cameras in Japan 24 of the top 30 selling cameras are not mFT
http://dslrphoto.com/dslr/space.php?do=jranking
In the USA the first mFT camera on the top selling digital cameras list { all types } is not even in the top 100.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_hi_3?rh=n%3A172282%2Cn%3A!493964%2Cn%3A502394%2Cn%3A281052&ie=UTF8&qid=1360027845
The day Nikon and Canon come out with a serious mirrorless camera it is game over for mFT .
bart
4 months ago |So.. 5 years ago that was 0% in Japan and the rest of the world.. at that rate of change dslrs will be gone before the decade is over.
I don’t think that rate of change will stay as it is, but your approach of taking numbers from one specific point in time while dealing with a rapdly changing market is just totally wrong, you’ll have to look at trends instead.
true homer
4 months ago |I don’t care about percentages, theres alwwys gonna be a million soccer moms stepping into dslrs thinking that they need it, as well as thousands of morons splurging into full frames with dreams of becoming pros that last a month or so. Wannabes are gonna keep the dslr percentages high. You want checkable links? Go to roger cicalas blog or thim hogan ot luminous landscape or a dozen other photographer’s sites that have been leaving their ff at home more and more.I care for what I see, and what I see is just that: people that have been or will stay in photography for the long run are moving to mirror less. Why do you think theres suddenly cheap full frames? Because they are selling more? You dont lower prices when you are on top, you lower them when you see a threat. You lowerbtuem when yiu are loosing a segment.
mhbgk
4 months ago |FF is selling more than it has ever been and while there are a handful of apparently weak disabled octogenarian FF users who cannot lift a couple of KG moving to mFT , most just buy a mFT to replace their compacts fact
E-1
4 months ago |Care to share an URL for that claim?
zbrnmpbcd
2 months ago |toehJn xxjkqhbongnb
MarcoSartoriPhoto
4 months ago |FF is probably sellimg more simply because today most people want to have a camera better than a smartphone, they run in a mall and ask for a cool camera, big and black, that looks professional (sigh). I’m not saying that all new buyers are ignorant (not been offensive here, please consider the latin meaning of the word), but most don’t even know what f-stop or ISO mean. Most of them don’t even know what a FF is (not here..). And sellers do their good job. And bigger companies are happy because they sold their 10000000th kit. Me I don’t care, since I think a good photo is made of something more than pixels.
Another Fantard
4 months ago |You clearly didn’t read the article (or lack the faculty to process the information).
Panasonic themselves (who will have done a lot more reasearch than you) admitted that they weren’t selling a lot of MFT cameras to people upgrading from compacts – which is why the GF series hasn’t sold that well. MFT is attracting more advanced photographers insteadp;
“Our first thought was that the people who would want our cameras were step-up users from compact cameras. Outside of Japan this hasn’t been true and some high-end amateurs have accepted the cameras.”
Putting the word “Fact” at the end of a statement doesn’t make it true. In fact, when it obviously isn’t true it just makes you look a complete muppet. You probably say “simples” too, don’t you?
TRUTUY
4 months ago |Oh well that’s good “some” amateurs have accepted their cameras “some” amateurs have accepted the damn Pentax Q
Here is a nice simple question If as all you guys claim mFT is doing super business why are both Olympus and Panasonic’s imaging divisions losing money hand over fist.
Check out the sales charts available to us such as BCN, AMAZON etc there are more FF cameras than there has ever been on the charts so it is a fact,it is also a fact that the top mFT models do not even appear in the top 50 selling cameras,the whole numbers and percentages of the mFT game are almost entirely down to low end sales of base models at low prices bought by p&S upgrader’s simples Lol
Renato S.
4 months ago |If they want to simplify things and not waste resources, I think that they should consider eliminating the G series.
GF for entry level and GH for the high-end market, make the GX the middle ground, it has a body that resembles the GF/rangefinder-like but it will have a EVF and better controls like the GH series.
The market has spoken, they love rangefinder-like camera with EVF, it has the size and the features enthusiasts want, look at the NEX-6, NEX-7, Fuji X-E1 and OM-D E-M5. The fact that the G series has a EVF is what seems to prevent them to put an EVF on the GX series. Offer it for the G series range of price and BOOM, there you have it! Make it the cheaper of its kind, but maintain the GX build quality, finally Panasonic understood that it doesn’t have to be the smallest thing, better ergonomics is always very welcomed.
Put everything you can in it, except for the same video as the GH series or the weather sealing, just keep the EVF, build quality, the IQ and controls, I think that it’s all people would want. And make the focus peaking feature exist from the processor, since it’s hard make it work via software. Make it look good like the L1, if it will have the same feats as the G series but in a smaller body, I don’t think that many G buyers would complain, anyway, there would be more people praising the existence of this GX than people lamenting the lack of G series.
Mr. Reeee
4 months ago |The G series fills a big gap in the M4/3 universe. Many of us demand a built-in viewfinder, but don’t want o pay for a higher-end body like the GHx or OMD.
You have high-end cameras like the GH3 and OMD, then the point & shoot style GX, GF, EPL and EPM. Once you add a tack-on EVF to one of the P&S bodies, you’re nearly in the high-end range pricewise. The G series fits nicely in that space.
So, given the fact we still don’t have a true rangefinder style body, which the M4/3 system really needs, the G series is the next best thing. In terms of price and feature set (EVF, articulated screen, etc.) the G5 beats every other M4/3 camera short of he high-end.
NFT
4 months ago |i think panny will delete G line,and add new line to GH maybe GH lite version
GF still be entry level GX is semi-PRO ,Uhmm
AndrewJ
4 months ago |GH lite aka G5
Renato S.
4 months ago |But my point was exactly that, get a rangefinder-like body with EVF and get rid of the G series. It’s very clear that Panasonic doesn’t have the same amount of resources as Sony and not even close, so they need focus, they need to simplify the line up for better use of the resources they have.
Anonymous
4 months ago |On the contrary, I think that m4/3 makers should worry about having at least one top tier camera with FF135 sensor.
The reason is quickly said: sensors are coming down in price, so FF will be the next battle ground.
I am not sure that it will be that convenient: big lenses, small DOF – I might prefer the m4/3 advantages. However I am not so self centered not to see that once FF cameras come below the 2000 $ threshold many might be tempted to give it a try. Sony was indeed very quick to react.
In the mirroless arena the true competitors are Sony, Panasonic and Fuji. Olympus might be tempted to give it a pass, and make 4/3 lenses, and their optical excellence, as a compensation for a smaller format.
The problem of FF135 is that you need to buy again the lenses. One should really do a poll to see how many are ready for it.
MarcoSartoriPhoto
4 months ago |I agree with you, and I’m one of those who would NOT buy a 135 format system with interchangeable lenses, simply because I don’t want to spend more money. That said, I WOULD BUY a 135mm mirrorless camera with a fixed lens. Sony did a good thing but it lacks of a VF, and no, I won’t buy an external vf on a camera like this. Give me a RX1 with evf and I’ll buy it. Olympus: do your 135mm mirrorless camera, same sensor as Sony RX1, put on a Zuiko35mm f1.8 AND evf, and I’ll buy it.
Bite Me!
4 months ago |With the continued effort of Panny to ruin their camera series, we can expect the GH3 to enter the bargain bin as well.
I welcome future FIRE SALES from a failed manufacturer.
Panasonic, stick to making TV’s. Oh wait… you’re not making profits on that either!
true homer
4 months ago |You mean like the gh2? A camera that kept more than 95% of its original price for 2 years? Or the 5dmk3, who got an 600$ decrease within 6 months of its announcement?
taran
4 months ago |Panasonic has been out of the TV business for a while now.
TheEye
4 months ago |On what planet?
taran
4 months ago |http://www.reuters.com/assets/print?aid=USBRE89F1BQ20121016
Any panasonic TV’s on the shelves are old stock. Happened last October. They still make panels for computers and other appliances, but no more TV’s.
TheEye
4 months ago |It only says that Panansonic is cutting down on plasma TV production, because consumers prefer LCD TVs. From your linked source:
“Panasonic’s LCD TV sales are expected to show slight year-on-year growth to 13 million units”
If Panasonic were really to shut down their electronics business, they could finally focus all their efforts on making toasters and bicycles!
Taran
4 months ago |Please, don’t put words in my mouth, I said they were out of the TV business, not hte electronics business.
TheEye
4 months ago |Where did I say you said Panasonic was exiting the electronic business? I was merely musing.
Also, learn to read and try to comprehend the source you yourself linked. Nowhere does it say Panansonic was “out of the TV” business, which is what you claim.
amalric
4 months ago |(Sorry for the duplicate)
On the contrary, I think that m4/3 makers should worry about having at least one top tier camera with FF135 sensor.
The reason is quickly said: sensors are coming down in price, so FF will be the next battle ground.
I am not sure that it will be that convenient: big lenses, small DOF – I might prefer the m4/3 advantages. However I am not so self centered not to see that once FF cameras come below the 2000 $ threshold many might be tempted to give it a try. Sony was indeed very quick to react.
In the mirroless arena the true competitors are Sony, Panasonic and Fuji. Olympus might be tempted to give it a pass, and make 4/3 lenses, and their optical excellence, as a compensation for a smaller format.
The problem of FF135 is that you need to buy again the lenses. One should really do a poll to see how many are ready for it.
BLT
4 months ago |“In the mirroless arena the true competitors are Sony, Panasonic and Fuji.”
I don’t want to start an argument about what Brand or System is better, but that statement is ridiculous Amalric.
amalric
4 months ago |Yes? Give us some good reason for your statement.
I think it was Thom, who introduced the argument. And it makes good sense, since they are the main sensor makers, in a sensor dominated camera world.
Canon is the exception but they are bypassing it by going mirrorless.
So welcome to the sensor wars.
bart
4 months ago |First you say:
“In the mirroless arena the true competitors are Sony, Panasonic and Fuji. Olympus might be tempted to give it a pass, and make 4/3 lenses, and their optical excellence, as a compensation for a smaller format.”
And then later you say:
“I think it was Thom, who introduced the argument. And it makes good sense, since they are the main sensor makers, in a sensor dominated camera world.
Canon is the exception but they are bypassing it by going mirrorless.”
So.. on one side, you argue that in the mirrorless arena the true competitors are Sony, Panasonic and Fuji because of them being sensor makers
And then you argue Canon is the exception but they are bypassing it by going mirrorless…
So… Canon is bypassing ‘it’ by going for the arena where ‘it’ is happening?
Sorry but that does not compute, at all.
amalric
4 months ago |“Sorry but that does not compute, at all.”
Where did you go to school, Bart? Or did your mummy send you directly to the Army?
bart
4 months ago |Typical, someone points out a problem with your logic, and you turn to personal attacks.
How old are you really Amalric? 10? 11?
amalric
4 months ago |The problem of you barties, is that mummy never understands if you w@nk before you whine, or if you whine before you w@nk. Calm down, mummy boy, don’t overdo it or you’ll go blind
bart
4 months ago |So Amalric, are you actually going to explain your logic? or are you just gonna stick to being an abusive moron…
So far you still don’t get anywhere beyond personal attacks as soon as someone disagrees with you or points out flaws in your logic. Are you a grown up adult who can actually act in a somewhat normal way? Seems not.
calxn
4 months ago |I don’t see FF mirrorless being the next battle ground. FF has always been a small portion of the market for DSLRs. However, a FF mirrorless will divert attention towards bigger sensors overall. In other words, the battle ground will shift to APS-C since it’s closer to FF and still be affordable.
I don’t see how Panasonic will be one of the true competitor. They don’t have a FF sensor and don’t have any plans yet. Sony will announce their FF mirrorless at the end of this year, and they will likely have a 2-3 year lead time. By the time the next FF competitor comes in, FF NEX will have Zeiss, Sigma, and Sony lenses. Panasonic and Fuji say they’re open to FF but have no plans yet. They’re going to watch the market before even creating a plan. You know who else is watching the market before creating a plan? Nikon and Canon. They’re going to watch FF NEX very closely, but I think it’s just too late for every vendor out there. Sony has the plan, the design, the sensor, and the roadmap. Not only that, but their first FF NEX is supposed to be pro-level with new tech. Their timing advantage maybe too difficult to overcome. They definitely listened to the community and answered.
Dannecus
4 months ago |Agree with Renato. Panasonic should drop the G and put a viewfinder in the GX.
I think the Pen-Lite / GF market is limited, despite good sales in Asia, I would expect most compact users to go down to smartphones and those that go up, would probably be wanting to expand their photography with a GX type camera rather than a GF. The GF1 was a great little camera, I never understood why they dumbed it down for the GF2 & 3.
Although the image quality is much better on a GF than on a phone does the typical compact user care? I see plenty of people in big camera shops picking up GFs/Pen-lites, along with the Nikon 1 series. They don’t care about other lenses, most end up deciding based on the colour, or if the thing has some kind of link to Facebook. Hardly image quality driven decision making.
I think M43 battle ground is more at the other end, those abandoning DSLRs for a much more sensible set up, that provides great image quality, a wide selection of lenses and all in a neat a portable package that costs a lot less than DSLR kit.
UYLKL;
4 months ago |@ Dannecus
” that costs a lot less than DSLR kit.”
Here is an example of the fallacy of your statement a D7000 with an 85mm F1.8g on board will give you better DOF control , better noise , better DR and excellent lens performance for considerably less than the E-M5 +75mm kit. Most of the mFT lenses are overpriced and software corrected { which they cannot even manage to do on both Olympus and Panasonic }
Dannecus
4 months ago |Yes the D7000 is a nice camera and that 85mm is a great lens. Good equipment, reasonably priced, I’m more than happy for those that want it to buy it. Cost is important, but it is not the main thing.
D7000 body 780g
OM-D body 425g
The M43 option comes in around half the weight of a DSLR. I stopped using DSLRs several years ago when I found I just couldn’t be bothered to cart it around with me any more. I went to high end compacts, and when M43 was launched moved back to ILCs. M43 has it’s problems, plenty of them, but as a reasonable solution to picture taking at a reasonable price, it is a good solution that is growing in popularity. Image quality may well never be quite as good as a DSLR, but it’s close enough and I don’t think the difference is worth doubling the weight of my camera for. I use my M43 camera, my DSLR spent all it’s time at home in a cupboard.
street
4 months ago |+1000
My canon and rollei, sleep in a box. My epl always with me…. and i enjoy the pictures with all the limitations…..
bart
4 months ago |Software correction of distortion works on Olympus and Panasonic bodies. Correction of chromatoc aberration only works on Panasonic bodies.
Maybe next time you should check your facts before posting…
Steve
4 months ago |P&S upgraders usually just stick with the kit lenses. This is where something like the RX100 makes more sense. I don’t understand why camera makers keep try to push ILCs on P&S upgraders. This crowd is not interested in changing lenses.
Rinaldo
4 months ago |No focus peaking (in 2013)!!! WHAT A SHAME PANASONIC. My five-year-old Sony EX1 (video camera) has it and so ALL THE NEX LINE. P A N A S O N I C , W H A T A S H A M E ! !
GH3 has the poorest EVF of all latest cameras, and NO FOCUS PEAKING!! A HUGE disappointment….
Anonymous
4 months ago |The problem is, the m43 user community (us) believe in the product more than the manufacturers (Olympus and Panny) do.
They think we want “step up from compact”
We want “high quality amateur”
No more GF, no more 14-42mm, no more f3.5-5.5 (etc).
Give us the semi-pro, the HG and SHG, and we will buy it.
amalric
4 months ago |The problem for m4/3 makers is that they cannot ask for a ‘pro’ camera the same price of a small FF.
So Sony will probably set the upper limit in 2014. Meanwhile the Canon 6D body is 1800 $.
Rinaldo
4 months ago |+1
GJDwild
4 months ago |The market for SHG lenses is miniscule,not surprisingly,who in their right mind would buy a lens that costs more, weighs as much as a FF lens to mount on a camera small sensor whose only major advantage is size and weight ? .The handful of Olympus DSLR fans who already own them are the only ones bleating for a suitable body.Plus the mFT “Pro user” market is infinitely small for every pro using mFT their will be thousands using Canon an Nikon.
amalric
4 months ago |Indeed, I am a staunch supporter of m4/3 from the beginning. However out of curiosity I was reading the NEX-6 review at DPR, and I was impressed. It has more or less the same performance of the NEX-7 on a 16 Mpx, at one third less than the NEX-7, which is the Sony flagship.
Can m4/3 sell a flagship for the same 800 $?
V. expensive lenses don’t go v. far to offset the advantage. Therefore I found interesting Terada’s reference to ‘step up’ lenses: good basic lenses at a good price. That is where m4/3 know how could beat Sony.
ha
4 months ago |Isn’t the G5 the cheap flagship in m43?
TheEye
4 months ago |Hmm, I want very good lenses at decent prices. Cheap stuff at indecent prices doesn’t appeal to me.
Jeffrey Poulin
4 months ago |“And they keep wondering when they see me using the Olympus E-P1 with a Nokton 25mm lens!”
Exactly.
mhbgk
4 months ago |mmmm because you are someone who doesn’t mind using a years old sensor on a crap body with an overpriced manual lens that gives you the same DOF and AOV as a $200 Nikon 50mm f/1.8G
dau
4 months ago |wow, they sound both depressed and confused.
i thing panasonics biggest mistake is making their high end model video focused.
im no statistician but i would guess that the majority of camera users out there who are looing to go mirrorless put stills as their number 1 priority, and are willing to pay a little more for higher quality (al la omd/nex-7).
the approach of GF’s size emphasis and the g series affordability miss both points too. those who were using point and shoots have in the most part have gone to smartphones, and those after quality have gone for the omd or nex 7.
give us a high end, stills camera on par with the omd and it will sell.
TO SUM UP, OTHER THAN THE VIDEO FOCUSED GH SERIES, PANNY HAVE BEEN ATTEMPTING TO FLOG COMPROMISES. NOT SURPRISING THEYRE NOT SELLING SO WELL.
Harbinger
4 months ago |Excitement rising for the announcement of the new GX model. Sounds like it could be a significant step up over the its predecessor.
joe
4 months ago |that so far,i want to know about image sensor that build-in new GF/G or GX2?
peak
4 months ago |i wonder why sony can do a firmware upgrade with peaking for earlier nex, but panasonic can’t.
It is definitely possible via a firmware upgrade, just that they are not willing to put additional resource on a existing product.
IcelandicBunny
4 months ago |Yep, I’d be surprised if the GH3 didn’t already have sufficient processing grunt…
ha
4 months ago |They may be at the limit of processing for some video modes. Since focus peaking should work in every mode a single mode they can’t support keeps the feature out
nutters-inc
4 months ago |So the M43 versus FF debate goes on. Yes image quality for the money from FF is better than M43 but for myself image quality for the money wasnt enough to stop me trading in my 5DII and various L lens for an OMD. I do most of my photography on the hoof and carrying 10Kg plus of camera gear around all the time was starting to have an adverse effect on my health. The OMD is lighter and more compact for trekking around with and i still get excellent image quality, thats my reason for M43. Everybody has their own reason, the sooner people out there come to terms with this the better.
So stop all the bickering please and get out there and use your cameras what ever make, model or size they are.
MarcoSartoriPhoto
4 months ago |Amen!
sneye
4 months ago |Panasonic seems to be stuck with a line of regular, uninspiring cameras. The marketing difficulties it is facing has little to do with sensor size. Professionals who need an FF system would not look in Panasonic’s direction even if it did produce such a camera and the image quality currently offered by m4/3 is good enough for everybody else. What Panasonic needs is one camera that has some unique, psychological added value. A camera with certain sex appeal and coolness about it. A camera people would lust after.
Funny thing is Panasonic used to make such a camera. The L1 was perhaps ahead of its time, but it keeps its value extremely well despite its quirks and inferior performance even by 2006 standards.
alexander
4 months ago |Panasonic should have IBIS ! would be easier for the whole mft!
WSG123
4 months ago |I’m in a constant state of bewilderment reading these threads when I see people on a 4/3rds site trashing 4/3rds sensors because of something that cannot be changed due to physics.
How could you have so little going on in your life that you spend time coming to a site about a type of camera that you don’t like, and put up post after post about how you don’t like that camera type. It’s totally bizarre.
It would be like me going to a Canon or Nikon FF forum and putting up post after post after post about how their DSLRs are a pain in the a** to lug around. Personally, I like to spend time thinking about things I enjoy, not things that I don’t.
Another Fantard
4 months ago |In a world where people live increasingly isolated lives, those that crave attention find solace in trolling. They deserve our pity that their “real life” lives are so devoid of value and fulfilment that their only sense of accomplishment comes from trying to waste the time of others.
SteB
4 months ago |“1) It is not possible to add Focus Peaking and Zebra Pattern on the GH3: “We haven’t been able to offer it – because of the limits of resources and of the Venus Engine processor.”
Do Panasonic take us for fools? I put focus peaking etc. on my 600D with Magic Lantern. You can buy pretty cheap external LCD monitors which focus peaking etc. It really isn’t rocket science. I now have no choice to get a Sony NEX this year. I really didn’t want to have to do this, I have a 4/3 system.
maggy
4 months ago |I thing the same…
safaridon
4 months ago |No question because of deteriorating financial position and sales Panasonic needs to rethink their whole G product strategy. First as noted elsewhere Pany derives a majority of its sales in Japan and the Asia markets not US or European markets. Up until last fall Pany was doing very well in Japan especially with the GF5 ranked as high as 3 or 5 in sales among all interchangeable lens cameras and several models in the top 20 but the G series has not done well. However in the recent month there has been a dramatic dropoff of these Pany sales in Japan which I assumed maybe was a result of lack of supply as production change over to new 2013 models ie GF7, G5, and GX2? However it is also probable that the GF series sales are being seriously being impacted by the new camera phones that are emerging and competition from the new sensor in the Oly offerings. I really think that Pany in this interview is seriously contemplating dropping the G line entirely for financial reasons and focusing elsewhere?
I have watched these camera sales in Japan for the last several years and I have yet to see the G or GH series make any substantial improvement inspite of numerous technical advancements while the GF and GX compact series have done well. So why has Pany been placing so much resources with annual changes to the G series while failing to build on their GF and GX series where they had the advantage? The problem is trying to cover all bases rather than concentrate on the most successful ones from an economic & manufacturing standpoint. Instead Pany has devoted most of its attention on the low volume GH3 with little attempt to promote its G5 while ignoring the fact that even the EM5 sales in Japan have been relatively low.
Certainly Pany engineers have produced the designs for the rangefinder models with EVF that the public has been clamoring for many years just look at the LC1 and L1 a decade ago and more recent Pany patents but management has refused up to now to build.
I cast my wishes with those wanted to see a new GX2 with articulated rear view LCD which lessons the need for a EVF coupled with the new GH3 sensor.
I hope that Pany produces two versions of the GX camera one with articulated LCD screen and optional EVF and one with the EVF in the left corner. This could be similar to the design of the NEX6 model with a small LCD screen or like the wider LEICA X2 with EVF to the left of the LCD screen.
Hard2Xplain
4 months ago |For still, yep, you’re quite right. For video it does work the other way around – 5D MK2′s file looks softer than GH2′s file. But still, this is something to do with scaling and codec not the sensor size.
IcelandicBunny
4 months ago |“bigger sensor means better image quality”
Not really. Sensor size is just one factor in image quality. And there are several dimensions for assessing image quality. For example, if we measure resolution in actual output files, then GH3 video is much higher quality than 5DMII video. But if we measure dynamic range, then 5DMII wins. I personally prefer the GH3 over 5DMII for video and the other way around for stills…
Martin
4 months ago |You don’t have to go to the top of the line just to get a viewfinder: Ever since the start of mFT, Panasonic has offered attractive mid-range products with a good EVF, namely the G1 to G5. Ironically, these cameras seem to get overlooked just because they are inexpensive.