The day after: Panasonic to focus on the Semi-PRO market? And Oly news roundup.
GH3-press conference-short-4 from Dieter Knüttel on Vimeo (featured by personal view)
GH3 and the semi pro market:
An interesting news comes via Handelsblatt (Translation here / via SKF). They talked with Mr. Izumi Tomozawa from Panasonic and he said:
- Unlike the cellular and TV market the Camera market has still a profit margin. But the profit margin is in the high end amateur and Semi-PRO market (not on very consumer level cameras).
- The old Panasonic strategy was to focus on the amateur market. But this is about to change. We want to go on the high end amateur (or semipro) market where the margins are higher.
- The GH3 is considered by Panasonic as the first semi-pro m43 camera.
I guess the GX2 will be the next semi-pro camera to come!!!
Olympus roundup:
The GH3 has stolen the show of the new PEN cameras. It even shows up in the Amazon rankings (GH3 on top and PEN’s lost somewhere). I have to catch up and here is a short Olympus news roundup from today: In Japan the 15mm lens cap comes for free with the new PEN cameras (Source: DC.watch). Some pics of the Olympus 17mm f/1.8 prototype lens have been posted on DC.watch. Image sample taken with the 15mm Olympus lens cap at Petapixel. XZ-2 hands-on at Popphoto. Macro lens hands-on at ePhotozine. Olympus stand report at Dpreview.
Panasonic and Olympus Preorder Links with specs and price:
Special GH3 page at Amazon (Click here) and a full Olympus presentation page at Amazon (Click here).
GH3 at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), Bhphoto (Click here) and in Europe at Wexphotographic UK (horrible price in UK!).
35-100mm X lens at Amazon (Click here), Bhphoto (Click here).
E-PL5 at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), Bhphoto (Click here).
E-PM2 at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), Bhphoto (Click here).
XZ-2 at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), Bhphoto (Click here).
60mm macro at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), Bhphoto (Click here).
12mm Black prime lens at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), Bhphoto (Click here).
15mm cap-lens at Adorama (Click here).
OneQuarterSensor
8 months ago |Semi-semi-semi. Prices are silly high tho.
ckwin
8 months ago |The GH3 is considered by Panasonic as the first “non” semi-pro m43 camera. I guess you mean the first semi-pro m43 camera?
Gabriel
8 months ago |Semi-pro ? The price of 1300$ Body Only is accessible to many people. It’s on par with Nex7, Fuji EX1, Olympus OM5D and offer unmatched video features. But you need also top silent glasse, like the new 24-70, which cost almost the same than body only. The new pen offer only new sensor and an upgrated low res LCD, for 600$ and 700$, for me, not worth the bill to jump into the system.
Tom
8 months ago |Prices are low compared to comparable options. I think that despite the price advantage, many pro and “semi-pro” shooters will step up a price bracket and go with other solutions though… BM offers RAW workflow. Sony offers 4:2:2 HDMI for external recording.
Ulli
8 months ago |you forget the 17mm 1.8 pics again:
http://dc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/20120917_560331.html
ph
8 months ago |Don’t fancy the size. I rather have the 2.8 pancake.
Fan
8 months ago |What does non-semi-pro mean? Quarter-pro? Full-Pro? 4/3-Pro?
bonzoo
8 months ago |4/3 Pro
Good one 
Pavlo
8 months ago |I guess “semi-pro” means “low-budget pro”
Seems like GH suits quite well for the target audience
Anonymous
8 months ago |Panasonic we want a gf-1 with an EVF! a rangefinder-style G5! A Panasonic Nex6/7! cooomooon
Cansalt
8 months ago |@radion YES!!! 1000X YES!!! give us a 4/3 camera that has everything that the NEX6 has. Listen up Panasonic!!!
radion
8 months ago |Panasonic we want a gf-1 with an EVF! a rangefinder-style G5! A Panasonic Nex6/7! cooomooon
Paul Alexander
8 months ago |“non semi-pro m43 camera” is clearly a typo
semi-pro m43 camera makes more sense.
tulyakkk
8 months ago |In GH3 is picking?
Rich
8 months ago |Non semi pro? GX2 the next semi pro!!! why the exclamation marks? No agenda here obviously!!??
alexander
8 months ago |took them a long tim to realize it… but at leat they did it.
Pavlo
8 months ago |Another thing is weird to me: Olympus grants f8 lens for free, but asks €$£ for hoods…
Mr. Reeee
8 months ago |Odd, isn’t it.
I ordered a 15mm from Oly yesterday for $49 + shipping. It should be a fun lens!
dg
8 months ago |The decent stuff is being priced high, geared to the wealthy, as they’re pretty much the only people left with significant disposable incomes. They could care less if a lens is a $1,000 or more.
Ant
8 months ago |That’s the sorry state of our world isn’t it
MikeH
8 months ago |Panasonic is so mean. They should give away all their stuff for free just to please dg. They will go out of business and not be able to make any more cool technology for dg, but that is ok with me.
a
8 months ago |wtf are you talking about? you have no comprehension how lucky you’ve been in life, do you? starting to really get sick of the camera community how little they understand what $1000 would mean to most people in the world.
TheyCallMeBT
8 months ago |You realize that this is how many of us make our living.. right??
MikeH
8 months ago |Photography is a hobby that has no upper limit to how much you can spend. If you want to spend less on lenses then you don’t have to buy the best, can buy used, or buy quality manual lenses. If you don’t want to spend money on bodies, even easier, just wait a bit and they will be cheaper because companies are always coming out with something new and the perceived value of the ‘old’ bodies drops like a rock. How difficult is that to understand? Look at the value of the GH1 and now GH2. You can get those, once top of the line m43 cameras for huge discounts from their release prices and they aren’t any less of a camera. If you want a cheap hobby, then you might want to try something else. No one is forcing anyone to buy any specific camera and there are many new and used choices that are less than a GH3.
alexander
8 months ago |12-60mm x lens is missing in the panasonic programm !!!!!
dg
8 months ago |The decent m43 lenses are a ripoff.
MikeH
8 months ago |I disagree. The 14, 14-45, 20, 45, and 100-300 are reasonably priced and are all good. Are there other, good but more expensive lenses?, you betcha. Don’t buy into any interchangable lens system if you aren’t willing to pay for good glass.
Douglas Grillo
8 months ago |Mean a higher model than the GH3 too?
cork
8 months ago |Wow! That introduction (the video) really was lame, like something from the eighties. I guess the Axis partners (Germany/Japan) have never watched an Apple keynote.
Bronica
8 months ago |Don’t mess with Leni Riefenstahl!
cork
8 months ago |She would be rolling in her grave (along with Steve Jobs) if she saw this, or perhaps just laughing. Coincidentally, just watched Triumph of the Will for the first time since high school (used to teach media students). It was a restored version, much different than what we had before, which must have been edited for Cold War reasons. Still fantastic.
matt
8 months ago |we need to complain about 4:2:0 hdmi out! it will be sad if we won´t get 4:2:2 color like nikon/sony has!
http://www.personal-view.com/talks/uploads/FileUpload/47/28c8b2ef041d135e690d0e6e7bcfd4.jpg
Doug
8 months ago |” The GH3 is considered by Panasonic as the first non semi-pro m43 camera”? Non semi-pro??
Danas
8 months ago |Well it is no surprise that Panasonic stole the show from Olympus.
Semi Pro, pre-pro, beyond semi-pro or whatever is what people want. Even old ladies will be more attracted when they see advanced gear and then spot something to their needs.
At least Olympus did good with the OM-D and was a star, hopefully Olympus will learn from Panasonic where does attention go to. And hopefully they will make a surprise soon to bring back the crown from GH 3 to Olympus om-D xx or E x (xx?). Come on Olmypus, you can do magnificent stuff. E-420 is still impressive old cam, if such old model is still a nice cam, you, Olympus, are capable of constructing long lasting gear that keeps cool even when it gets old. It is fine you focused on amateur and easy to use Pen road, now it is time to give advanced photography and videography enthusiasts and pro shooters some candies.
Congrats to Panasonic for making such amazing GH3. Now that is the talk, not whose smallest, but who is cooler and advanced.
Esa Tuunanen
8 months ago |> Even old ladies will be more attracted when they see advanced gear and then spot something to their needs.
Indeed without all those enthusiasts/semi-pros/pros with higher end equipment Canon and Nikon would have never sold so many entry level DSLRs.
After all of those no one remembers differences between models PENs Olympus managed to get in front of Panasonic with E-M5′s modern sensor and IBIS but museum age design’s lack of ergonomics left Olympus vulnerable.
And now Panasonic just pulled red carpet from under the feets of Olympus with first real high end DSLM.
caver3d
8 months ago |You’re dreaming. I don’t see where Oly has to worry about the E-M5 vs. the Pany GH3 (and, BTW, I have both the E-M5 and GH2, so I’m not biased against Pany). The E-M5 is still generating a lot of interest at Photokina, and still sells very, very well in the marketplace. Do NOT underestimate the E-M5. Oly will likely come out with an E-M7 next year, along with their pro version for 4/3 and m4/3 lenses.
BTW, I will take the “museum age design” any day. Just ask all the photographers who bought the E-M5.
Digifan
8 months ago |absolutely
quiquelbola
8 months ago |“E-M5′s modern sensor and IBIS but museum age design’s lack of ergonomics left Olympus vulnerable”
Just my opinión : Why on earth to justify an hibrid ugly and big thing like the new “pana-brick”, you have to attack something much better designed -since the concept- . Is absolutly irrational.
If you like Pana products, are pro or semi pro- is well known that all pros and semi-pros have big hands with enormeous fingers- Go and buy your fantastic macho-man GH3. At least I could live very happy without it.
rtrt
8 months ago |I wouldn’t call a design based on a thirty year old film camera “better” .In fact I find the ergonomics of the E-M5 poor and I actually strongly dislike the look but I do like the performance .I will just have to get used to it , just as my wife got used to me
quiquelbola
8 months ago |ok. Porche carrera? .Mont blanc Meistertuck.? Martín D 18 .? gi bson les paul?
fender stratocaster? telecaster?. Some of this are object s
with more of 30 or 40 years and still beautifull and usealsles. why not OM1 ?
Rep96st
8 months ago |He’s not talking about how it looks, he’s talking about how it feels in the hand. It’s not comfortable. I’ve tried it. The grip is small as well as the camera. The buttons are rubbery and too close together.
I won’t front, I still like the camera and respect it, it’s just not for me. I was interested in the GH3, but being that the primary focus “seems to be” video, I’m looking at the G5 as well as Fuji. Might even go back to Canon. *Shivver*
Mr. Reeee
8 months ago |+100 I couldn’t agree more. While resurrecting 40+ year old camera designs gives you a warm and fuzzy feeling, the OMD ergonomics and software interface are quite poor. It is a real shame, since it has so many excellent features and such good IQ.
But usability is important, too. The times I’ve tried one, I really wanted to like it, but just couldn’t.
Having to add a $300 grip to make the thing comfortable to handle is simply poor design. Not to mention the fiddly-ness of the external controls.
quiquelbola
8 months ago |jeff is obuious that you agree with this , like you have Said you dont own an om5 .. just the Same that other explindid póster in dp review that could analicised the om5 in just half an our without power on the cam. patetic
cheers
quiquelbola
8 months ago |yes hé is talkig about that
Esa Tuunanen
8 months ago |> ok. Porche carrera?
No distortive sampling!
Transportation vehicle of same tech level to piece of 2×4 plank analog mechanical cameras is horse wagon.
Esa Tuunanen
8 months ago |> Why on earth to justify an hibrid ugly and big thing
You didn’t need to tell me that you’re more interested in camera as some decoration and staring at it instead of using it as utilitarian tool.
> At least I could live very happy without it.
Good, so why don’t you STFU instead of starting personal attack?
Didn’t Olympus announce enough new PENs to satisfy your craving back to film era?
quiquelbola
8 months ago |esa, l never begun a personal attack, like ya are begining now. the rest of your post
are your wordI not mine. anyway you like others pana. fans are the obsesed with the
retro design not me So please stop Saying that
cheers
bart
8 months ago |Esa, I strongly suggest you take a look at your own behavior here. First of all, you statebyour opinion on ergonomics as absolute fact, and dismiss everyone who happens to disagree as having a film camera fetish (and worse). You are totally entitled to your opinion, but stop acting as if it is the one and only truth, because it isn’t.
EVERY camera is a compromise, you prfer a different compromise then me (for example) which is totally fine, and it can be interesting to hear why, but, other compromises can be just as valid.
The best camera is the one you have with you, and that applies to ergonomics as much as image quality. Yes, your iphone can at a certain point offer the best ergonomics simply because your gh3 was left home.
The Real Stig
8 months ago |“Olympus managed to get in front of Panasonic with E-M5′s modern sensor and IBIS but museum age design’s lack of ergonomics left Olympus vulnerable.
And now Panasonic just pulled red carpet from under the feets of Olympus with first real high end DSLM.”
Only in your very biased eyes. In my possibly biased eyes the GH3 is too big and is more 4/3 than M4/3. It is a superb video camera masquerading as a stills camera.
In case you hadn’t noticed, Olympus seems to be selling a whole lot of E-M5′s despite your continual harping about ergonomics – which isn’t something chiseled in Finnish stone but varies from person to person. I personally find the E-M5 a joy to use.
Miroslav
8 months ago |@Esa
Do you find GH3 ergonomy close to your old E-30?
Esa Tuunanen
8 months ago |Except for differences in height E-30 is basically same size than E-3 and comparing GH3 to E-3 in camerasize.com gives GH3 slightly smaller grip. Meaning about perfect as good enough to get comfortable grip but without excessive bulk.
And compared to E-30 weight is 200grams lower.
Unless Olympus comes up with actually ergonomical mirrorless before GH3 is easily available, which is propably couple to six months from now, Olympus is third time in row (GH2 and 7-14mm over 9-18mm) loosing my moneys to Panasonic.
caver3d
8 months ago |Keep in mind that until we see the GH3 get a Gold award from dpreview,the King of the Hill in m43 cameras (and even with other ILCs) is still the E-M5. Oly has nothing to worry about. They are on track to build off of the E-M5 – we’ll see it next year. The GH3 is indeed a star when it comes to video (I have the GH2), but it still needs to prove itself as being equal to the E-M5 in IQ and DR as a stills camera. And I seriously doubt it is better than the E-M5 in this regard.
Paul Alexander
8 months ago |RE:”is well known that all pros and semi-pros have big hands with enormeous fingers- Go and buy your fantastic macho-man GH3. At least I could live very happy without it.”
The best pros have small hands! I and a select few friends anyway
The AVERAGE male hand is much larger than mine though. Now, I have seen a LOT of women shooters with small hands use the big Nikons and Canon. They are not necessarily the best pros
quiquelbola
8 months ago |chris
8 months ago |+1
I did a shootout with the EM5, GH2 and the Nex7. I kept the EM5, its that good.
IQ and DR were every bit as good at the Nex7 and much better than the GH2. Video-wise the EM5′s colors look better and it doesn’t lose any detail compared to the Nex7, but its limited by the framerates. I have a FS100 for video jobs, so I didn’t need the GH2 for video. I picked up a cheap Nex5n body to get 60p in a small package. I’m pre-ordering the GH3 to compare to the EM5, FS100 and 5n.
It’ll be interesting to see where Olympus goes with the OMD lineup. Will there be a competitor to the GH3 with more robust video features? I hope so because the 5-axis IBIS means I will not be selling the EM5 anytime soon – even if I actually keep the GH3. Its nothing short of amazing.
Esa Tuunanen
8 months ago |Why should I care about awards from people so often themselves from museum tech’s era?
Add all brand religions and advertising/marketing moneys to that and meaningfullnes of awards sinks like stone in water.
While Olympus has in E-M5 finally excellent not museum tech sensor and well working IBIS wrapping around them is from that museum and Olympus has yet to prove themselves in making ergonomical mirrorless.
Bart
8 months ago |Here, a camera that looks like it came straight from a (80s) sci-fi movie…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minolta_Maxxum_7000
Would that be more to your liking?
Dano
8 months ago |Admin, any word on a pro Oly OM-D coming up?
Ulli
8 months ago |since nobody mentioned it before me, here are more pics about the new 17mm:
http://www.photographyblog.com/news/olympus_m.zuiko_digital_ed_17mm_f_1.8_hands-on_photos/
Miklós
8 months ago |Looks good! But that hood…
Roy
8 months ago |At least it appears to be reversible.
John
8 months ago |Might the GH3 handle “legacy” Zuiko lenses (with the Lumix 4/3 DSLR Mount Adapter) … lenses that the OM-D should be able to handle … but has trouble AF focusing? If so, I would buy a GH3.
MJr
8 months ago |” Image sample taken with the 15mm Olympus lens cap at Petapixel.”
No it definitely is not, 30mm equivalent is not that wide !
Kylberg
8 months ago |It makes sense with semi-pro. A bigger camera with more space for fingers and buttons is something for those who uses the camera a lot. The GH3 weighs 500g – not heavy.
Now that I don’t do video a forthcoming GX2 is of more interest. Will it have built-in EVF?
Mike
8 months ago |Anxious to see performance specs of the 17. I expect it will be even better than my 12. f1.4 would have been nice but if the performance is top notch, it will be a must have.
Ke
8 months ago |I hope they keep making the GX line. The video based GH line will obviously do well for them.
Matt
8 months ago |Well I’m not semi-pro but a budding “prosumer” photographer. I’m an outdoors person, like M4/3rds for the camera system (eg body + lenses) size to image quality balance.
The Gh2 or GX1 were pretty ideal but I’ve been waiting for the next generation of product, hoping for better low-light, wider dynamic range, built-in panoramas, built-in HDR, etc. I bought the GF1 + 20mm way back but returned it because the quality above ISO 400 or so just wasn’t there. Moderate weather-proofing is a huge huge bonus for me, since I use my cameras outdoors. I just had my S95 repaired because dust got in the lens mechanism. So I would LOVE to get the GH3…
…but the GH3 is priced out of my realm. It really is priced more like a ‘pro’ camera. I’m not suggesting it’s not worth it. It sounds like the new video features etc are best of breed, but this post is to suggest that me, someone who has been eyeballing the GX1, GH2, etc, can’t consider the GH3 – it’s just too expensive for a “non-semi-pro”(?) like me.
Hopefully the better sensor, faster AF, and mild weather proofing will trickle down to the GX and G series. (GFs are too ugly — sorry it’s true. Cameras should not be shorter than the lens barrel, it looks ridiculous)
go Panny though!
kesztió
8 months ago |In my opinion the most beautiful m43 camera ever built (including E–M5!) is the GF3 (GF5).
So tastes are so different!
Garypen
8 months ago |You must have some tiny hands.
Fish
8 months ago |Haha you can tell how big someones hands are by what they think is beautiful? Thats a real skill.
John Marks
8 months ago |Finally, I’ve been waiting for this decision from them for a long time now. If they make a GX2 with a nice sensor like the EM-5 and fast AF (preferably a hybrid contrast & phase detect AF) to keep the hunting down would be so nice. And make a fast 200 to 300mm prime that focuses fast I’d buy into the platform. Not taking the semi-pro market serious and no sports / wildlife lenses has kept me out. But I really like the idea of a smaller camera package while shooting outdoors. Please Pani, do this right. I’m so tired of lugging around my Nikon.
Baron Samedi
8 months ago |I don’t like the idea of “pro” being associated with big, heavy and bulky. Pro should be compact, lightweight, mobile and stealthy. If they release two versions of GH3, one as is, the other one in GH1/2 form factor I would opt for the latter even if the price is the same.
Paul Alexander
8 months ago |What really matters is not the bulk so much as…
1- Ergonomics- and that means strategic contouring.
2- Grippiness in all the right places
3- Gross weight
Keep in mind that the lenses haven’t grown, they’ve shrunk!
JFo
8 months ago |Even working in the pro video market, I’m excited about the GH3. How can there be so many complaints about m43 prices??
- The GH3 shoots 1080 60/30/24p at up to 72mbps (!!!), has wifi control, timecode, a pretty great EVF, and costs about half the price of the 5D Mk3 – and it is still quite a compact package for all of that.
- Panasonic 12-35 f2.8 (with IS) – $1,300, Canon 24-70 f2.8 – $2,300 (and the 12-35 is relatively tiny)
- Voigtlander 25mm f0.95 – $1,200, Canon 50mm f1.2 – $1,440
- Voigtlander 17.5mm f0.95 – $1,250, Canon 35mm f1.4 – $1,330
- I have used the Voigtlander f0.95 lenses in low light situations (for national TV) where nothing else would have worked.
For me, I’ve found the size and quality of micro four thirds gear to match the outdoor shooting I tend to do. The relatively low price is a bonus. The idea of hiking into the woods with a tiny kit (weather sealed GH3 + weather sealed 12-35 + the two super-fast Voigtlanders) in a tiny bag, and being able to shoot very high quality video (and great stills) is truly exciting.
Tron
8 months ago |Exactly right. I find it very sad that people waste their time (and others) on forums writing that they “already have a better tool” because of one feature or another that is dear to them on their camera… Look, you blew your wad on an OM-D or a NEX (great cams) and just don’t want to lose that feeling that they are somehow superior to every other m43 camera on the market. It’s transparent to the rest of us. That’s fine, but it’s really sad to watch, so stop trying to convince the rest of us that the GH3 isn’t any good. This camera is a revolution at it’s price point, for its features and target audience. AND its only $300 more than an OM-D or the GH2′s debut price. $300 is not worth crying and whining over like a little baby… photography and video are not free to the masses. Real working photographers already know how to make a gear investment. I suggest you whiners go do some paid work and earn some money to buy more of your “superior gear” that you can then flaunt around on the web to satisfy your insecurities.
Bart
8 months ago |Exactly. Besides it being annoying and not informative, it also forces such people to keep buying new cameras, good for manufacturers maybe, but not good for your purse, or photography. Getting to really know how your camera behaves goes down the drain if you have to replace it every year so you can have ‘the best’.
HappyVan
8 months ago |M43 changes strategy again. Gonna compete with Sony, Fuji and Canikon for a small market.
They have demonstrated an inability to overcomee poor economies of scale. Can they do better at the premium end?
scooby70
8 months ago |I don’t know if I care what the GH3 image quality is like. Its size and weight are what put me off. This is meant to be a MFT camera but it’s pushing towards APS-C DSLR size.
As someone who bought into MFT thinking it was a CSC I can’t really see the point if the “compact” in CSC is abandoned for pseudo APS-C DSLR size and weight. I’m very disappointed. Bad move Panasonic.
lazybeans
8 months ago |That’s why there’s the G5 and the Olympus OM-D. There’s nothing for you to complain about because there are other m43 cameras that satisfy your size needs. However, the GH3 satisfies the size needs of videographers. Believe me, Panasonic would not have made it bigger and easier to handle IF they weren’t compellingly requested to do so by pro videographers.
scooby70
8 months ago |“That’s why there’s the G5 and the Olympus OM-D. There’s nothing for you to complain about because there are other m43 cameras that satisfy your size needs.”
It’s my money so I’ll complain if I want
)
The G5 uses warmed over last generation technology, it’s no market leader, more the bargain buy, and the Oly doesn’t meet my spec and needs. I was hoping the the G5 or the GH3 would meet my needs but neither do so I have nowhere to go in the Panasonic line up.
bart
8 months ago |You start by making an argument about how you chose m4/3 for compactness, and how it is moving towards aps-c size now.
That argument is rubbish, there is ONE slightly bigger camera and all others are relatively small.
So now you complain that those smaller models aren’t the top models and how the g5 uses warmed over technology, while the g5 is essentially a smaller version of the gh3, with indeed a few limitations. You admitted to not even looking at image qualiry because the gh3 is too big..
In short, you want to buy a small camera that also must be ‘king of the hill’, regardless of actual quality. I suggest a Sony RX1, it is small, and it is the best of its kind…
Anonymous
8 months ago |At least you have a choice. No one is forcing you to buy the ‘big GH3′ & as lazybeans has stated, you have the G5 and the Olympus OM-D (with the option for a grip if needed) & also the latest PENs to choose from that are small.
scooby70
8 months ago |To repeat…
The G5 uses warmed over last generation technology, it’s no market leader, more the bargain buy, and the Oly doesn’t meet my spec and needs. I was hoping the the G5 or the GH3 would meet my needs but neither do so I have nowhere to go in the Panasonic line up.
animal_264
8 months ago |I embrace the video Pro potential Panasonic is pursuing for the GH3. For the past two years that I’ve owned the GH2, the most common annoyances I heard from producers were: “duh, we need a 5D shooter.” and “duh, we don’t want a DSLR shooter because of the 12 minute limit.”
Canon has “left the building” so to speak, which leaves the door wide open for videographers to shoot with other products. Of course, it will take a while for producers to realize that Canon’s reign is over, and there will understandably be much resistance from 5D and 7D shooters who won’t always get the gigs henceforth.
Nevertheless, there will continue to be producers who want full frame, whether or not they comprehend the technical aspects, and full frame proponents will use that buzz word to their advantage. I think Panasonic is trying to counter that with high bitrates, virtually unlimited NTSC recording, pro lenses, and other factors. Yeah, it’s a tough road for pros, but at least the floodgates are open and the hounds have been released. It’s no longer a 5D world.
TempTag
8 months ago |Make bigger.. ..charge more.. ..and POOF! The GH line is now Semi-Pro (whatever that means – I guess the multi-aspect sensor was not semi-pro enough for Panasonic.)
We should have seen this coming based on Panny lens pricing. Will be curious to see if this works for Panasonic….
AC
8 months ago |As a leisure photographer I guess GH3 is too PRO for me.
I shall put my hope in the coming GX2.
Yun
8 months ago |Semi pro again ? Why not Pro it like X Pro ?
GX2 the next coming camera ? Is this known as very highend camera by Pana ?
All I want is a rangefinder style camera with build in viewfinder & Whetherseal type , the L1 sytle . Is that too hard to come out ?
tipota
8 months ago |Are we really discussing hand-size here? This is sooooo funny…..
hardbonemac
8 months ago |SEMI…PRO….small..big..nice..fine..
When do we com put of this OLDFASHIONED
MARKETING BULLSHIT and everything is used
only for all but not, what it is?
Sonny delivers this year many many nice..but like
all this BIG PIGS.. nothing left for me.
PANASONIC.. is the AF 200 coming yes no?
and yes a CAMERAREVOLLUTION is no, because a body
only looks like DSLR ore none..
THE INSIDE + LENSES it is.
so do you all work for the ( not so perfect but only)
BMC??
how long do you wait till a LOWEXPENSIVE CINERAW 35 can also
bought in ordinary PRO-RES-MODE?
GH3 is a NOGO
nothing that replaces my GH-2
so waht is next… spectacular uniboxing of a toiletpaper
and 200 BLOGS?
was to much high energy sunshine on this planet?
we are no sheeps… okay .. angry
rrr_hhh
8 months ago |“- The old Panasonic strategy was to focus on the amateur market. But this is about to change. We want to go on the high end amateur (or semipro) market where the margins are higher.”
Every camera manufacturer says the same thing : the smartphones are eating the amateur compact cameras level. Olympus said the same about a year ago. This is nothing surprising. The true question is how many categories they are seeing in the camera market and where they are placing the limits. Enthusiast, semi-pro : it is like people speaking of the middle class : everyone thinks he is part of it… Both those in the lower class, because they don’t want to admit it and those among the upperclass, because there is always someone way wealthier than them
Mr. Reeee
8 months ago |Yep. Can’t wait to get my iPhone 5!
Bart
8 months ago |I guess we’ll end up with a few categories only.
Smaller sensor compacts:
- travel cameras, for those who’d like something a bit more capable then their phone/tablet camera while on vacation etc.
- ‘sports’ cameras, the ones that can stand being dropped, and can be used under water or in the snow without concern
Larger sensor compacts and interchangeable lens cameras:
- cameras for those taking a serious interest on photography in general
- cameras aimed at professionals (this can be anything from rugged devices used on construction sites for documenting things to high-spec’d cameras for (aspiring) commercial photographers).
The last 2 categories will usually but not always feature interchangeable lenses
In my mind, all the compacts that don’t fit the first 2 categories will be replaced by ‘converged devices’ like phones. I think the current distinction between DSLRs and mirrorless cameras will become irrelevant in the future.
.
8 months ago |The E-PM2 doesn’t look quite as aesthetically unappealing in the new DCWatch photos as it does in the official Olympus product shots.
However it still looks quite ‘plasticy’, and nowhere near as good looking as the previous generation E-PM1.
Really not sure what went on with the Olympus camera body designs this Photokina.
Did they have some mega design talent leave, or are they making the low end models intentionally unattractive to make room for the PEN pro later?