The first half of the fiscal year 2010 for the Japanese company Panasonic is extremely profitable but the digital camera and mobile phone sales are in decline. The operating division’s profit is 61.3 billion yen (about € 548 million) – an increase of 481% over the previous year (quarterly figures, see table below). Panasonic attributes the huge increase in profits to reduce fixed costs and economies of scale. Source: Photoscala
The Olympus sales
In the second fiscal quarter of 2010/11 Olympus is continuing the downward trend of their photo section. Overall earnings of the “Imaging sector” decrease of 22.4% over the first half of last year. Source: Photoscala
All those of you that want to keep Four Thirds alive should take a look at the following petition: http://www.photocommunity.qtp.it/petition/index.php. This initiative is presented by the italian four-thirds users forum www.qTp.it. The petition expires on December 15th.
The user reaction after the Panasonic GF2 anouncement is quite mixed. Some peope likes the new even slimmer Micro Four Thirds camera and some others do miss the manual controls of the [shoplink 14828]Panasonic GF1[/shoplink].
Now let’s bring some fire into that discussion! We want to report the negative GF2 critics written by Quesabesde. Not because we do agree or don’t agree with Quesabesde but because our readers want to read your opinion about the three main critics “against” the GF2:
1) The timing of the announcement is somewhat disconcerting: Few weeks before the holiday shopping season Panasonic reveals a GF1 successor that will be ready after the holiday season! And therefore it virtually buries the GF1 and GF2 sales.
2) Japancentrism: It looks like Panasonic main concern was to release a [shoplink 17230]Sony NEX (Click here to see these cameras)[/shoplink] competitor. Nex cameras have been prooven to be really popular in Japan. Panasonic (but in general all japanese companies) seem to lose perspective and believe that global tastes match those of its market.
3) Miniaturims trend: The GF2 sacrifcies usability to go against the NEX. It’s as if none of the current or future players in this market was aware that the most “popular” camera at Photokina has been the Fuji X100 (Click here to see the camera). Fuji used a photographic common sense to create the camera (good usability and size proportion). Steve Jobs recently said that 7-inch tablets were ridiculous. He asked, ironically, if those tablets will come with an included sandpaper so that users could reduce the size of their fingers.
Now, what do you think? Keep in mind that:
1) You have touch the camera for yourself to see if the touchscreen really works fine for you
2) There is still a chance that we will see a pro-GF model sooner or later
CNET Asia: “One advantage the Lumix has over competitors is its touchscreen, and this will attract current shutterbugs with a touch-sensitive compact to upgrade to something similar. At the same time, enthusiasts might feel left out, since using a touch-sensitive panel is not something everyone is accustomed to.” Whatdigitalcamera: “The Lumix GF2 feels like more than just an updated GF1 thanks to the redesigned body. The tweaks to the user interface make the touchscreen even more accessible although, it has to be said, this format of control may not be to everyone’s preference if it’s not always going to be employed.” DPreview: “Whereas the GF1 was unashamedly a camera for enthusiast photographers, the GF2 is now aimed much more at compact camera owners looking for an upgrade.“…”In truth there’s not a lot about the GF2 to tempt GF1 owners to upgrade, but it’s still a hugely capable camera that, as long as you can accept the touchscreen, looks like it should work pretty well. We suspect that when it starts getting into the hands of users a lot of the inevitable initial scepticism will disappear; on the other hand we do still hope the Panasonic finds a way to produce a more GF1-like design in future too.” Imaging Resource: “Overall, we had a great time with the little Panasonic GF2. It’s extremely nimble and compact; still a little too large to slip into a pair of slacks without looking like you have a camera in your pocket (I did get looks), but the design has never been more sportcoat or jacket-friendly.” Photoradar: “Images taken at ISO 400 look comparable with those I have taken at ISO 200 on the G1“…”However, my enthusiasm was somewhat tempered when I saw that the Panasonic GF2 has fewer button and dial controls than the GF1, and the user has to use the touchscreen to select settings such as the shooting mode. It may be the result of the downsizing of the camera (the GF2 is 19% smaller and 7% lighter than the GF1), but I am disappointed that there’s no main mode dial on the top-plate.” Photographyblog (mirrorless size comparison) Cameralabs Omuser (Hands-on pictures)
INTERESTING NOTES
– Available in January 2011
– UK price 599 GBP for GF2 w/14-42mm
– it is very nearly as petite as the Sony NEX-5
– One slightly unexpected marketing change is that the GF2 will not be bundled with the 20mm F1.7 pancake lens
– Editor’s note: Because of the recent Daylight saving time change most websites did publish their articles one hour earlier than expected.
GF1 vs GF2 differences
– Smaller and lighter body
– GF2 has Full HD movie recording capability (1080i at 60fps from 30p capture)
– Continuous shooting at 2.6fps with Live View
– ISO 6400
– Touchscreen
– GF2 has less buttons (no exposure mode dial)
– Stereo microphone on the top plate
– supports 3D
First short film made with the Panasonic Lumix GH2 on youtube
Finally Amazon sent the expected delivery date to all customers that preordered the new Panasonic GH2. Shipment starts on November 22. This is much further than the expected delivery date from Adorama. Also in Europe Amazon is epxected to start shipment on November 22. Check AmazonUK and AmazonFrance.
I still have no news about the Body Only GH2 availability. I guess this is the kit many current GH1 owners are looking for. Amazon has the Black Body Only GH2 and the Silver Body Only GH2 in their product database but you can’t preorder it. I hope we have not to wait until next year to get it!
. Fuji used a photographic common sense to create the camera (good usability and size proportion). Steve Jobs recently said that 7-inch tablets were ridiculous. He asked, ironically, if those tablets will come with an included sandpaper so that users could reduce the size of their fingers.
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and the 
in their product database but you can’t preorder it. I hope we have not to wait until next year to get it!