Panasonic interview at Dpreview: “For the future we will focus on high end mirrorless cameras”

Dpreview talked to the Director of Panasonic’s imaging business Yosuke Yamane. And he gave quite a few insights on Panasonic future focus:

GH5 fimware update coming:
it will improve the smoothness of DFD for video

About on sensor phase detection:
On-sensor phase detection doesn’t work any darker than F8, [which can be a problem in video]. It’s not necessarily true that phase detection is better than DFD plus contrast detection. We think our DFD is going to be better than [the best phase-based AF]. That’s our target and we want to realize that accurate autofocus

Goal on the US market:
For Lumix, the United States is a very strategic market. Our target is to double the business volume by 2020. For the future, to double the business, we’re going to focus on high end product: mirrorless cameras and high-end compacts. We expect a decent increase of the compact market to be sustainable.

LX100 successor:
As the customer expects LX200 we will also strengthen the successor of LX100. How will we answer to the passionate customers of the LX100? We will study how we’re going to answer these customers.

Trickle down tech:
we would like to expand the [GH5’s] technology to other models

8k:
In 2020, when the [Olympics] are in Tokyo, the era of 8K will start: we will develop the hardware to develop the 8K picture

2016 financial report: After 7 years Olympus registered first profit in the camera division

Olympus released their full 2016 financial year report. And in the imaging division we got quite some good news:

Full-year operating income achieved for 1st time in 7 years due to benefits of new products and exhaustive cost controlling
Olympus had a profit of 0,5 billion YEN. And the forecast for the year 2017 is an increase of the profit to 1 billion YEN despite declining sales:
Profitability to be sustained, despite decrease in sales, through further business streamlining and exhaustive cost controlling
The key word used by Olympus is “exhaustive cost controlling”.

Weekly 43rumors readers pictures roundup…


Hardy-Bernd Wagner‎
Fly on Ice
PEN-F,M.60mm F2.8 Macro
F3.2, 1/13s, ISO 80, Stack
http://hwhw.de

1) You can share your pics by using posting on our 43rumors Facebook page (Click here).
2) All 43rumors readers pictures can be seen here: facebook.com/43rumors/photos. Like the pictures you like and chat with the authors if you want to know how they took the shot!
3) The most liked pictures and some pics selected by myself will be posted weekly on 43rumors

This is the weekly selection:

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Nauticam announces the new GH5 housing

Nauticam just announced their new Gh5 housing. Images can be found on that Dropbbox link. And this is the press text:

The NA-GH5 Housing

An exceptional hybrid housing to complement an exceptional hybrid camera, NA-GH5 is designed from the ground up with both video and still photo shooters in mind. Incredible engineering, enabling fingertip control access, has made Nauticam famous.

The housing is small, but not at the expense of functionality or ergonomics. Integrated handles provide a sturdy and comfortable base to operate the system from. An ergonomic shutter release lever, thumb lever for AE-L / AF-L, and well placed control dials provide the same operational feel as any Nauticam DSLR housing.

Control buttons are placed within easy reach of the handles, with sufficient spacing to allow easy operation, even by feel. One example of this is a combo lever, accessing both White Balance and ISO, placed directly under the right grip. The ergonomic experience of this system is clearly influenced by Nauticam DSLR systems, with class leading control access and feel.
More than just good looking, this is a rugged housing, ready to tackle thousands of hours of underwater abuse. Crafted from solid aircraft aluminum, the housing can reach depths of 100m with ease. Camera access and lens changes couldn’t be easier, and secure locking latches inspire confidence.

The NA-GH5 is a professional grade underwater housing, built with cutting edge manufacturing technology, supporting the pro-level GH5 camera body to its full potential.

Magnifying Optical Viewfinders

The GH5 has a fantastic electronic viewfinder, and the renowned Nauticam 180º Enhanced Viewfinder or the excellent 45º Enhanced Viewfinder are available to enlarge this optic even further. The EVF is a great work around for the excellent closeup vision normally required to monitor a live view screen.

No tools are required to install or switch between finders in the field!

Rapid Fire Manual and TTL Flash Triggering via Fiber Optic Cables

Add the optional Panasonic DMW-FL70 Flash inside the housing for reliable, accurate triggering of optical TTL compatible strobes. Rapid fire manual triggering is also available with the Nauticam Mini Flash Trigger

Integrated Vacuum Check and Leak Detection System

The Nauticam vacuum check and leak detection system is available with NA-GH5 as standard equipment. Combined with an optional vacuum valve (PN 25624), this monitoring system provides constant updates on the water tight and safe-to-dive status of the housing. A simple coded LED lighting system lets the user know that the vacuum is solid, or that the housing is losing vacuum. Leak detection is built into the same circuit, so if there is water intrusion, an audible and visual indication will occur.

Full Size HDMI Out

The GH5 camera features a full size “Type A” HDMI Connector on the camera body, providing a reliable user friendly connection for external monitors. A new Nauticam Internal HDMI Cable (25073) supports this format!

Details and Specifications

Depth Rating: 100m
Weight: 2.36 kg
Dimensions: 331mm x 184mm x 110mm W x H x D (w/ handles and mounting balls)

a bit of everything…


Panasonic GH5 – How to open 10 bit 422 video file

Best settings for shooting wildlife with the Olympus OM-D E-M1 II (CameraJabber)
Panasonic adds 2K RAW Output Up to 240fps To VariCam LT 4K Cinema Camcorder (Panasonic)
Panasonic Lumix TZ90 / ZS70 preview (CameraLabs).
E-M1II wildlife test at DC.watch.
Panasonic GH5 Hands-on Review vs GH4 in 4k with sample footage (Photorec).

Plenty of news on the facebook E-M1II group and the GH5 group.

Clive:This isn’t a rumour, it’s just to advise you that the UK TV program, “The Gadget Show” just ran a back-to-back comparison between the OM-D EM-1 and the new Canon EOS-5D MkIV. Although the Canon did score more highly in a couple of aspects [I think colour reproduction and sharpness], overall both testers [John and Otis] agreed that the EM-1 was the better camera.
Chief reason seemed to be that the Canon didn’t offer a sufficient improvement in quality or features over the Olympus, despite being massively more expensive and considerably bigger.
https://www.my5.tv/the-gadget-show/season-25/episode-6