Panasonic financial report: “Operating Profit Increased Significantly”.

Share

–

Panasonic issued their latest financial report (PDF download here). And the good news is that “Operating Profit Increased Significantly”.  Bloomberg reports:

Net income rose 20 percent to 73.7 billion yen ($730 million) in the three months ended Dec. 31, the Osaka-based company said in an e-mailed statement today. That beat the 44 billion-yen average estimate of three analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News.

The reason why Panasonic did so well is because they did cut investments in unprofitable businesses (like Plasma TV) and started a huge restructuring program. Panasonic is particularly doing well in the car supplying industry. There is no info in their report about the camera business. The only major camera related news is that Panasonic announced the reorganization of the Semiconductor Business and Transfer of Shares of Subsidiaries regarding Overseas Factories (PDF here).

Good news for the company while it remains a bit of a mystery what will happen with the camera business. Panasonic said many times they now want to focus on the more professional market. And the G4K is exactly going into that direction.

Share

All Panasonic and Olympus US deals roundup (combo rebates also valid on the new E-M10).

Share

Yesterday Olympus and Panasonic launched their new US deals. The Olympus camera/lens combo deals are also valid for the new E-M10:

Buy a Qualifying Olympus Compact System Camera and Save $200 on Select Olympus Lenses at Amazon (Click here) and GetOlympus (Click here).
Save $200 on Select Panasonic Lenses with the Purchase of a Qualifying Panasonic Cameras at Amazon (Click here).

$50 off on the Panasonic GM1 (Black or Orange kit) at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here).
Olympus XZ-2 for $299 at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), GetOlympus (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here).
Olympus XZ-10 for $199 at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), GetOlympus (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here).

Full deal page overview at Amazon and GetOlympus.

Share

(FT5) G 4K has focus peaking, no AVCHD,

Share

Image courtesy: Photographybay.

I got some G4K info from different sources:

– G4K has focus peaking
– There is an attachable XLR adapter
– H264 codec all intra that give 422 color all intra in 100 mbps. To record this you will need to buy the new P2 Micro card in SD shape made by Panasonic (see image on top)
– it will be switch-able from 4K and 1080P with various frame rates (can shoot 120fps at 1080P for example)

Announcement on Friday Feb 7 at 4-5am London time. As usual follow the event live on 43rumors !

—
For sources: Sources can send me anonymous info at 43rumors@gmail.com (create a fake gmail account) or via contact form you see on the right sidebar. Thanks!
For readers: Don’t miss any news. Join our group on facebook and follow our tweets.

Rumors classification explained (FT= FourThirds):
FT1=1-20% chance the rumor is correct
FT2=21-40% chance the rumor is correct
FT3=41-60% chance the rumor is correct
FT4=61-80% chance the rumor is correct
FT5=81-99% chance the rumor is correct

Share

(UPDATED) Mirrorless sales strong in Asia. Compact camera sales constant!

Share

Vitaly from Personal View made this nice graph based on the shipped camera data shared by japanese companies. The graph on top shows how mirrorless system camera shipments are constantly growing in Asia while they remain weak in EU and North America. And the graph below shows how compact camera shipments are always on the same level. The truth is system cameras shipment decreased over the last two years.

And as you can see mirrorless system cameras do sell well in Asia:

I will leave any comment up to the experts visiting this site :)

 

Share

New Olympus 25mm lens test by Robin Wong and Jackie Loi.

Share


Image courtesy: ePhotozine.

The probably most interposing new product is the new Olympus 25mm f/1.8 lens. And it will already ship on February 12 according to Amazon (Click here). And if you want to learn more about the lens Robin Wong (Click here) posted the first part of his Olympus 25mm f/1.8 lens review:

There is something interesting about the contrast rendering of this M.Zuiko 25mm F1.8 lens. It does seem like the images come out more punchy with higher contrast. This was especially noticeable when I switched lens immediately from the M.Zuiko 14-42mm F2.5-5.6 EZ Pancake Zoom lens. In fact the only time I remember seeing this kind of contrast level was when I was shooting with the Olympus M.Zuiko 75mm F1.8 lens. I admit that the 25mm F1.8 is not as sharp as the 75mm F1.8 (one of the sharpest lenses around in the market) but the look and feel of the images somehow came out with similar tones. This is the main reason, straight out of the camera, images from the 25mm F1.8 actually looks a tad bit better than the 45mm F1.8.

Also Jackie Loi (Click here) tested the same lens on the same day with Robin and posted some image samples on his site.
Great lens, but it would have been even better if the lens would be a tiny bit cheaper :)

Preorder links for US and Europe:
Special page with all new products at Amazon.
E-M10 Black at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, GetOlympus. In EU at Wex UK, Amazon Germany.
E-M10 Silver at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, GetOlympus. In EU at Wex UK, Amazon Germany.
E-M10 with 14-42mm lens Black at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama , GetOlympus. In EU at Wex UK, Amazon Germany.
E-M10 with 14-42mm lens Silver at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, GetOlympus. In EU at Wex UK, Amazon Germany.
25mm f/1.8 Black at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, GetOlympus. In EU at Wex UK, Amazon Germany.
25mm f/1.8 Silver at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, GetOlympus. In EU at Wex UK, Amazon Germany.
14-42mm Black at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, GetOlympus. In EU at Wex UK, Amazon Germany.
14-42mm Silver at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, GetOlympus. In EU at Wex UK, Amazon Germany.
Olympus SP-100 at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama.
Olympus TG-850 iHS at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama.
Olympus ECG-1 Black Camera Grip for E-M10 at Amazon, Adorama.
Olympus 9mm f8.0 Fisheye Body Cap Lens at Adorama, GetOlympus. In EU at Wex Uk.
Olympus V321200BW000 Macro Converter MCON-P02 (Black) at Amazon,

Share

(FT5) A couple of GH 4K camera specs…

Share

I told you yesterday how the new GH 4K camera that will be announced on Friday is all about video. The new 16 megapixel sensor doesn’t improve the still quality. Panasonic main work was to create a body that can dissipate the heat produced by the new 4K camera. I also have been told the new GH 4K uses a 2,36 million dot OLED EVF. And it has no on sensor stabilization (unlike the GX7).

Panasonic didn’t set the price yet and the camera will ship in late Spring only.

These are the FT5 specs we know so far:
– New 16 Megapixel sensor optimized for 4K recording
– 2,36 million dot OLED EVF
– 200Mps and ALL-I intra mode recording (4K)
– Price less than $2,000 (final price to be determined).

Announcement on Friday Feb 7 at 5-6am London time. As usual follow the event live on 43rumors !

—
For sources: Sources can send me anonymous info at 43rumors@gmail.com (create a fake gmail account) or via contact form you see on the right sidebar. Thanks!
For readers: Don’t miss any news. Join our group on facebook and follow our tweets.

Rumors classification explained (FT= FourThirds):
FT1=1-20% chance the rumor is correct
FT2=21-40% chance the rumor is correct
FT3=41-60% chance the rumor is correct
FT4=61-80% chance the rumor is correct
FT5=81-99% chance the rumor is correct

Share

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking through my links.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases