Panasonic GH6, final m43 camera, again with bad AF

EspenB

To be precise this did not reveal anything new. We know it was either CES or CP+.

EspenB

"Mr. Toyoshima, general manager of Panasonic, said, "Creators will not be satisfied with just recording video," and he believes that the added value will come from how easy it is to distribute the video. The GH6, which is currently under development, is expected to have enhanced video delivery functions.

If this happens, the stability of communication will become crucial for live video streaming ....... there have been issues with Wi-Fi connectivity depending on the manufacturer and model.

For future video, there is demand for easy live streaming even when traveling. It is even more important for devices to be able to work together quickly, so instead of developing communication technology on our own, "we are thinking of working with partners who have strengths in this area," said Mr. Toyoshima.

In addition, there is still a time lag of a few seconds between the actual movement of the person and the movement of the delivered video, so there is a possibility that there will be some discrepancy between the comments received on YouTube and the responses. How to solve this problem technically in the future is also a matter of skill. Lumix is now at a critical point, and will try to strike back from here."

DrDave

"Creators will not be satisfied with endless BS" --Lumix user

Vitaliy_Kiselev

I heard some bad talks, suggesting that GH6 announcement can coincide with silent stopping of production of multiple m43 models as well as m43 lenses lineup optimization. Good news is that Panasonic have stockpiles of m43 lenses that can last 1-2 years due to very bad sales lately.

Vitaliy_Kiselev

Same thoughts:

Nikkei analyzed the current situation of the Lumix business. Panasonic shares on the Japanese market dropped down to 8%. Nikkei believes that the smaller MFT sensor format may be the limiting factor here. And Panasonic should focus on video centric cameras because in that segment the MFTs ensor size actually makes a lot of sense.

https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQOUC064YI0W2A100C2000000/

In reality, lot of Panasonic managers want to stop making their FF system first and leave only 3 cameras in m43 range.

EspenB

@Vitaliy_Kiselev

Panasonic market share in Japan might be 8%, but worldwide it's about 4%. The rumours is that the Panasonic Lumix S FF is not a significant seller, so I wonder how this 4% is split between Lumix G (m43) and Lumix (FF). I.e. do they still sell wastly more Lumix G stuff than the FF system? I guess this must be looked at both from unit and profit perspective, but I guess the later was Panasonics concern going full force into full frame in the first place. More profit from fewer cameras sold.

Will they kill of Lumix S / FF before Lumix G / m43 or both silently at the same time...

mee

@EspenB I am only speaking for Japan, but by far the Panasonic camera I see most in the hands of what I would call professionals (they would say hobbyists) is the G9. It is especially popular for bird photography, particularly the Kawa Semi (King Fisher) which is widely spread in Japan with many dedicating themselves exclusively to hunting this bird with this camera. Full Frame in Japan is split between Canon and Nikon, but Nikon is the most seen camera by far with many aps-c DSLR's mixed with Full frame DSLR's dominating the scene. I am again speaking very high level hobbyist/professional. When it comes to events that need video Sony has made a huge move forward, and the A7IIIS is astonishingly wide spread in this field for being such a new camera. In the last 2 years the general public has been quickly changing from smart phones to real camera's particularly young couples and families. Xt-3's seem to be the most popular of the higher end camera's in this regard, but mostly smaller panasonics (I don't keep up with these names, but GX7 like), little Sony aps-c's and canon's are all mixed together here. Ricoh used to be very popular with hipsters, but I rarely see them now. There are still allot of older Olympus cameras around in the hands of people 30 and over. Thing to remember is Japanese are frugal, and have a moto of "if it isn't broke, don't fix it/replace it". At the same time they recognize value and quality, so if the timing is right for them financially and if they feel they have held onto their camera long enough a good sales pitch can get them to upgrade.. but for most 10 years or so is typical. So the people in their 20's buying up Xt-3's on sale or whatever camera was pitched to them best, will keep them into their 30's. Japan is also very much word of mouth, so the few that get the next wave of upgrades will talk to their friends and share what is good or not so good about said cameras.. ie, if Nikon produces a Z60 that blows the Xt3/ Xt4 out of the water, the trend will shift quickly in Japan. Full frame is not a walk around camera for most people in Japan. Most take trains and bicycles and even if they drive, on average people in Japan walk several kilometers or more daily, so they want something that does not weigh them down, and APS-C/M4/3rd will always be the go to for the general public unless full frame can get not just more compact, but less weighty. All that being said (hopefully coherently) I do not think Panasonic is ready to throw in the towel on full frame just yet. Presuming that crazy guy (me) who leaked the GH6 having phase detect is correct, then that tech is almost certainly bound for next wave of Panasonic full frame camera's. Things would likely change quickly at this point. Alternatively Panasonic could through so much processing power at a full frame Depth to defocus system to make the twitch too fast to be captured in an actual frame. I wouldn't hold my breath on that though. I imagine the big debate at panasonic is, or was whether or not to produce a flag ship full grip full frame model for the phase detect AF roll out, to compete full on with Nikon and Canon professional camera's. If I had to guess, I would guess they will not do that yet, because of the risk not to mention the price they can sell it for compared to their current top of the line full frame is not a very big difference thanks to Nikon (Z9).

EspenB

Lumix cameras teased about a stream "you don't wanna miss" next thursday.

Might we finally get some GH6 stuff.

The t-shirt from the CES special was located to the shelf behind.

2+2+2=6 might be february 2, with some sort of announcement and the stream with more talks the day after.

What a tease.

There was also a question about the chip shortage possibly affecting the GH6 manufacturing. The reponse was that Panasonic was a big company which plans ahead.

Tommyboy

I'll definitely get this one. I've been waiting for it since gh2. Are there going to be diffrent versions of gh6? I remember seeing back in a day that may be few diffrent versions of it, is this still the case?

EspenB

@Tommyboy There has been no word on different alterations of the GH6. As I recall the GH5s was released a full year after the GH5 introduction.With the stagnated camera market and the low sales for Panasonic it's unlikely that you will have something like a GH6s this year, if ever.

Tommyboy

@Espen ok great.

EspenB

43rumors claim that the GH6 will be showcased at the winter Olympics.

So still plausible that some sort of offical announcement might be happening on 2.2.2.

hoodlum

Here is a clearer image from that video. The 22 is separated from the last 2 and the 6 bolded after the equal sign. So GH6 details will be released on 2/22.

EspenB

It says 2 + 2 + 2 = 6. Nothing more.

EspenB

From the Lumix stream on january 27 they had this image with secret message in the opening.

DrDave

Wikipedia with the words Easter Egg. How informative!

EspenB

Deleted.

EspenB

This weeks Lumix Live show about "resolutions". Look out for the next easter egg.

EspenB

The countdown is about to Start!

https://shop.panasonic.com/lumix/countdown

AKED

Sorry, wrong post.

EspenB

Here we go:

LUMIX GH6 will be unveiled on Feb 22nd, 2022 1:00 AM UTC.

LUMIX GH6 is the flagship model of LUMIX G Series digital mirrorless camera based on the Micro Four Thirds system standard.

LongJohnSilver

@Vitaliy_Kiselev any new rumors out there?

Vitaliy_Kiselev

@LongJohnSilver

Well, it'll be released soon :-)

All Panasonic ambassadors are so afraid about their warm places during such hard times that they look only into company mouth.

DrDave

The GH6 is already dated technology. What I would like to see is another camera company produce something up to date in the m4/3 format. IMHO big opportunity for Olympus or one of the smaller companies, or for Fuji to release something a bit more video friendly with unlimited recording. No reason for Sony not to release a compact 6K cam, either, with no overheating. Or even 8K in Super35.

EspenB

Much ado about the easter egg from the live shows turned out to be nothing more than the "counter", which seems to be totally pointless as the place holder for the launch event video was posted on YouTube before the counter started the actual count. Meh.

https://shop.panasonic.com/lumix/countdown

Alas, there are two live shows scheduled before the GH6 launch so there might be some leaks or easter eggs, unless they defaults to the "we have seen it but can't tell" approach which of course is most likely. But I guess I'll be ready for more secret messages in binary ascii on the 10th.

Feb 10, 2022: LUMIX Live : All About Frame Rates

Feb 17, 2022: LUMIX Live : Can you Hear it?

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