Just a few more words on the Lumix Summit in Osaka, and the strange and short delay between the S9 and GH7 announcement. Some people actually was informed on the GH7 in Osaka and got samples.

It looks like the S9 might be the delayed P2303 camera, and probably should have been announced during the winter, maybe january/february. The P2303 registration was done by the end of september 2023. Which was about 8 months before the Lumix Global Summit in Osaka. I'm not sure how you know if the S9 = P2303, or another camera. Also the delayed lens is strange.

If so, the GH7 is either the P2302A or P2304A registration. These was registered in early march 2024, which was a more normal 3 months time frame between registration and announcement. In any case there is still one new unannounced camera. Possibly a GH7S. Or something completely different.

It's being suggested that any S1 mk II replacement will not happen until Q4, 2024.

I see 4 possibilities, was 2, but looked a bit deeper into my crystal ball. GH7s. This is a front runner, as the GH6 was a flop due to lack of phase detect, and by now had it been widely accepted and revered like the GH5, a GH6s would have likely been in the works if not already announced. I would go so far as to say a GH6s was in the prototype stage, long ago, and they simply had to re-work it around phase detect. Next, S1H MKii or whatever they want to call it. This is coming for sure as you can't release a GH7 with phase detect and ignore the top full frame cinema camera. This however could be number 3 on my list as well, as number 3 would be a full frame modular cube camera like the DC-BGH1/Zcam/Black magic iterations. This also makes allot of sense, and frankly I think it's what the first S1H should have been, and finally number 4 would be a very high megapixel (80 plus) to take on fuji's GFX line. This would actually be one of the smartest camera's to release from a marketability point of view in my point of view, as many have recently keyed into medium format and the snarky comments about it being too slow, too big, and "not real mf" have subsided as more and more simply recognize how great the image is. Speaking as a GFX 100s user, a Panasonic high resolution full frame, would be a very tempting camera as it would undoubtedly be a breathe of fresh air in terms of durability and user friendliness. On the furthest stretch of the imagination (mine anyways) I could see them releasing a larger mount with an adapter to use their current lenses, but I think it's very unlikely. Would be cool though.

Some rants:

Still a lot of audio limitations: 4 channel audio can not be recorded from the internal mics and the external 3.5 input at the same time. So no scratch audio track. No internal 32 bit float audio. Why not? The XLR2 cost more than a complete set of Røde Wireless PRO or DJI Mic2 (which does float audio internally in each transmitter). Also, can probably not handle a USB-C mic to the USB-C input, something that even the DJI Pocket 3 does now. Also, why not team up with DJI and put the wireless receiver INSIDE the camera, again something that the Pocket 3 manages for a price less than the XLR2 device for the whole Pocket 3 camera. Not to mention the Action 4.

ProRes RAW can only be edited fully with Apples own Final Cut Pro. DaVinci Resolve will not even touch it. Totally worthless. This might change? Or not? But right now RAW video codecs are very proprietary, with limited x-compatible support in NLEs. Basically you have to switch to editing on iMacs to get this to work as advertised. While I understand this is not Panasonics fault per see, introducing features which has limited support feels like a cheap marketing trick. Instead of teaming with Arri for some paid log feature, why not team with more NLE makers and offer GH7 ProRes RAW support for a small 50 to 100 USD fee.

Body design have a lot of quirks which is carried over from the GH6 since it's the same thing. Strap eyes. To easy to turn corner wheel. Fan solution is again huge compared to S5M2's. No provisions for vertical battery grip in this power hungry camera. Etc.

In essence this is a G9M2 in a GH6 body. Most of the advancements are firmware fluff. With no real differences on sensor tech or body handling.

BTW: Seems like the GH7 will not ship until the end of july.

B&H says Est. Ship Date: Wed Jul 24.

Adorama: Manufacturer will start shipping this item on 07/15/2024.

Secret embargo meeting on may 28.

And BTW:

Also, July 26 is unconfirmed! From the press release:

"The release date may be postponed or the supply may be delayed due to the influence of social conditions, etc. The release date will be posted on our website as soon as it is confirmed."