A letter to PANASONIC

Cristian Mihai

Cristian Mihai

Well-known member
Hello guys
I must say my journey into Panasonic wasn't short and started 8 years ago with a small photo camera with some video capabilities (say some because they blocked the hdmi out and that was not written in the specs, and at that time i was thinking to suit you and get rich "-) ) called GX7. Went from GH2 allway to GH5 and in November 2019 pulled the trigger and bought 2 pcs of S1H. And then the pandemy arrived and ruined my plans and business. But, i have used this free time to understand better the editing programs, composition, lightining etc....and i have come to understand the limitations i have with S1H. Great camera but i want to step up in the business and my career so i am asking you PANASONIC

WHERE IS THE EVA2 ?

As a S1H owner there is no camera to step up into Panasonic L mount. What you Panasonic dont seem to understand is that your loyal customers are at a point where they have no other option than stepping out and if they go out probably they will not get back very soon. So pls do something, announce something like : hey you S1H guys, that want to go further, pls hold your horses , we have something for you.

PS: when i say step up i dont mean higher resolution...i mean better rolling shutter, willing to ditch the hdmi port with it;s huge lag, better form factor for video, maybe more fps etc...
 
It would make more sense if there were high end L mount cine lenses. With the very small crop of current native L mount lenses I don't think it would make much sense personally.
 
I'm not too optimistic for Panasonic's cinema division. Looks like the Lumix products has taken the lead. S series and the BGH1. On the positive note, the BGH1 is the first Lumix camera that introduces an SDI port. Maybe we'll see a new line up of very video centric camera's like BGH1 with a full frame sensor under $10K.

With their reorganization it looks uncertain.
 
Cristian Mihai said:
WHERE IS THE EVA2 ? ...i mean better rolling shutter, willing to ditch the hdmi port with it's huge lag, better form factor for video, maybe more fps etc...
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Apart from the crisis the world is dealing with, I see Panasonic's major stumbling block ( that they've had for 5+ years now ) is high performance AF. This is the one feature that almost all of Panasonic's competitors offer that Panasonic keeps falling down on, and they've got to finally get in the game if they want to survive. Panasonic needs good C-AF performance in everything from their MFT / S35 / FF lines of prosumer cameras. ( their professional cameras usually have full crews when shooting and thus they don't need AF )
 
I expect that Panasonic's camera division is on life support. It is so tiny it gets no mention in the financial report, the CEO message paper, nor the Appliances CEO's (cameras in that division) initiative's statement for 2nd half 2020.

In that report, mainly talking about the TV business, it says "Set Directions for Non-profitable Businesses" .... "Shifting from internalization toward structural reform including collaboration with other companies".
 
It is also interesting that Mitch Gross has left Panasonic. I have no idea why he left or if it was his decision or Panasonic's. But just the fact that they let a person with that level of expertise slip away shows there is a problem at the top.
 
I have guessed the same thing for a few years now. It just seems that they lack resources compared to their competition. Obvious things are not getting done as customers fall away. Not positive. If this GH5 MKII thing appears as rumored then it would appear that the camera is out of necessity rather than choice. EVA-II seems pretty far away but that is only conjecture.
 
No but Barry Russo returned last year with Panasonic Pro engineering team he was lead development for the Varicam series and an ASC associate member . Met both him and Mitch at an EVA event in DC . Both great guys. Mitch now works for a lighting company which I can't recall the name at the moment but saw him post about it in an EVA Facebook group. I don't think the cine line is dead.
 
matt s. said:
... I don't think the cine line is dead.
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Perhaps so. But it's a matter of interest at Panasonic. The camera division is at the bottom of a huge conglomerate; so huge Panasonic plans to shift itself from a single corporation to a holding company that let's the individual divisions act as independent companies (see their strategy report). The camera and TV divisions are declining products in the Appliance division. No one wants declining products in their portfolio. It's oh-so-messy in financial reports and not tolerated by CEOs. Masahiro Shinada-san (CEO, Appliances) has to figure what to do with those divisions, which are not part of their future strategy. "collaboration with other companies" is a clear indicator of where they are going.
 
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TheDingo said:
Apart from the crisis the world is dealing with, I see Panasonic's major stumbling block ( that they've had for 5+ years now ) is high performance AF. This is the one feature that almost all of Panasonic's competitors offer that Panasonic keeps falling down on, and they've got to finally get in the game if they want to survive. Panasonic needs good C-AF performance in everything from their MFT / S35 / FF lines of prosumer cameras. ( their professional cameras usually have full crews when shooting and thus they don't need AF )
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They buy sensors from Sony that are capable of top notch auto focus ... then disable the phase detect portion for the Dee'Friggin'Dee. Which has never worked well.

Given what GH-5 MKII has become, I suspect quite resignation of the top management that the photo-video part of their business is no longer viable.

Paul F said:
... "collaboration with other companies" is a clear indicator of where they are going.
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Obviously, Panasonic - and Nikon and Olympus and Sigma and Pentax and Fuji - buy prêt-à-porter Sony sensors. Fuji, with its own CFA in APS-C line and with little competition in medium format - seems to have lucked out the best so far. Olympus is out. Nikon is teetering on the edge of going out. Panasonic, much like Samsung in 2017, has too many eggs in too many baskets to even care.

As we have discussed here before, the photo-video market is likely to have only two full fledged participants - Canon and Sony - within a couple of years. Fuji may remain as a niche company. Make your adjustments accordingly.
 
Paul F said:
Perhaps so. But it's a matter of interest at Panasonic. The camera division is at the bottom of a huge conglomerate; so huge Panasonic plans to shift itself from a single corporation to a holding company that let's the individual divisions act as independent companies (see their strategy report). The camera and TV divisions are declining products in the Appliance division. No one wants declining products in their portfolio. It's oh-so-messy in financial reports and not tolerated by CEOs. Masahiro Shinada-san (CEO, Appliances) has to figure what to do with those divisions, which are not part of their future strategy. "collaboration with other companies" is a clear indicator of where they are going.
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Very true.



Even in the Camera world, Panasonic seems to have drifted. The Varicam was not a bad camera, and it practically invented Dual ISO. Varicam 35 was every bit the equal to Red, but that may have been the issue. Even Sony did not take flight until people realized it was better than Red. I think the Venice is about a half stop better than the Gemini, but the shadows don't drift in colour quite as much. If buying new outright, the RED s35 cameras are cheaper, but with that recent 24months zero interest Venice promo, the Sony was actually cheaper! Plus the resale value is better than RED, as there is a shortage of Venice's.


But Panasonic may rise again. The plastic red accents to their "4K" cameras was a shame. Made 4K seem cheap. Even if Panasonic was doing good things. And the M43...... don't get me started. ok, I'll say it..... Panasonic banked on cheap and compact That is a big issue, because full frame mirrorless is cheap and small now too. Why get a $1600 GH6 when a Sony A7R2 is $1K? Precisely. And yet, Panasonic never capitalized on the best asset of the M43 system: professional zoom lenses for video. They could have cleaned house if they came out with fast 10x's par focal servo zooms for doc and TV.


Panasonic is the first to announce the organic sensor, so maybe they will rise after CMOS has given up.
 
James0b57 said:
Very true.



Even in the Camera world, Panasonic seems to have drifted. The Varicam was not a bad camera, and it practically invented Dual ISO. Varicam 35 was every bit the equal to Red, but that may have been the issue. Even Sony did not take flight until people realized it was better than Red. I think the Venice is about a half stop better than the Gemini, but the shadows don't drift in colour quite as much. If buying new outright, the RED s35 cameras are cheaper, but with that recent 24months zero interest Venice promo, the Sony was actually cheaper! Plus the resale value is better than RED, as there is a shortage of Venice's.


But Panasonic may rise again. The plastic red accents to their "4K" cameras was a shame. Made 4K seem cheap. Even if Panasonic was doing good things. And the M43...... don't get me started. ok, I'll say it..... Panasonic banked on cheap and compact That is a big issue, because full frame mirrorless is cheap and small now too. Why get a $1600 GH6 when a Sony A7R2 is $1K? Precisely. And yet, Panasonic never capitalized on the best asset of the M43 system: professional zoom lenses for video. They could have cleaned house if they came out with fast 10x's par focal servo zooms for doc and TV.


Panasonic is the first to announce the organic sensor, so maybe they will rise after CMOS has given up.
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I am rooting for them. Aside from AF & price (partially solved with Sigma lenses for me) I would happily buy into the L mount more based on every other aspect of their FF platform
 
Hi All,

It's true that I'm no longer at Panasonic. To say more about that would not be proper. I will note that Barry Russo has been with Panasonic for many years now (maybe twelve?) and has always been in the Pro Video division. He remains there and was recently behind the free VariCam firmware update that introduced Ed Lachman's EL false color exposure system.

Again it would be wrong for me to speak about my thoughts as to were Panasonic is now and where I believe they may be going. While I was there I participated in and was privy to a lot of interesting plans and developments. Of course things could change and a worldwide pandemic certainly didn't help, but Panasonic Pro Video had a lot of interesting things up its sleeves.

Pleasenote that the Pro Video department is separate from the Consumer Video group. Consumer is responsible for the Lumix cameras, although there is some interaction between the groups in Japan. And it is not necessarily a requirement that a division be a market leader in sales volume or even be a leader within the company. It is a requirement that the group be profitable, which it is. Like the prestige of an automotive manufacturer's race car division, sometimes it can be nice for a large multinational corporation to point to a Hollywood movie and be able to say it was photographed with its cameras. That can be worthwhile even if the financial income pales in comparison to the latest model rice cooker or electric shaver. Value has all sorts of measures.


BTW, my new company is Prolycht ("Pro-Light") Lighting. We have one of the most advanced LED fixtures on the market, with excellent color rendition across the spectrum. Keep your eyes open for the Orion 300.
 
Thanks Mitch for the clarifications and still continuing to answer questions about Panasonic cameras while no longer with the company. I wish you the best with Prolycht Lighting!
 
Mitch Gross said:
... Like the prestige of an automotive manufacturer's race car division, sometimes it can be nice for a large multinational corporation to point to a Hollywood movie and be able to say it was photographed with its cameras. That can be worthwhile even if the financial income pales in comparison to the latest model rice cooker or electric shaver. Value has all sorts of measures.
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Brilliant Mitch! There's always another angle to business and not so obvious.

Best wishes for you in your new job.
 
hojomo said:
I am rooting for them. Aside from AF & price (partially solved with Sigma lenses for me) I would happily buy into the L mount more based on every other aspect of their FF platform
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L mount seems like a great platform!
 
Mitch Gross said:
Hi All,

It's true that I'm no longer at Panasonic. To say more about that would not be proper. I will note that Barry Russo has been with Panasonic for many years now (maybe twelve?) and has always been in the Pro Video division. He remains there and was recently behind the free VariCam firmware update that introduced Ed Lachman's EL false color exposure system.

Again it would be wrong for me to speak about my thoughts as to were Panasonic is now and where I believe they may be going. While I was there I participated in and was privy to a lot of interesting plans and developments. Of course things could change and a worldwide pandemic certainly didn't help, but Panasonic Pro Video had a lot of interesting things up its sleeves.

Pleasenote that the Pro Video department is separate from the Consumer Video group. Consumer is responsible for the Lumix cameras, although there is some interaction between the groups in Japan. And it is not necessarily a requirement that a division be a market leader in sales volume or even be a leader within the company. It is a requirement that the group be profitable, which it is. Like the prestige of an automotive manufacturer's race car division, sometimes it can be nice for a large multinational corporation to point to a Hollywood movie and be able to say it was photographed with its cameras. That can be worthwhile even if the financial income pales in comparison to the latest model rice cooker or electric shaver. Value has all sorts of measures.


BTW, my new company is Prolycht ("Pro-Light") Lighting. We have one of the most advanced LED fixtures on the market, with excellent color rendition across the spectrum. Keep your eyes open for the Orion 300.
Click to expand...


Let me just say the obvious, Mitch. you have always been and continue to be a class act. And frankly, in an ever expanding marsh of know-it-all pretenders online, your humble approach and kindness in sharing knowledge makes me happy I still visit. Cheers to you!

For the folks who brought Prolycht to market... your good sense in hiring certainly will have my attention on your products.
 
I'm glad I'm not the only one who is in this predicament. I've been using Panasonic cameras for 10+ years for my business, starting with the awesome GH2. Since switching from weddings to corporate/commercial the business has grown and I'm now in the market for that "small cinema camera" that will serve my wide range of business needs, and I can also use to produce some short films. My S1/GH5s combo is serving me very well – rock solid and beautiful images that cut well together – but there have been a number of occasions this year where built-in NDs and AF would have made my life a whole lot easier. And now that tech exists I find myself in certain situations as a solo operator thinking "if only I had AF I could pull off this shot..."

I would love Panasonic to release a camera that competed with the Sony FX6 and Canon C70, that "bridge" market segment between prosumer/pro mirrorless and fully-fledged cinema camera is an exciting space right now. I love small cameras but as my business grows I need certain features to serve my clients, and desire other features to make my life easier.

Strangely, I think if either of those cameras had an EVF I might have taken the leap already, but... how is everyone filming with just screens!? Seriously. Even with AF I'd want to be checking the shot in bright sunlight, and also there is a real joy in operating a camera with your eye up to it, but it's $2000+ to add a 3rd party EVF and your new camera isn't as small and simple anymore.

I think I'll probably see out this year and review again in 2022, but the temptation is very real.

James0b57 - I'm with you, for years I was hoping Panasonic would drop a small m43 parfocal cinema zoom with rocker. I'd still be tempted now. I think half of any camera system is the glass. The L mount glass is amazing. Next on list for me is the 24-70mm now I've seen how little it breathes! But I'd want a camera that would allow me to drop some NDs behind it ;-)
 
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