The Next Panasonic Camera -- suggestions to the product manager

Do they even have a global shutter sensor?

Is this the criterion for asking for something? That I know that they already have the part?

Chances are you're going to settle for a faster - with a small chance of an alternative line - readout.

If you see a post by combatentropy about global shutter, don't try to talk him out of it.
I worked and played with video for 15 years.
Then I burned out.
Now I have a job as a computer programmer.
I can wait.

I am a purist about capturing motion. No matter how fast a rolling shutter reads out, the very thought of it makes my skin crawl.

It's not just the pans. It's the partial-frame flashes, the warped propellers and baseball-bat swings, the weird guitar-string oscillations. Even the thought of someone's lips moving in a distorted way, just a little bit, makes me cringe.

Someone may say I'm a perfectionist, that I'm impractical. Well, maybe I am. But I can afford to be (see aformentioned alternative full-time job). I certainly don't judge those who bought rolling-shutter cameras. But speaking of needless demands, I still stare in disbelief at the people who say they got to have 4K.

I still am pretty tired and busy. I would like to dip my toe back into the waters, but I'm not in a hurry. Anyway, the first company to come out with the following camera will make me sorely tempted indeed:

canon_xa10.jpg

interchangeable lens, 10-bit, 4:2:2, time lapse to 60 fps (in 1 fps steps), 1080p (yep, not 4K is fine), preferably 4/3 or S35 (but I could be tempted by anything between 16mm and 135), ISO 12800, 12 f-stops of dynamic range (according to simply the international standard), 2 XLRs w/ phantom, SDXC, 3-hour battery or more, 4" 1080p flip-out screen, 3- or 4-lb. metal handicam body, neutral density filters, quick-and-easy changes to the main camera functions (ISO, frame rate, and shutter speed), starts up in three seconds or less, $5000 or less (preferably $3,000)

Until then, to quote Tom Hanks in The Terminal:

I wait!

the-terminal-4.jpg
 
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An S35 size sensor with only 2.2 MPX - or, what the heck, let's add a few more pixels for the Bayer sampling loss to ~ 3 MPX - will give you the ISO, the DR and maybe the global shutter that you seek but the demand, or lack thereof, for such camera will not entice any manufacturer into actually making it. The best hope I see here lies in the automotive sector where the dynamic range and ISO run supreme (nighttime subject detection for the driverless car tech) but the currently available resolution is closer to SD than to HD. Given the economic potential of that market, however, the pertinent technology is constantly improving but I still doubt you'll see it in the camera department at B&H ... well, maybe in the astro-photography section. Which would make for a really long wait.
 
A lot of people have mentioned "GH4 sized body", while that would be nice, I wouldn't mind if it goes up to even as big as a C100 body and picks up some of those C100 body features.

However if it is any bigger, even C300 size, let alone bulky AF100 size, well... that would be rather disappointing :-/

Small is beautiful!

Just make sure has built in ND filters and 2x XLR inputs.
 
- af100 or c300 style body (smaller & lighter welcome, but no dslr-style body) with handgrip, all the buttons & I/O (XLR, SDI), nd-filter-wheel, image stabilization, external power via cable (not adapter), battery exchangable while on tripod,...
- dual-slot sd cards or micro p2, parallel recording
- 4/3 mount & chip that records 4k at 60fps, full hd at at least 120fps
- good high-bitrate codec with 4:2:2 10bit recording & efficient low bitrate codec for long recordings (concerts, conferences)
- v-log/lut support
- eng-style par-focal power-zoom kit kens (like the one for the sony fs7, but wider - e.g.: 14-140/f4.0)
- priced below $5000 (without lens)
 
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