(FT5) NEW UPDATE! Panasonic ready to launch a new Lumix camera

Visitor says:

I need LX4 !

adessio says:

PMA happens in about 15 days, correct?

Duarte Bruno says:

What is the poll all about?
The GH1 is the G1 sucessor!

There is absolutely no way Panasonic will ever release a camera without video.

mpgxsvcd says:

It will be a GH2 with a back lit CMOS sensor. The better low light sensor will help videos as much as it will help pictures because it will allow faster shutter speeds in low light situations.

This new camera will be an awesome upgrade but it will be hard to justify spending the extra money because the GF1 and GH1 are already so great when used with fast glass. I predict this new camera will bring the m4/3s line dangerously(For Canon, Nikon, and Sony) close to the APS-C abilities.

It won’t be a cheap camera but it will offer the right size and functionality. I also predict it will be offered with a variety of Kit lenses(20mm, 14-140, 14-45, and without a lens) even in the US.

Just my prediction though.

Ranger 9 says:

I think mpgxsvcd’s idea is the most plausible. The one place most reviewers agree M4/3 still trails DSLRs is high-ISO performance — so if Pana has a new sensor that would address that, it would make sense to roll it into the product line as soon as possible.

It seems logical to think they’ll gravitate their M4/3 offerings into two product lines, the “F” group (rectangular shape, more compact, “consumer” video capabilities) and the “H” group (mini-SLR shape, less compact, pro-like video capabilities.)

The “H” camera would be the logical place to introduce the new sensor because the GH1 has been out longer and sells at a higher price (although recently cut — hint?) The current “F” camera (GF1) doesn’t seem to need any help selling right now — demand still exceeds supply in some places — so it would be logical to roll out its successor model a few months after the higher-end camera.

(Whether they would call the upgraded camera the “GH2″ or adopt a Nikon-like convention and call it something like “GH1s” would be another question…)

For me, significantly better high-ISO performance would make it pretty easy to justify an upgrade from my G1 because even with fast lenses, there’s still a significant quality gap between the G1 and, say, the Nikon D300.

(For example see some of the galleries here –
http://ranger9.net/?page_id=278&album=8
– I shot all these with a G1 and, mostly, 50mm f/1.1 Nokton.)

If they could close that gap, I’d almost never need to lug a DSLR outfit at all, and to me that would be worth the money!

mpgxsvcd says:

Panasonic will not put In body image stabilization in their cameras. They have already committed to in lens image stabilization. They will not obsolete their own lenses. I can guarantee that.

They would also receive to many support calls about when to enable IBIS and when to disable ILIS.

If you want IBIS and m4/3s it is only going to come from Olympus.

Remember Oly and Panny are not really competing against each other in m4/3s. You may compare them when you buy but they are not trying to dominate each other. They are both working together to try to capture market share from Canon, Nikon, and Sony. If they try to compete against each other they will just steal a large portion of a very small pie. They would much rather steal a slice from everyone elses pie while they are not looking.

Mike says:

mpgxsvcd says:
January 15, 2010 at 9:01 am

It will be a GH2 with a back lit CMOS sensor.

Better low light performance in high ISO is what 4/3 sensors need with no difference compared to any state-of-the-art APS-C ones (and same or better dynamic range and details – weak AA filter). Hope that new Panasonic sensors won’t affect color rendition famed by Olympus.