Panasonic 14-140mm to ship from May 30. And company promises to go back to profit within the year.

Panasonic Japan announced that the new 14-140mm MFT lens will ship from May 30. This is a nice lens, lighter, faster, cheaper than the previous 14-140mm lens. You can preorder the new lens at Amazon (Click here), BHphoto (Click here) and at Wex UK (Click here).

Panasonic financial report:
And now let’s talk about the latest financial report issued by Panasonic. First the bad news: Panasonic reported a near-record net loss of 754bn yen ($7.5 bn) for the fiscal year through March due to restructuring costs and falling sales. And now the good news: Panasonic forecast a return to profitability this year as it cuts unprofitable businesses. This means that they pull away from consumer electronics and this likely includes the compact camera business. And now guess what business is doing best at Panasonic…come on guess…here it is: “washing machines and refrigerators, and the division it dubs “eco solutions”, which makes light fixtures, toilets, ceiling fans and other household fittings” (Source AJ).

In short, last year at Photokina Panasonic clearly stated that they want to go focus on the camera “high end” market. And it is a goal it shares with many other companies including Olympus.