Panasonic hints at a “rapid progress” of the Lumix camera lineup

S5II at Bhphoto, Adorama, Amazon US&EU&CA, Fotokoch, FotoErhardt, WexUK, Ipln.

DC.watch interviewed a bunch of Panasonic managers. They made it clear they plan to rapidly expand the Lumix portfolio. I am curious to see if they will launch an “Updated GH6” with Phase detection AF!

About the Lumix future:

We recognize that we are not yet a strong manufacturer in the market. We believe that the S5II this time is a product of a very high dimension, and we believe that this is the next phase of LUMIX. Please look forward to the rapid progress of LUMIX in the future.

On Why Phase Detection AF is only coming now on Panasonic cameras:

This is because we place the highest priority on image quality. When using focal plane phase detection AF, pixel defects will inevitably occur. LUMIX gives top priority to image quality, so we have been developing from the perspective of how far AF can be enhanced while still producing the highest image quality. In such a situation, we have refined contrast AF and DFD (spatial recognition AF) without pixel defects.

About the new IS system:

The main feature is the significant improvement in the image stabilization effect when shooting videos while walking. Conventionally, when shooting movies, the vertical, horizontal, and rotational correction ratios were allotted at a fixed rate, but with Active IS, for example, in scenes where vertical blur is large, the vertical correction ratio is increased. For example, the correction ratio is adjusted according to the state of blurring. As a result, we were able to greatly improve the correction effect for walking shots. In addition, the camera shake correction effect can be fully demonstrated even with fixed shooting.