John Matthews

I heard that was for February.

That would probably be close; however, Panasonic doesn't really have a phone. I got the feeling that Samsung had engineers from the camera department move to the phone department because they figured out that the camera part of the phone is the most important. They dumped the declining, hard-fought camera market for the up-and-rising phone market. Clearly, this paid off for them. Panasonic doesn't have this option. Panasonic is doing what the car industry has been doing for decades- make a chassis and standardise as much as possible to streamline the process and leverage quality, suppliers, and tooling. It must be working because Nikon and others are now doing the same. I feel like Panasonic is trending to be a more amateur brand and other brands like Canon, Nikon, and now Sony are fighting for the professional market. Of course, many pros use Panasonic stuff too. The problem is that if they are viewed "for amateur," they won't get top-dollar prices. Does anyone know if Panasonic is specifically losing money in their camera division? I don't think we do. Consumer electronics is still a big part of their business, but who knows how the world might change over the next 5 years to get out. If they do, I don't really care. Their cameras will still continue to be a reliable way to get beautiful imagery for many years to come. I picked up a Konica F-T3(n) the other day- it still works like a charm after 50 years and I suspect will continue to do so for another 50 years, probably outliving me. It's a very recent thing to have camera release upon camera release. Frankly, it's unnecessary. The only thing I'm seeing is nth degree-type things. To circle back to the car industry, fins and not really meaningful improvements. It's usually AI crap where give up total control on where it focusses (and slow to set up) or 120fps 4k (so now your 1/2 second clip looks so much better versus the 1/2s clip in 1080p?). The audience will no longer enjoy your content if it's not 4k at 120fps? However, the audience will care if your AI messes up focus. I get the feeling it will soon be a "feature" to have a dumber camera... and we come full circle. The 80's brought us AF, but crap, plastic lenses and bodies (on the whole). The 90's just continued the trend (also, they were butt-ugly). The 2000's started to give us digital with the same crappy lenses, with everyone trying to squeak out as much detail as possible. Then, we hit 6MP, the magic number that even Kodak has said to be the turning-point where digital finally had the same detail as film. Then video came to the masses and since then we've been striving for more megapixels and sharper lenses even though no one prints anymore and your grandmother's wrinkles look like crap because there's too much detail. Now, we want our digital to look like film with less resolution. Sorry for the rant- must be a full moon.

I’m trying to find a historical element to compare Panasonic to. I’m struggling because regardless of their non-success in the camera market, we’re still talking about an absolutely massive company bigger than many of the other players that is roughly keeping up with technology. I don’t think there are any. With the right investments and people, they’ll find a way.

It's all a bit unfair. Smartphones get to hide behind the idea of it being "just a phone" and "look at its great video and photos" whereas a camera must be excellent at video and photo. The bar is always so low for a phone, but if we forget the "phone" idea and just say it's a camera; then it needs to compete with similar priced cameras. Unfortunately, there's nothing on the market in the sub 300g weight and size range, which is what I think many people want to start with. It makes more sense to have a $250 phone that does most things and a decent $800 light and nimble camera rather than the $1050 phone that only marginally takes better photos than the cheap phone but comes nowhere close to the $800 camera... if that makes sense.

Many got that F8 joke of a lens for free. Guess what? MBP won't even take it today because that's how undesirable it is. It's more like a wannabe lens cap. The only lens that does the S9 justice (like I want) is the 45mm Sigma. Why? It's a L-mount, full-frame, relatively fast lens (and rather small). The fact is this: Sony, Canon, and Nikon have all come out with pancakes that are relatively fast (F2.8). Panasonic needs a 28mm f2.8 or a 40mm f/2.8 before I'd consider it at its current price. Remember, this is company that gave us the 14mm f/2.5 and 20mm f/1.7; both were decent lenses. These pancakes would actually make the S9 is a serious alternative and would convince others to buy it, even with its shortcomings. If it is a video camera, why is there a PASM dial? If it is a video camera, why all the recording limitations? Many people see it as a photo camera without essential features of a photo camera and a video camera without the essential features of a video camera. Don't get me wrong, I actually will buy it at the right price. If Panasonic or sigma don't come out with a pancake, I might pair it with the Konica 40mm f/1.8 as I think it'll do fine on it.

Putting a cheap, well-designed Sony sensor in a small body with f/2 pancake lenses would be amazing. I would forgive the lack of mechanical shutter and hotshoe in that case. Still, I’d like version 2 of this camera to have a flip-up, brighter screen and at least 1/500 capable shutter.

Yeah, it would need to have a global shutter for real flash photography. However, you could take video lights or reflectors with reasonable results. The fact is there are just so many concessions. Still, as @Andrew Reid said, it's probably a very fun camera. The other problem is that there are so many M43 cameras with all those features (and even smaller and lighter).

I can believe that. I've always loved using small cameras. The GM1 was a little too small for me and my hands. The GX800 was just that much bigger and I liked not having an EVF in that I never had to choose. However, I'd prefer a flip-up screen rather than the flip-out style on the S9. I just find them fiddly and cheap-feeling (like one wrong move will break it). Oddly enough, I actually broke my GX800 screen by dropping it. I just can't swallow the price for the S9, but I secretly want one. You're probably going to love it.

My problem with the S9 is the weight. Once you have the grip, you're saving just over 100g over the S5/S5ii. The list of missing features (especially photography related) are numerous. For me, it's a camera to use as-is, once they have a pancake and once the price is more reasonable for what it is. I'd definitely take the S5 over it for the price they sell at, even used.

I think they're changing things up in their marketing (and they should). They have decent products. They have a very high ceiling in terms of production tooling know-how now. The 2 lenses missing for the S9 are a 28mm f2 and 40mm f2 pancakes. Let's hope they get on it. People don't realise that when you go for small, it's basically going for a new system and you need to have lenses that go with it or the traction won't be there. I think this is the case with the S9. Also, it's lacking so many photography features for the price and weight. Still, it's a great-looking camera IMO.

The worst example of this is the Apple Pencil. With a lithium ion battery the size of a pea, it often dies on people who don't use it for a month, never to be used again. This didn't happen to me, but I plug it in all the time and check it every week. What a pain in the ass!

In France, Panasonic "deals" are way worse than last year. The "too good to pass up" offers aren't really there. Too bad. Maybe they made their quotas for the year and they're letting others take the hit in potential profits.

With the first kit mentioned and if you were to sell the 18-40 immediately to MPB, you'd be paying 844 euros for a brand new S5D. That seems very reasonable, but there might be even better deals. Who knows?

Amazon.fr is offering the S5D (new/old camera) + the new 18-40mm kit lens for 1129 euros. That's not that bed of a deal for new camera (not used) with a full 3 year warranty. Maybe even better is the same camera with the 28-200mm for 1699 euros here: https://www.digixo.com/appareil-photo-hybrides/panasonic/p398960-panasonic-lumix-s5d-28-200mm-dc-s5dhe-k.html

Never mind. I finally found one with a serial number 7511105 with significant yellowing according to the seller. That would mean one with a serial number lower would definitely have it too. I'm still not sure when it stopped. I'm fairly sure they made this lens into the 80s and they wouldn't have done it then. It's so easy to blow time on things like this.

I've already heavily researched this, but could someone tell me is the a Konica Hexanon AR 57mm f/1.2 made in March of 1973 with a serial number of 75088XX-ish would have thorium? Does anyone have a lens with a later serial number they KNOW has thorium either by discoloration or having tested with a Geiger meter? I'm not worried about it, just curious. I'm having trouble finding precise information on the topic. I find that anything Konica is difficult to find.

For sure. It's unique for its focal range and the fact it's got weather sealing. I'm not sure there's another "kit" lens in any system with those 2 features. I don't care that it's a little big for the S9 because it's perfect for the other bodies. I also think it's a better lens than the new 18-40mm, although I've never tried it for myself. Both are great travel options, especially for outside work.

The 20-60 is a awesome lens. It's one that really "makes the system". Wide angle at 20mm was VERY difficult to find; now, it's commonplace. This lens basically means you don't have to get a wide angle because the kit lens will do it! I already have one. Sorry.

Just picked up an S5 for 764 Euros to replace my GH2 for live streaming. I'm not sure anyone will notice anything meaningful on the other end, but damn, the image is great even at 1080p. I’ve decided to dedicate it to all my vintage glass. To celebrate, I found an absolute gem—the Pentax 28mm f/3.5 (K version, not the M version). I had that lens before but regrettably sold it (note to self: 'Don’t sell vintage glass for peanuts!'). I used it on the A7RII for about a year—it was great, but I can already tell Panasonic is definitely going to elevate my footage for video.

After thinking a lot about it, I do think the S5 (original) is where it's at in terms of value. I'd rather deal with manual focus than tripods and gimbals.

The S9 was a debacle from conception to their current marketing of the camera. Many of the people invited to the event were so surprised that they thought the S9 was completely thrown together at the last minute. Many have the theory that another camera that was meant for the event, but something went horribly wrong just before and it was too late to cancel. The result was a shotgun wedding called the S9.

For IQ, the S5ii is all about its 6k FF up to 30fps image. The rest isn't "bad" by any stretch, but there might be better FF cameras out there with full sensor readout. YouTube is NOT the way to look at the images either. In that video, I thought the Nikon looked really bad too. Most people here complain about the S5ii being too sharp and digital, not the contrary. You're absolutely right about the 120fps footage looking like a 2MP image because it actually is a 2MP image.

Exactly. That's what I was saying. I only mention the S5ii because that's what I have.

That's a good point and I have no experience with that. I only know that YouTube videos showing such are slow and tedious. If we're talking 2 minutes, why not? If we're talking 20-30 minutes, it would be highly annoying and I'd probably just rely on my phone. :(