Panasonic on-camera mic released

[kye]

Panasonic just released a new on-camera mic.  Looks like an excellent option for events etc where you want something small or something really flexible.

I've watched a few YT showcases and for me, the best features are:

• It gives you 32-bit without having to have the external mic preamp box (and then adding microphones to that, making it larger again)
• It's small, much smaller than an on-camera shotgun mic
• You can quickly swap between modes
• (I assume?) it's powered by the camera
• It unlocks the ability to record >2 channels of audio into the files (one person said you can record left/right/mono/mono-20dB as a combo, and left/right/left-20dB/right-20dB as a different combo)

It's definitely not magic and the laws of physics still apply.

There don't seem to be any really good on-location stress tests posted yet, but there's a few examples.

Media Division did an in-kitchen test to compare it to in-camera mics and lav and a DJI clip-on, and also applied a bit of AI voice isolation too to see how far you can push it:

Dustin did some good tests including walking a 360 around the camera in each mode, which showed how directional it is, which seems pretty impressive.  He also compared it to the Sennheiser MKE440.

This shows the different modes out in nature:

This is probably a complete revolution for a number of niche uses.  Content creators would be one, where they're recording in noisy environments but still staying relatively close to the camera where physics will be helping them.  Another is where the flexibility really helps, like shooting events where getting pristine audio isn't an absolute must but working super-quickly is more important and perhaps the 32-bit would really come into its own.

This reminds me of how people used to talk about Panasonic when the GH4 and GH5 were around and people were saying that Panasonic just listened to people and then implemented the features that people would use rather than trying to be flashy and grab headlines.  This will be an invisible workhorse for lots and lots of people.

[MrSMW]

Looked at and decided very quickly it isn’t for me, but good to see LUMIX making stuff they at least think folks want.

What they really want however is an S1H mk II in an FX3 style body with the screen mech from the S1II and the screen from the ZR.

Then they will truly win the crowd and strut like gods of low-mid film-making.

[Thpriest]

If it were half the price it'd be interesting but there if a lot of cheaper good gear out there. But it's good to see them innovating.

I'm enjoying the S1mk2, I feel it's a big step up from the S5mk2. I hope it survives the summer! 

Panasonic now has quite comprehensive line up for all budgets.

[John Matthews]

It's great they came out with something new, but I wish they'd spent their time elsewhere. This product just doesn't seem like a priority. If audio is the priority, I'd rather a set of 2+ wireless lav microphones that connect and record to the camera via bluetooth or wifi. Why hasn't anyone done that?

[MrSMW]

2 hours ago, John Matthews said:

If audio is the priority, I'd rather a set of 2+ wireless lav microphones that connect and record to the camera via bluetooth or wifi

Yes.

This to me is just a somewhat expensive, limited use, vloggers device that has zero serious use case for my needs.

I already have 2x Sennheisers that fill this role at €150 for the pair of them.

 

[John Matthews]

2 hours ago, MrSMW said:

Yes.

This to me is just a somewhat expensive, limited use, vloggers device that has zero serious use case for my needs.

I already have 2x Sennheisers that fill this role at €150 for the pair of them.

 

Lumix has involved themselves in gimmicks for some time now. Anyone remember OZO Audio on the G100? What about DFD Focus "technology"; and somehow, the Olympus cameras without PDAF (like the E-M10 iii, iv) did much better in CAF. At least this on-camera mic seems like an actual product, but I'm just not sure how useful it is since it's a rather large device taking up you hot shoe. I think I'll pass for that reason alone. Just give us 32bit with ANY mic internally, not a whole contraption on top.

[kye]

On 2/26/2026 at 11:08 PM, John Matthews said:

Lumix has involved themselves in gimmicks for some time now. Anyone remember OZO Audio on the G100? What about DFD Focus "technology"; and somehow, the Olympus cameras without PDAF (like the E-M10 iii, iv) did much better in CAF. At least this on-camera mic seems like an actual product, but I'm just not sure how useful it is since it's a rather large device taking up you hot shoe. I think I'll pass for that reason alone. Just give us 32bit with ANY mic internally, not a whole contraption on top.

Come on John...  everyone knows that anyone who wants better footage than a smartphone can provide is 100% totally fine with a camera the size of a microwave oven that looks like a Borg prototype!

Being slightly serious though, it's easy to criticise, but as someone who wants flexibility and better sound options, this is FAR better than the previous options, so it's a welcome addition in my eyes.  The worst enemy of progress is criticising everything that isn't perfect in every conceivable way.

[John Matthews]

3 hours ago, kye said:

Come on John...  everyone knows that anyone who wants better footage than a smartphone can provide is 100% totally fine with a camera the size of a microwave oven that looks like a Borg prototype!

Being slightly serious though, it's easy to criticise, but as someone who wants flexibility and better sound options, this is FAR better than the previous options, so it's a welcome addition in my eyes.  The worst enemy of progress is criticising everything that isn't perfect in every conceivable way.

Fair enough. I just wish they'd spent time and resources elsewhere. I want a small, up-to-date, Panasonic M43 camera, not an overly complex version of a on-camera mic. This seems like a great product for 2010. But what do I know, maybe this THE MIC, the one that everyone was waiting for. What I can tell you with 100% certainty, people are ready and willing to pay vast sums of money for old gear, only because it's small. What happened Panasonic? The whole miniaturization of components thing has been apparently disregarded.