Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
The rumors on the upcoming Panasonic Lumix camera have been updated yesterday by Andera Pizzni who got some interesting confirmations from, as he calls them, trusted sources. The rumors about a FX3 type of cine camera were not correct and instead we will supposedly be getting the flagship Lumix S1 II in 2 variants; similarly to the S5II and S5IIx versions of the Lumix S5II.
There are very few specs that we know of, for the S1 II, it will have the same 24MP partially stacked sensor as the Nikon Z6 III, full 4k 60fps and up to 50 fps still shooting.
Mixed feelings on the new information
The latest news has stirred a frenzy of comments with mixed feelings about the rumored release; some were pleased, many were expecting a FX3 competitor and others advocated that Panasonic should focus more on the M43 cameras and the variety of lenses.
Regarding the FX3 type of camera bodies (box like, compact and without a viewfinder) it might be a good thing that Lumix didn’t come out with this type of camera, as there are rumors of a Sony FX3 II, Canon should release a V (video) version of the R7 II and Nikon is also planning to release FX type of camera. The FX line of Sony cameras is still predominant in its category and it is logical that other brands would want to take a share of that market.
How will the Lumix S1 II compete with the Nikon Z6 III?
If it will have the same sensor as the Nikon Z6 III, how will it compete with the excellent Nikon camera, in specs and pricing. If we look at the recently released S1R II, we can get some insights on what it could offer more than the Z6 III.
Open gate – while the Nikon Z6 III is capable of shooting up to 6K/60p N-RAW, it does not offer open gate as the S1R II does; Panasonic did also say that it will be able to do 8K open gate with a future firmware.
More video features – anamorphic support, dynamic range expansion and false color are features that are missing in the Nikon and present in the S1R II.
The two issues that have been extensively talked about are rolling shutter and overheating (in video). The rolling shutter should be better than the S1R II, due to the partially stacked sensor, and it will probably have internal cooling, which will hopefully keep it from overheating.
A new 24/28-60 mm f2.8/2 zoom lens
The other exciting rumor is that Panasonic will announce a new 24/28-60 mm zoom lens, with a fixed aperture of 2.8 or even 2, a welcome addition to the Lumix lens selection, which is lacking in certain areas. This new lens will probably not be a cheap lens, due to its fast aperture, which still leaves a lot of wanting for small, budget, relatively fast zoom/prime lenses for Lumix cameras such as the S9.
More info in the upcoming days
The most reliable rumor is that Panasonic will have an announcement on the 13th of May (Tuesday), the other rumors have to be verified. It does seem that we will be getting the S1 II, normal and video enhanced (x) version plus a new zoom lens.
Whatever we get, many will be disappointed due to the expectations of a cine FX3 like camera or the wish for a small M43 camera, a mini G9 II, that would be a great addition to the Lumix ecosystem.
