Panasonic is marking 25 years of LUMIX with a special anniversary website, and a pair of new videos featuring Panasonic staff and creators have dropped a few hints about what might come next.
The hints were rounded up by Photo Rumors. At about 27 seconds into the first video, creator Piotr Kwasnik runs through the LUMIX cameras he owns, then says “Wait a minute. There’s one more”. The edit cuts away before the camera is revealed.
A compact full-frame with a viewfinder?
The second video is a longer discussion, and several ideas came up that LUMIX fans have been asking for. One was a compact full-frame camera with a built-in viewfinder, essentially a LUMIX S9 with an EVF. A Panasonic representative responded that the company “might do something like the G100”.
The panel also discussed a modern spiritual successor to the LUMIX LC1, the 2004 rangefinder-style compact that many photographers still remember fondly. A viewer asked for thin 28mm and 50mm pancake-style primes. When a 35mm f/1.4 to sit alongside the existing 50mm f/1.4 was suggested, the Panasonic representative said he would take the idea back to the development team.
It’s important to say that none of this is an announcement. These are comments in promotional videos, and while they’re interesting, they aren’t a product roadmap.
25 years of LUMIX
The anniversary itself is official. Panasonic has launched a Celebrating 25 Years of LUMIX site in Japan, with sections covering the brand’s innovations, its colour science and its history. Panasonic says the LUMIX name combines the ideas of light and fusion. The site also features a Titanium Gold LUMIX L10 anniversary model sold through Panasonic’s own store in Japan.
Our take
Twenty-five years is a long run in the camera market, and LUMIX has been behind some genuinely significant cameras. The GH series helped make mirrorless cameras credible for video, and the S line brought Panasonic into full frame through the L-Mount Alliance.
A small full-frame camera with a proper viewfinder would plug an obvious gap in the range, and an LC1-inspired model would be a lovely way to mark the anniversary. We’d happily take a look at either. For now, though, we’ll file these under wishful thinking until Panasonic makes something official.
