A story has appeared on Panasonic’s Lumix UK Instagram account which suggests that the company is planning to make a big announcement at Cine Gear Expo on 31st May. The message, which was posted 23 hours ago says:
‘7 DAYS Something is coming… #LUMIXLiveStream’
There’s also a countdown that you can tap on to set a reminder or share the countdown. The company has tagged @cine_gear_expo and used the hashtags #LUMIXUK, #LUMIXAtCineGear and #2019CineGearExpoLA.
So the question is, what is Panasonic about to announce? Rumour site 43rumors is speculating that it could be the Lumix GH6 or S1S. Checking the schedule for the Cine Gear Expo in LA we found the following listing:
Panasonic Product Announcement
Panasonic Lumix has some exciting new secrets they are ready to unveil at Cine Gear!
Join Panasonic and Director of Photography Alicia Robbins for a sneak peek at something exciting and new from Lumix.
Alicia will cover her initial thoughts on the new products and provide a screening that showcases what is possible with this top secret item.
That doesn’t sound like a lens announcement to me.
I’m inclined to agree that it’s going to be a camera. Now it could be a totally movie-centric full-frame mirrorless camera, perhaps called the Lumix S1S, but the Panasonic Lumix S1 and S1R are only just reaching the shops now. Of those two cameras, the S1 has the most impressive video features with a firmware update promised for July to bring Full V-Log recording, 4:2:2 10-bit 4K 24p/30p internal video recording and 4:2:2 10-bit 4K 60p HDMI output.
Introducing a third full-frame mirrorless camera make put the brakes on Lumix S1 sales.
So does that mean that Panasonic is about to announce a replacement for the Micro Four Thirds GH5 and introduce the Lumix GH6? Maybe!
There have been rumours circulating for a while that Panasonic is going to introduce a 24Mp camera. Perhaps this will be it? Given Panasonic’s talk about recording the 2020 Olympic games in 8K, some people are speculating that the GH6 will be able to shot 8K video. That would mean a leap to 33Mp, which I think is very unlikely.
With the announcement promised for 31st May, at least we don’t have too much longer to wait to find out the details. In the meantime, we’ll keep our eyes open for more hints.
Check the price of the Panasonic Lumix GH5 at Amazon UK, Amazon.com, Wex Photo Video, Park Cameras, Adorama, BH Photo Video
So it turns out it WAS a full-frame video camera: Panasonic Lumix S1H: specs, price, release date announced