Hats off to Panasonic.

[dylanbarnhart]

I remember reading that they earn over $1 billion each year on royalty from other companies using their patents. So even if IBM stops selling all of its goods and services, it still has $1 Billion in revenue. That's amazing.

Should we be buying stock in IBM?
What are they doing with all of those patents?
--

 

[Martin Frost]

see
http://www.forbes.com/asap/2002/0624/044.html
--
Martin F.

OlympusE330and2xPanasonicL10.

 

[Ehrik]

The article states:

"... the U.S. Patents and Trademarks Office ...".

When I look at the World Intellectual Property Organisation,

http://www.wipo.int/ipstats/en/statistics/patents/wipo_pub_931.html#a32

Annex A: TOP PCT Applicants, I see:

MATSUSHITA (JP)
PHILIPS (NL)
SIEMENS (DE)
HUAWEI (CN)
ROBERT BOSCH (DE)
TOYOTA (JP)
QUALCOMM (US)
MICROSOFT (US)
MOTOROLA (US)
NOKIA (FI)
BASF (DE)
3M INNOVATIVE (US)
LG ELECTRONICS (KR)
FUJITSU (JP)
SHARP (JP)
NEC (JP)
INTEL (US)
PIONEER (JP)
IBM (US)
SAMSUNG (KR)

So from where I sit, it just looks like Canon are more prone to file their patents with the U.S. Patents and Trademarks Office than some other companies are.

Or maybe there are other ways to look at this, I'm open for alternative interpretations.

With all the talks about Canon slipping in innovation, you might be
surprised to find out that Canon ranks third in the number of patents
filed in 2008. Panasonic, which is Matsushita is #6:

1. 1 IBM took the : 4186 patents.
2. 2 Samsung : 3515 patents.
3. 3 Canon : 2114 patents.
4. 4 Microsoft : 2030 patents.
5. 5 Intel : 1776 patents.
6. 6 Matsushita : 1745 patents.
7. 7 Toshiba :1609 patents.
8. 8 Fujitsu : 1494 patents.
9. 9 Sony : 1485 patents.
10. 10 HP : 1424 patents.

Taken from
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/IBM-patents-filing-2008,6847.html

Just my two oere
Erik from Sweden

 

[BIJ001]

This is in contrast to Canon cameras, who seem to get points deducted
because the new cameras aren't head and shoulders better than their
previous class-leading cameras.

Do we remember the Canon Powershot A6xx line with vari-angle LCD and with the possibility for manual settings? This line seems to have been discontinued. The vari-angle LCD seems restricted to the super-zoom category. Canon seems to have abandoned the advantage of the vari-angle LCD below the super-zoom category. Hats on to Canon!

Balázs Iván József
(Hungary)

 

[BIJ001]

I like Fourthirds and Microfourthirds, and I hate the patent system,
but Fourthirds and Microfourthirds is patented.
Fourthirds is a more open standard than Microfourthirds,
patent usage can be given away for free as it partially happened in
Fourthirds

Given the system of patents, is it not a must to patent something lest someone else should patent it, even if your are willing to give it away?
See also the open source softwares.

--
Balázs Iván József
(Hungary)

 

[Barry Fitzgerald]

Not much to disagree with, pannie have done very well, and gained respect in the market by doing interesting things (mostly)

However, their pricing policies have hurt their potential, it ruined their DSLR mission..which was a complete failure.

The G1 looks like doing pretty well, but I fear they won't ever push it as far as it could go..or will price future models to high..and limit the market penetration.

Have to comment on their marketing though, esp with the lx-3 and in camera distortion correction. They tout the lens as low distortion, but it's not..rather misleading really, had they said nothing about it fair enough..but to clearly state such an untruth, is not becoming of any company

 

[Martin Frost]

Given the system of patents, is it not a must to patent something
lest someone else should patent it, even if your are willing to give
it away?
See also the open source softwares.

If you want to set rules, for example quality standards "fourthirds products have to have these funktionality and the name fourthirds should be used", then patents are necessary.

I hate software patents ( its like patents on picture IDEAS, for example a tree and a car in a picture ), that shows that the patent system is sick an all official people of the patent system should be replaced and the rules should be re-done.

But I admit, because you cannot useful stamp "copyrighted by XXX" on lens elements for example, some kind ( a better kind ) of patent system is useful for goods that have limited live and are out of the reach of the copyright protection.

cheers
--
Martin F.

OlympusE330and2xPanasonicL10.

Typing errors are intended to provide a basis for global amusement.

 

[John Tracy]

Not much to disagree with, pannie have done very well, and gained
respect in the market by doing interesting things (mostly)

However, their pricing policies have hurt their potential, it ruined
their DSLR mission..which was a complete failure.

The G1 looks like doing pretty well, but I fear they won't ever push
it as far as it could go..or will price future models to high..and
limit the market penetration.

Have to comment on their marketing though, esp with the lx-3 and in
camera distortion correction. They tout the lens as low distortion,
but it's not..rather misleading really, had they said nothing about
it fair enough..but to clearly state such an untruth, is not becoming
of any company

--Regardless , the distortion really hasn't surfaced as an issue with users. The in camera processing of jpgs seems to work well.

My AFS 18-105 Nikon produces more noticeable distortion and isn't as sharp as the LX3.

I just finished a sequence of new home construction (jpegs) with the LX3 and distortion wasn't an issue.

 

[redrobin]

Martin,
Interesting read.
Thanks

 

[bk262960]

If you use a lx3 for real you'll see that the distortion is -99% of the cases- completely irrelevant.

I believe the panasonic lx3 to be BY FAR the best "value for money" photographic hardware you can obtain nowadays.

The f2 leica lens is a godsend: makes the lx3 almost as good for street photography as my old Leica rangefinder, only more silent

------------------
street photography is a passion

 

[Barry Fitzgerald]

If you use a lx3 for real you'll see that the distortion is -99% of
the cases- completely irrelevant.
I believe the panasonic lx3 to be BY FAR the best "value for
money" photographic hardware you can obtain nowadays.
The f2 leica lens is a godsend: makes the lx3 almost as good for
street photography as my old Leica rangefinder, only more silent

I have no beef with panasonic, not the ist time a company overstates something.

But I have to take exception to the specific claim about the optics:

http://www.panasonic.co.uk/html/en_GB/1464999/index.html

Quote:

"The f/2.0-f/2.8 bright Leica DC VARIO-SUMMICRON Lens guarantees premium quality with minimal distortion and edge-to-edge sharpness. Even with the 24mm wide angle,the DMC-LX3 displays less distortion than competitor models thanks to Leica DC lens"

Yes we know that the jpeg is corrected, and for CA as well, and we know with ACR and silkypix the distortion is also correct without any user input. So yeah, for most it won't be an issue at all.

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/LX3/LX3A4.HTM

But as we can see the real optical distortion is pretty hefty to say the least.

Had Panasonic simply said that the camera..produced low distortion images with help via processing. Not a problem at all, no problem if they simply said nothing about it. But to make a claim that relates specifically to the optics, that is frankly a porkie pie..is really not acceptable.

We see something similar for the G1..though I have not read any specific claims about low distortion on the kit lens...that's a different story.

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/DMCG1/DMCG1A4.HTM

I know companies do exaggerate on thing, nothing new about that..this time they got caught out though. And if you use anything other than Silky pix and ACR, you will have lots of distortion to deal with..

 

[ch01]

I don't like their marketing either, plus they forced ADOBE to alter their DNG standard just because they want to auto correct the distortion...

waiting for olympus to come with their micro 4/3, hope olympus will not be like panasonic

 

[Ehrik]

I don't like their marketing either, plus they forced ADOBE to alter
their DNG standard just because they want to auto correct the
distortion...

I think in the future, it will be more and more common, for the convenience of the user, to include correction data from the lens into the raw files, so this would have had to be addressed sooner or later anyway.

If the DNG format can't handle that as it is, it seems it wasn't as versatile as Adobe claimed it would be.

I agree though that Panasonic should've been more open about this. Well, at least they don't tamper with the raw files.

Just my two oere
Erik from Sweden

 

[MusicDoctorDJ]

Panasonic is smart in making cameras that people like to use.

They are actually fun to use!

Unfortunately, the other camera makers haven't figured that out.

--
J. D.
Colorful Colorado



Remember . . . always keep your receipt, the box, and everything that came in it!

 

[onlooker]

I think G1 is a very exciting development. It may provide more impetus to Canon and Nikon to design EVIL cameras in the future.

I like G1's image quality, but I can only imagine what we could expect if they decided to go with a full frame instead of four thirds. Still, congrats to Panasonic!

 

[Gaurav S]

In examining the recent side by side comparison tests I was impressed
with how well Panasonic cameras fared in all categories. It seems
that Panasonic has found that winning combination of excellent build
quality, class leading lenses, excellent interface, lots of features
(including raw on many models) and suprise suprise even class leading
high ISO on some of it's newer models.
Some might say but they've flopped with dslr's. Well I had a look at
a G1 yesterday and I was very impressed. I think they've pegged the
direction for the mass market looking for quality imaging.

Indeed!

Having secured the highest accolade for the G1 too now, Panasonic is arguably the highest rated camera manufacturer for the year that went by... They had what, 5 Highly Recommended cameras?

Most impressive indeed!

--

'We photographers deal in things which are continually vanishing, and when they have vanished there is no contrivance on earth can make them come back again. We cannot develop & print a memory...'

~ Henri Cartier Bresson (1908 - 2004)

 

[Edwaste]

Not much to disagree with, pannie have done very well, and gained
respect in the market by doing interesting things (mostly)

However, their pricing policies have hurt their potential, it ruined
their DSLR mission..which was a complete failure.

It was not so much the price, but they refused to sell their DSLRs without the high priced Leica lens. For any Olympus user wanting a second body...the Panny would be ruled out.

The G1 looks like doing pretty well, but I fear they won't ever push
it as far as it could go..or will price future models to high..and
limit the market penetration.

Now that I own a G1, I could honestly say that it's not overpriced compared to other entry level DSLR.

The build quality, articulating LCD, high resolution EVF, and other great features make it worth the money.
And I'm a real cheapskate when it come to my photo gear.

 

[l_d_allan]

Looks like they are well on their way.

Newbie speculation: In 5 years, Canon and Nikon will be successfully making prosumer and pro DSLR's, but the growth will be in G1-like non DSLR's for the mass market.

Perhaps explosive growth.

 

[l_d_allan]

As any cyclist knows- it's hard to beat the pelaton.

[warning comment="dslr newbie ... consider the source"]

Any Category-rated cyclist or better also knows that you can spend $1000 to $50000 on a bike, but the winner tends to have the best engine ... the heart, lungs, and legs trained during grueling hours.

So what, you ask?

After mastering the learning curve, good pictures have less to do with the camera and mostly the eye (and patience).

My understanding is that 99.9% of the photos from Look and Life used film with equipment that was vastly inferior to what we have. When was the last time you took a picture that could have appeared in Look or Life? Never, like me?

Pretty much the same challenge regarding National Geographic prior to 2000. Out of tens of thousands of pictures they published, 99.9% were using film.

[ comment]

 

[Dennis]

It's great that Panasonic is making good cameras. However I feel
that in the recent reviews they're getting extra point because the
new models are so much better than the previous inferior models.
This is in contrast to Canon cameras, who seem to get points deducted
because the new cameras aren't head and shoulders better than their
previous class-leading cameras.

I noticed this ... dpreview doesn't even seem to be too subtle about it ... they seem to use reviews to grade manufacturers on "trends". And I can't say I disagree with the approach.

A year+ ago, I thought Canon had the best lineup of compacts around. (It started when they made a concerted effort to knock Sony from the #1 spot). I'm still glad I bought my A610 when I did as I don't see anything else I'd want to replace it with.

But they're slipping, producting not "head and shoulders better" cameras, but littler, lousier cameras while Panasonic is producing not only what's "better than previous models" but downright good cameras. I think they easily have the best lineup out there right now; better than Canons offerings. And beyond that, I'm not sure anyone else is close, with ever-shrinking sensors, slower and slower lenses, disappearing OVFs, lost articulating LCDs, missing hand grips, slower and slower lenses (did I say that already ?)

• Dennis

--
Gallery at http://kingofthebeasts.smugmug.com