FULL STEAM AHEAD, LUMIX

007peter wrote:

If Panasonic didn't make a FF (L) mount, then M43 would be Panny only option. Problem is Panasonic already have invested heavily in making FF (L) mount, with no apparent interest in making any new M43 sensor. If push comes to shove due to dwindling camera market.

I fully expect Panasonic to concentrate on its FF (L) mount over M43 to compete against Canon (R), Sony (FE/E), and Nikon (Z) mount. This is the ugly reality. FF is where the competition is now. While you may not want a FF, most buyers seem to be sucking up every Sony Alpha 7 and the soon 2b released Canon R5/R6

If Panasonic is depending on L-Mount to sustain their imaging division, then it really is a high risk proposition. The Full Frame market is already saturated with too many competitors, and Panasonic isn't bringing anything exciting or new to the table. Unless you count "extremely well made camera with high price and slow AF" as a positive.

Plus they are competing against well established rivals, with huge customer bases, who have more resources and more experience in this area. Sounds like a long shot to me, much like Pentax taking on Nikon and Canon in full frame DSLRs. So yes, they do have L mount "to worry about."

And while I have no exact sales statistics to support this the DPR Gearlist data available seems to support the notion that L-Mount will be in a distant fourth place:

Now compare this to Crop Sensored ILCs from the same time period. This is still a significant market and Panasonic would be wise to stay in it if they want to remain in the digital camera market. It probably makes more sense for them to continue with a unique format, rather than trying to outdo Fujifilm and Sony with APSC::

In recent years, Fujifilm seems to be dominating this market.