Is Panasonic barking up the wrong marketing tree?

Tom Caldwell

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Panasonic seems to be putting all its eggs into the video basket. Like many other camera manufacturers they perhaps see the opportunity for new stills oriented camera bodies having diminishing room for improvement.

Whilst they see video as having a long way to go yet and plenty of room to sell exciting extra (video) features. Rah, rah ... tish, boom, crash ....

The only real benefit of video captures speeds for (stodgy) mainly still-image shooters is higher burst capture speeds and their use for hi-resolution captures.

I would argue that M4/3 users are mainly stills-oriented shooter who may do some occasional video. There is no doubt that there are users whose prime object is good video but I suggest that they might be a minority with a strong voice. I give them the GH6 and G100 for their close consideration and pleasure of use.

Furthermore RF-Style bodies with side hinged lcd units simply do not sell well. Examples are the GX8 and Pen-F - both acknowledged as great cameras but never repeated because they did not set the market on fire as they should have. RF-style bodies are the least video-oriented style of camera body made so why do they need a side hinged lcd?

The G100 as a sort of poor-man's Vlogging camera is so video oriented as to put off potential still shooting buyers who might decide that its relative compact dimensions were attractive. But a camera made firstly for stills that did a bit of video is not the same as one optimised for video that can also do stills. We might consider the GH6 as a standout but would a still shooter buy a complex video capability as something that can be overlooked when an OM-1 is winking at them?

The relative excitement on the forum for the OM-1 and lack of it for the GH6 (both impressive cameras) obviously shows that as far as the interested market lies you can lead a stills shooter to a camera specialised for video but you cannot make them buy one.

"Hey", says someone in Panasonic marketing, "sales are down, I wonder why ...."
 
I think it depends what markets you look at . B&H top selling Panasonic and Olympus/om mirrorless cameras. The video shooting market also has deeper pockets when you look at the prices of say video optimised lenses and the like

Mirrorless Cameras | B&H Photo (bhphotovideo.com)

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I think it depends what markets you look at . B&H top selling Panasonic and Olympus/om mirrorless cameras. The video shooting market also has deeper pockets when you look at the prices of say video optimised lenses and the like

Mirrorless Cameras | B&H Photo (bhphotovideo.com)
With deep discounts already for the GH6 at B&H, is it any wonder?

 
My observations at the weddings and functions I have been at, is that the Panasonic GH5 is a weapon of choice. Professional TV station camera operators doing weddings on the side, hiring the GH5 as well... 3 or 4 GH5 set up at the function... they must know something. It must be hard for Panasonic to not keep advancing something that is targeted by professionals.

Hopefully Panasonic will produce a G9 successor. The G9 is a great camera. Despite all the analysis, I still find the stills from the GH6 sensor very pleasing to the eye... it has a different look that I like very much.
 
I think the marketing is only a small part of the issue. In the case of GH6, it is getting killed by all the bad press about dynamic range. Had this not been an issue, I suspect there would've been more interest with stills shooters. Plus, the tidal wave of DFD naysayers just grows larger with every release.
 
Panasonic seems to be putting all its eggs into the video basket. Like many other camera manufacturers they perhaps see the opportunity for new stills oriented camera bodies having diminishing room for improvement.

Whilst they see video as having a long way to go yet and plenty of room to sell exciting extra (video) features. Rah, rah ... tish, boom, crash ....

The only real benefit of video captures speeds for (stodgy) mainly still-image shooters is higher burst capture speeds and their use for hi-resolution captures.

I would argue that M4/3 users are mainly stills-oriented shooter who may do some occasional video. There is no doubt that there are users whose prime object is good video but I suggest that they might be a minority with a strong voice. I give them the GH6 and G100 for their close consideration and pleasure of use.

Furthermore RF-Style bodies with side hinged lcd units simply do not sell well. Examples are the GX8 and Pen-F - both acknowledged as great cameras but never repeated because they did not set the market on fire as they should have. RF-style bodies are the least video-oriented style of camera body made so why do they need a side hinged lcd?

The G100 as a sort of poor-man's Vlogging camera is so video oriented as to put off potential still shooting buyers who might decide that its relative compact dimensions were attractive. But a camera made firstly for stills that did a bit of video is not the same as one optimised for video that can also do stills. We might consider the GH6 as a standout but would a still shooter buy a complex video capability as something that can be overlooked when an OM-1 is winking at them?

The relative excitement on the forum for the OM-1 and lack of it for the GH6 (both impressive cameras) obviously shows that as far as the interested market lies you can lead a stills shooter to a camera specialised for video but you cannot make them buy one.

"Hey", says someone in Panasonic marketing, "sales are down, I wonder why ...."
DPR represents a small part of the English speaking photographic community. Most of the camera market is not native English speaking. Most of the cameras reviewed are not made in English speaking countries. It's not surprising that we find it difficult to predict the market.
 
I am definitely in the camp of primary still, with the occasionsl video. Even then, video is typically ~5 minutes or less, so my G85 does quite well.

Having said that, I would like to upgrade to a G9 successor. The G9 appears to be a great camera, but I have to believe that it is at the end of its marketing life, and I tend to buy on the front end of the technology lifecycle.
 
Panasonic seems to be putting all its eggs into the video basket. Like many other camera manufacturers they perhaps see the opportunity for new stills oriented camera bodies having diminishing room for improvement.

Whilst they see video as having a long way to go yet and plenty of room to sell exciting extra (video) features. Rah, rah ... tish, boom, crash ....

The only real benefit of video captures speeds for (stodgy) mainly still-image shooters is higher burst capture speeds and their use for hi-resolution captures.

I would argue that M4/3 users are mainly stills-oriented shooter who may do some occasional video. There is no doubt that there are users whose prime object is good video but I suggest that they might be a minority with a strong voice. I give them the GH6 and G100 for their close consideration and pleasure of use.

Furthermore RF-Style bodies with side hinged lcd units simply do not sell well. Examples are the GX8 and Pen-F - both acknowledged as great cameras but never repeated because they did not set the market on fire as they should have. RF-style bodies are the least video-oriented style of camera body made so why do they need a side hinged lcd?

The G100 as a sort of poor-man's Vlogging camera is so video oriented as to put off potential still shooting buyers who might decide that its relative compact dimensions were attractive. But a camera made firstly for stills that did a bit of video is not the same as one optimised for video that can also do stills. We might consider the GH6 as a standout but would a still shooter buy a complex video capability as something that can be overlooked when an OM-1 is winking at them?

The relative excitement on the forum for the OM-1 and lack of it for the GH6 (both impressive cameras) obviously shows that as far as the interested market lies you can lead a stills shooter to a camera specialised for video but you cannot make them buy one.

"Hey", says someone in Panasonic marketing, "sales are down, I wonder why ...."
I don't think it's at all relevant to bring the OM-1 into this, considering that Olympus sold off their MFT division and exists in photo in name only. That's not a sign of success. That's bailing out.

Panasonic is and was always video-centric. When the first MFT came out (G1) people wanted video. The GH1 was created, and the rest is history.

Video is not a bad thing in the camera market. Neither is "hybrid". It's easy to create a still-centric camera from a video-centric camera. Think of it. Big buffer, big heat sink, big battery, rapid refresh rate. That makes for a heck of a still camera.

The swing out display and rangefinder styling bit is a straw man argument.

Panasonic is like Fuji. Big enough that they can dabble in imaging and make great cameras.
 
Panasonic seems to be putting all its eggs into the video basket. Like many other camera manufacturers they perhaps see the opportunity for new stills oriented camera bodies having diminishing room for improvement.

Whilst they see video as having a long way to go yet and plenty of room to sell exciting extra (video) features. Rah, rah ... tish, boom, crash ....

The only real benefit of video captures speeds for (stodgy) mainly still-image shooters is higher burst capture speeds and their use for hi-resolution captures.

I would argue that M4/3 users are mainly stills-oriented shooter who may do some occasional video. There is no doubt that there are users whose prime object is good video but I suggest that they might be a minority with a strong voice. I give them the GH6 and G100 for their close consideration and pleasure of use.

Furthermore RF-Style bodies with side hinged lcd units simply do not sell well. Examples are the GX8 and Pen-F - both acknowledged as great cameras but never repeated because they did not set the market on fire as they should have. RF-style bodies are the least video-oriented style of camera body made so why do they need a side hinged lcd?

The G100 as a sort of poor-man's Vlogging camera is so video oriented as to put off potential still shooting buyers who might decide that its relative compact dimensions were attractive. But a camera made firstly for stills that did a bit of video is not the same as one optimised for video that can also do stills. We might consider the GH6 as a standout but would a still shooter buy a complex video capability as something that can be overlooked when an OM-1 is winking at them?

The relative excitement on the forum for the OM-1 and lack of it for the GH6 (both impressive cameras) obviously shows that as far as the interested market lies you can lead a stills shooter to a camera specialised for video but you cannot make them buy one.

"Hey", says someone in Panasonic marketing, "sales are down, I wonder why ...."

--
Tom Caldwell

It is possible since OMS/Olympus is focusing on travel and wildlife that Panasonic decided to focus marketing on video illustrating a difference between the two cameras.

If both cameras had the same marketing message it could potentially confuse the average customer.
 
I think Panny's fight is to regain its chops in video. That's the future, not stills

I imagine that if the GH-6 isn't doing well it's because of AF and because of competition from Sony, Canon, and Nikon, now all in the mirrorless video market and making improvements in that area rapidly.

Selling long lens to old bird shooters who grumble about smart phones and Instagram, like the folks here, is nice enough, but not nearly as big a market.
 
The trend I’m seeing is younger generation users are more interested in video than stills independent of brand. Old timers are more stills shooters. This forum seems to have old population so stills it is on this forum.

DA
Yep, I get this impression this forum is heavily stills focused and hardly represents most of the newer market which is more video focused.
 
I’m sure there are thousands more cameras setup for zoom meetings and YouTubing with elgato lighting and 4K video streaming making real money than the few tromping around taking boring bird photos. Working from home my wife’s studio has payed for its self many times over in just a short time. This is a big market for small high quality video capable cameras.

DA
 
Panasonic knows well, the younger and upcoming generations are VERY video oriented. It's us old farts that are devoted photographers and don't mess much with the video stuff. I haven't touched my video buttons on any of my cameras that do that and still photography as yet. Just not interested. So Panasonic may do just fine ignorning the finer aspects of stills photography and concentrating on their video.
 
We all all aware of the overall decline in the camera market. Each camera manufacturer is seeking the niche in this market that will secure solvency. It’s not surprising to me that Panasonic continues to focus on the video segment which has always been a strong point for them. And… video seems to be the one segment of the camera market that is actually growing.
 
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The trend I’m seeing is younger generation users are more interested in video than stills independent of brand. Old timers are more stills shooters. This forum seems to have old population so stills it is on this forum.

DA
Yes, I'm pretty sure Olympus, Panasonic and all the other brands have a lot of market research data on which they're basing their strategies and decisions. Catering to the desires of this Dpreview forum without backing it up with any other research isn't a smart idea.
 
We all all aware of the overall decline in the camera market. Each camera manufacturer is seeking the niche in this market that will secure solvency. It’s not surprising to me that Panasonic continues to focus on the video segment which has always been a strong point for them. And… video seems to be the one segment of the camera market that is actually growing.
Yeah, given the decline in the market, overextending into too many areas is probably what they are trying to avoid. Panasonic may be perfectly fine going to back to the video focused side while leaving the stills focus for OMDS (which OMDS seems to be doing good job at so far). That allows them to concentrate their resources where they are more effective.

That said, ironically, their DFD AF actually is more suitable for stills given it creates pulsation that may be distracting for video, but matters less for stills. And some of their entry video focused cameras have significant deficiencies on the video side (like the G100, which has a huge 4K crop, 10 minute limit, no IBIS).
 
Tom Caldwell wrote:.

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I would argue that M4/3 users are mainly stills-oriented shooter who may do some occasional video

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This very successful m43 camera has a button with a camera icon on it. By pressing that button, the camera will capture a still image! Just like photo cameras once did. Not all Blackmagic camera owners know what this rarely used button is meant for :-D . Hence this article:

be321e625e754db5899beae9469a2c55.jpg
 
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Nothing wrong with specializing in video. They perform exceptionally well in that field, it's good to focus on strengths. Video is gaining more traction nowadays, and seems to be what sways potential buyers towards one camera over another, even if they won't end up using those video features (the video spec sheet sells). Many users agree that they'd take a significant chunk of the video market (including full frame videocentric bodies) if they got their AF working. That says quite a bit.

Most cameras nowadays can do stills extremely well, and there isn't too much to differentiate cameras when it comes to stills performance. Video is becomes a significant factor in buying decision, even though prospective buyers won't even end up using them. It's a marketing thing.

The GH6 isn't a bad stills camera anyways. The HHHR is extremely impressive. Compared to the G9, the main downsides would be that it's unnecessarily heavy and large for a stills camera, and the battery life is poor.
 
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I'm not convinced they're barking up the wrong marketing tree, but perhaps the wrong technology tree. I think the public perception of Lumix cameras has been damaged by the comparably under-performing DFD AF system in video mode, which gets amplified on YouTube. Once the damage has been done it's hard to fix, particularly as Panasonic stubbornly insists on sticking with DFD, which to date has been unable to convincingly compete with PDAF systems.
 
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