Tick tock mf’er.

Just as I mentioned, literally 2 days ago in another post, Panasonic’s days are numbered. Japanaese outlet Asahi interviewed President Yuki Kusumi, who candidly revealed that “the situation is critial as we are not meeting expectations.” Kusumi also announced plans to take drastic measures to eliminate “challenging businesses” with poor growth potential by fiscal 2026.

While Kusumi cited home appliances, televisions, etc. as examples of “challenging” business, it’s obvious to anyone with a pair of eyes that the camera business is one such “challenging” business for them.

I’m calling it now, they will exit the camera market in a couple of years and will likely sell their technology to another brand. It could be like when Olympus exited the market and sold their camera division to Japan Industrial Partners (JIP), back in 2020, to become the brand now known as OM Digital.

If I were a competitor, I would buy up Panasonic’s tech immediately. Sony or Canon would be a great fit as Nikon recently acquired RED Camera last year. My pick would be Sony as they could benefit from Panasonic’s IBIS tech which is considered by many to be the best on the market. Heck, even Panasonic’s color science in a Sony body would be a dream come true. And unlike Panasonic, Sony already has a plethora of small, powerful cameras that Panasonic couldn’t be bothered to make (A7C II, FX3, ZV-E1).

C’mon Sony, get on it!

Where did it all go wrong?

*Photo © Richard Wong*
Big ass cameras, big ass lenses. Last generation Autofocus.
Panasonic: “Why aren’t people buying our cameras?!”
*Not gonna lie, the S1R and S PRO lenses are a sexy combination.*

As someone who purchased both the S1 and S1R on their launch, a person super excited about the prospect that Panasonic was going full-frame, a person who invested $10K+ into their L-Mount system, and shot well over 100,000 images, I think I’m one of the most qualified to offer a breakdown on why Panasonic failed.

The launch. Panasonic announced their cameras in September 2018. They launched in March/April 2019. The cameras were loaded with features, but the three biggest caveats were size, weight, and autofocus. In a market of smaller, more portable mirrorless cameras, Panasonic essentially launched two DSLR’s in terms of size and weight. The autofocus while competent didn’t blow anyone away compared to the phase detect autofocus of its competition.
The initial lens lineup. Initially Panasonic had several lenses available on launch. Some run of the mill standard lenses and their top of the line S PRO lenses certified by Leica. All of the S PRO lenses are stellar. Some of the best optics in the industry. But the lenses were huge, heavy, and expensive. Sensing a trend here?
Lack of software support. I chronicled my tethering woes using Panasonic for years. There’s no native software that supports tethering of Lumix cameras. You have to use their pitiful Lumix tether program in combination with Capture One/Lightroom or whatever you use. This prevents you from easily applying adjustments to subsequent captures during long sessions. And if Lumix Tether crashes, you could be still shooting and not even realize that none of your images are even transferring to the computer. This should have been a day one priority for Panasonic if they wanted their cameras to appeal to professional photographers. Partner with Capture One and Adobe and have full tethering support for their L-Mount cameras. Even Leica would eventually do it in 2021 with their SL-2 which is essentially the same camera as the S1R. No reason for Panasonic to not do this.
Too slow to change. A common gripe Panasonic’s naysayers had was its contrast detect autofocus system not being up to snuff for professional work. While I disagree with that sentiment to a point, it’s understandable when Sony and Canon have phase detect autofocus that feels like futuristic sci-fi tech in its ability to track and hold on to a moving subject. So Panasonic decides to silence all the critics with the release of the Panasonic S5. A smaller, more practical full-frame L-Mount camera. Like a mini Panasonic S1! Everyone was excited for it. They would finally conquer the size and weight issue! Only to be let down by the fact Panasonic still was using contrast detect autofocus. The company were almost defiant about it! This turned a lot of people off and during a time which could have seen Panasonic take shares of the market, other companies were responding with stellar products. Sony released the FX3, Fuji released the XH2-S, Canon released the R6 Mark II, and Nikon released their Z9 as well as update for their previous camera models. Why would you buy the S5 unless you were already in the L-Mount? By the time they finally released the S5 II, it was too little too late. People had already moved on to other companies that were responding to customer demand, not turning their noses up at them. And fast forward to today, instead of an announcement for the S1HII, a camera people actually want, Panasonic says fuck you to all its customers and announces the S9. An insulting camera that is dead on arrival. I just can’t with this company. Ugh.
The name. Lumix is not an attractive name. Panasonic is. Lose the Lumix name and just go with Panasonic. The Panasonic S1R sounds better than the Panasonic Lumix S1R. What the heck is a Lumix anyway? It made sense in the early days of digital cameras with their point and shoot lineup. But I think Panasonic should have embraced its own name, its lineage and emblazon it boldly on their products. It should say Panasonic on the front of the camera, not Lumix. I would have people ask me all the time what is a Lumix? No one knows what a Lumix is outside of photographers, but people are familiar with the name Panasonic. Change it dammit.
No ambition. I understand Panasonic isn’t a behemoth like Sony or Canon, but even Fujifilm, a smaller company, understands the importance of disruptive products. Panasonic came into the full-frame market red hot then just fizzled out. Where is a full-frame version of the Panasonic GX8? A rangefinder style, full-frame camera with flippy screen? Oh yeah, Sony makes that (A7CII and A7CR). Where is Panasonic’s top end video camera that’s small and shoots 4K 120fps? Oh yeah, Sony makes that(FX3, ZV-E1) along with Fujifilm(XH2-S). Additionally, they released no new S PRO lenses, no on-camera flash system, no improved software support with third-party companies, zilch. Just updated video centric features. They haven’t even attempted to make a set of small, portable prime lenses. They released a set of primes that catered well to the video market, but they’re all relatively big. No tiny lenses like Sony’s 50mm f/2.5G. Where are those compact lenses? Sigma makes some but for the most part many of them are long so they don’t quite fit the bill.
Fanboys and Shills. Like many industries today, photography has been infected by fanboys and shills. The fanboys are a bunch of weasels, all men, who sit around 24/7 jacking off over camera brands. They pop up in comment sections just to chat shit about why another company’s camera sucks when compared to another. How “insert camera brand” is bad and that “insert camera brand” is way better. They’re not photographers. Not filmmakers. No real portfolio to speak of. Shitty photos they post on their insignificant Instagram pages. Dregs of society. No different that the weasels that simp for women on the internet in a vain attempt to get attention and acknowlegement. The woman on the internet isn’t going to fuck you. And the camera companies don’t give a shit about you. So while you have a damn aneurysm arguing with people about why this brand is better than that one, the camera companies are doing whatever is in their best interest. Fanboys of said brands are not just trolls in comment sections mind you. They’re YouTubers, reviewers, etc. as well. These types fall into the shill category. You can see their bias whenever they review a brand they personally don’t like. I’ve seen Panasonic get unfairly criticized for its shortcomings, but Leica has the same faults and they ignore it. The industry never wanted Panasonic to be a main player. They were always met with disdain and skepticism. Whereas Canon, Sony, Nikon, and Fujifilm all get constant praise for their releases even with obvious flaws (ex. Canon R5 overheating). I wouldn’t be surprised they’re greasing the palms of many of these reviewers to skew the results in their favor. But whatever, Panasonic didn’t do itself any favors by being so damn stubborn to adjust and not promoting their brand consistently and well enough.

It’s frustrating to report on Panasonic’s demise like this, but I share this as a word of warning to anyone thinking of investing in the system. Don’t. Full stop.

I spent 5 years giving them a chance, but they just never got it together. They never seemed responsive to the wants of their customers and continued to shoot themselves in the foot. Defiantly so. We shouldn’t support companies like that.

Who knows, maybe they’ll throw a hail mary right at the end and turn things around? A camera that will sell out in droves and everyone will be clamoring for one. And sending me emails saying how I ain’t shit, I was wrong, and I was foolish to think Panasonic would fall off. And I smell like cheese.

I hate to tell you, but this ain’t the movies kid. There will be no come back.

For nostalgia sake, I may buy a pristine S1R and a couple of S lenses at rock bottom prices to put in my personal museum. A reminder of what could have been.

Panasonic, I bid you adieu.