Panasonic's stock flop and well-cooled R5 II

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While it was a pleasant surprise last week that Panasonic was able to keep its Lumix S9 a secret until the announcement, this is now becoming really unpleasant for the company. Apparently, professionalism in marketing has fallen victim to the secrecy: Some of the images originally shown on the camera's Japanese product page were not taken with the camera. Instead, they were taken with a Nikon, among others.

This was discovered by Japanese photo enthusiasts who found the images on stock photo services. The issue spread via social media, possibly even ending up on Japanese television, and Panasonic published a statement (Japanese PDF). The whole chronique scandaleuese consists of several sources and can be read at Petalpixel. Our column will focus on why this is not only embarrassing, but bad.

Symbol images from stock agencies advertise new camera

It would be no problem to use the usual "symbolic image" to indicate the character of the image of a small dog in full sprint. However, Panasonic used the photo - which was not taken with the S9 - with a caption referring to its "advanced real-time recognition" of subjects. The association that the reader is supposed to make is: I can also use the camera to take crisp photos of my pets. That may even be possible, but it is also possible with other modern cameras with AI autofocus, commonly known as subject recognition.

Panasonic's statement does not explain why they chose to use stock photos that anyone can easily find. The most obvious explanation, as is often the case in the media business, is that it had to be done quickly and the budget was close to zero. To speculate a little further: Perhaps the S9 was so secret that not even the marketing department got pictures from the camera. At a time when photos faked by AI, among other things, are a problem, a camera manufacturer should be the last to allow itself such actions.

Canon's R5 II could be really cool

What Canonrumours presented this week with new details about the Canon R5 II is also largely a matter of speculation. The rumor is already in the name of the website, but in the past it has often been right. This was especially the case when they described the truthfulness of their unofficial information as "100%", as was the case this time. It was reported that pictures of the R5 II had been seen, but that they could not be published. As it is sometimes possible to identify the origin of photos, regardless of how they have been edited, this is a standard procedure for protecting sources.

While many of the previous rumors such as a 45-megapixel sensor with stacking and rear illumination as well as the eye-controlled autofocus are said to have been confirmed according to Canonrumours, the housing in particular is now a novelty. Allegedly, Canon has built additional cooling openings into the body as well as an optional handle with a fan. If this turns out to be true, the manufacturer has designed the new R5 with filming in mind. Overheated sensors and therefore either short recording times or increasing noise are a common problem. This is also credible because Canon owns patents for external cooling solutions for system cameras.

Finally, a real successor to the 5D?

Thinking two steps further: if Canon really did design the R5 II in this way, perhaps it was with the aim that the many users of the 5D IV SLR camera would finally switch to the mirrorless R system. This camera, which was introduced almost eight years ago, can already film at 4K and 30 fps, which is fully sufficient for most professional productions. An R5 II with AI autofocus, other file formats, color spaces and LUTs, which will most likely film at 8K, could be an argument even for convinced users of the indestructible 5D IV. The R5 II is currently expected to be launched in July 2024.

New Cine-Canon coming next week

But this date has not been confirmed. Another, however, has, directly from Canon itself on the X platform: on June 5, a new C-series camera, which stands for "Cinema", is to be unveiled. Whether this will be the start of a new product line or a successor to the C30 or C70 remains to be seen. Actually, nothing is particularly urgently expected here, or rather: was. After Nikon's takeover of Red and the loud thinking about Cine-Nikkore, Canon will probably have to hurry up and occupy a few more segments.

Sigma's strategy

The recommendation for a long read for the weekend is not so long this time - but very substantial. DPReview has published an interview with Sigma CEO Kazuto Yamaki that was conducted at the CP+ trade fair in February 2024. Among other things, he explains how his company has recently been building very light and compact but fast lenses. Kazuto makes a clear commitment to APS-C. This segment has been growing again since last year, so we can continue to expect lenses from third-party suppliers for it, which is good news for the diversity of the photography market.

(nie)