In the last few weeks, both Canon and Nikon have joined Sony and Leica at the full-frame mirrorless camera party. Now Panasonic has jumped into the fray with the Lumix S series, tapping Leica for some lens mount help along the way.
Panasonic's prosumer S series Digital Single Lens Mirrorless cameras were announced today at Photokina 2018 in Cologne, Germany, and will begin with the 47 megapixel S1R and the 24 MP S1. The full-frame sensors are brand new, as is the Venus image processing engine for both cameras, but more details have not been revealed at this time.
In fact, today's announcement most definitely falls into the teaser news category. But we do know that the cameras will make use of Leica's L-mount, with 10 new Panasonic lenses incoming (including a 50 mm F1.4 fixed-focus lens, a 24-105 mm zoom lens and a 70-200 mm telephoto zoom lens) by 2020, but also allowing users to attach glass from Leica and Sigma.
The S series mirrorless cameras will be able to record 4K video at 60 frames per second, something which Panasonic is claiming as a world's first, and feature a dual I.S. system that combines in-camera and lens image stabilization to allow photographers to leave the tripod at home more often.
There will be slots for XQD and SD memory cards, all seams, buttons and dials will be sealed, the cameras will sport the "industry's highest precision" electronic viewfinder and feature a three-axis tilting LCD display panel around back. More detailed specs, pricing and availability have yet to be released.
Source: Panasonic
