Megapixel posted this videointerview with Sebastian Drawert from Panasonic. These are the key info from the interview collected by Megapixel:
- The huge success of the GH2 as a video camera was a surprise to Panasonic.
- The development of the GH3 was at least in part the result of a great deal of feedback from pro videographers.
- The GH3 abandons the multi aspect ratio sensor used in the GH2 in order to improve image quality according to Mr. Drawert .
- While the GH2 was a 60% video and 40% stills camera the GH3 is more of a 50%-50% according to Mr. Drawert.
- The GH3 we saw in photokina didn’t have focus peeking – this is not a hardware issue and might be added later on in firmware (although nothing is set at this point).
- Although Panasonic did not announce a sound grip (like Sony did with the A99) this is an option Panasonic will definitely look into.
- Panasonic showcased two new prototype lenses in photokina 2012 – a 150mm f2.8 (300mm in 35mm equivalent) and a 42.5mm f/1.2 (a 85mm in 35mm equivalent). Both lenses should be available next year.
- Panasonic developed applications for the GH3 for both android and iOS based devices including ones which uses the cellular device’ GPS (so no internal GPS is required by the camera) as well as a remote etc.
- It is possible to view images on the computer from the camera in “real-time” however bandwidth limitations meas that RAW image will still take 20-30 seconds to transfer.
- Panasonic currently doesn’t have plans to allow developers to create apps for its cameras but it doesn’t rule anything for the future and will continue to evaluate the development of the connected camera market.
Thanks Megapixel for sharing the interview!
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Panasonic and Olympus Preorder Links with specs and price:
Special GH3 page at Amazon (Click here) and a full Olympus presentation page at Amazon (Click here).
GH3 at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), Bhphoto (Click here), Panasonic US and in Europe at Wexphotographic UK and Technikdirekt.
35-100mm X lens at Amazon (Click here), Bhphoto (Click here), Panasonic US.
E-PL5 at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), Bhphoto (Click here). In EU at Amazon Germany, Amazon UK, Amazon France,
E-PM2 at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), Bhphoto (Click here). In EU at Amazon Germany, Amazon UK, Amazon France,
XZ-2 at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), Bhphoto (Click here).
60mm macro at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), Bhphoto (Click here).
12mm Black prime lens at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), Bhphoto (Click here).
15mm cap-lens at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), Bhphoto (Click here).
67 Responses
Apps/custom-user software interfacing is the future.
When are these companies going to realize that they are selling computers like smartphones that are simply re-purposed to control different hardware?
There is NO difference between a camera and a phone-
****it’s software controlling hardware!****
If Panasonic is smart, they will see that the GH2 hacks are the unambiguous opening waves of a sea change in user interaction with these devices. The fact that their product has been made many times better by the user public than they could make it themselves id a vital introspection.
Let users re-skin their awkward interfaces to make them easier for THEM to use.
Let users use apps/mods that are pre-made settings to set a camera for exactly a certain kind of use- this is what apps ARE- users choosing to allow smart people do the work for them in telling their device what to do. All the user has to do is select the app for the chosen function- no more archaic egghead UI’s– LET THE CAMERA BE THE COMPUTER IT IS BECOMING!!!
It’s the future– locked hardware will be looked at as backward and unfriendly– just as Microsoft has been viewed in the smart device arena, where Android and Apple have PROVEN that allowing the customer to decide how best to use the hardware makes for a HUGE shift in the meaning of a product.
If they want to change the market, there’s no better way.
Period.
No, let the camera be a camera… a simple, straightforward and RELIABLE device…
BUT have hooks in it that allow for it to be controlled externally by a computer, if a user wants to.
If I had my druthers, I strip all the superfluous garbage out of cameras that are best handled on a computer. Junk like in-camera editing, “art” filters, “scene” modes… all the crap that is little used, bogs down and complicates today’s cameras.
Agreed.
I don’t care for menus and dials cluttered with gizmos I neither need nor want. KISS!
Perhaps the camera maker should remove all unnecessary functions (like art filters, scene mode, etc), include a 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac wifi chip and open up their software and allow users to buys apps/function to add on to their camera.
eg. If you want
1. focus peaking – there’s an app for that –> pay $0.99 and download from market place.
2. diorama art filter — $0.99
3. soft focus mode — $0.99 … just like what Minolta did with their Maxxuum/Dynax expansion card slot. But now more elegantly via software download.
4. Multi spot metering — $0.99
5. 1080p/24 h.264 video mode — $1.99
6. XSync speed of up to max shutter speed — $2.99
well, the possibility is endless,… and see what else the creative public can come up with.
+1 In my respect not a nice view to the future – but a realistic…
Thanks!
Great idea, but the price of such stripped camera should be $100 lower and I’m afraid manufacturers wouldn’t do that.
If manufacturers are allowed to sell apps/function on the fly to customers, believe me, they will offer the camera more than $100 cheaper. There will be free apps with ads, and freemium apps with in app purchase. So, if you want HDR function to test it… its free for 14 days. After that you have to pay for it.
It will probably be a closed ecosystem, like Apple. So Panasonic will sell their own apps/function. Canon, Nikon, Sony will have their own, for their own camera system…. not only for DSLR, but also extending to their Mirrorless and P&S …. its a possible cash cow. Selling hardware is much more difficult to make money off consumers than softwares,… now that megapixel war is over. To top it off, you get consumer’s credit card number in your database for future use. Just dont mention about Sony Playstation database hack….
I believe Samsung is already trying to do it with the Android camera.
YOU get it- but the fellows above are misunderstanding.
To those wishing to stand still and use current systems, no one will stop you.
The change is coming- and with it will come a blossoming of functionality that cautious, conservative corporate engineers can’t even begin to imagine.
Besides, your argument is not relevant to the point. The hardware will of course continue to improve and become simpler to use.
Like the iPhone or Android phone, those wishing to add nothing to base function are free to do so. I wager you are in a minority. One need only look at the stubborn old people that still claim that a phone
YOU get it- but the fellows above are misunderstanding.
To those wishing to stand still and use current systems, no one will stop you.
The change is coming- and with it will come a blossoming of functionality that cautious, conservative corporate engineers can’t even begin to imagine.
Besides, your argument is not relevant to the point. The hardware will of course continue to improve and become simpler to use.
Like the iPhone or Android phone, those wishing to add nothing to base function are free to do so. I wager you are in a minority. One need only look at the stubborn old people that still claim that a phone need be no more than a phone.
Well, it still is a phone. But it CAN be more to those that choose it to be. Like for me, and the man typing this reply where I stand. Cameras are the same. They will still be cameras, but will allow far better fit for each of us.
You are free to look backward. No problem. But you will not be joined by many. You can be like Kodak, or Xerox, or Nokia, or BlackBerry. Most people will see that see the future of user control and flexibility is far superior to the alternative.
In consolidation, all those old companies did something we’ll…. even if they have become dated and increasingly irrelevant. Taking pictures will always be taking pictures.
I can’t wait to see how awesome it will become with new technologies –
I think you don’t get it.
Phone that is only a phone, standby time measured in week, talk time 5+ hours.
Iphone or android phone, standby time measured in days if you don’t use it at all, talk time 3 hours.
Oh, and those phones have bigger batteries to boot.
So, that iphone/android phone is not as good a phone BY FAR.
You also fail to understand that a camera is not a phone, and many things that are acceptable on a phone are not on a camera. No, on your phone it really doesn’t matter if there is a 0.1sec delay in response, but for a camera that means you can totally forget about panning shots or actually anything that requires timing.
Sure being able to add features with a modular firmware design is a good idea, but going the way of phones is a very bad idea.
Let us agree on this– advancements in usability are NOT an automatic reduction in precision. By your statement, autofocus steals processing power from the sensor, thereby making it a less usable system, no?
Of course not– they work harmoniously 🙂
That’s the point, aim, and goal.
I simply repeat: the excellent hacks on the GH2 that have been time and time again shown far superior to the corporate work.
Proof of Concept. Case Closed.
This is what will happen as users are allowed to develop more and better software *alongside* the camera hardware and software. They will work together, not against each other!
It’s a strawman argument to claim that by having additional software and interfacing you will automatically sacrifice camera quality. A silly argument. Why would software creators handicap the device they are trying to IMPROVE, haha!
It is totally obvious you have no idea whatsoever about developing embedded software, letvalone about realtime operating systems.
We just got to the point where latency of the evf has become low enough for having a chance at panning shots. Improvement here is very welcome still, and ANYTHING you put inbetween is not going to help but is going to make things worse.
Also, you seem to not realize how serious a concern heat is in a camera. Let me spell it out for you what more heat will cause: NOISE.
So negative, anon.
I’m obviously not talking about interfering with the hardware functions – I you’re looking for problems that aren’t there because you’re not hearing me.
Does an android calendar app interfere with the phone connection?
What about angry birds?
No?
Why not??!
Because they are different types of functionality that use the same PLATFORM.
You keep creating false associations instead of thinking about what we’re saying.
The hardware controllers will remain dedicated of course, though they, LIKE IN THE GH2 will be optimizable.
Questions?
Angry Birds and similar games most definitely interfer with other things running on the phone, why?
Because it hogs resources at startup, recycles them internally, blocks other apps from using those resources and calls the garbage collector when it sees fit, the rest of the system can go to hell. A need to call the garbage collector itself is already a GIANT signpost saying that this platform is unsuitable for running things like Angry Birds, and that tricks are needed to make such a thing work, tricks which radically interfer with resource management.
Additionally, the fact that the platform uses lazy resource management makes it totally unsuitable for any kind of ‘realtime’ alike operation because specifically because of this garbage collector it is totally impossible to guarantee response times (note that guaranteed response times means something that takes 0.12312 secs will ALWAYS take 0.12312 secs, and not 0.0005 more or less). Yes, that kind of time-criticality matters for photography.
Does that interfer with the hardware? In the sense that it makes that hardware temporary unavailable to you, yes. Why? because your memory and cpu resources will simply be blocked at random.
I’m not looking for non-existing problems, I’m speaking from actually having experience designing and implementing such things for over a quarter century.
If you read a bit back, you’ll also see that I point out that running apps on a camera CAN be done, but that the approach used on phones are a very bad idea for cameras. So far you have demonstrated an amazing amount of Apple fanboyism, but nothing in the way of actually understanding what you are talking about.
Please come back when you understand what a RTOS is, why it exists, and what the benefits are over a generic computing platform for the application of high-end photography. Yes, it is possible to run apps on a realtime OS, but doing this well requires a bit more careful design then a generic mobile computing platform. Util the day you actually know this, you have totally no chance whatsoever of having an idea about what issues can exist and why, and what the proper solutions for those issues are.
Oh, and this will probably make you happy seeing your amazing amount of Apple fanboyism, ios is in fact a bit better at such things then android, however, neither are anywhere near good enough, simply because they are designed for things that conflict with what a serious camera needs.
If you wanted ios or android or similar on a point + shoot that already has many of the issues of those platforms anyway, be my guest.
Anon, pity you spent all that time writing such an eloquently presented piece of righteous indignation over the wrong topic.
Where did you get that I want android or IOS to run a panasonic camera, haha?!
I’m discussing the future Operating systems in cameras. The camera manufacturers will either develop their own solutions or will couple with third party.
I also love the idea of using a desktop interface to do the upload and download of settings and such.
You don’t pay attention through your anger to appeal to your authority..Calm down man!
Reading is very difficult for you isn’t it?
I point out that in general, the approach taken on phones is not going to work well for cameras. ios and android are examples, but this isn’t exactly about ios and android only. So no, I wasn’t talking about those 2 only, rather, they were examples, just like your Angry Birds example (which btw runs primarly on which platforms? oh right, so YOU were yourself talking about ios and android)
Such platforms in general are not very good for camera use. Firmware directly written on top of vxworks, or even the linux kernel could work very well, but won’t have the kind of relatively easy to make ‘apps’ that platforms like ios, android, windows mobile and similar platforms for mobile devices have.
Also, it is curious to see how you complain about ‘name calling’ but go all aggressive yourself on anyone who might come with an example that shows why things might be a bit different then what you envision.
Maybe, just maybe, you should put a bit more thought into what you want, since you are totally qualified to determine that, and less thought into how that should be done, because you are totally not qualified to say anything useful about that.
You obviously have no freaking clue about anything except what consumer mass medias tell you to buy.
> By your statement, autofocus steals processing power from the sensor, thereby making it a less usable system, no?
That’s because camera’s firmware has been built to opera as whole, and with hardware and thoroughly tested.
And even then there are occasional problems needing updates. (was it one of Nikon’s latest DSLRs which had some crashes)
GH2 hacks don’t really add any new software. They just apply different settings/parameters which Panasonic didn’t put available to control existing software in firmware.
And if your bling bling fashion head failed to notice those hacks (for every camera) come out slowly because of even partial testing for assuring that those settings changes don’t cause firmware to crash or brick camera takes lots of time.
Computer software keeps becoming more bloated all the time needing more resources to do the same thing as previously exactly because of this includes kitchen sink and all the shovelware fashion garbage attitude of yours.
In desktop computer it just isn’t critical if it slows to crawl or crashes because one of those x+dozens software all having bugs in code hits critical bug or memory leak consumes all memory.
It’s such third party add-ons/extension which are even commonly behind memory hogging problems in Firefox.
Your vulgar name calling reduces the quality of your text.
You embarrass yourself by being unable to speak without nasty insults.
That said, it will come when software operates more efficiently . that is what I see comin, and you should too.
Of course I see what effort is made by GH2 programmers – I celebrate it. It is that behavior that I want even more and better of!
I wouldn’t want a medical device that I relied upon to save my life to run on Android or iOS and I wouldn’t want a camera to run those operating systems either. You want the leanest OS possible with the least amount of ‘fluff’ on top to be running both. A camera is not a smartphone. If you want one of them, then buy a smartphone with a crappy sensor that is not as reliable and is more open to all sorts of outside attacks and program failures.
You are replying to a question that was not asked.
We are talking about cameras, not medical equipment.
Why would you ever act as though one has anything to do with the other?
Bizarre.
Now if you’d actually read, he was talking about cameras and medical devices. The medical device was an example to make a point, one that clearly went way over your head.
See, some of us use our cameras for making money. Reliability is rather important there. Yes, that app deciding to lock up for 5 secs while the groom and bride kiss eachother means that you didn’t get an absolutely required shot. Have that happen a few times and you can forget about being a wedding photographer (and yes, this too is an example, and the same reason why it is a stupid idea to use ‘phone style’ platforms on medical devices is also the reason why it is a stupid idea to use those on cameras).
Oh… you were just talking about the GH2 hacks?
What has been suggested by others in this discussion, use an open realtime OS as camera platform will totally allow creating such ‘hacks’ without them having to be hacked into the firmware, but without all the issues of the typical ‘apps’ platform. That would work very well. Your ‘apps similar to phone apps’ idea however is simply a bad idea.
You are right that some form of ‘open’ firmware will happen, as will much better possibilities to control your camera remotely.
But you are wrong in assuming an ‘always connected’ world where you can easily offload things. There is no 3/4G network in the basement of most buildings, there won’t be any during your trip through the jungle either. There might be one at base-camp at the Mount Everest, but fat chance its going to be out of reach when on the other side of that mountain.
So a camera that is indeed a complete device has a lot of use for those people who actually leave their house to take pictures instead of staying home looking at all the amazing apps on their camera.
I don’t think it’s necessary for cameras to have “apps” in the sense that they’re used on phones and tablets. But it should be possible for a scripting or remote application to invoke any camera function that can be accessed using the physical controls on the camera itself. That kind of control also avoids any fears the manufacturer might have of software operating the camera outside its design parameters.
I agree entirely– in fact, I’m waiting for smartphones to become interface devices for the superior hardware the desktop/fixed processors with far more power and capability.
Why can’t I program my phone, camera, and air conditioner through my desktop if I like? There is absolutely no reason- it’s just an interface (and computing power) shift from one through another.
Devices should offload the gruntwork onto capable machines and get back to ease of use.
Right now, they’re trying to do too much internally, methinks.
I think your view is the correct one, and we’ll see more linking and distributing of activity over more machines as time progresses.
I want a camera being a camera, not a computer or like IPAD with bunch of applications.
In this case feel free to use a full manual vintage film camera – I’m afraid that all current cameras are already and de facto small computers.
Agree with Ryan.
@kesztió : I don’t think that you understand Ryan’s point. Camera should be like what it is nowadays instead of the one MDavid that talked about.
For the God’s sake, what’s wrong with such applications like focus peaking, HDR, virtual touchpad, more customisation to the interface, time lapse video, etc?! These are additional bonuses, the camera can be what’s nowadays PLUS a bounch of customisable features and add-ons.
I don’t want an egg-laying-wool-milk-sow.
There’s huge difference between open software platform general purpose computer and embedded system running dedicated fixed feature firmware.
This is what happens when general purpose operating system is used in place where only custom firmware should be running.
http://www.flickr.com/groups/atmcrashes/pool/
http://www.bit-tech.net/news/bits/2009/03/19/atm-malware-discovered/1
+1
Cameras are just visual computers, so let them be programed!
Let the cam be a solid cam.
Regarding apps being external or internal on a separate processor doesn’t make a real difference.
Pro on internal devices: High bandwidth communication possible.
Pro on external: Faster evolving product cycles, different types of devices available
Combined internal / external applications and you’ll have best of both worlds.
“Android and Apple have PROVEN that allowing the customer to decide how best to use the hardware”
Apple and allowing user to decide on anything about their products should not be put in the same sentence. Whichever the most closed OS is, it is surely made by Apple.
Come now– with HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of third-party apps, you really want to argue that Apple is closed?!
Hehe– does not compute.
Since apple decides which apps are available and can be installed, yes it is closed.
HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF APPS in the Apple Store.
Hundreds of thousands.
Do you not understand this gigantic number?
Oh, anonymous… You will someday see.
Cheers –
You already said that, not to mention, I have an ios device, so I know.
As long as apple and only apple decides, it is a closed system, no matter how many apps exist or how much you may dislike it.
The day YOU can decide on this WITHOUT neediing apple it might be considered ‘open’.
I understand you, and you understand me.
🙂
I don’t understand you. You pretend that something is an open platform by pointing at the number of apps that have been approved by the one and only party that can approve them, a party that can at a whim decide to remove them from your device as well.
No, such dishonesty and ignorance are impossible to understand.
Your tongue is clearly so deep in Apple’s ass that ears disappeared there long ago.
iOS is as open as prison.
Apple has total control over what thay allow you to install and do.
They could at any day block out everything in their store, put out firmware update which blocked some single selected application, bunch of them, or even all of them if their bigshots, or government feels that way.
iOS hacking isn’t called as jailbreaking for nothing.
Microsofts attempts at limiting users, and problems caused to users by their policies sure are commonly spread but consumer medias never tell about these dark secrets of Apple!
Esa, we can argue over the definition of *free* ecosystems, but the fact remains that despite the, shall we say, “moderate” nature of the Apple Store, it still has a huge amount of user generated content. That is what I advocate for all systems.
Bicker over semantics all you wish. The end result is that despite the fact that Apple is in control over what makes it in, it STILL LETS USERS MAKE APPS BY THE THOUSANDS.
Again with the ughy language. Your mother would be embarrassed?
For your reference, I don’t have an iPhone, I have to an android.
Now what?
Whose tongue is where?
And whenever Apple goes bust or decides for whatever reason to no longer support ios, you have nowhere to go.
You don’t understand at all the problems of closed systems, there is a very long history demonstrating over and over and over and over and over and over and over that this setup will some day leave the users in the cold, without any possible escape.
That is not semantics, that is simply what decades of IT history tell us. That experience thing that you are so severely lacking while making all kinds of statements here.
Apple never did this?
Look a bit closer at their history, because they have done this more then once.
How does a multi-aspect sensor affect image quality negatively?
I would have thought at least the videographers would have preferred a wider than 1:1.33 aspect ratio.
panny’s sensors just aren’t as good as the sony one.
the gh3 has to be as least close to the omd so they went with sony.
That doesn’t answer my question at all.
What makes the image quality of a non-multi-aspect sensor better than that of a multi-aspect sensor?
that is just b.s., they just don’t want to spend the extra money to fabricate a new multi-aspect sensor.
yet another moron saying pnasonic used a sony sensor…
Then why hasn’t panny come out and said its their sensor? Why does it feel a need to keep the manufacturer a secret? Shouldn’t they be advertising their own sensor?
they ARE advertising their sensor, theyre advertising the features of it, as they should. why should they answer a moronic question like “duh, did sony make it?” They dont have to tell you shit about where it was made and if they chose not to answer is because they also think its moronic.
not telling the public that its their sensor makes sense? if its on par with the best sensor company in the world? good luck convincing yourself that bro.
their best sensor is the multi-aspect one? yet they didn’t use it? who makes it again? no comment? no straight answer? doesn’t take a genius bro.
That sounds like a combination of marketing hype/self-deception and utter bullshit!
The multi-aspect ratio sensor is a great feature. Just today I switched between 4:3, 16:9 and 1:1 numerous times. Shooting 16:9 with wide angles or the ultra-end of the 7-14mm is just fantastic.
It will be sorely missed when I eventually replace my GH2 with something besides the over-sized/priced GH3… though I may end up with one anyway.
Someone should ask what is next after GH3 ?
When will a rangefinder with build in viewfinder available ?
The news of Pana mysterious patent sensor as seen several months ago .
There already is one – the Fuji X100 (and with firmware 1.3 it’s a great camera). If you want a m43 rangefinder then maybe it will be the rumored E-P5.
“The GH3 abandons the multi aspect ratio sensor used in the GH2 in order to improve image quality according to Mr. Drawert…”
What a complete and utter load of cock.
Nikon also plans to introduce a Nikkor CX 32/1.2 (perfectly equivalent as focus distance to the upcoming Pana 42.5/1.2).
I hope this would result in supbstantially proce drop for this Pana lens.
They’re not saying that it’s not technically possible, rather ‘we had so much money, wanted this much image quality, and no multi-aspect sensor met that or was available in time – so we picked this non-multi aspect one’.
I wonder if the tsunami caused much more of a sensor development slowdown at Panny than we realised. The global shutter they were already working on for the GH2 (but got cancelled due to work being diverted to their 3D lens) should have arrived with the GH3 at least. Maybe they really had to settle for a 3rd party sensor to get what they needed this time.
Hopefully that will change in the future.
does anyone know if they allow Live View Mode while the wireless streaming in video mode to tablet/phone. I was curious about that I guess its too much to ask…sort of like shooting HDMI and having LIVE View Mode on at the same time. I saw a video in a preview photo mode that the gh3 while wireless transmitting wasnt showing on the screen while streaming to phone.
People….lets not worry about the future…the camera did even reach the shelves !!!!!
In present time I would Panna make the câmera available in large quantities in the US market.
Make it cheaper too. Then we can talk about future.
Anyway , the complex the gadget more possible to freeze it, blue screen , bad apps slowing down the system , etc ,etc …
Why any interview with Panasonic is without mentioning a body stabilization? Aren’t we yelling enough?
No GH3 for me until focus peaking is implemented
Gadgets : stabilization, IOS, Android…
Semi-professional camera? Ok : just a good capteur = beautiful video. With the charms of the GH2 and ameliorations in the GH3. What I see about the first video = horrible. Absolutly horrible.
Panasonic is out with the GH3. It’s clear before arrives the new GH3.
Without IS, Focus Peaking and XLR connections this isn’t a ‘pro’ camera unfortunately.
I wish for a WiFi SDK for Panasonic and Olympus cameras.
Something with full control over the camera (Focus, Exposure, etc…).
Given that I’ll buy the camera instantly.
GH2 was and still is charming, GH3 is not. Price, design, size, multiaspect sensor, lots of features…
OM-D has practically the same sensor as GH3 in smaller and nicer body.
The real GH2 succesor will have global shutter and RAW full HD. But Panasonic will have to work as hard as they did developing GH2…
Yeah, what’s with not releasing an SDK? Haven’t they learned anything from the hack? How much extra value is added by 3rd-party extensions?
Wait, they probably learned that they can let hackers do all the work. Sight …
“The huge success of the GH2 as a video camera was a surprise to Panasonic”
Give thanks to Vitaliy and Personal View community. GH2 is a good videocamera and everybody knew it was going to be a success in amateur and low budget cinema and video. But the hack, at least, made it better and helped promote the camera.
The GH3 needs to have minimum Clean HDMI out recording at 8Bit 4:2:2 but if Panasonic give us pros 10Bit the GH3 will take over tha market…
Come on Panasonic 10Bit 4:2:2 and clean up in sales….