EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW with Koichiro Watanabe, GM, Digital Imaging Group, Panasonic Appliances Marketing Asia Pacific5 min read

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We had the chance to speak with Mr. Koichiro Watanabe, General Manager of Digital Imaging Group, Panasonic Appliances Marketing Asia Pacific regarding Panasonic’s news and offering during Broadcast Asia 2019.

Details of Panasonic Asia’s Showcase:

Date: 18-19 June 2019

Time: 10am-5pm

Venue: Singapore Flyer, Event Hall, Level 2

Transportation notice: There will be a free shuttle bus service between Broadcast Asia (Suntec City Tower 5, Pick Up and Drop Off Point near Cotton On) and The Singapore Flyer. Look out for an usher holding the Panasonic Business sign. 

This event is open to the public. No registration is needed.

 

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Sinema.sg: What are the key product highlights that Panasonic is showcasing at Broadcast Asia 2019?

Koichiro-San: Today we have with us on display the 8K ROI (Region of Interest) multi-camera system that uses high-resolution 8K cameras to improve operating efficiency and reduce operating costs in live events and sports applications. This product is scheduled for market release in July 2019.

Another product line I would like to speak about is the newly launched Lumix S Series; especially for the Lumix S1H; for which, we made a product development announcement a few weeks back. We already have garnered quite a fair bit of positive feedback from it; so that’s one thing we would like our visitors to keep an eye out for.

 

Sinema.sg: What are the benefits of Panasonic’s latest product line? (Focused in the area of 4K/8K, HDR, HFR)

Koichiro-San: As mentioned earlier, when we introduced our Lumix S series, we were the industry’s first 4K, 60P, Full Frame, mirrorless offering. Taking advantage of our strength in the video category for the Lumix G series, we could implement that in our Full Frame mirrorless system. We also included HDR not only in video but also in photo (stills) as well. HDR has been a hot topic that our customers have been asking for; and the demand for it has been getting stronger over the years. These two aspects are the unique product offerings.

 

Sinema.sg: We know that NHK has already started broadcasting 8K in Japan. With Panasonic being the sponsor for broadcast at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics; what can we expect to see from the company’s product roadmap from now till 2020?

Koichiro-San: As a company we have already announced the 8K ROI system which will be released in July 2019. As we are not able to disclose any future product roadmaps, Panasonic aspires to be a leader in 8K market. So please keep a lookout for our exciting future product announcements.

 

Sinema.sg: Traditionally, a lot of input for the equipments tend to come from the North American and European markets. Does Panasonic have plans to include APAC filmmakers in their product development feedback?

Koichiro-San: For the development of the Panasonic Lumix S series and also, in the past with the Lumix G series, we sought feedback out from many filmmakers and videographers worldwide. The North American and European markets itself are larger that of APAC, so naturally there would be a larger feedback from the users from these regions. However, we consider it our priority to take comments and feedback from professionals; what kind of equipment they would want to use and also which kind of shooting style suits them. That’s why we treasure every comment and feedback; including the ones from the APAC region. We have always strived to include the voices of the voices of the professional filmmakers from the APAC region.

 

Sinema.sg: The media landscape for content delivery has changed over the last decade; even more so for the last five years. More and more people, especially Gen Z, millennials and Gen X (which make up a huge chunk of the APAC population) are consuming their content via the (Over The Top) OTT platforms. What is Panasonic’s view and outlook for this?

Koichiro-San: We cannot predict the future, but we know that change is inevitable. More and more young content makers are making their content on mirrorless cameras and putting up their work on platforms like YouTube, Vimeo and Facebook. We believe that one of the trends going forward is the requirement of higher resolution. With Full HD and 4K being the norm today, moving up to 6K or 8K would be something that we have to give our customers the option to in the near future. We also believe that the Full Frame market will grow further as well. Full Frame has huge potential for development in terms of resolution and low light capabilities; which in turn provides more flexibility for the content creators. That’s why we decided to develop the Lumix S Series; especially the S1H.

We have a long history with the professional video cameras like the Varicam and EVA 1. Therefore, we think it is very important to have the same colour science crossing throughout our product lines so that the current Varicam and EVA1 users have the option to deploy our Lumix S and G Series cameras as their B Camera. So in a nutshell, we are able to provide a comprehensive line of cameras for the content creators to choose from and at the same time have a unified colour space so that they don’t have to worry too much when they go into post-production.

 

Sinema.sg: At present, we are seeing the Lumix G line up of mirrorless consumer cameras create content for the large screen cinemas. With the announcement of the S1H, do you think that there will be a gradual cannibalisation of the professional grade equipment market in the next 5 to 10 years?

Koichiro-San: Each of our product lines have their key unique offerings that appeal to different user bases and markets. For example, if the user requires a professional grade camera with Raw capabilities, we have the Varicam. The EVA1 sits below with a variety of outputs and buttons to access the functions of the camera. Moving down, we have the Lumix S1H which is a Full Frame 6K offering in a mirrorless body. And finally, we have the Lumix GH5/GH5S which offer a lot of value in an even smaller body. With this kind of wide variety of lineup we believe that Panasonic gives the users the ability to choose what suits them best.

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