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Toshiyuki Tsumura Photograph: Richard Butler |
“Our fundamental stance is to change into a producer that may present a wider vary of worth to our prospects as a system with an open platform,” says Toshiyuki Tsumura. “We want to reply to our prospects by offering superior worth than different methods.”
Mr. Tsumura, Government Vice President and Director of Panasonic’s Imaging Enterprise Unit, shares this perception whereas discussing the function of partnerships in Panasonic’s digital camera enterprise. In a broad-ranging interview earlier this yr on the CP+ Expo in Japan, Mr. Tsumura additionally shared his ideas on matters starting from the state of the digital camera market to the significance of workflows within the artistic course of.
State of the market
“Demand for cameras, which fell sharply because of the pandemic, has recovered steadily to pre-pandemic ranges, and secure demand has been maintained, repeatedly pushed by mirrorless,” Mr. Tsumura explains.
It isn’t an entire shock; we have heard related analyses from different business executives, nevertheless it’s reassuring to listen to this from a number of corporations. Nevertheless, Mr. Tsumura calls out one market that he feels is especially necessary.
“With the enlargement of social media and stay streaming, which has expanded considerably within the wake of the pandemic, I imagine the demand for capturing each movies and pictures with a single digital camera and sharing them as artworks is underpinning the general demand.”
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| Mr. Tsumura says Panasonic has seen quite a lot of success with cameras just like the S5II and G9 II as a result of they work to remove limitations between video and nonetheless images. |
Bringing the dialog again to Panasonic, he says the corporate has seen quite a lot of success with merchandise just like the full-frame S5II and S5IIX, in addition to the G9II, largely as a result of these merchandise work to remove limitations between video and nonetheless images. He additionally factors to a particular function he believes has had an impression.
“Particularly, Actual Time LUT, which has expanded the LUT perform to stills, has obtained excessive reward for its capacity to take pleasure in colours in each video and nonetheless photos and is driving gross sales,” he says.
“I imagine the demand for capturing each movies and pictures with a single digital camera and sharing them as artworks is underpinning the general demand.”
Once we ask what varieties of prospects he expects to drive the digital camera business over the subsequent 5 years, Mr. Tsumura doubles down on hybrid customers. “I imagine that the imaging market sooner or later will transcend the boundaries between video and nonetheless photos and shall be led by particular person producers who create works alone, from capturing to enhancing, in addition to by skilled creators who create works with a small variety of individuals to
enhance manufacturing effectivity.”
Alliances and partnerships
Greater than most different digital camera producers, Panasonic has embraced the idea of collaboration and shared know-how platforms. In reality, each of its mirrorless digital camera methods are constructed round shared lens mounts (Micro 4 Thirds and L-mount). In accordance with Mr. Tsumura, it is a core a part of the corporate’s technique.
“We place emphasis on increasing buyer worth by increasing our circle of companions.”
“We place emphasis on increasing buyer worth by increasing our circle of companions. Complete collaboration with Leica is one in all them, and we’re additionally making efficient use of Leica’s increasing relationships with L-mount companions.”
“Our collaboration with Leica brings two priceless issues,” he continues. “One is our L2 know-how, which is developed collectively between Panasonic and Leica. We will create new know-how {that a} single firm can’t. The second factor is that we will develop the extent of contact throughout numerous varieties of prospects. For instance, we don’t have as a lot buyer contact with high-end nonetheless photographers [as Leica], so we profit from that contact. Nevertheless, within the video business, we now have quite a lot of contact with videographers and cinematographers. So, we will multiply the variety of buyer contacts and develop the shopper base. That is the worth of the collaboration with Leica.”
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| In accordance with Mr. Tsumura, the L2 alliance with Leica permits the 2 corporations to innovate applied sciences {that a} single firm cannot and expands Panasonic’s buyer attain. |
He explains that entry to an expanded buyer base can also be important to the L-mount alliance.
“The identical is true of the L-mount alliance. As we add extra companions, we now have entry to the companion’s buyer base, and we will join with extra prospects and perceive their wants. So growing the variety of companions will increase the variety of prospects we now have contact with.”
Mr. Tsumura returns to this theme later in our interview: “Our fundamental stance is to change into a producer that may present a wider vary of worth to our prospects as a system with an open platform,” he says.
A deal with workflows
As with different executives we have talked to, we ask Mr. Tsumura whether or not he thinks there are buyer segments that the digital camera business is presently underserving. “I feel that there’s nonetheless an absence of help for every consumer’s workflow, quite than an absence of help for particular consumer segments,” he replies.
He gives one well timed instance: “The most recent development is creators who need to simplify the workflow as a lot as potential, particularly younger creators; they’ll shoot a video by smartphone, then immediately share the video. These sorts of creators require a digital camera that includes a workflow like a smartphone. They need to shoot movies like they do on a smartphone.”
“We acknowledge that digital camera smartphone apps have gotten one of the necessary workflows, particularly for younger creators,” he tells us. “Smartphones are wonderful with regards to the workflow of taking photos and sharing them instantly, however cameras are superior with regards to the standard of the work.”
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| Mr. Tsumura spoke at size in regards to the significance of workflows to help totally different consumer segments. We won’t assist however suppose he was channeling the soon-to-be-announced Lumix S9 and its tight integration with the brand new Lumix Lab app. |
However, as Mr. Tsumura explains, there are challenges to integrating these totally different instruments.
“Smartphones have restricted reminiscence, so all of the content material from a digital camera can’t be transferred to the smartphone. There are a few methods to handle this downside. For instance, you would nearly finalize the workflow on the digital camera after which switch the ultimate content material to a smartphone. Or, you would switch on to a cloud-based system, like Body.io, the place you may collaborate within the cloud.”
Though our interview came about a few months earlier than Panasonic introduced the Lumix S9, a digital camera aimed toward content material creators, we won’t assist however suppose that Mr. Tsumura was channeling this soon-to-be-released product. Because of tight integration with the brand new Lumix Lab smartphone app, it supplies a streamlined workflow for content material creators to embed customized appears to be like in-camera and to maneuver pictures and movies from the digital camera to social media with out further enhancing.
“Smartphones are wonderful with regards to the workflow of taking photos and sharing them instantly, however cameras are superior with regards to the standard of the work.”
Mr. Tsumura emphasizes that Panasonic is not only targeted on creator workflows. “For the reason that workflow is totally different for individuals who are already professionals in images and videography, in comparison with younger and bold interest customers, we’ll develop merchandise which might be shut to every particular person’s want for expression and workflow.”
The video panorama
Any time we speak to Panasonic, it is pure for video to enter the dialogue. In any case, the corporate has been on the forefront of mirrorless video for years. One problem for corporations at present, Mr. Tsumura explains, is that customers are creating ever-higher expectations for video cameras.
“The variety of alternatives to observe video content material has elevated dramatically, and customers have gotten increasingly discerning of their view of content material. There was an unlimited improve within the variety of discerning prospects who need to specific themselves in a extra refined method,” he says.
Regardless of these altering shopper expectations, many digital camera customers nonetheless flip to smartphones for a lot of video functions. How, we surprise, can Panasonic decrease the barrier to utilizing mirrorless cameras as an alternative?
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| Mr. Tsumura says seamlessly integrating smartphones and cameras can decrease the barrier for smartphone customers who need to use a mirrorless digital camera for video functions. |
“We imagine that you will need to simplify the workflow and value along with wealthy high quality,” he tells us. “For instance, there are numerous circumstances the place people who find themselves distributing wealthy content material, resembling stay commerce, use mirrorless cameras, however it’s nonetheless fairly tough, so their use is proscribed. As a way to broadly unfold mirrorless cameras for streaming, I imagine you will need to innovate UX from seamless connection to smartphones, high-speed WiFi, and as much as enhancing and streaming.”
Nevertheless, distinctive {hardware} options proceed to be a part of Panasonic’s formulation. “We’re actively offering video codecs that use all the sensor vary, resembling 3:2 and 4:3 video codecs, with out being sure by conventional video codecs,” he reminds us. “And we now have obtained excessive reward for offering extra freedom in video creation.”
This text was primarily based on an interview performed by Dale Baskin and Richard Butler on the CP+ present in Yokohama, Japan. Some responses have been calmly edited for readability.
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2024-07-12 13:00:00
Source hyperlink:https://www.dpreview.com/interviews/0447416570/panasonic-interview-cpplus-2024