Panasonic launches new OLED TVs and GH5S camera at CES 2018
Panasonic is quite serious about visual quality whether you're watching or shooting video.
Panasonic used its CES 2018 media launch to cover off a whole slew of products across its wide portfolio. Many were extremely US-centric, including initiatives for smarter roads, US-centric in-flight Wi-Fi and improved battery technology for electric vehicles, but there were a few announcements with specific potential impact for the Australian market.
Panasonic announced two new OLED TV models, the FZ950 and FZ800 which Panasonic described as a "global" launch product, although as yet there's no word on pricing or local availability.
They'll ship in 55 inch and 65 inch sizes, and Panasonic's claim is that they're the most colour accurate panels in the OLED space, with support for HDR10+, but not Dolby Vision on board. Panasonic Australia hasn't explicitly stated that the new OLEDs will come to Australia, but given that its first OLED did eventually launch here, it seems rather likely.
What Panasonic Australia has confirmed coming out of its CES 2018 launch that we will definitely see locally before long is the new Panasonic Lumix GH5S camera, the company's latest mirrorless camera with a specific focus on video shooting. The GH5S is capable of 60fps 4K video shooting with onboard Dual Native ISO technology supporting ISO ranges of up to 51200.
Dual Native ISO is a technology that Panasonic originally built into its broadcast-quality cameras, although it does mean the actual megapixel count on the GH5S is markedly down on its immediate predecessor as a result. The Panasonic GH5S will come to Australia in February with camera bodies starting at $3,499.
Panasonic also announced new camcorder ranges, with four new models priced from $799 for the entry level 1080p-capable HC-V800 up to $1,399 for the 4K-capable HC-WXF1M. The new camcorder ranges will hit Australia in April 2018.
Alex Kidman travelled to CES 2018 as a guest of Samsung.
