Great Expectations: Panasonic on Wednesday July 18, 2007

Borrowing the title from Charles Dickens (I hope he doesn't mind), there is a very specific pattern from Panasonic the last couple of years. They make new product announcements on Wednesdays in mid-July. Here is the evidence: look at the dates in the dpreview Timeline: Wedn July 19, 2006, Wedn July 20, 2005, Wedn July 21, 2004. Coincidence? I think not!

So what to expect from Panasonic? Here is my detailed speculation. To summarize, here are some ideas: The slotted-in theory could revive the LC-series. Or one with a 4/3rds sensor mentioned above. Since the FX-100 was in-between the FX- and the LX-, an upticking LX- could fall somewhere between the LX-, LC- and FZ-. Perhaps using a 28-200mm lens? An LX- with a 28-200 equivalent lens sounds like a slotted-in Lumix to me. Could the LX-series go wider like 24mm on the Ricoh GX100? Or how about a fixed-lens beauty like a GR-D? Such a camera would look really good and sell good (and smell good even) in a Leica outfit!