Panasonic Lumix Engineers Visit Bozeman. This last week all of us here at Natural Exposures and Polar Bears International were honored to have five wonderful people from Panasonic’s headquarters in Osaka and Lumix Luminary liaison Tom Curley from the US come visit us in Montana. The folks from Japan included engineers and a public relations person. What an opportunity to sit down and discuss the pros, cons, and future development of Lumix cameras with the actual engineers developing this impressive new gear.
Panasonic Lumix engineers visit the Natural Exposures office in Montana. I shared a couple of large prints with them, the largest one of wild garlic in Croatia, printed to 40×60 inches. Shot with the Lumix GH4 and Leica 15mm F/1.7. From Left to right Henri Nishikawa–Sr. Coordinator, Daniel J. Cox, Tom Curley–Lumix Luminary Liaison, Jill Mangum–NE Operations Mgr., Tanya Cox–NE Trips Coordinator and Social Director, Emi Fujiwara–Lumix PR, Koji Shibuno–DFD and Dual IS Engineer, Kyosuke Osaka–User Interface Engineer, Manabu Watanabe–User Interface Engineer. Photo: Paula Posey
Those who’ve traveled with us know Tanya’s ability to entertain is legendary. Our original thought was to take everybody to one of our preferred restaurants, Ted Turner’s Montana Grill. We love the quality food, but Ted also happens to be one of my all-time favorite conservation heroes and we do everything we can to support his sustainable ideas.
Tanya with her fabulous raspberry tarts. Photo: Daniel J. Cox
But as usual, Tanya came up with something a bit more personal, dinner at our house that included steak, truffle potatoes, asparagus, and raspberry tarts. It was a wonderful evening sharing Montana hospitality with new and current friends from Japan and the east coast.
Dinner with Panasonic friends at our home in Montana. Photo: Tanya Cox
As usual, with a meeting like this, there are numerous things I can’t talk about. But I can tell you, I was impressed with the general purpose of this get together which was to help support the team in outlining a multi-year plan for Lumix cameras. Imagine that. A company in the game for the long haul. Not many corporations plan that far out anymore. Often it’s how fast can they make money for the next quarter.
Panasonic engineers at the Natural Exposures office reviewing large prints with my Lumix cameras. Photo: Jill Mangum
One of the engineers, Shibuno san, is responsible for the revolutionary Depth From Defocus (DFD) that’s giving us excellent Predictive AF results. DFD is a Panasonic exclusive and it gets better and better with each new model. I recently tested four
Dan discussing the Speeding Pooch Test with Henri san and Kyosuke during their visit to Montana. Photo: Christopher Carter
different cameras, all of them in Predictive AF mode, and the new GH5 performed considerably better than the other three, including the Nikon D500.
However, that test was with fast moving cars that were fairly predictable. What I’ve really wanted to try was the GH5 on a speedy dog. You know what I’m talking about, the “Speeding Pooch Test.” So in honor of having so many Lumix engineers within my grasp, so to speak, I recruited Tanner Johnson, Sales Manager and camera expert at Bozeman Camera, and his young dog Lucy. Tanner is an excellent photographer, check his website out at Yellow Horse Photography.
Marshal Lewis, owner of Bozeman Camera, with Panasonic Lumix engineers at his store in Bozeman, Montana. Photo: Daniel J. Cox
All the pieces fell in place for a chance to show world-class engineering experts the kind of photography many of us desperately want. Autofocus that excels in speed and accuracy to capture birds in flight, sprinting deer, dashing dogs, and anything else that flies, swims, or runs. The stage was set for another “Speeding Pooch Test.”
White-tailed eagle in flight is an example of the type of subject matter many of us want to capture with our Lumix cameras. Lumix GX8 with Leica 100-400mm, ISO 640
To document it all I hired a friend and fellow PBI camera man, Christopher Carter. Chris is working on a short film highlighting the Speeding Pooch Test and our morning with the Lumix engineers. It may be 2-3 weeks before I can share the final film but I think it will be worth it.
Thank you, Panasonic. To have the Panasonic Lumix engineers visit Bozeman was a tremendous honor, and coming all the way from Osaka was no easy task. We’re very grateful for your visit.
Photo Credits: Tanya Cox, Jill Mangum, Christopher Carter