Panasonic to Integrate Pro and Consumer Video Divisions 

Industry News

by Jose PradaJanuary 9^th, 2024

Panasonic has decided to integrate their consumer and professional video divisions to strengthen their imaging businesses. Pro-AV and Panasonic Visual will be transferred from Panasonic Connect to Panasonic Entertainment and Communication. 

Whenever someone uses the terms ‘professional’ or ‘filmmaking industry’, it is more challenging to know what this does and does not include. Employed sometimes to establish a division between people producing professional stuff and the ones who don’t, and sometimes to divide amateurs from people making a living from the craft, the truth is that the line dividing both worlds is more diffuse every day. 

Two worlds inevitably blending

For example, we all know professionals in the industry who learned how to make videos with online tutorials and now make a living by creating Instagram content for small companies with their iPhones. Hence, they are part of the industry; they are professionals. The entire crew of Avatar 2 is industry, too. And there are now many amateurs producing pro content that would fit pro standards, whatever this might be.

Back then, the division between the industry and the amateur field was clear. The former referred to people working on movie sets, TV stations, and maybe small businesses filming weddings on Betacam or MiniDV cameras. Professionals usually came from film schools or inside the industry as apprentices. 

But that is the past. Borders have disappeared to the extent that, in some cases, hobbyists are creating more ‘professional’ content than professionals. We see prosumer cameras in professional contexts, including features previously seen only in cameras that the hobbyist could not access. News moves fast, and each new year, filmmakers wait anxiously for new releases and innovations.

Panasonic adapts to the times

If a giant like Panasonic has decided to merge their consumer and pro divisions, it is because this evolution has more implications than a subjective use of the terms. Panasonic seems aware of this and has announced their decision to transfer the Professional AV business and Panasonic Visual Co., Ltd. from Panasonic Connect to Panasonic Entertainment & Communication.

This integration will occur in April 2024 because as both markets overlap, the company sees more future growth by merging its professional and consumer divisions. The company explains that this decision fits an industry where the lines are blurred, and there is a higher demand for mirrorless cameras used by solo creators and professional cinema and video crews with tighter budgets. 

This is also happening in live broadcast and video streaming, where there is an increasing demand for equipment to satisfy creators’ audio and video quality standards. The company foresees that this tendency to integrate consumer and professional video production and live streaming will continue.

As a result, both Panasonic divisions have considered a need to bridge the gap between consumer and professional to provide gear support throughout all the stages of production, editing, and live streaming. Because of this, the companies have decided to integrate under the Panasonic Group, whose resources will be consolidated within Panasonic Entertainment & Communication. With this move, Panasonic makes the imaging business a cornerstone of its growth strategy and seeks to improve its ability to adapt to industry changes and needs quickly.

Conclusion

Let’s consider some prosumer cameras released in recent years. They feature so many pro specs that we wonder if they were developed by the consumer or professional area of the company releasing them. 

This integration by Panasonic makes sense in an evolving industry where our needs change quickly, new gear is constantly developed and, thanks to the democratization of filmmaking, the market is growing daily.

As a final side note, I want to say, that Panasonic’s VariCam line of cameras (next to EVA1) is truly missed. Many, who have worked with them in the past, loved the images these cameras created. We can only hope, that some of those “image elements” will also be integrated into the LUMIX line.

For more information about Panasonic, please visit their news page.

What do you think of this integration? Do you think other companies will follow the same path? What implications will this have for us? Let us know in the comments below!