14 DAY TRIAL // The world of photography has its eyes fixed on Germany this week, where the biggest imaging event of the year, Photokina 2014, has kickstarted today.
The most important names in the industry are present on the grounds in Cologne holding press events, and Panasonic is one of them.
The next camera we’re going to talk about is not really a shooter per se, but you might be familiar with the concept if you remember the Samsung Galaxy K Zoom.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-CM1 is a connected camera
As Cameras Reviewed notes, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-CM1 is basically a smartphone/camera hybrid that is the very first in the industry to pack a hefty 1-inch sensor.
For a camera, the CM1 looks quite thin in frame (15.2mm / 0.59 inches thick), but it might be considered a little bit chunky for a high-end smartphone.
The hybrid is built around a 20MP sensor working side-by-side with a Venus image processing engine and an f/2.8 Leica DC lens.
The CM1 has a manual ring living around the lens, which should bestow upon users greater control over the images taken. The device also has a “ready to shoot” switch that will allow you quick access within the interface, in case you see something unexpected.
The smartphone takes advantage of powerful specs
As we mentioned above, the camera can double as a smartphone and it has the internal specifications to prove it. For starters, it boasts a 4.7-inch LCD display with FHD, Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 quad-core processor running at 2.3GHz fitted with 2GB of RAM, and 4G LTE.
Panasonic has outfitted the device with Android 4.4 KitKat out of the box, but for the time being we’re not told if the company plans to use its own tweaked user interface on the device.
Sustaining life on the hybrid is a 2,600 mAh battery, which should last you a fair amount of time with the device.
The camera will be offered with either 16GB or 32GB of internal storage and also has a microSD slot, so you can upgrade up to 128GB if you feel like you need it.
This sleek little photo companion is expected to go on sale by the end of the year, and hopefully you will be able to put one in your Christmas socks. Note that this timeline will apply only to folks living in France and Germany, so if you’re residing in the US, you have some waiting to do.
However, the company has yet to disclose the price at which the unit will be sold.
