They didn't get very far with Foveon in years. It's great for IR photography though ;-)

Well, reading some more stuff, I'll wait a little to see how it develops...

I don't get it. Every time Panasonic releases a new camera everybody bitches about the price, yet nobody can get one because they're sold out. I had to wait weeks to get my wife's GH2 because the demand outstripped supply by a good margin, and this was several months after the release date. And yet the company can't make money? They're selling out of "overpriced" cameras, and yet there's no profit in it? Something doesn't add up.

I can understand if they're stretched a little thin. Profit margins for point-and-shoots has to be next to nothing considering how far the price has dropped on these things, and nobody that buys a point-and-shoot camera buys Panasonic due to them not being the "big name brand." So I can understand maybe dropping the point-and-shoot line. But m43? How can they possibly be losing money here? When I think about the various ways I use a camera, five cameras come to mind that would be my dream kit. Three of them are made by Panasonic, two of which use the same sensor size. These three cameras completely destroy the competition in their respective classes in specs and versatility. So how are Panasonic failing to sell this advantage to average consumers?

They also seem to be pretty good at using the same sensor and logic chip in a number of applications to keep costs down. Had things continued, I'm sure the GH4's sensor would have made its way into a GX and GF series camera as well, so it's not like there shouldn't be efficiency in their manufacturing processes.

So what gives?

I'm super bummed about this. Obviously, the GH4 is one of those dream cameras for me. I don't have a preorder, but I was hoping to pick one up in six months or so once the price comes down a little. Now I'm not so sure. I'd need new glass to make the new body worth it, and who wants to invest in glass that'll be worthless next year? Especially with what Panasonic's high end glass costs these days.

On the other hand, there just doesn't seem to be another manufacturer that "gets it" when it comes to hybrid cameras. I'm not a pro, so I just want a single camera that I can get both great photos and videos out of. If Panasonic moves to FF sensors and builds something equivalent to the GH4 in features, maybe this news will result in a win-win considering the improvement on the photo side of things. (Is there any reason why a FF sensor would produce worse video quality than m43?)

Anyway, consider me another in the bummed out column, and I'll be watching this with interest to see what others plan to do regarding m43 gear (stick with it or leave it). I suppose if this news caused the value of the GH4 and glass to plummet, maybe I'd be tempted to pick one up anyway, understanding that it's basically a throwaway system the next time I upgrade. I'm still happy that I bought a GH2 when I did, even knowing now that I'll be throwing the whole bag in the garbage once the shutter's done. It's already been worth it.

Sorry for the long rant, but this is a pretty big bombshell.

I'm going to feel like the biggest tool ever if this turns out to be some kind of joke after getting so worked up about it...

Anyway if this was all true (oh man I do hope its true!) does this stop you using your current M43rds gear? Does it all suddenly stop working? You all love it right? How many more lenses and cameras do you need? GH4 will tide you over if you need 4k. ;-)

Gold sales boosted 500% during the month of March in Japan. http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-03-28/japanese-prepare-abenomics-failure-scramble-buy-physical-gold

My guess is that these are the employees like those two leaked that rush into gold stores. They just know for sure that the future is gloomy and try to prepare accordingly. And that Japanese gold rush tells that the situation is not about the losses in a particular company. It's systemic. Abenomics is done. The writing is on the wall.

@Mimirsan Some people (like me) lives in some parts of the world that m43 cameras are very uncommon (here they even are not oficially sold). It's already a pain to sell them for upgrades when they are still being manufactured - with Panasonic dropping out, it becomes borderline impossible. We have to sell everything very fast to minimize losses - and to move to other mount with a steady future.

It is a thing that could affect badly a lot of users in some places.

But I will wait to see how it develops - and if the @Shaveblog's rockets will appear.

@MarcioK Such is the risk of any investment ;-)

Sounds like I'll be able to buy a lot of gear cheap soon on EBay.

Weird that photography sites haven't picked it up. Oh well the current cameras have a good life left in them yet.

Luckily a year or so ago I started worrying about m43 and began selling my lenses and replacing them with ff glass.

OK

That's crazy. It does not make sense. M4/3 is the strongest mirrorless franchise.

Not trying to be insensitive to people who rely on their m43 equipment to make a living as it's just a hobby for me, but hasn't this happened before? I mean has there been a photographic mount that people loved and then it went away after a few brief years? I'm seriously asking. Has this happened to another mount in the past? The reason I bought my first ILC camera from Pana and Oly was because of the light and small sizes. Yes, those new very small Sony FF cams look awesome but their lenses are still big and heavy, right? This is what I'll miss most if all of this ends up happening, the small and light sizes of m43 equipment. Perhaps the new light and small will be all of these 1" sensor lens point and shoot cams but most of those are fixed lens, I think. Still, I'll miss the m43 if it ends.