Panasonic announced at CES 2015 that it will be releasing its smartphone/camera hybrid in the US this summer.
The Panasonic CM1 was initially released in France and Germany following its announcement at Photokina last year.
The Panasonic CM1 is a device similar to the Samsung Galaxy K Zoom albeit in a more pocket-friendly package. It packs a 4.7-inch Full HD LCD screen and a nippy Snapdragon 801 processor running at 2.3GHz to help it run Android 4.4 KitKat smoothly. It also comes with 16GB of on-board storage with microSD expansion slot included.
All this puts it in similar footing to the Galaxy S5 and HTC One M8, but the 20.1-megapixel 1-inch sensor makes this a serious compact camera too. This is bigger than the sensor on even the best camera-phones like the Nokia Lumia 1020.
There’s no optical zoom though. The CM1 has a fixed 28mm lens with f/2.8 aperture.
At £750/900 Euros it’s not cheap and we don’t yet know what the US pricing will be, but to put it into context it has the same camera sensor as the Panasonic FZ1000. That costs the same, but won’t let you play Flappy Bird. Or make a call.
Panasonic has included a second processor in the CM1, which lets you use it as a camera without having to wait for Android to get its act together, helping get quick shots.
It’s a niche product certainly, but one that could find some traction with those serious about their photos.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
