Panasonic hasn't been a much of a figure in the Android scene lately apart from its rugged Toughpad series. And it seems that the company is more interested in catering to niche markets compared to other OEMs. Now it has unveiled in Germany the Lumix DMC-CM1, a smartphone camera, or camera smartphone, that has a bit of a split personality.
Truth be told, the combination of Android and camera functionality is nothing new. We've got smartphones with cameras slapped on top (Samsung's Zoom line), cameras running Android (Samsung Galaxy NX), and smartphones with high-quality camera sensors (Sony Xperia Z1, Z2, and Z3). Panasonic's Lumix CM1, however, is slightly different in the sense that, at least based on specs, it feels more like a digital compact and a smartphone crammed into a single space. That perception is reinforced by the fact that the device even has a switch that toggles between smartphone mode and camera mode, though the exact implications of that are still to be seen.
You could treat the device's spec sheet seperately, one for the smartphone and one for the camera. The smartphone side is somewhat less interesting, but that doesn't mean it's less than decent. Panasonic seems to have really poured out quite a lot in making the smartphone noteworthy. You've got a 2.3 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 running inside, paired with 2 GB of RAM and stuffed with 16 GB of storage, expandable with a microSD card, of course. It has Cat 4 LTE support and your usual collection of WiFi, Bluetooth, and GPS connectivity. All of that crammed inside a body with a very manageable 4.7-inch 1920x1080 display. Definitely high specs for a small size. And it even runs the latest Android 4.4 version.
The camera side of the equation is equally formidable and perhaps a tad more exciting, considering it has many of the features you'd expect in dedicated digital cameras today, sans the conventional physical buttons. That said, it does have some manual controls, like a lens ring that lets you set shutter speed, ISO, white balance, exposure, and more. It also has a dedicated shutter release button that gives it an even more authentic camera feel. But if that weren't enough to convince you that this is a serious digital camera, the fact that it has its own separate image processor might. The Lumix CM1 utilizes Panasonic's own Venus Engine for delivering quality digital photos. On the sensor side, it boasts of a 1-inch high-sensitivity 20 megapixel MOS. On the lens side, you have a Leica DC Elmarit with a wide-angle 28 mm focal length and a large f/2.8 aperature. For still pictures, it records in both JPEG and RAW, while for video recording it is capable of supporting 4K resolutions.
All of these features are found inside a frame that is admittedly thicker and heavier than your conventional smartphone, 21 mm and 204 g, respectively, but definitely less than an equivalent digital camera. Availability of this rather interesting piece of digital photography equipment is still unknown, but we'll be sure to update you when the details start coming in.
SOURCE: Panasonic
VIA: SlashGear