Bad news: the Panasonic GH6 won't be released in 2021 as promised

Panasonic GH6
(Image credit: Panasonic)

Bad news if you've been sitting patiently for the Panasonic Lumix GH6: the long-awaited new camera will officially miss its promised 2021 release.

The manufacturer has posted an apology that the Panasonic Lumix GH6 – the eagerly anticipated successor to the breakthrough Panasonic Lumix GH5 II – will not meet the 2021 release window that was announced during the camera's unveiling in May.

• Read more: Best Panasonic cameras

"Regarding the mirrorless single-lens camera "Lumix GH6", which was developed and announced on May 26, 2021, we were aiming for commercialization within 2021, but it is expected to be delayed," wrote the company in an official statement, titled Notice about Lumix GH6, on its Japanese website (via machine translation).

"Currently, we are aiming for commercialization in early 2022. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused to customers who are waiting for this product."

Very little is actually known about the Panasonic GH6. Although the product was announced in May, it was merely a development announcement – meaning that not much more than the camera's name and (now missed) release window were revealed, with concrete specs being kept under wraps until a full announcement takes place.

It was anticipated that this might happen on 27 October, which marked the 20th anniversary of Panasonic's Lumix brand. However, perhaps due to the same reasons that mean the manufacturer has been unable to deliver the camera in 2021, that announcement didn't come.

For now, all we know about the GH6 for sure is that it will have a new high-speed sensor, a newly developed Venus processor, the ability to record 4:2:2 10-bit Cinema 4K at 60p, 10-bit 4K 120p HFR (High Frame Rate) and VFR (Variable Frame Rate) and 5.7K 60p video, along with "truly unlimited recording time".

Other than that, we'll have to wait until Panasonic is finally able to "commercialize" the GH6 to tell us more.

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James Artaius
Editor

James has 22 years experience as a journalist, serving as editor of Digital Camera World for 6 of them. He started working in the photography industry in 2014, product testing and shooting ad campaigns for Olympus, as well as clients like Aston Martin Racing, Elinchrom and L'Oréal. An Olympus / OM System, Canon and Hasselblad shooter, he has a wealth of knowledge on cameras of all makes – and he loves instant cameras, too.