Archive - May 2020

Technics Announces the SL-1210GAE Limited Edition Direct Drive Turntable to Commemorate Its 55th Anniversary

May 29, 2020
Technics

Only 1,000 units of the special edition all-black SL-1210GAE to be sold worldwide, with 40 units earmarked for Australia.

Technics has been delivering epoch-making audio products to worldwide markets since 1965, the debut year of this iconic brand. Today, Technics announces the SL-1210GAE Limited Edition direct drive turntable to commemorate the brand’s 55th anniversary. This special model, with only 1000 to be sold worldwide, is based on the internationally acclaimed Grand Class SL-1200G hi-fi turntable.

The SL-1210GAE features a premium full black colour scheme – featuring a hairline processed black top panel – which has already proved popular with other recent Technics products. Made in Japan by skilled Technics artisans, it has a special badge inscribed with a unique serial number to signify that it is a 55th anniversary model. The turntable also features an insulator with specialised shock-absorbing gel to isolate vibration and ensure a stunning listening experience.

Aaron Waters, Product Marketing Manager – Audio and Video, Panasonic said: “We’ve had a strong response from Technics aficionados since we re-introduced the brand in November last year.  It’s exciting to celebrate the brand’s 55th anniversary by offering this premium limited edition model to vinyl enthusiasts, with just 40 units to be available for Australian customers.”

The Technics SL-1210GAE will be rolled out in Australia from July 2020, limited to a total of just 40 units. The turntable will be available via selected audio specialist retailers, priced at $6999 RRP.

Specifications exclusive to SL-1210GAE 55th anniversary model

  1. All-black colour scheme

The SL-1210GAE’s 10mm-thick aluminium top panel sports a meticulously anodised black brushed hairline finish. In addition, the operation buttons and tonearm also employ a high quality black finish that results in a uniform, premium appearance.

  1. Special badge inscribed with a serial number

The SL-1210GAE is wholly made in Japan by skilled artisans’ hands, with a significant level of hand-made processes to ensure the highest quality possible. The top panel features a special badge, inscribed with the unique serial number to signify that it is a 55th anniversary model.

  1. Insulator

The specially developed zinc insulator features αGEL™, a soft gel-like material with excellent shock absorbing properties which is also used on the highly acclaimed, ‘flagship’ SL-1000R reference turntable. The high-density zinc die-cast housing offers superb vibration damping characteristics and excellent long-term reliability. The new insulator effectively isolates the turntable from external vibrations, ensuring completely undisturbed music reproduction whilst preserving every fine nuance and detail within the musical signal.

 αGEL™ is a trademark of Taica Corporation registered in Japan and/or other countries.
  1. Strobe light ON-OFF switch

The strobe light can now be turned off as required, allowing the listener to  simply concentrate on the music, especially in a dimmed environment.

SL-1210GAE product features

Coreless Direct Drive Motor

Conventional analogue turntables have problems with degradation in sound quality caused by factors such as minute speed vibration during rotation and rotation irregularity called ‘cogging’. In the SL-1210GAE, the use of a coreless direct-drive motor with no iron core eliminates cogging. Also, the twin-rotor construction reduces the bearing load while maintaining high torque, and also reduces minute vibration during rotation. These factors enable reproduction of the warm, exquisitely detailed sound etched on analogue records.

High-Precision Motor Control Technology

The application of motor control technology developed for Blu-ray devices, and switching the drive mode depending on the operational status of the motor, achieves a high starting torque and high speed stability for optimum playback.

Three-layered Turntable Platter

The turntable features a three-layered construction with a rigidly combined brass top-plate, an aluminium die cast core platter and a solid rubber coating covering its entire rear surface to eliminate unwanted resonance, thereby achieving overall superior rigidity and vibration damping. This delivers smooth rotational stability and high inertial mass surpassing the SP-10MK2 (the direct-drive turntable standard used by broadcast stations worldwide), as well as having more than twice the inertial mass of the SL-1200MK5.

High-level Balance Adjustment

When the weight distribution of the turntable is uneven, excess vibration or noise occurs during rotation, which causes degradation in sound quality. To counteract this, the balance of the turntable is adjusted at the factory by using specialised high-precision balance adjustment equipment for each and every item after the turntable is assembled. Turntables that have undergone adjustment are labelled with a sticker reading ‘BALANCED’ to indicate that individual adjustment has been done.

High Sensitivity Tonearm

The tonearm employs lightweight magnesium which has a high damping effect, with cold drawing improving the characteristics of the material and achieving the high-precision required. In addition, high initial-motion sensitivity is attained by employing the traditional Technics gimbal suspension construction with the horizontal rotation axis and the vertical rotation axis intersecting at a single central point, as well as high-precision bearings using a cut-processed housing.

High-Quality Terminals

The use of brass-milled and gold-plated phono terminals and ground terminals prevents degradation in sound quality while enabling the easy attaching and detaching of cables. Also, the use of metal shielding construction inside the case reduces the effects of external noise.

Four-layered Cabinet Construction

A hairline-processed, 10mm-thick black top panel of immaculate aluminium is added to a three-layered construction of aluminium die-cast, BMC (Bulk Moulding Compound), and heavyweight-class rubber. This four-layered construction combines the high rigidity necessary for superb vibration damping with a superior solid build and a luxurious finish and feel.

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Panasonic Launches its Lightest L-Mount Interchangeable Lens: LUMIX S 20-60mm F3.5-5.6 (S-R2060) Compact Wide-Angle Standard Zoom Lens

May 28, 2020
Lumix Cameras & Lenses

Panasonic is proud to introduce the new LUMIX S 20-60mm F3.5-5.6 – a compact and lightweight wide-angle standard zoom lens boasting a focal length range from ultra-wide 20mm to standard 60mm, offering the versatility to capture a range of subjects from landscapes to lifestyle images.

James Choi, Product Marketing Manager – Imaging, Panasonic, said: “This new S Series lens is the lightest L-Mount model to be released by Panasonic. It delivers a unique focal length range for the full-frame category, with its compact size and wide-angle capabilities offering photographers great scope, from landscapes to street photography and even close-ups. At just 350 grams, the lens is very lightweight and has excellent mobility.”

With a stunning close-up capability of 0.15m (maximum magnification 0.43x), the lens’ wide viewing angle makes it easier to shoot in confined spaces indoors, which is excellent for product or food photography. Like Panasonic’s other S Series lenses, the S-R2060 has highly effective focus breathing suppression to ensure smooth, high quality video recording. The lens is based on the L-Mount system for the LUMIX S Series range of full-frame Digital Single Lens Mirrorless Cameras.

The S-R2060 will be available in Australia in July 2020 from photographic specialists and consumer electronics retailers, priced at $1099 RRP.

The new lens adds to its credentials with a rugged dust/splash-resistant[i] design to withstand use under harsh conditions down to a temperature of -10 degrees Celsius.　In addition, a fluorine coating on the front lens element repels water and oil.

Comprising 11 elements in 9 groups, the use of 2 aspherical lenses and 3 ED (Extra-low Dispersion) lenses effectively suppresses both axial chromatic aberration and chromatic aberration of magnification. Astigmatism is also corrected with these aspherical lenses, achieving high resolving performance. Furthermore, a UHR (Ultra-High Refractive Index) lens achieves uniform image quality from the center to edges of the image while contributing to downsizing of the lens unit. The filter diameter is 67 mm, with a 9-blade circular aperture diaphragm.

[i]Dust and Splash Resistant does not guarantee that damage will not occur if this camera is subjected to direct contact with dust and water. To avoid damage when using the lens under these conditions, it must be used in accordance with the associated instructions in the manual.

Sea Life and Panasonic Bring the Magic of the Underwater World Into Homes Across Australia

May 4, 2020
Display Solutions, Professional AV

SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium has teamed up with Panasonic to live stream some amazing underwater sea creatures – giving viewers the chance to experience all the marine magic in high definition from the comfort of their home.

SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium are using the Panasonic x2000 video camera to create a virtual aquarium – live streaming playtime and feeding time with a diverse range of appealing marine and terrestrial life, via their Facebook page.

With an audience of over 127,000 SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium sought to brighten up newsfeeds and educate fans both young and old – from spontaneous moments such as a dugong getting a belly rub, to learning the science behind a coral reef.

“We wanted to give people a closer experience than ever before, whilst also providing families who are stuck indoors, with resources, materials and fun topics to talk about. Working with Panasonic, we are able to bring the vibrant underwater world to life on screens big and small around Australia. We are thrilled that our viewers can dive into our world and enjoy uninterrupted, professional quality live streams at the click of a button,” said Richard Dilly, General Manager, SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium.

Since March this year, viewers have been enjoying watching fascinating animals get fed, keepers playing with animals, and taking advantage of the opportunity to listen to expert aquarists and having their questions answered live on video. However, the most popular content so far has been the penguin live stream aired in the first week of April which received over 100,000 views and around 3,000 comments. Overall, Facebook followers have increased by 35 per cent since live streaming began.

To catch the next live stream from SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium and Panasonic head to: https://www.facebook.com/sydneyaquarium/.

Mother of three, Kasey Weir from Brisbane is a big fan of the SEA LIFE live streams and insists that they are a life-saver while at home during isolation:

“The live streams are such a joy to watch and the whole family learns so much about the beautiful creatures. The best part is that you really feel like you are out of the house and there with the animals – my kids actually wave at the screen!” said Kasey.

Ayla aged 7 and Maisie aged 3 watching turtles on SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium’s Live Stream

Powering the stunning underwater display is Panasonic’s X2000 video camera, a convenient, ‘plug and play’ solution for SEA LIFE. The camera is able to connect to Wi-Fi and directly live stream content online in HD quality, without the need for extra equipment. Other features perfect for live streaming include 4k recording, high resolution audio, a wide-angle + zoom lens and precision face detection.

The professional technology is a hit for SEA LIFE staff who can focus more on the animal interaction and less on technical issues.

“Lighting and poor sound quality are two big issues we have when filming in the aquarium. Having a professional set up like Panasonic’s X2000 has meant we are able to produce better quality live streams then just using our mobile phones. Plus, the zoom lens allows us to capture amazing detail – whether it be penguins calling in the middle of the stream to a turtle spraying water out of his nostrils directly into the camera!” said Emma Malik, Supervisor – Animal Training & Guest Interaction, SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium.

Following the success of the live streams, SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium has also launched Tank TV – a 24-hour live stream using Panasonic’s AW-UE4 pan-tilt-zoom camera to showcase different parts of the aquarium on their website. The aquarium has been thrilled by the response, which allows the guests to connect at any time for experiences such as the Great Barrier Reef exhibit. This camera was also simple to install and was up and streaming within a day.

Richard Dilly sees live streaming as a trend that will continue even when the aquarium re-opens its doors:

“The ability to live stream has been massively engaging not only for our guests, but also for our teams – we’ve been telling our aquarists for years that they are the stars of the show, and all of a sudden they’re hitting internet fame talking about their favourite subjects! We have found a new medium and a new way of achieving our purposes – you can’t come to us? No worries, we’ll come to you!”

Ultra-accessible U Series Security cameras launched

May 1, 2020
Business Systems, Security

Panasonic Australia has announced the launch of its new U Series security camera range, an accessibly priced solution backed by Panasonic’s reputation for market-leading quality and reliability.

As companies become increasingly focused on security in their work environments, Panasonic is able to deliver greater flexibility and convenience to customers in key sectors including healthcare, aged care, education, retail and hospitality, government and public safety and transport and logistics.

“The U Series is an important addition to our growing security solutions portfolio, underpinned by our reputation for market-leading reliability, and promise of quality and functionality,” said Clare Goldstein, Product Marketing Manager, Security Solutions, Panasonic Australia.

“The ease of mounting, high video quality and excellent night vision of the U Series presents an excellent opportunity for our customers to establish new monitoring systems or upgrade existing systems, while taking advantage of longer recording with less use of storage space.”

Panasonic’s new range does not compromise on performance, delivering the highest image quality in all environmental conditions while using advanced technology to ensure longer recording times, and requiring less hard drive space for video storage.

Key product capabilities

Spearheading the new series are:

  • WV-U2132L 2-megapixel iA (Intelligent Auto) H.265 Varifocal ‘Indoor Dome’ Camera
  • WV-U2532L 2-megapixel iA H.265 Varifocal ‘Outdoor Dome’ Camera
  • WV-U1532L 2-megapixel iA H2.265 Varifocal ‘Bullet’ Camera

The three products each boast an impressive Full HD 1080p at 30fps, colour night vision (0.006 to 0.1 lx) and incorporate Super Dynamic 120dB to ensure sharp and clear images during day or night. Auto speed shutter control also allows the capture of the highest quality images for fast moving objects even under the most challenging and dynamic of environments.

The Intelligent Auto (iA) technology ensures dynamic optimisation of key camera settings during day or night, by monitoring scene dynamics and motion and reducing distortion such as motion blur from moving objects.

Complementing these models are a range of fixed indoor and outdoor dome cameras which include:

  • WV-U2130L 2-megapixel iA H.265 Fixed ‘Indoor Dome’ Camera
  • WV-U2530L 2-megapixel iA H.265 Fixed ‘Outdoor Dome’ Camera

The complete U Series range also includes:

  • WV-U2140L 4-megapixel iA H.265 Fixed ‘Indoor Dome’ Camera
  • WV-U2142L 4-megapixel iA H.265 Varifocal ‘Indoor Dome’ Camera
  • WV-U2540L 4-megapixel iA H.265 Fixed ‘Outdoor Dome’ Camera
  • WV-U2542L 4-megapixel iA H.265 Varifocal ‘Outdoor Dome’ Camera
  • WV-U1542L 4-megapixel iA H.265 Varifocal ‘Bullet’ Camera

Each of these additional cameras deliver between 2-4-megapixel images up to 30fps and colour night vision (0.019 to 0.3 lx), while still providing outstanding low light performance in true colour; with low noise for night time applications and incorporating Super Dynamic 102dB to ensure sharp and clear images of a walking person, during both day and night.

All security cameras in the new U Series range benefit from H.265 Smart Coding technology, which ensures bandwidth efficiency is intelligently increased for longer recording and less storage. Self-learning Region of Interest (ROI) encoding (Auto VIQS) detects movement within the image and compresses the areas with little motion, in order to reduce transmitted data while maintaining the quality of the image.

The U Series security camera range is available to Australian customers from May 2020 via Panasonic’s national Security distributor BGW Technologies.

Rob Meachem, General Manager, BGW Technologies, said: “We love the fact this new U-Series camera range is designed and manufactured by Panasonic. It means the build and picture quality will be superb, and what’s even more exciting is the new form factors and price which will only serve to complement the S and X Series cameras.”

Pricing (inc GST)

Indoor Dome Cameras

  • WV-U2130L – RRP $549.90
  • WV-U2132L – RRP $722.73
  • WV-U2140L – RRP $688.10
  • WV-U2142L – RRP $1050.55

Outdoor Dome Cameras

  • WV-U2530L – RRP $607.82
  • WV-U2532L – RRP $842.92
  • WV-U2540L – RRP $774.11
  • WV-U2542L – RRP $1188.06

Bullet Cameras

  • WV-U1532L – RRP $940.40
  • WV-U1542L – RRP $1219.31

For more information on the U Series range visit: https://business.panasonic.com.au/security-solutions/