PANASONIC SHOWCASE 2025 SHOCKED COLOMBIA:

CALI, BOGOTÁ, AND MEDELLÍN RECEIVED THE BRAND'S LATEST NEWS AT PRO AV

Panasonic do Brasil, the company responsible for the Japanese brand's operations in Latin America, arrived in Colombia with the "Panasonic Showcase 2025," an event held in partnership with Merlin Distribuitor, its master distributor for the region, accompanied by local representatives VCR Colombia and Era Electrónica.

The first two events were organized by VCR Colombia: the first took place on May 13 at the Casa Dann Carlton Hotel in Bogotá; while the second took place on May 15 at the Intercontinental Hotel in Cali.

"In Bogotá and Cali, together with our partner VCR Colombia, we presented Panasonic's ProAV 2025 portfolio. We demonstrated products such as the AK-UCX100 studio camera, the AG-CX350 camcorder, the AW-UB10 box-style camera, and solutions like PanaTrack, among others, highlighting the Media Production Suite platform. In all cases, attendees were able to test the equipment, and many were interested in learning more," said Marcelo Meirelles, Business Development Manager of Panasonic do Brasil.

The executive also provided details about the event held in Medellín. "We officially launched the Lumix line in the Colombian market, with the support of distributor Era Electrónica. With the support of the television channel TeleMedellín, we had a multipurpose space that stood out for offering specific areas for photo and video experiences, where the S9, S5IIX, GH7, and S1RII cameras were available for the public to experiment with. Since the event was exclusive to Panasonic Lumix, we brought the Lumix S1RII and highlighted the recently launched S1II and S1IIE, which will soon be available for sale at Era Electrónica," he explained.

The dynamics of the Bogotá and Cali events were based on a common operational structure, and the products showcased included the AK-UCX100 4K studio camera, the AW-UE160 PTZ camera, and the new LUMIX S-Series Full Frame and G-Series MFT cameras.

"The Bogotá and Cali showcases were very entertaining and varied. They were very practical presentations, far from the typical and tedious traditional presentations. Attendees were not only able to see and touch the products but also to determine how to integrate them into their workflows." To do this, we set up a suitable stage set, with the cameras and all the equipment connected in a way that would be as attractive as possible,” said Hernán Suescun, General Manager of VCR Colombia, who highlighted that beyond the detailed products, solutions developed by other companies for Panasonic were very well received, such as PanaTrack and Panapod, two robotic horizontal and vertical movement systems, designed for both PTZ and studio cameras.

The third showcase in Colombia was organized by Era Electrónica in the city of Medellín, in one of the studios belonging to Telemedellín.

Unlike the single sessions, the showcase was held in Medellín in two shifts: in the morning, the focus was on the ProAV market; and in the afternoon, on the launch of the Lumix line. From the ProAV line, the new 4K studio camera model AK-UCX100 and the new PTZ AW-UE160 were presented. The newly strengthened camcorder portfolio was also reviewed, and the new Lumix Full Frame S-Series and MFT G-Series camera models were on display.

“The ProAV event is a showcase that we have held in previous years and has been a great success. This time, we sought to showcase Panasonic's PTZ cameras, studio cameras, camcorders, and all of its solutions to all attendees. We are highlighting the trend of PTZ cameras, which is becoming increasingly popular in the Colombian market, not only in television channels and production companies, but also in the AV world, such as event companies, churches, auditoriums, radio venues, concerts, reality shows, and many more,” stated Esteban Ospina Hoyos, Purchasing Director at Era Electrónica, who emphasized: “The objective of the event was to showcase the professional production capabilities through the live use of Panasonic PTZ cameras, studio cameras, and camcorders, demonstrating the image quality, control, and operational efficiency of this equipment. Additionally, the objective is to promote the adoption of these new technologies that are at the forefront of the Colombian audiovisual industry. During the event, attendees were able to interact with the equipment, participate in live demonstrations, and learn about success stories.” education, remote production, broadcasting, and corporate equipment. The event sought to showcase not only the hardware but also the complete ecosystem that Panasonic offers for modern, connected workflows," he said.

Asked about the relevance of these events, Jorge González, Latin American Account Manager at Merlin Distributor, said: “As has been its custom for many years, Panasonic launches a series of events in various Latin American countries immediately after NAB in Las Vegas and has chosen Colombia as the first of them for a post-NAB Road Show that seeks to showcase its new products and solutions in workflows and productions.”

The Merlin executive explained that “the AK-UCX100 camera is fully equipped to meet the demands of high-quality video and live production in the new IP era and is therefore ideal for studio work, as well as for sports and live stage productions.” He also noted that it can function as a standalone camera head, without the need for a camera control unit (CCU), and is compatible with a wide variety of IP standards. “It complies with SMPTE ST 2110, which enables network redundancy, and in the future will support JPEG XS for low-latency transmission, ensuring lossless video quality and extremely stable IP operation,” he added.

He also noted that Panasonic’s new AW-UE160 stands out for its versatility. “This camera can be used in a variety of situations, such as when limited staffing and production costs are required, and also for recording large-scale events and studio productions,” he emphasized.

Regarding the new Lumix cameras presented in Colombia, he explained that "both the S9 and S5 II are compact full-frame mirrorless cameras that offer content creators superior image quality, with easy-to-use features and unprecedented reliability in both photography and video." And when referring to the GH7, he indicated that it is "a mirrorless camera with professional features," highlighting two of its value-added attributes: "its Hybrid Face AF, which allows continuous subject tracking; and its Dynamic Range Boost, which gives access to a wide dynamic range across all ISO sensitivity ranges," he concluded.