Panasonic streaming now available on the Mac and Lumix G series firmware updates announced

Panasonic has announced that their LUMIX Streaming (Beta) software is now available for the Mac. Unfortunately, it’s the same hacky workaround as it is on Windows. But it seems that the modified LUMIX Tether software is merely a stop-gap solution to help get people up and running quickly while Panasonic works on the real deal.

Yes, that’s right, Panasonic has also announced that they’re soon coming up with an actual software driver so that your computer (Windows or Mac) will see your Panasonic camera as an actual USB capture device. And there’s a new minor firmware update on the way for a number of Panasonic’s Micro Four Thirds mirrorless cameras.

According to the press release, Panasonic is working on creating an actual LUMIX Webcam Software. This would allow your computer (Mac or Windows) to see your Panasonic mirrorless camera as an actual USB capture device, bypassing the need to fake it using OBS. But, there’s still a slight catch. It has to be one of the few cameras on a select list.

The release date for the LUMIX Webcam Software is the end of September for Windows and the end of October for the Mac, although it won’t support the new G100 vlogging camera right away. At the moment, Panasonic says that a date for the release of G100 support is still yet to be decided.

Also announced today, but not becoming available until July 21st are firmware updates for a number of Panasonic Lumix G series cameras. These updates add support for the DMW-SHGR1 tripod grip and offer “improved operational stability with the Panasonic Lumix G Vario 12-32mm f/3.5-5.6 ASPH/MEGA OIS” lens.

The new firmware will be available to download from the Panasonic website from July 21st and is for the Panasonic Lumix GH5, GH5S, G9, G95, G85 and GX9 cameras.