Panasonic used other brands’ cameras to advertise 77 cameras & lenses

Panasonic Japan has apologized for using stock images taken by other cameras to advertise its LUMIX camera line.

If you’ve ever been in the market for a new camera, chances are you’ve checked example images online first. High-powered cameras, especially mirrorless, or in some cases, the best smartphones, can cost a small fortune, so knowing what to expect is a must.

Now it turns out that example photos online are not reliable after all. Tech giant Panasonic has been caught using stock images online to advertise the launch of its Lumix S9 camera.

Panasonic felt the heat as it was discovered that example images of its new compact full-frame camera weren’t taken by the camera at all. Instead, as reported by Notebookcheck, over 77 LUMIX products on the Japanese site were found to be using images found on stock image sites.

One image of two Prigoria birds was used to advertise the new LUMIX S9 camera. However, it was later discovered that not only was it not taken with any Paranomic device, but on a Nikon camera by a Nikon photography ambassador, Mircea Bezergheanu.

Natallia Yaumenenka

Screenshot of one of the Shutterstock images used by Panasonic to advertise its camera products.

Since the discovery, Panasonic has made a public apology shared on its official Japanese website. The statement – translated by Deepl and Google Translate – explains the mishap.

“We deeply regret that this incident was caused by our clear lack of awareness of the images used, even though we are a camera manufacturer, and our lack of an appropriate image selection and checking process.”

According to Panasonic, a “detailed check” has been carried out on the LUMIX website to ensure any stock images used have been removed.

The controversy included 14 cameras from the S and G ranges. Lenses meanwhile saw 17 models for the S series and 28 for the lower-end G series hit. Panasonic’s hunt also found 18 models that had been discontinued have featured images taken via another camera.

The brand has also added a new disclaimer after the incident, which ensures that all images used on the site must be taken with their camera products. This includes any images taken with other models of their cameras.

For future products, Panasonic has promised that any images on the LUMIX product pages will be replaced with images taken with the relevant models during updates to its website over the fall period.