![]() Whatever, Panasonic have made a mistake to stick with contract detect AF. I thought DFD was meant to avoid this so perhaps it’s a firmware issue. It would rack focus all the way to close-up and then all the way back to infinity. For stills, it would be fast to select a detailed object in the foreground but slow to snap onto the background. In video mode it felt similar to the GH5 with older firmware. Most of the time with the 24-105mm F4 and 50mm F1.4 (an absolutely fantastic lens), focus was silent but felt less snappy than the G9. The autofocus… Now, bearing in mind this isn’t the final firmware, DFD contrast detect based AF with Ai was inconsistent. For actual filmmakers it’s not really much of an issue. It’s disappointing not to see Panasonic maintain the GH5’s tilt-out screen (at least on the S1, if not the S1R) – it will lose them a significant portion of YouTube / vlogger sales. The presenter, yanking at the screen and dangling the camera by the LCD, revelled in her ploy to demonstrate robustness – but obviously in reality only an idiot would hold a full frame camera, with large heavy lens, by the screen. The mechanism by which the screen tilts is controversial, with a Panasonic presentation at launch not going down as an audience pleaser. There’s only one XQD slot on the Z6 and the EOS R makes do with one lousy SD card slot like a bargain basement camera. This is pre-production firmware and things may change in the final release.Ĭanon EOS R and Nikon Z users will thank Panasonic for putting dual card slots on the S1. Also some of the 1080p slow-mo is cropped. Only the 4K/30/25 and 24p are full frame (full pixel readout from 6K). So some of the higher frame rate modes are a crop. Although the camera shoots full frame without a crop for the most part, there are some instances where the sensor goes into a windowed mode to speed things up. The S1 is generally superior to the S1R for video and of course a lot less expensive at around the same price as a Sony A7 III. Slow-mo goes all the way up to 180fps, which is a first for a full frame camera. For anamorphic users there is a 5K H.265 video mode in 3:2 (and I believe 4:3 as well), although no dedicated 24p anamorphic mode like the GH5 has. The new Flat profile is easy to grade and offers enormous dynamic range. The colour science on this camera is very pleasant at first glance. This is full-fat V-LOG not V-LOG-L, I’m told. Internal 10bit V-LOG recording is coming via a paid firmware update, which for a stills orientated “full frame G9” is an unexpected bonus. ![]() There are also some pleasant surprises on the S1’s spec sheet which make it close to being a full frame GH5 in video terms (although not quite)… ![]() It is a far more professional focused system whereas the Z6 has a bit of a split personality where it can’t decide if it is a consumer or professional camera. Nikon will give you the Z6 for $2400 but make no mistake, the Panasonic S1 is superior to the Z6 and Z7. For $2000 Sony will set you up with full frame 4K S-LOG and pristine 1080/120p along with very good phase-detect AF tracking. For $1400 Fujifilm will give you 4K 60p 10bit. Sample image (S Pro 50mm F1.4), by Andrew ReidĪt the moment we are a bit spoilt for choice aren’t we? With an embarrassment of riches when it comes to mirrorless cameras, it seems like the manufacturers are falling over themselves to get a slice of the video market. The key question is – does it offer something different or is it just “more of the very good”? There is an incredible depth to this camera, far more to explore than the 4 enjoyable hours I had with it. It cannot, however, match the sheer size of the feature-set on the £2199 ($2499) Panasonic S1. I’ve been shooting with the Leica SL for a few years now and it is still the most clean, ergonomic, minimalist full frame mirrorless body. It is not my first L-mount camera though. I have a bit of an emotional attachment to it already, being the first Panasonic full frame camera. For long-time GH1 to GH5 shooters like myself, loyal from the beginning, at a time everyone else was shooting Canon, the S1 is a milestone. ![]()
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