Panasonic Lumix S1
Price: £2,199/$2,498
There’s lots on offer in this full-frame mirrorless
model, plus treats in storeforvideographers
Panasonic announced the full-
frame mirrorless Lumix S1 and
S1R at Photokina last year. The S1,
reviewed here, is the 24.2Mp model aimed
at professional and experienced enthusiast
photographers and videographers. The 47.3Mp
S1R is aimed at pro stills photographers who
may want to shoot video.
Paired with a new Venus Engine processor,
the S1’s sensor has a native sensitivity range
of ISO 100-51,200, with expansion settings
that take it to ISO 50-204,800. There’s also
a maximum shooting rate of 9fps in single
autofocus (AF) mode. If continuous AF mode
is selected, the rate drops to 6fps for over 90
RAW files (70 images in RAW + JPEG mode).
Panasonic has given the S1 an enticing
videospecification,includingtheabilitytoshoot 4K (3,840 x 2,160) video at 60fps,
150Mbps and 4:2:0 8-bit. If you switch to
H.265/HEVC format, you can record internally
at 4:2:0 10-bit. Dedicated videographers,
however, are likely to buy the upcoming
optional firmware upgrade for the S1 that
will introduce V-Log mode, 4:2:2 10-bit 4K
24p/30p internal video recording and 4:2:2
10-bit 4K 60p HDMI output.
The S1 has a dual image stabilisation
(IS) system that uses five-axis in-body
stabilisation as well as in-lens stabilisation.
Thisworksinstillsandvideomodes,and
isclaimedtoenableupto6EVofshutter
speedcompensation.
Thanks to the S1’s ability to move its
sensor,there’salsoaHighResolutionmode.
Whenthisisinoperation,theS1movesthe
sensoratinyamountbetweeneachshotina
sequencecapturedinquicksuccession.The
camerathenmergestheimagesintoasingle
RAWfile.UsingHighResolutionmodewith
the3:2aspectratiosettingresultsin96Mp
images.Thatmeansyoucanmake40x26.6-
inchor106.6x67.7cmprintsat300ppi–and
theresultsareworthprinting!
Althoughit’snotatwin-grippedcamera,the
S1isprettylarge,biggerthantheNikonZ 6 or
theSonyA7III.However,thatmeansthere’sDualCarDPorts
As well as an XQD card slot, the S1 has a UHS-I and
UHS-II compatible SD/SDHC/SDXC slot. XQD and
UHS-IIcardsarebestfor4Kvideorecording.FlatMoDe
There’s a Flat Photo Style that results in low-contrast
video (and stills) for better grading; V-Log mode is
coming as a purchasable firmware upgrade.usBCharging
There’s a battery charger in the box, but the S1’s
battery can also be charged via a USB-C connection,
which is handy when you’re away from home.4K/6KPhotoMoDe
4K/6K Photo Mode uses video technology to enable
8Mp stills to be extracted in-camera from footage
shot at 60fps and 18Mp stills from 30fps footage.sheeroverlay
In Multiple Exposure mode, the S1 superimposes
the previous image over the current scene so you
can align objects. It’s possible to overlay up to three
images over the original shot.newuserinterFaCe
Panasonichasintroducedanewmenulayoutwith
theS1andS1R:thishastwocolumnsoficonson
thelefttohelp you find the features you need.FEATURES
newuserinterFaCe
“Using High
Resolution mode
with the 3:2 aspect
ratio setting results
in 96Mp images”