45
Yogi Aram Raffy doing a
headstand in the Tate Modern
Sigma 105mm F1.4 DG HSM Art with MC-21
adapter, 1/500sec at f/1.4, ISO 1600
D
SLR – Definitely So
Ludicrously Redundant?
Mirrors are so last year.
Actually, so last decade.
Panasonic launched the Micro Four
Thirds Panasonic Lumix G1, the first
digital, mirrorless, interchangeable-
lensed AF camera in 2008. Fast forward
to 2019 and we now see evolution in full
flow, with the full-frame mirrorless S
series, winding its way through the
camera market.
Those old enough will remember the
constant struggle and resistance to new
things in photography. The weighing
up of fad or marketing hype against
real-world advantages. Throughout my
30-year career I’ve seen some huge
changes and realise that we are
experiencing yet another evolutionary
leap. Mirrorless. Micro Four Thirds.
EVFs. Innovation created not as often
by the major players, but those either
newer to the game or more traditionally
on the sidelines. Of course, Panasonic
has had many years of experience as a
professional video camera and superb
consumer compact digital camera
manufacturer, but its foray into
professional stills cameras doesn’t have
the heritage of some of the more
established names. For me, the G9 was
the first Micro Four Thirds Lumix that
really caught my eye. In 2018 it was
pretty much all I shot with, and I have
several awards, publications and
exhibitions to thank it for. Now, the
question for me was, what of the S
series? The Lumix S1R has taken that
perfection of ergonomic design and
professional performance from the
G9 and given it a protein bar, a gym
membership and a double espresso.
The GH5, GH5S and G9 have already
shown serious intent from Panasonic
Lumix, but the S1R, with a design
slogan of ‘Full Frame Without
Compromise’ has definitely brought
Lumix to a new level. Another
illustration of Panasonic’s serious intent
is the partnership with Leica and Sigma;
the L-Mount Alliance certainly makes
things interesting, resulting in many
choices at many price points.Early adopter
At the start of 2019 Panasonic UK
asked me if I’d be interested in trying
out its new camera, the Lumix S1. While
it was the birth of a new system for
Panasonic Lumix, the camera already
felt completely accomplished. My
prototype camera, with pre-production
early firmware, worked perfectly and
never let me down. It didn’t matter what
I was shooting – it just worked. A month
later, I also had a prototype S1R to
shoot with. In fact, my S1R had the
serial number ‘Sample 27’ and it