44 27 July 2019 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I subscribe 0330 333 1113
Dive into the menus and
you’ll fi nd some interesting
extras, too. There’s a range
of auto-bracketing options, a
comprehensive intervalometer,
a stop-motion animation mode,
creative image-processing fi lters,
and a multiple-exposure mode
with the effects previewed live in
the viewfi nder. The S1 even has a
built-in controller for off-camera
wireless fl ash using the fi rm’s
FL200L, FL360L and
FL580L units.
However it’s in the video sphere
where the S1 perhaps stands
furthest apart from its rivals. It’s
capable of recording 4K video
at 60 frames per second, with
a 150Mbps bit rate and every
frame being oversampled using
the full width of the sensor. What’s
more, it doesn’t suffer from the
usual 30-minute recording time
limit of its rivals – instead it’ll keep
on going for more than an hour,
thanks to Panasonic having built in
a heat pipe to avoid overheating.
The company has also revealed
that the S1 will get many extra
high-end video capabilities via a
‘software key’. Additional features
will include V-Log recording
with 14 stops of dynamic range,
in-camera LUT application both
during and after recording, and
a waveform monitor.
Both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
are built-in for connection to
a smartphone or tablet, via
Panasonic’s new, streamlined
Lumix Sync app for Android and
iOS. You get pretty much the full
set of expected features, including
a simple Bluetooth remote release
and full Wi-Fi remote control with
a live-view display. Naturally you
can browse your images using
your phone and copy your
favourites across for sharing. Once
set up, it all works pretty well.Build and handling
I’ve already mentioned the S1’s
bulk, and at 149x110x97mm and
over a kilogram in weight, it’s as
large as a high-end, full-frame
DSLR. While this feels at odds with
the while idea of mirrorless, the
advantage is that it allows the
camera to be festooned with a
vast array of physical controls.
It’s also, on the whole, built to the
same kind of level as the Canon
EOS 5D series or the Nikon
D850, and feels like it would be
just as much at home hammering
in nails as taking pictures.
The massive body also provides
space for a huge grip that’s
probably the best of any mirrorless
model to date. With a thick,
textured rubber coating and
pronounced thumb-hook, it feels
absolutely secure in your hand. As
a result, the camera is perfectly
at home with long telephotos on
board, in marked contrast to
Sony’s comparatively tiny bodies.
The shutter button is highly
responsive; indeed it’s so twitchy
I frequently fi red it by accident.The 24-105mm f/4
Macro OIS lens is
great for close-ups
24-105mm at 105mm,
1/500sec at f/10, ISO 3200High-resolution
mode delivers huge
amounts of detail
24-105mm at 73mm,
1/8sec at f/8, ISO 100You also get stacks of direct
control, which is all highly
customisable to suit your
preferences. There are no fewer
than three electronic control dials,
along with a joystick controller
for positioning the AF point, and
physical dials for setting the
drive and focus modes. Three
prominent buttons behind the
shutter release access white
balance, ISO and exposure
compensation, but I preferred to
reconfi gure the dials such that
the top-plate thumb dial directly
changed exposure compensation,
while the back dial changed ISO.
But whichever way you prefer to
shoot, all the key settings are at
your fi ngertips and easy to change
with the camera held up to your
eye. Panasonic’s touchscreen
interface is excellent too, with
large onscreen buttons and rapid
responsiveness complementing
the physical controls perfectly.
Panasonic has included a couple
of unusual high-end features too.
Pressing the light button beside
the top-plate LCD also illuminates
a selection of buttons on the back,
while a lock switch on the shoulder
can be used to prevent accidental
settings changes. A small front-
plate Fn lever enables silent
mode by default, but can be set to
operate other useful settings such
as focus peaking, or to turn touch
functions on and off.
There are a couple of niggles,
though. The power switch isawkwardly positioned on the
top-plate, so unlike its Sony and
Nikon rivals, you can’t quickly
fl ick the S1 on and off with your
forefi nger to conserve the battery,
as is desirable with a mirrorless
camera. Panasonic seems to have
tacitly recognised this to be a
mistake, as it’s changed the design
on the S1’s upcoming video-
focused sibling, the S1H. The
menu/set button and d-pad are
also rather spongy and imprecise;
this wouldn’t matter so much wereDetail
Detail