Digital Photographer - UK (2019-08)

FeaTureS

It has a comprehensive

selection of features,

focussing on creative

modes and detail capture

build QualiTy

It’s a solid-feeling beast,

but it’s also larger

than the full-frame

mirrorless competition

QualiTy oF

reSulTS

Stick to ISO 6,400 or

lower and the S1R delivers

superb-quality images with

bags of detail

handling

Once you get used to it, the

S1R is fast to use, with a

good mixture of direct and

touch-control

Value For Money

It seems expensive in

comparison to the Nikon

Z 7 and Sony A7R III, but

the features impress

Megapixels (effective)
47.3
Max resolution
8,368x5,584
(16,736x11,168 in High
Resolution mode)
Sensor information
Full-frame
(24x36mm) CMOS
Shutter speed
1/16,000-60sec,
plus Bulb to 30mins
iSo sensitivity
ISO 100-25,600
(expandable to ISO
50-51,200)
exposure modes
PASM, Intelligent Auto
Metering options
Multiple, Center-
Weighted, Spot,
Highlight Weighted
connectivity
USB-C, HDMI Type A,
2.5mm remote, 3.5mm
mic, 3.5mm headphone,
Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
weight
898g body, 1,020g with
XQD card and battery
dimensions
148.9 x 110.0 x 96.7mm
batteries
Lithium ion 7.4V,
3,050mAh, 23Wh
Storage
Slot 1: XQD, Slot 2: SD/
SDHC/SDXC UHS-I/
UHS-II compatible
lcd
3.2-inch triaxial-tilt
LCD with 2.1m dots
Viewfinder:
OLED Live Viewfinder
with 5.76m dots

Panasonic Lumix S1R

The S1R delivers delightful,

detail-rich images and has a

solid-feeling body that seems

suited to life in a pro’s bag.

The only drawback is the

limited range of lenses.

overall

it takes you to the last subsection you used
as you move between the main sections.
It means that you have to keep switching
direction when you’re looking for different
features. It’s OK once you get used to the
layout, but it takes longer to become familiar
with the arrangement.
The S1R has a 1,728-zone multi-pattern
metering system, and it does a fine job in a
wide range of conditions. Provided Constant
Preview is set via the menu, the EVF also

lock leVer

The S1R’s lock lever can be customised

via the menu to only lock certain controls.

Touch conTrol

You can adjust, select and control just

about everything using the touchscreen.

Mini JoySTick

The S1R’s joystick is perfectly placed for

shifting the AF point with your thumb.

Triaxial TilTing Screen

The 3.2-inch, 2.1 million-dot screen can be

tilted up, down and to the side.

1 2

3 4

1 2 3 4

gives an excellent preview of the scene, so we

found there was no real need to switch to one

of the other metering modes. There were a

few occasions when we had to dial in a bit of

exposure compensation to get the result we

wanted, but it was usually with very bright or

dark scenes and was predictable.

Given the higher resolution of its sensor,

it’s not really a surprise to discover that the

S1R’s images have less latitude than those

from the S1. It is still possible to underexpose

“ It is still possible to underexpose images to

preserve the highlights and then selectively

brighten the shadows in RAW files”

images to preserve the highlights and then

selectively brighten the shadows in RAW files,

but we’d advise keeping the underexposure

and brightening to no more than 3EV.

The S1R controls noise well and delivers very

high-quality images. However, if you examine

images at 100%, you’ll see some texture starts

to appear at around ISO 1,000. By ISO 12,800

the finer details are lost from JPGs, and the

RAW files look a bit noisy, so we’d recommend

sticking to ISO 6,400 or below if possible.

PAnASonIC LuMIx S1R