Panasonic LUMIX S9 - Sample Footage and First Look Review

The new LUMIX S9 is a camera that caught me off guard. But I've had a fun time getting to know it with this hands-on experience. Watch this video to find out my thoughts and to see some sample content captured with this intriguing camera.
Here are the standout features:
- Full-Frame 24.2MP sensor
- 5-axis IBIS
- Electronic Shutter
- Dedicated RealTIME LUT button
- Hybrid Zoom
- 5GHz WiFi sharing to smartphone
- New LUMIX LAB app
- New 26mm Pancake lens

[@gordon3988]

Forget the camera…there are lots to choose from, but those pants (shorts) at the beginning looked amazing. Comfortable and huge pockets! Built for outdoor photography! Well done video! Would love to see a head to head with a ZVE1!

[@Gadgetsjon]

Haha! Thanks, I do love clothing with a lot of pocket options. Those shorts are clutch for a hot shoot day.

[@LoverOfTech]

Solid video bro. Finally an Ultra compact Full Frame from Lumix 🎉

[@Gadgetsjon]

Thank you for watching family.

[@miklosnemeth8566]

0:46 I've just found your post and comments on Reddit, and that pocket looks awesome, I want one just for my S9. I am an absolute fan. I am a Sony fan, but fell in love immediately when watching the Panasonic S9 announcement, I was the very first owner and buyer in my city, and I am still blown, what a brilliant camera.

[@Gadgetsjon]

oh, that's dope. Thanks for coming here to check out the video. I appreciate it. And I agree with you, the S9 is amazing. Very happy with it!

[@MatthewDangyou]

Great review, lovely hanging for a bit and getting to meet you!

[@Gadgetsjon]

Cheers Matt! And likewise, super cool to meet you in person. 🙏

[@MicroFourNerds]

Loved your review! Very balanced 🫶📷

[@Gadgetsjon]

Thank you em, I'm looking forward to doing my follow-up. It makes even more sense to me now.

[@MicroFourNerds]

@@Gadgetsjon I'm also finding I'm enjoying it more and more each day. Genuinely fun. I want to do some ready graded "day in the life" video stories I think on Instagram. Just no friction and no time wasted with RTL. Such a misunderstood little camera 🥲🙈

[@miklosnemeth8566]

1:38 I am absolutely brand agnostic, and it was a coincidence that Panasonic and Fuji announced at the same time cameras that grabbed my "10-year-Sony-fan" attention: S9 vs X-T100VI vs X-T50 with the brand new 16-50 internal focusing super lens. I spent several days in the store to experiment with these cameras plus the Nikon Zf, and the S9 was the winner to my preferences that were a balance between aesthetics and features. Since I have the S9, I cannot stop using it.

[@miklosnemeth8566]

9:23 Here you demonstrate perfectly how to hold a camera + lens properly: left hand under the lens, and the right hand is just to balance and press the shutter. This was the proper formula for long decades when cameras were made without "battery grips" Even today Leica is making its M series cameras without grips. This is a major reason I loved the S9: no grip whatsoever. I am considering a Panasonic S PRO 50mm f1.4 for the S9 as a specialty lens next to my everyday Sigma 45 mm, and no way I'd buy a grip extender. 😉 Your video was fantastic, a joy to watch.

[@Gadgetsjon]

I really appreciate the kind feedback! 🙏

[@miklosnemeth8566]

6:10 I was shocked how brilliant this MP4Lite (HEVC) format is, this is what I've been waiting for 10 years. To me this was absolutely a major surprise feature. I didn't take this feature even into consideration before picking the S9 vs Fujis and Zf.

[@Gadgetsjon]

@@miklosnemeth8566 I'm with you. I actually think it's the best thing about the S9.

[@TopshelfJunior]

Loving mine !!!

[@Gadgetsjon]

@@TopshelfJunior it's a brilliant camera!

[@KofiYeboah]

Great meeting you my guy and awesome video!

[@Gadgetsjon]

Thanks man, Gerald's fanboys seem to hate it, but they're giving me views, so I'm grateful.

[@miklosnemeth8566]

Definitely, Panasonic product managers didn't make this the perfect camera for photographers: no flash, no mechanical shutter, no EVF. But, still, this camera is absolutely brilliand for stills phtography, too. Its AF is fantastic, brutally awesome both Sigma as well as Panasonic (and possibly Leica L-mount) lenses. The LUT feature gives you the possibility to take you photos look amazing OOC, really time consuming. The 24M full frame sensor with the fantastic compact Sigma lenses, 17, 20, 24, 35, 45, 50, 65 and 90 mm is a gorgeous photography combo. I use my S9 camera 50% photo and 50% video. I don't miss flash and mechanical shutter at all, It was 5 years ago when I last used a flash. I don't care the missing internal EVF; but, the only two things I am missing to some degree are: (1) the missing possibility to make an external EVF like Leica makes for its M9, M10 and M11 (Visorflex) A Leica Visorflex-compatible accessory shoe would have been brutally awesome. (2) The screen is left swingout only, it should have been made double hinged like the GH7's or S1H screens.

[@peachulemon]

I probably should have boight this instead of an S5 but S9 nor the s5ii exsited at that point

[@miklosnemeth8566]

8:00 Did you buy the glasses in Japan, too? 😂 Looks cool, my son would love them, too.

[@Gadgetsjon]

Thank you, I bought the glasses in Rio, Brazil.

[@Peter-Dirks]

Impressive👍

[@TomCalton]

Great video dude! It was a pleasure meeting you in Osaka 😊

[@Gadgetsjon]

Thanks man! And great to meet you too. 🫶

[@markshirley01]

Its a pity you can't shoot the open gate in any of the slow motion file formats. I shoot most of my video in vertical and it often gets slowed down. Even 1080 50 or 100 would have been useful. Plus the small rig handle only has a swiss arca on the bottom - so you cant fix it vertical to a tripod. Do you know what the electronic zoom was doing from the sensor, I heard it does lose resolution up to a certain point

[@Gadgetsjon]

yeah, I also wish MP4 Lite had a 50/60p option, that would have been ideal. Regarding hybrid zoom, it crops into the sensor to give you more reach. It's the same as shooting 6K or 4K for a Full HD delivery and rescaling your frame.

[@markshirley01]

@@Gadgetsjon thanks sounds like the zoom would be helpful

[@enriquedominguez3963]

Nice camera, cool channel😊

[@Gadgetsjon]

Thank you much for checking it out. 🙏

[@ericaceous1652]

Intrigued to know what you're filming your non S9 B-roll/pieces to camera on, and how that compares to the S9.

[@Gadgetsjon]

Apart from the couple of POV clips of the camera or viewfinder in my hands, I actually shot the whole video on the S9, I forgot to mention it in the video. The POV shots were all shot using the iPhone 15 Pro Max in 4K Pro Res.

[@PavSZ]

such a good review!

[@Gadgetsjon]

Thanks for watching mate! 🙏

[@masterofcamera]

Awesome video!

[@Gadgetsjon]

Ah man, means a lot coming from you. Thank you! So good to meet you in person.

[@masterofcamera]

@@Gadgetsjon Cheers, yeah was fantastic to meet you!

[@joseacarrasm]

Interesting that Panasonic invited you with less than 1k subscribers to the S9 launch and some other people with 10 times more are still waiting for the invite 😅

[@Gadgetsjon]

See, this is where a simple Google may have helped you out friend. I'm not a KZbinr. I write for Wired, Digital Camera Magazine, Stuff, T3 and Amateur Photographer Magazine and I've been a tech journalist for approaching two decades. But go off...🤡

[@Gadgetsjon]

Also, for the record, that clown was invited (even though he shouldn't have been). He declined.

[@PPLRRN]

​@@Gadgetsjonis that clown who I think it is?

[@Gadgetsjon]

@@PPLRRN You done know lol.

[@PPLRRN]

@@Gadgetsjon Got it! :)

[@cip.p]

I think you just wanted to let us know you've been in Japan 😆

[@Gadgetsjon]

Was it that obvious!? 🤣🫶

[@ChrisBarraclough]

Sploosh

[@Gadgetsjon]

Love you x

[@eagleeyephoto8715]

Yet another vlog video camera, definitely not made with photography in mind

[@Gadgetsjon]

From Panasonic's perspective, they already have cameras that are suitable for photographers. So this camera isn't for them.

[@martysender5539]

Overheats..quickly. pricey. Pass

[@Gadgetsjon]

Not every camera is going to be for you.

[@PPLRRN]

Much like the ZVE1 although that one is pricier.

[@GadgetsBoy]

Let's go!

[@Gadgetsjon]

LFG