Panasonic S1 and S1R Hands-On Review

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Our hands-on review of the Panasonic S1 and S1R at the international press event. The samples we tested were pre-production so image quality is not final.
Some images were taken at the El Born Centre de Cultura i Memòria (Barcelona).

[@andrear9500]

I’ve seen many reviews at this early stage and your is the best. Bravo!

[@MathieuGasquetMirrorLessons]

Thanks!

[@shock_me]

The ISO 10,000 footage at 9:50 is remarkably clean. Not sure what sorcery they've got going on behind the scenes but that's a very encouraging performance.

[@barrystreet2046]

Tested one a week ago with all firmware updates with the 24 to 105., No problems with focusing pin sharp pics,bit heavy and costly that's the negative.. some people will never be happy no matter how good the camera is,we are so spoilt these days on new tech,make it work for you .I would buy one if I could afford it.

[@JesseStiller]

So cool to see all of the familiar faces at the Panasonic event :D

[@anbranco]

Good review. Anything on how it can handle Leica M glass? Thanks

finally someone that mentions the noise performance during the crop!

[@toxictabasco]

Great review and demonstration in 4K. If there's one person who knows Panasonic cameras it's you. That IBIS or Dual IS is amazing for a full frame.

[@MathieuGasquetMirrorLessons]

Thanks! Yes stabilisation looks good, can't wait to try it more.

[@nine958]

A mirrorless on a D850 body. Their lenses are some of the biggest too. To be fair their IBIS looks better than other Fullframe camera.

[@MrPhotoBlitz]

On Thursday, Canon will introduce the smallest full-frame mirrorless weighing 1.07 lbs.

[@shaolin95]

@@MrPhotoBlitz with even MORE crippled technology...cant wait...

[@DoubleGauss]

Good preview.

[@andyyoon7853]

Thank you for the video. I use Sony A99, is there any Sony A mount to Panasonic L mount adapter you know of?

[@MathieuGasquetMirrorLessons]

Hi Andy, not that I'm aware of at the moment.

[@andyyoon7853]

@@MathieuGasquetMirrorLessons Thank you

Great preview/review. Does the S1 have a low pass filter? Keep up the great work and have a great day.

[@MathieuGasquetMirrorLessons]

Thanks. No it doesn't have one.

[@alexanderivanoff]

@@MathieuGasquetMirrorLessons , this is simply not true - the S1 indeed is having a low pass filter. The S1R doesn't.

[@MathieuGasquetMirrorLessons]

well that is what was said at the launch, even websites like DPreview and Imaging Resource reported the same thing. But I wouldn't be surprised if the information was incorrect, it often happens when a new product is launched. Where did you find the info about the LP filter?

[@lakshmans770]

Great review! @7:24 Chris from dpreview?

[@MathieuGasquetMirrorLessons]

Yes. We met them later on that day, very nice people.

[@hoodaffairstv]

What kind of card did you use when filming

[@MathieuGasquetMirrorLessons]

A Panasonic V90 SDXC card (64GB, Class10, U3, UHS-II)

[@SwapnilBhartiya]

Auto focus remains the weakness of Panasonic. The camera detects the body, but it doesn’t focus on it. It doesn’t lock focus.

[@MathieuGasquetMirrorLessons]

you can see examples in the video where the AF did quite well. Of course it's better to wait for a final production sample to see how good it can be in various situations.

[@SwapnilBhartiya]

DP Review clearly shows that this camera also fluctuates and looks struggle with focus. I own both GH5 and GH5S. When I shoot interviews I ensure they are in manual mode and they keep hunting for focus. I see same isse with this camera in review by DP Review. Panasonic does a great job of detecting the object, but it doent lock the focus. if possible please do some more tests. I respect and value your work.

[@MathieuGasquetMirrorLessons]

I will. There are also different settings to make the AF more or less responsive etc, so I'll be curious to see how the final firmware behaves.

[@walrusgumboot]

Swapnil Bhartiya DPReview’s video was being output to a recorder at the same time and does make the AF worse, also they were using v0.5 firmware. Check out some of the tests using v0.7, seems a lot better than the DPReview video.

[@RS-Amsterdam]

I agree 100% Swapnil, you can even see it in the video and as I stated before if you try this in a room with a white wall and some contrasting things on the background it will hunt even more. For 2019 unacceptable. One must be completely out of his mind to switch to this brand from another brand.

[@Amphibax]

A really promising camera they have to fix a some issues especially with the AF.

[@JoeMaranophotography]

There is an opportunity here and if Panasonic are clever they can cover the whole market with point and shoots, M43 for wildlife and outdoors and the FF for the areas M43 is weak :)

[@andrear9500]

We then need a L to m4:3 adaptor. Which has been announced

[@JoeMaranophotography]

@@andrear9500 Hmm sounds expensive and the results wont be as good as native M43 lenses will they?

[@MD-uc8bx]

wow, but why a standard lenses (24-70 and 70-200) are so big and so dark. I would like to have wide aperture than image stabilization instead

[@MathieuGasquetMirrorLessons]

2.8 zoom lenses are in the roadmap and should arrive this year.

[@MD-uc8bx]

cool, thanks for info.

[@lotpoti5633]

Any possibility of recording into SSD via USB?

[@MathieuGasquetMirrorLessons]

Hmm, I don't think so. It would be a nice feature though.

[@Brillmongot]

XQD uses the sata interface, usb is unnecessary

[@ludovicgrignou]

Pour est il meilleur que le sony alpha 7 iii? Merci

[@MathieuGasquetMirrorLessons]

Ça dépend, côté photos le capteur m'a l'air excellent mais je ne sais pas si la dynamique par exemple est aussi bonne que le A7 III. Côté vidéo, je pense que le S1 peut avoir une meilleure qualité surtout si on considère l'arrive du 10-bit 4:2:2 avec la mise à jour du logiciel. J'ai des doutes sur l'autofocus du S1 par contre, le DfD est rapide mais pas forcément meilleur pour des sujets difficiles comme les oiseaux par exemple. Tout est à voir.

[@ludovicgrignou]

@@MathieuGasquetMirrorLessons Merci

[@quantumeseboy]

I've been a fan of Panasonic cameras for years and this one shouldn't disappoint, however, I was a little bit disappointed with its size, I expected something comparable with A7 or EOS R.

[@andrear9500]

True it’s larger but so far nobody has really complained about shooting experience or weight excess. In one review the complaint was about strolling around with the camera handheld. Without the strap. The real judgement will be on af-c in full real world testing

[@Gynra]

Personally, I like larger camera bodies, even though I have small hands. It also gives more headroom for heat dissipation. But one can get less in one's camera bag, of course, and there is the weight of the body and lenses to consider.

[@Amphibax]

For me the bigger body would be the main reason to chose it over sony or Canon

[@beatrizc1722]

The size is for the IBIS and XQD

[@MadEnglishTV]

Why is Panasonic going after photographers? There is no chance of them beating Sony and Canon. They should have made a full-frame GH5.

[@SamualWilliams]

A full frame G9 with some GH5 video features honestly

[@slothlovechunk]

They beat Sony in usability and canon in specs. Seems like a good compromise. When you consider uniwue system features like Leica lenses and a foveon body coming, it makes sense that rich enthusiasts may buy into the system.

[@ju2705s]

Panasonic? Never again! I love your videos are all in all seems Panasonic has a huge quality problem on the curren production models like the G9. On my G9 the rubber gets loose (SD card door & thumb grip) after 5 month and only 1000 photos in best studio / home condition. Panasonic will not cover the repair costs of 173 Eur although the glue was forgotten already in factory and my camera is only one of a lot of others. I will now get my camera unrepaired back. I will sell my whole Panasonic equipment and wished your chanel will also have a look on the long term quality. Made in China with a non functional quality gate. I canceled also my pre order of the S1 with 24-105. Panasonic? Customer service? Never again. regards Jog

[@thewayoflovepodcast]

Is it just me or the video quality looks too generic?? Considering getting s1 or waiting for the a7siii, please help!!

[@bamboojled8919]

Just get a Z6 with the firmware it will also be Raw FF ProRes

[@WildlifeMoto]

Bamboojled with an external recorder though and seriously it won’t be any better than 10bit Vlog.

[@KallusGarnet]

WHY CAN'T THEY MAKE IT IN WHITE?!

[@williaminbody205]

Looking like pro mirrorless is clearly here now....

[@mikewhiles4635]

Nice, but could have done with some images of Twywn - no only joking. Issues I see, own glass is expensive and the continuous auto focus for video isn't near class leading. 📹📹📹 Sony can breathe again.

[@MathieuGasquetMirrorLessons]

Unfortunately we couldn't bring the camera back with us :)

[@MrPressPhotographer4]

Contrast detect no thanks.

[@eicarshiva]

way underpowered for video work. it will take them years to come out GH5s kinda video features. by then they bump up prices out of reach for many. Meanwhile, we invest a lot of lenses for Sony and m43 system. to that point, FF Panasonic cameras look like Leica. And more importantly, it doesn't matter how good they are alone. what matters is pricing it right, Panasonic failed here, there is no balance between features and price. To me, Fuji is the safest bet., until they don't become sony or canon.

[@WildlifeMoto]

Tranz Punk 10bit 4.2.2 at 4K 60. The current Full Frame class leader” is pushing 8bit 4.0.0 at 30. This Camera is in a totally different league anything with a MFT chip. If I wanted to shoot video on a tiny sensor I’d just whip out my 4K 60 iPhone.

[@martysender5539]

same basic problem as gh series. AUTOFOCUS unreliability. animals, people ??? hey. just fix the AF. and no amount of firmware updates is going to fix the basic problem. Im terribly disappointed