PANASONIC LUMIX S1H
and contrasty. It’s a heavy and complex lens, with 18 elements in 16 groups, and has a mechanism to suppress focus breathing. It will be very popular with hybrid stills and video shooters, and gives a pleasing bokeh thanks to an 11-bladed iris. It has a focus ring that slides forward and back to change fromMF to AF, which is useful. You can use AF to get the focus close, then switch to MF for fine-tuning. An improvement over the S1 is the rear 3.2-inch touchscreen monitor. It has 150% higher luminance compared to the S1R/S1 and GH5/GH5S, and both tilts and rotates, making it ideal for use on a gimbal, or where getting a closer look at the screen is essential. For focusing, the camera sticks to contrast-detect AF, with face/ Defocus technology. It’s very precise when there’s enough contrast, but compared to rivals who use contrast and on-sensor phase detect, it’s not as fast or reliable – certainly compared to the latest systems from Sony or Canon. That won’t be an issue for many filmmakers who swear by manual focusing or are using the AF to nail focus on interview subjects or general scenes. But for anything fast-moving or tricky, it’s the biggest letdown in an otherwise standout filmmaking tool. eye detection technology and Panasonic’s own Depth from
and position of the waveform on the rear screen by just dragging and dropping, which is very natural. There is five-axis in-body Image Stabilization and, if used with Panasonic’s S series lenses, which have a two-axis Optical Image Stabilizer, there is a claimed 6.5- stop improvement. This worked very well, and is a real bonus to allow handheld shooting without too much shaking. If you use a non- Panasonic lens, the stabilisation is still good, but not as impressive as with the dedicated glass. And that’s been one of the issues as, like the S1 and S1R, the camera uses the Leica L-Mount system and there isn’t a lot of dedicated Panasonic L-Mount glass yet. With a range of adapters, the camera can take PL mount, Canon EF mount and pretty much anything else.
“The Panasonic has lots of video-friendly features, like tally lights front and back”
Aftermarket manufacturers are already busy making the adapters to fit, and rigs are currently in production, too. And Sigma has a full range of cinema glass ready to go, although this doesn’t have the image stabilisation built in like the Panasonic optics. Panasonic has lots of lenses in the pipeline, such as a 70- 200mm f/2.8 zoom and 1.4x and 2x teleconverters. There’s also a new standard zoom lens, the S Pro 24-70mm f/2.8, which costs £2249/ $2198. We tried this and it’s sharp
ABOVE The image stabilisation in the camera and matching lens makes handheld shooting possible
THE VERDICT The new Panasonic S1H sets a new standard in full-frame mirrorless cameras aimed at filmmakers, with lots of incredible spec designed to make the lives of pro filmers much easier. And some spec that other full-frame mirrorless camera’s simply don’t have, like the truly unlimited recording time. If the sample footage we saw from the prototype is anything to go by, the footage is also very clean, especially in 6K mode. And it’s easy to get hooked on 180fps slow motion. The Panasonic S1H’s build quality is excellent, the menu system easy to understand and operate, and the ergonomics are as good as anything else on the market. It’s true the lens choice isn’t as wide as other makers yet, but this will improve. If you want a 6K full frame mirrorless camera for shooting video, and demand no time restrictions on your shooting,
HOW IT RATES
the Panasonic Lumix S1H is a camera you really should consider - especially for the price. And if you want full-frame anamorphic shooting in 6K quality from such a small body, this is the only camera out there at any price.
Feature: 9 The video spec is second to none for cameras of this type, except the autofocus Performance: 9 Lovely 6K, 5.9K and 4K footage, plus 180fps in HD, is a real winner Handling: 9 It’s burly and heavy, but easy to use, with menus that make loads of sense Value for money: 9 It might cost more than the S1, but it offers so much more filmmaking spec OVERALL RATING: 9/10 The new king of full-frame mirrorless moviemaking cameras, except autofocus Pros: 6K, anamorphic, 180fps, build quality Cons: Lack of lens choice, and contrast-detect AF
More information
panasonic.com/uk
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WINTER 2019 PRO MOVIEMAKER
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