GEAR
PANASONIC LUMIX S1 IIE
Stabilisation advantage One area where Panasonic continues to lead the market is image stabilisation. The S1 IIE has five-axis in-body stabilisation, which works alongside lens stabilisation when available. Panasonic’s stabilisation algorithms have long been praised for their ability to produce smooth handheld footage. The camera also has electronic stabilisation designed to correct distortion while keeping the full field of view. Unlike many systems that crop the image significantly, Panasonic’s implementation aims to retain as much of the original frame as possible. In real-world shooting, this makes handheld work far more practical. Documentary filmmakers, event shooters and content creators can often shoot usable footage without needing additional stabilisation gear. This is particularly valuable for solo operators who need to move quickly between set-ups without constantly building or rebalancing rigs. One L of an ecosystem The S1 IIE is part of the L-Mount alliance between Panasonic, Leica and Sigma. Although lenses are not as widely available as Sony mounts, the ecosystem has matured in recent years, offering a wide range of lenses covering everything from compact primes to professional cinema optics. Sigma’s extensive range of Art and Contemporary lenses provides good value for creators building a full- frame kit. Meanwhile, Panasonic’s own Lumix S lenses are designed with video in mind, offering smooth focus transitions and minimal breathing. And as Canon’s RF system and Nikon’s Z mount continues to be a closed system for full-frame users, L-Mount now offers a real alternative for filmmakers who value optical quality and flexibility. Since the Lumix S1 IIE is clearly designed for hybrid creators who shoot both stills and video rather
WHAT FLOATS YOUR BOAT If you’re serious about AF then you wouldn’t touch the older models with a barge pole, but the new S1 IIE locks focus very well
internal recording, which is rare in cameras at this price. Recording ProRes internally means filmmakers can skip external recorders while still capturing high-quality, edit-ready files. The camera also offers H.264 and H.265 codecs, including high-bit-rate All-Intra recording modes in 10-bit 4:2:2. These formats provide a good balance between file size and image quality, making them suitable for a wide range of production workflows. For filmmakers seeking flexibility, the S1 IIE can also output ProRes Raw to compatible external recorders. There’s also an option to shoot in Arri LogC3 via a paid software upgrade. This allows Lumix footage to integrate more easily into professional workflows where Arri colour pipelines are commonly used – although few shooters will be mixing Arri cameras with an S1 IIE B camera. Arri colours are famous though, so it’s great to get them out of an affordable camera even if it does cost an extra £179/$212. The S1 IIE offers 6K up to 30p, 4K up to 60p and Full HD up to 180fps. These higher frame rates come with some limitations, including a reduced field of view and manual focusing only above 150fps. Recording at the highest data rates requires CFexpress Type B cards, while lower-bit-rate modes can be recorded to the camera’s second SD card slot.
SPECIFICATIONS
Price: £1899/$2498 body only Sensor size: 23.8x35.8mm full- frame CMOS, 24.2 megapixels, dual base ISO. Formats: MOV/ MP4/Long GOP/All-Intra/ ProRes/ProRes Raw/HQ, ProRes Raw 5.7K 29.97fps, H.265 Long GOP 4:2:0 8-bit 6K 29.97fps, H.264 All-Intra 4:2:2 10-bit DCI 4K 29.97fps Slow motion: C4K 120fps External recording: Raw 6K 29.97fps, 4K 50fps Dynamic range: 14+ stops Stills formats: HEIF, JPEG, Raw 10-bit in 1:1, 2:1, 3:2, 4:3, 16:9, 65:24 Storage: 1x CFexpress Type B, 1x SD/SDHC/SDXC ISO range: 100-204,800. 50-204,800 extended. Dual base 100/640 Shutter: Mechanical and electronic, 60secs-1/8000sec Drive modes: Up to 30fps Stabilisation: Five-axis sensor shift Lens mount: L Screen: 7.6cm/3in LCD free- angle articulating touchscreen, 1.84 million dots Viewfinder: OLED with 5760k dots, 120fps Connectivity: HDMI Type A, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, USB-C, Lumix Lab app, Frame.io, RTMPS FHD streaming up to 60p Focusing: 779-area hybrid phase detection AF Dimensions (wxhxd): 134.4x102.3x91.8mm/ 5.29x4.03x3.61in Weight: 712g/1.57lb body only
HUES OF THE WORLD Panasonic is famed for its colours which are natural and not over- saturated
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