PANASON I C LUMI X S1H | USER REVI EW
simple settings to enable HDR (High Dynamic Range) in HLG (Hybrid Log Gamma), too. We tried the camera in 6K, 5.9K, C4K, 4K and HD and the results were incredibly clean and very, very impressive. The footage we looked at was all recorded internally to the camera’s twin SD card slots. Colourist Dado Valentic took a critical look at the footage shot by the camera at ISO up to 1200 and was blown away by the lack of noise and resolving power. He is using footage from a prototype camera to grade a feature film and said the footage was easily good enough for a theatrical release. OUTPUTS The camera can also output 4:2:2 10- bit 60p 4K/C4K over HDMI, but we didn’t get to try that. Panasonic also announced the camera will soon be upgraded to enable Raw output for conversion to Apple ProRes Raw in Atomos monitor/recorders. Where the other S models use one SD card and one XQD, the S1H has dual recording to SD cards – both the same class, which allows 4:2:2 10-bit internal recording. As well as 6K internal recording at 24p, it also “THE FOOTAGE IS SHARP, NATURAL, FULL OF COLOURS AND LACKS NASTY NOISE”
IMAGES Although the S1H shares the same sensor as the stills model, the S1, it has been engineered differently for video use
another circuit to provide a second base ISO of 4000. The Varicams do this, and it works incredibly well. Now this tech is on a mirrorless full-frame camera which, thanks to its larger sensor, is even better at low light. DYNAMIC RANGE The sensor is claimed to have more than 14 stops of dynamic range, but we couldn’t check this as the camera was a prototype. But it certainly had lots of detail in shadows and highlights. The footage is incredibly sharp, natural, full of colours and definitely lacking in nasty noise. The S1H shoots at 6K/24p and 5.4K/30p in a 3:2 aspect ratio or 5.9K/30p in widescreen 16:9, which is the most obvious choice. It also records 10-bit 60p 4K/C4K HEVC video recording when used in Super 35 crop mode and 4:2:2 10-bit 4K/30p recording in H.264 captured from the full area of the sensor. There are
recording, either due to the camera being capped at sub-30 minutes for import tax reasons or because it might overheat – the curse of many other cameras. A USB-C socket means you can power it up, and hot- swappable twin memory cards mean you can keep shooting. PANASONIC’S HEAT MANAGEMENT To ensure unlimited recording time, getting rid of heat is the big issue. Panasonic has solved this by making it not only the chunkiest full-frame mirrorless camera on the market, but also fitting a silent fan and air-cooling ducts. It even managed to keep the weatherproofing of the sibling S1 and S1R models despite these additions. Many of the improvements over the more photo- biased full-frame Panasonic S series cameras are just for filmmakers. Although it shares the same basic 24-megapixel sensor as the S1, Panasonic claims it’s engineered totally differently and the S1H omits the S1’s optical low-pass filter. This marginally reduces ultimate stills resolving power, but is far better at controlling moiré, which is more important for video use. We recently tested the S1 and said it was incredible for low-light performance. And although the footage from the S1H was only for a prototype sample, so the final production version may be different, it was clear to see it’s an even better performer when the ISO gets cranked up. It has a maximum ISO of 51,200 with Dual Native ISOs of 640 and 4000 for video use. At lower settings, its base is 640 and the quality is excellent. When the ISO creeps up, the sensor switches to
OCTOBER 20 1 9 | DEF I N I T ION 59
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