PANASONIC S1 TEST
“In terms of usability, there is a bright 5760KOLED electronic viewfinder”
we had, Panasonic’s 50mm f/1.4 and 70-200mm f/4. With the S1, we used the far more general-purpose 24-105mm f/4Macro, which costs £1300/$1298. It has 16 elements in 13 groups with two aspherical lenses and two ELD elements, and does just about everything. It comes with a photo-style scalloped hood and thankfully has separate buttons on the barrel for AF/MF and Image Stabilisation, so you don’t have to go digging intomenus. It’s sharp, has neutral colours, no severe aberration and is good at controlling flare. Although it’s not a true cine lens, isn’t parfocal or guaranteed not to focus breathe, it’s still a capable lens for all-round use. And the focusing is obviously not a true manually-geared system so has a vagueness about it, but it’s no worse than any camera manufacturer’s fly-by-wire DLR- type glass. Where it does offer video- style spec is in the menus, where you can alter the focus throw and speed tomake manual focusing a more customisable experience. In terms of usability, there is a bright 5760K OLED electronic viewfinder with 100% coverage that offers two refresh rates, 60 and 120fps. The faster rate gives a smoother look but uses battery power more quickly. The battery itself is decent, but you’d need a spare for a full day’s shooting. The rear of the camera has an 8cm/3.2in LCD tri-axial tilting
LENS OPTIONS CONTINUE TO GROW any cine-style grading, so don’t dismiss them. For the ultimate in dynamic range, HLG uses H.265 for 10-bit colours and gives a flat look for maximumdynamic range. Obviously you’ll need an HDRmonitor to see it for real, but convert it to Rec.709 and you have footage that’s bursting with detail in highlights and shadows. If you’re really into a cinematic look and want maximumdynamic range, this is the setting to go for. When the V-Log becomes available via a firmware update (see separate panel) this might change as our preferred way of working. But until then, the HLG setting is a potent tool. In use, another area where the S1 sets new standards for full-frame cameras is with its six-stop Dual Image Stabilisation, which is very good. Nothing can come close to the image stabilisation in small-sensor cameras, such as the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II, but this is stunning for a full-frame camera. Panasonic claims the five-axis system in general gives a 5.5EV benefit, but this is increased to 6EV with Panasonic’s own OIS lenses. You won’t be abandoning your tripods andmotorised gimbals any time soon but you can get away with hand-holding the camera inmany situations, especially if you stick to Panasonic’s own weather-resistant L-mount glass. When we tested the S1R we were very impressed with the two lenses
lens elements in 11 groups. Three of the elements are Extra-LowDispersion (ELD) and two are aspherical. At £2299/$2298, it’s a big lens and a great performer. There’s also a 70-200mm f/4 lens for £1749/$1698 with nine iris blades and 23 elements in 17 groups, with one aspherical element and three ELD lenses. It’s a good, compact performer. To get more reach from the telephoto, there are also two new rugged dust and splash-resistant teleconverters on the market, the 1.4x STC14 and 2x STC20, both of which have a pair of UHR (Ultra High Refractive) elements. The seven-element 1.4x unit costs £490/$498 and the eight-element 2x converter £580/$598; both are available to buy now. The only shocking omission is the lack of waveforms to judge exposure, even though other Lumix cameras like the GH5 and GH5S have them. They are coming soon via a firmware update, though. Panasonic includes a standard microphone socket and touchscreen. This means you can tilt it up or down for overhead or low shots, and it hinges to one side (it doesn’t fully articulate or fold all the way round, selfie-style). The touchscreen can be used to dig into menus and also set AF points. However, when using the camera handheld, as I’m a left-eye shooter I foundmy nose could change the size and position of the AF point. I also find the same issue on a Panasonic GX8 I own, so I disable the touchscreen. Even some right- eye shooters have had the same problems. I suppose it depends on the size of your nose and how you intend to use the camera, but it’s something youmight want to check prior to purchase.
ABOVE Twin card slots take one SD card and a faster XQD card which is better for high data options in 4K
The new Panasonic S series cameras use the Leica L-Mount, and independent lens maker Sigma has also joined this alliance. So for Panasonic buyers looking for optic options, Leica already has a large range out, although they are pricey. And Sigma has unveiled 11 L-Mount versions of its Art primes, which we got hands-on with recently. We’ll test them when final versions become available. Amount to adapt Canon EF lenses to fit the L-Mount is also under development from Sigma, and there are PL to L-Mount adapters about to hit the market from Novoflex, among others. As well as the 24-105mm f/4 Macro zoomwe used on the S1, Panasonic offers a 50mm f/1.4 with an 11-bladed iris for smooth, out-of-focus areas, with 13
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