Photography News Issue 63

Photography News | Issue 63 | photographynews.co.uk

News

S is for specialist

Panasonic’s much anticipated full- frame mirrorless system has finally made its entrance with two cameras, the S1 and S1R, and three L-mount lenses, a 50mm f/1.4, 24-105mm f/4 and a 70-200mm f/4. In terms of design and handling the two cameras are the same but of course there are feature differences. The S1 has a 24.2-megapixel sensor, ISOup to 51,200without expansion, more video options and it is priced at £2199.99 body only. By comparison the S1R weighs in with an awesome 47.3-megapixels, the most yet seen on a full-frame camera, a top ISO of 25,600 and it’s priced at £3399.99 body only. Panasonic makes much of its no compromise approach when designing the S series and there is a long, impressive list of features that are shared by the two cameras. Both have a 5.76-million dot OLED LVF that is almost like an optical finder and offers three magnifications, 0.78x, 0.74x and 0.7x. There is five axis in-body image stabilisation with a 5.5EV benefit and this goes up to 6EV when used with Lumix S lenses with OIS. Nice points of design include a lock lever that stops functions – that you can choose – being changed in error and an eight-way focus joystick so accessing focus points can be done diagonally, not just up/ down and across. Two card slots – SD and XQD – are featured with CFexpress compatibility due soon. The Olympus OM-D E-M1X is the first of a new camera family that will run alongside the existing and popular OM-D E-M1 Mark II. They share many family characteristics and that includes the same 20.4-megapixel Micro Four Thirds Live MOS sensor. However, in the E-M1X there are two TruePic VIII image processors for even better camera responsiveness, performance and the ability to take handheld high- res shots. The most obvious physical difference between the two cameras is the E-M1X’s integral handgrip and the controls for horizontal shooting are mirrored for intuitive vertical shooting. The handgrip is also ergonomically

in-camera to give a high megapixel

Three S lenses

One of the camera’s many innovative highlights is its AF system. This uses 121 points in an 11x11 grid and how you use these is up to you. All of them, single point and zone are common options but on the E-M1X you can customise your own grid. So, to suit a particular subject type, you can have a 3x9 pattern or 7x3 and then save that for quick access when you need it. It is very neat. The AF also has subject tracking so you can set trains, planes or motor sports and the AI technology in the system will recognise and track the subject. We got the chance to spend some time with a pre-production sample of the OM-D E-M1X, See page 24 for our hands-on report. Three L-mount lenses have been introduced for the S series,the Lumix S Pro 50mm f/1.4, Lumix S Pro 70-200mm f/4 OIS and the Lumix S 24-105mm f/4 Macro OIS, priced at £2299.99, £1745.99 and £1299.99 respectively. All three are dust- and splash-proof and will continue to perform in temperatures as low as -10°C. The 50mmf/1.4 is a substantial lens with a 13 element in 11 group construction that includes two aspherical lenses and three extra-low dispersion elements. An 11-bladed diaphragm gives great looking bokeh. This is an expensive lens but it promises to be a cutting-edge performer. Covering core standard focal lengths is the 24-105mm f/4. It’s an optic featuring 16 elements in 13 groups with two

aspherical lenses and two extra- low dispersion elements to defeat chromatic aberration. The integral OIS gives a 6EV benefit working with the camera’s IBIS system. Close focusing of 30cm allows half-lifesize magnification. The longest current S lens is the 70-200mm f/4 OIS and it boasts 23 elements in 17 groups with a single aspherical lens and three extra-low dispersion lenses to minimise chromatic aberration and maximise sharpness. With OIS this lens is also compatible with Panasonic’s five-axis Dual IS 2 system. Panasonic’s lens roadmap features a 24-70mm f/2.8, 70- 200mm f/2.8 and 16-35mm f/4, plus two teleconverters this year. Leica and Sigma are also launching compatible lenses.

Autofocusing performed by Panasonic’s DFD technology and a contrast detect system that can achieve AF in light levels as low as -6EV and it's silent. Focus acquisition and tracking is enhanced with artificial intelligence that can recognise humans, cats, dogs and birds. Face and eye AF is also featured. For action shooting the S1/S1R is capable of shooting at a rate of 9fps in AFS or 6fps with continuous focusing. The 6K Photo mode allows bursts of 18-megapixel JPEGs at 30fps and 4K Photo shoots sequences at 30 or 60fps with eight- megapixel resolution. Both cameras have high res shot mode, where the camera takes eight shots, the sensor moving between each of them and the results merged is

file. The S1 gives 96-megapixel images in this mode while the S1R gives a massive 187-megapixel resolution– theRawfiles are around 350MB and open up to 16,736x11,168 pixel files. If your interest lies more in shooting video the S1 can shoot 4k at 60/50p 4:2:0 in 8-bit directly to the SD or XQD card and 4:2:2 colour sampling is available via HDMI. An upgrade due this year will unlock the option to record 4K 60/50p 4:2:2 10-bit via HDMI and 30p/25p/24p in 4:2:2 10-bit internally. The S1R can shoot 4k resolution at up to 60/50p but with pixel binning so quality won't be quite as high as the S1. We got the chance to use the S-system at the launch in Barcelona and our first look is on page 30. powerbank – a suitable one can recharge batteries in two hours. The extra-tough body is dust, splash and freeze proof and this level of protection is maintained even when a remote cable, headphones or microphones are connected to the body. The shutter is designed to have a minimum 400,000 actuation life and heat dissipation when shooting long sequences or filming keeps the body cool. The very effective Olympus sensor cleaning system that uses the Super Sonic Wave Filter has been improved further. The SSWF has a special coating and vibrates at 30,000 times per second to give an even better cleaning performance.

Olympus kicks off its centenary in style

In commemoration of its centenary, Olympus has introduced a silver, limited edition OM-D E-M1 Mark II. Only 2000 of these cameras will be released worldwide. The silver OM- E-M1 will costs £1499.99, exactly the same as the regular black version of this popular camera. In terms of functions and features thetwomodelsareidenticalsoyouget five-axis in-body image stabilisation with up to 6.5EV of benefit, 18fps sequential shooting with AE/AF tracking and a rugged body that is dust, splash and freeze proof. Images are produced by a 20.4-megapixel Live MOS sensor working with a TruePic VIII processor 2019isnotjustOlympus’centenary: it is also ten years since the launch of its first Micro Four Thirds camera, the PEN E-P1. The MFT format has grown and grown in popularity and is widely used by enthusiast and professional photographers alike whowant excellent image quality but without the bulk of larger-format kit. Happy 100th

designed to be comfortable and secure and the extra space allows the fitting of two BLH-1 batteries which allows up to 2580 shots on one charge. And when your power starts getting low you can charge the camera batteries via a USB

Olympus has added to its flash system line-up with the FL-700WR, Wireless Commander FC-WR and Wireless Receiver FR-WR, priced at £329.99, £279.99 and £179.99 respectively. All of these products are available in store now.

The FL-700WR has a GN of 42 and recharges in 1.5secs after a full manual burst. Naturally it is packed with great features: front and rear curtain sync, TTL flash mode, auto zoom covering a 12-75mm range and tilting head for bounce flash. There

is also Super FP flash mode for shooting at shutter speeds faster than the X-sync speed. Features such as high-res shot mode, focus stacking and focus bracketing which are included on the OM-D E-M1X and E-M1 Mark II can be used with this flashgun.

Off-camera flash shooting is made easier with the Wireless Commander FC-WR and you can control three groups and an unlimited number of flashguns from the camera. Its robust build gives reliable performance in demanding situations.