PANASONIC LUMIX S9
“Compact and lightweight, the Lumix S9 is eminently portable but the body lacks any obvious grip for handholding security”
The app also provides access to LUTs made by Creators, which can be downloaded and applied to files or uploaded to the camera for future use. It’s a great way of being able to add extra functionality and they can all be previewed in the app so you know what you’re getting. The LUT button on the back of the camera makes them simple to access once transferred.
Of course, if you want to do more than post content to social media in the shortest time possible, there’s plenty of video functionality to go at. In many cases, the S9 offers a similar spec level to the S5 II, including Log recording. Compact and lightweight, the Lumix S9 is eminently portable but the body does lack any obvious grip for more handholding security. Five- axis in-body image stabilisation does offer assurance in this respect. On its own, IBIS provides up to five stops of compensation, but add a lens with optical image stabilisation and the benefit extends to 6.5 stops. The three-inch LCD monitor has 1.84 million dots and offers the versatility of being vari-angle so you can manoeuvre it into almost any position or spin it round to face you for vlogging. Being used to a viewfinder, I found it took time to familiarise myself with the disconnected feeling of a screen. It has to be moved away from the body for high or low angles. The touchscreen functionality does help for function setting or selecting a point for the hybrid AF system – which combines contrast and phase detection systems – to home in on. In this respect, the camera performs well. Focus is acquired quickly for stills and is assured for movies; AI-based subject recognition technology certainly does its job well. Like most mirrorless cameras shooting video, battery life takes a pounding and that’s certainly the case here. The provision of a USB-C socket, however, mitigates some of
SPECIFICATIONS
Price: £1499/$1498 (body only) Sensor: 35mm full-frame CMOS Sensor size: 35.6x23.8mm Sensitivity: ISO 100 to 51,200, extendable to 50 and 204,800 Exposure compensation: +/-3 stops Bit rates: 20-150Mbps Resolution: 6K (3:2, 17:9), 5.9K (16:9), C4K, 4K, 3.3K (16:9), Full HD File formats: MOV, MP4/Lite Compression: Long GOP LCD monitor: 3in vari-angle touchscreen with 1.84m dots Connectivity: USB-C, HDMI Type D, 3.5mm microphone Media: SD/SDHC/SDXC UHS-II Dimensions (wxhxd): 126x73.9x46.7mm/ 4.96x2.91x1.84in Weight: 486g/1.1lb (with battery and memory card)
that problem, making it easy to charge on the go from a powerbank. I also found the camera quite slow to start up, which exacerbated this as, rather than switch off between takes, I left it switched on to not miss a moment, draining the battery quickly. PRO MOVIEMAKER RATING: 8/10 Full-frame content creator at an impressive price point Pros: Quality, Lumix app, simple social sharing, advanced functions Cons: No grip, battery life, lack of viewfinder
ALL-ROUND SUPERSTAR With the 26mm prime lens, the S9 could be the ultimate carry- everywhere camera
HULL IS WELL The Panasonic produces sharp, natural images with little noise
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