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PRICE: £1499
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The brand-new Lumix is put under the scope to find out if this compact camera delivers on its promise... or misses the mark Panasonic Lumix S9
this isn’t the best news, but for the camera’s target audience – social media content creators – it’s less of an issue. Compact and lightweight, the Lumix S9 is eminently portable, though the body lacks any obvious grip for an assured hold. 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 around to face you for selfies or vlogging. Being used to a viewfinder, I found it took time to acclimatise to the slightly disconnected feeling of a screen. It must be moved away from the body for high or low angles, making accurate composition trickier. The touchscreen functionality does help for function setting or selecting a point for the hybrid AF system – which combines contrast and phase detection – to home in on. In this respect, the camera performs well. Focus is acquired quickly for stills and is assured for movies; the AI-based subject recognition technology does its job well. Even my hyperactive dog tearing around the beach excitedly was tracked sharply.
Like most mirrorless cameras, battery life takes a pounding – and that’s the case here, especially when you’re shooting video. The provision of a USB-C socket mitigates some of that problem, making it easy to charge on the go from a power bank. I also found the camera quite slow to start up, which exacerbated the battery drain issues as, rather than switching off and on between shots, I just left it switched on so as not to miss a moment, draining the power. A good range of features are on offer, but the specification is definitely stacked in favour of the video user. For example, it’s the first camera to feature the MP4 Lite mode, which creates files that can easily be transferred to a phone for social sharing. MP4 Lite still gives you 4K 10-bit open gate recording, but only at 30p or 25p. Also new is a companion app called Lumix Lab. Available free for both Android and iOS, the app allows fast file transfers from camera to phone and a modicum of editing prior to posting online. Photos and videos can be cropped, brightness adjusted or a LUT applied. The app also provides access to LUTs made by creators, which can be downloaded and applied either 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
TESTED BY ROGER PAYNE
ON THE FACE of it, Panasonic’s Lumix S9 appears to be something of a bargain. For £1500 body only, it offers a full-frame 24.2-megapixel sensor, which brings with it a host of pictorial benefits over more modestly proportioned offerings: finer control over depth-of-field and impressive low-light capabilities to name just a couple. Naturally, you can’t make a full- frame camera at this price point without some compromises, and the most obvious miss on the S9 is a viewfinder. For stills photographers,
SHUTTER TO THINK For photographers who need to avoid motion blur, the Lumix S9’s shutter capabilities ensure sharp images even in challenging light situations
the native ISOs (100-51,200) show great stability in terms of colours, shadows and highlights. Digital noise is only really noticeable when you reach 12,800 and above, which makes for great low light performance.
so you know what you’re getting. The dedicated LUT button on the back of the camera makes them simple to access once transferred. With a full-frame sensor, on-board ISO performance is impressive. All
SPECS › Lens mount L-Mount
Verdict Undeniably focused more towards video than stills, this is nonetheless a full-frame camera at an attractive price. For me, the lack of a viewfinder is its biggest drawback, but that may not be an issue for the way you work. It’s certainly a capable performer that produces great results. PROS Price, range of features (for stills and video), companion app, AF system, ISO performance CONS Lack of viewfinder, no handgrip, battery life not great – particularly when shooting video
› Sensor size 35.6x23.8mm › Resolution 24.2 megapixels
› Shutter speed range 60secs to 1/8000sec
› Sensitivity ISO 100 to 51,200, extendable to 50 and 204,800 › Max continuous shooting 30fps › Image stabilisation Yes, up to 6.5 stops › Autofocus points 779 › EVF N/A › LCD 3in vari-angle touchscreen, 1.84m dots › Max video resolution 6K/30p › Connectivity USB-C, HDMI Type D, 3.5mm microphone › Media SD/SDHC/SDXC UHS-II › Dimensions (wxhxd) 126x73.9x46.7mm › Weight (with battery and memory card) 486g
Issue 117 | Photography News 43
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