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capture up to 1.5 seconds of action before you press the shutter, ideal for unpredictable subjects. Features that matter Physically, the S1 II borrows much from its sibling, the recently released S1R II, which offers 47-megapixel resolution at the expense of speed and video spec. The new S1 range shares a rugged magnesium alloy body, full weather sealing and controls that feel solid and purposeful. At 718g body only, it’s not
the lightest in its class, but the grip is deep and comfortable, and the layout is logical. The 5.76-million-dot OLED viewfinder is excellent – it’s crisp, bright and responsive – and the fully articulating rear LCD makes composing at awkward angles simple. Tally lamps on the front and back are a nice touch for video. Battery life is rated at around 370 stills or over two hours of continuous 4K/60p video. That’s adequate, rather than class-leading, but USB-C charging
and power delivery support mean you can keep shooting all day with a power bank. And a cooling fan prevents the camera from overheating. While Panasonic’s menus are deep, they allow a great degree of customisation, so you can set up the camera exactly as you like. But you’ll definitely want to set a good few hours aside to go through every option and get the camera set up precisely how you want it. World-class video spec Video capabilities remain a hallmark of Lumix, and the S1 II pushes higher. It can shoot 6K/30p open gate across the full sensor, 4K up to 120p with a small crop and even 1080p up to 240fps. It supports internal ProRes and ProRes Raw recording to CFexpress Type B cards, external SSD recording via USB-C and offers a dizzying array of gamma options, including V-Log and even Arri LogC3 via a paid firmware update (£179). For hybrid shooters, that means broadcast-quality video in the same body you rely on for stills. Footage shot in Arri LogC3 can easily be converted to your choice of looks from the Arri library, which has more than 80 high-quality styles. Sadly, the Arri setting is for video only, and not for stills. Panasonic has also introduced Dynamic Range Boost, which can push usable V-Log dynamic range to 15 stops, albeit at the cost of a slower readout and visibly more rolling shutter. Filmmakers can choose DR Boost On for latitude in static or slow- moving scenes, or Off for action with tighter readout times. However, DR Boost doesn’t work for high frame rates and does raise the ISO to 1000, so you’ll need some ND in most cases. The Lumix has a dual native ISO sensor that really comes into play when Boost is switched to on. Essentially, it reads the sensor twice – one reading from the high gain circuit and one from the low – then combines them into HDR footage. This is what slows down the readout. The two native ISO settings change according to which codec and gamma are used too. They really do work, with the lower setting bringing greater detail and colour, while the higher setting nicely reduces noise. The result is that video is flawless at low ISO settings, very clean up to ISO 3200 and decent higher than that. It’s a great sensor and has a lot in common with Nikon’s Z 6III partially stacked sensor, with a higher video spec.
STREET PERFORMER The S1 II is relatively compact, but not a super-stealthy retro camera. Yet you’re rewarded with impressive results
Second opinion by John Owen
As a professional image maker, I juggle stills photography with video nowadays. As a confirmed Nikon DSLR shooter, I made a partial switch to Sony mirrorless, but since Nikon’s Z 8 came out, I’ve gone back to my favourite brand. So, although I have experience with Sony and Nikon, I’ve never used any camera from Panasonic. I tried the S1 II alongside my Nikons on several professional shoots over a week, and that was after spending a day walking around and shooting with the Lumix to get used to it. When I first started, I’d somehow set the camera to 96-megapixel multi mode, so had some head-scratching moments, but a sit down and a proper look at the menus had it all sorted. I have to admit that I’m not usually one for working through menus on any camera
– I just shoot until I encounter a problem! Once I got the hang of the Panasonic and the two lenses I used with it – the new Lumix S 24-60mm f/2.8 and 70-200mm f/4 – I took it on its first real job: a corporate event shooting stills only. There was to be a band on for entertainment, and one of the singers was Robert Plant! It was all low-light work and I used AF tracking with auto detection, which worked perfectly. The shots turned out excellently – low noise, great colours and the IBIS was amazing. Sadly, I couldn’t get permission to release the photos to Photography News . The next day was another corporate shoot with some outdoor interviews. I used the Lumix for some stills but mostly as the main camera for video, armed with an Atomos
monitor-recorder, a DJI Mic 2 and plugged into a USB-C power bank. The results are fantastic and very natural. I’d heard how good Panasonics are for video; now I’m a believer. I was so impressed with the results that I used the same set-up in a commercial fitness shoot indoors a couple of days later, lit with some LED lights.
It was a simply stunning camera, and the results – for stills and video – are very impressive. If I didn’t already have so much invested in my Nikon kit and have amazing help from Nikon Pro Service to keep my kit running smoothly, I would certainly be interested in exploring a full Panasonic Lumix set-up in future.
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