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Can I just suggest an informal guideline for threads like this that are started by new members? To save everyone wasting their time and effort adding additional suggestions, if the thread starter doesn’t reply to the first one to at least acknowledge it then hold back until they do. We have had so many of these threads in the past couple of years where the original thread starter either doesn’t come back at all or comes back with some spam links. Forums such as this are being used for AI training by using innocent looking requests for help so don’t be surprised if you ask ChatGPT for advice about low light image making and seeing your own words coming back at you in the reply. If the original thread starter is genuinely looking for advice for this then please stop being rude and at least acknowledge the people who are going out of their way and trying to help you here and sharing their knowledge.

Well, having slept on it for another night, I have concluded that I'm sending it back. Somewhat reluctantly because I do like it and the cost difference aside as in, is it worth €1000 more (with cage) than the S1H? the answer is no. It's not worth anything more and in fact less. To me. It's not so much a case as I went too small and too light because there are certain qualities to that, but the loss of all the other factors I listed above; the screen, the card slots etc, ie, the sheer 'pro' qualities and confidence that comes from that, for me outweighs what, the S9 gives me. And yes, I could go with a third S5ii very easily and it would make a lot of sense and is IMO a better option than the S9, but the S1H is better still as an individual unit. That extra bit of chunk negates the need for any kind of grip (compared with a S5ii with battery grip or cage) and my only very slight reservation is outright AF...but I have other units to cover that. The other upside of keeping the S1H and sending back the S9 is it leaves the potential open to see what Lumix might do with any S1H successor next year, ie, potentially trading in an already massively devalued S1H vs losing a whole chunk on a lightly used S9, is also preferable. And I hate change. Detest it. I think I was just a bit too rash with this one, but hey ho.

Like when they elect a new Pope, he should do this when he has a confirmed rumour.

Funnily enough… Obviously, I won’t believe it until a breathless man abandons his family in a log cabin to rush out onto the balcony to do an emergency YouTube video about it but likely to be something S1/H/R related I would imagine. Unless the mad bastards are releasing an MFT camera in a medium format body of course.

But look at this sexy little 6k open gate beauty... For me I am going to have fun with M mount glass and treating it more like a less robust Sigma FP. Maybe one day Lumix will unlock the prores raw once sales start to slide or the new S2 cameras come out. I feel like if Lumix drops the price to $1,200, removes record limits in next firmware and then puts out a sweet f/2 pancake and AF mini zoom, This thing would sell like crazy.

I won't make any future moves until he has 'spoken'.

The breathless man is key. Without his gibberish nothing seems real.

It’d be good to have some solid rumours about the S1H’s successor. 6K 50p no crop please!

In that case, one of the greatest cameras ever made for low-light photography was the Kodak K-24 aerial reconnaissance camera which was used by the US in WW2. Its "Aero Ektar" 178mm f/2.5 lens was ideal for low-light photography with the films that existed at the time. You're welcome, robot.

What's your total budget? As a secondhand Panasonic GH5S (an older MFT camera, but damn good low light for its time! Note: this is a totally different sensor to the GH5! Don't mix them up) with a full set of f0.95 primes plus a couple of COB lights, couple of 1x1 panels, and a few LED tubes with of course all the stands/modifiers you wish, will cost a similar amount as a new Sony FX3 with a couple of zoom lens and nothing else. Yet that GH5S package will out perform by a large margin the FX3 when you're filming narrative shoots outdoors at night. As can most modern Super 35mm / APS-C cameras! Even good MFT cameras (GH5S / GH7 / P4K / E2-M4) can handle these tasks with ease. Even if your particular location you're using doesn't have any ambient light (or only a very small amount of it), you can still have the possibility of this ambient light existing to drive the motivation of your "artificial" lighting. Could there be a street lamp out of frame that's throwing light onto your subjects? Yes, so place a light there to emulate it. Your scene will look a lot better because of it when done right.

True. I am still debating whether it's a better option for me than not the S5ii, but the S1H... It is eating at the corners of my mind that the S9 is possibly a bit too small and light... It is and has been something I am chasing (compactness rather than than the above) and I have achieved that on the stills side, but having now used it and slept on it, I'm wondering if I went too far in that direction with the S9. The S9 is just under 500g and the S1H, +650g so more than double, but the S9 needs a cage and side handle so about halves that difference making it far less significant. The S1H has: 1. A better and more robust articulating rear screen plus it's a much brighter and clearer and bigger screen. I work solely off the rear screen so it's very important. (Something stopped me going Sony for video). 2. It has 2x card slots and that lack of backup with the S9 is playing on my mind. 3. It has an OLPF. 4. It has a bigger battery. I don't care what the official battery stats of something like 400 shots for the S1H vs the 470 or whatever of the S9/S5ii because the S1H battery offers FAR more than that of the S5ii/S9. 5. It is much more robust and weather-proof. 6. It costs nothing as I own it and has a trade in value of only around €700 whereas the S9 cost €1600, so is nearly €1000 cheaper as a value proposition based only on cost. The S9 counters with being smaller and lighter, but that is it. At least in regard to anything I need or value.

Actually, I think I’ll give my old vintage Carl Zeiss 40-80mm f3.5 a go on this body as on the freestanding monopod, it might be quite a good option. Might even work with Lidar and some gearing?

Well it didn’t overheat… Actually, it worked pretty well. Still waiting for the lightweight cage from Smallrig but received confirmation it has now been shipped and is on its way. in the meantime, I mostly used it on a cheap, lightweight, freestanding monopod and I’m going to go back to using one after a year or so of not as I really like the stable shot. Otherwise it was about as lightweight and small as a full frame set up can be and that was great. It’s not that much smaller or lighter than an S5ii and the S5ii is a better camera really in pretty much every regard except size & weight, but I like the little thing and it meets my needs. The output is going to be the same as my S5ii’s so the real test was how it worked compared with one ergonomically really. Without the cage, not as a good, but once that arrives in a few days and I can also put a side handle on it, it will beat the S5ii. The only final factor really is do I stick with the versatility of the compact Sigma 28-70 f2.8, or take a look at a cine lens with lidar as that option is of interest. But not this year. I can’t be doing with any more changes to my kit!

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the S9 after you put it through its paces. I will be using mine in a similar use case and think it will be perfect. I've been missing my GX85 Street camera so happy to have something small and light to take around with some M lenses. V-Log and Stabilized FF 6k Anamorphic with Lidar autofocus on a mini $1,200 body. What a world we live in...

I’d buy it immediately if it cost 1000-1200€

I kind of think you should turn your question around: if you're shooting narrative films and short documentaries, you should be focusing on learning about lighting and buying the gear that will help you adequately light your scenes, rather than looking for a camera that can handle poor lighting conditions. People constantly focus their budget and attention on cameras and ignore lighting, which is backwards. Lighting is 95% of what makes an image "cinematic." Any camera can look good with good lighting. Nowadays even a single "run and gun" operator can use portable lights; you don't need a crew, C-stands, etc. If I had to do it over again I'd spend 2 years learning how to do lighting before I even started thinking about which camera to get.

Have you considered the AI Bot sub-forum?