Andrew Reid

I'll forgive Panasonic if they get this right in a big way, offer something really nice that rivals the Z8 but with real-time LUTs and a mechanical shutter. But merging S1H with the S1R series doesn't make sense. Let's hope there is an S1H Mark II also on the way with a lower 6K megapixel count and better low light, plus the other video goodies like ergonomics more suited for filming and e-ND of some sort. Then things might actually move forward in a creative way not just in terms of higher numbers on a sheet of paper. 44 megapixel I am fine with, rather have the speed than the difference between 44 (8K at Sony a1 Nikon Z8 standard) and 61 (also 8K but cropped and horrific rolling shutter)... in terms of stills 44 vs 61 we are talking 8K vs 9.5K... So not too much of difference even if you're cropping @MrSMW? 44-50 is a sweet spot I reckon. JUST PLEASE NOT IN AN S5 BODY!!!!

I have a G1X Mark II with about the same M/43 size sensor from Canon back in the day, it's got a nicer lens (in my opinion) with the F2.0 wide end, and they have sacrificed that for the ultra wide 16mm equiv. zoom, and sacrificed the telephoto reach as well which is a pity. Other than that I think the V1 is better than expected, very nice feature set - ND is usable for video I take it?

Not bad. Pity the cripple hammer fell so hard on the camera in Europe and the US that it doesn't exist!

So a Nikon Z8 clone then?

1" is a known pre-existing sensor size for Canon and Sony customers (aka G7X and RX100 series). And also smartphone users (flagship 1" phones). So 1.4" is easy to understand, a bigger number, easy to do the marketing. Micro Four Thirds is not just a sensor size, but a system. So it would be very confusing to bring the rival system terminology into the mix.

Yes - stupid consumers with too much money = inflation

F5.6-F7.1 lens 🙂

It would only compete by being cheaper. That's why we need Panasonic to bring the updated S1 line, and their best technology. We've had so many cheap thingies from them recently, so it's time to up their game.

Yeah, I just don't feel like there's a unique reason to continue with Panasonic any more. For Micro Four Thirds, the OM-1 was the peak in terms of offering something different and fun vs the usual full frame work tools. For full frame, L-mount has gone backwards quite frankly from the S1H. Can anyone really say that after nearly SIX years there has been another L-mount camera that's better for filmmakers than the S1H? S5 is just a bargain bin version by comparison. S5 II had a few nice new features and the edge of affordability / phase-detect AF.... High-frame rates on the GH6 and GH7, a nice small full frame camera with the S9, but none of them are overall BETTER in every way than a 6 year old Panasonic S1H. And this is all rather disappointing because Panasonic are not supposed to spend 6 years going backwards. If it wasn't for my Sigma Fp-L I would have no L-mount cameras at all now. The SL2 is gone, S9 is gone, S5 II is sold and I just don't have any need for what it does compared to Sony, Fuji, Canon, Nikon and Olympus. This is why I think the problems at Panasonic are deeper than we think. I am a Lumix loyalist, a long-time early adopter and huge fan of what Panasonic did in the world of cameras, and not just with the GH2! To lose a customer like me is a very bad sign that they have fucked up.

There's a chance it might be an S5R that's coming. A cut price high megapixel body. A full frame rival to the X-T5 perhaps? Doesn't float my boat to be honest, but we'll see what happens. The S9 was also underwhelming at launch, turned out to be a nice camera for the current used prices of around 1000 euros. I wouldn't pay 1600 for it, but as a bargain small full frame camera it has a place.

Like I say I think it's curtains already, whatever they bring out this year is too late. People have moved on. The ones that do stick with Panasonic must be amongst the most loyal customers in the industry, in any industry. Anyway we'll see what they bring out at CP+ in Japan at the end of this month. If it's anything else with an old sensor in an S5 II body I'm not interested.

I like trash talking Panasonic at the moment! They deserve it.

If the S1R II has a different sensor to the SL-3 I'll eat my hat, but it would be a very interesting development if true. I can't think of many alternative high megapixel sensors from the Sony shelf that would fit the bill other than the 50MP Sony a1 chip.

Oh yeah can't wait to put a shitty Atomos on top of an OM-3. Amazing.

Yes please, that would float our boat. (Never thought Panasonic catching up to Sony's 2021 tech would be that exciting a prospect, but at this point I'll take it)

I just think it feels cheap and looks even cheaper, it doesn't have a fun factor or a uniqueness to it. Camera design by numbers. At least the big bulky old S1H had a glorious best in class EVF, really satisfying mechanical shutter and fantastic top panel display, as well as looking and feeling like a beast. Whereas the S5 series, Mark II included just feels like a kind of "me too, I want to be a Sony a7 as well" kind of camera, but it isn't as good as one. For events you are best off with a camcorder.

Welcome back! 1.5, to 2 stops to the right is a good exposure. I wouldn't bother with zebra, false color, histogram, just use the exposure meter (less clutter over the shot then) Nice shot of the lake. What ISO was this? R6 II is clean basically anywhere under 6400

It won't share the same body as the S5 II X. The EVF isn't big enough. The body isn't professional enough, it's mid-range trash. Much more likely the S1H II will come along in a coffin... aka DOA.

Why are you dragging the topic into aspect ratios when the thread is called "Panasonic drastic surgery"?

I'd rather pluck my eyeballs out. Just because the camera has a new body design, doesn't mean to say it is engineered by OM System. They are still using an Olympus parts bin and reusing the same components, reusing basically the entire camera again and again. Marketing, who needs that? Engineers? Nah. Man there is a reason the OM-1 has an Olympus badge, and the E-M5 III too, which is the basis for the OM-5. The OM-1 Mark II and OM-5 are *rebadged existing products* I don't know why that isn't registering with you. Therefore it is not OM-System but OLYMPUS who deserve 100% of the credit for the OM-1, OM-3 and OM-5, which are the basis for all of OM-System's current line-up = rebranded existing Olympus products. The OM-3 does have a new cosmetic makeover and swaps a few parts out of the OM-1 with the OM-5 like the EVF. OM System since the takeover have merely done a couple of firmware updates, a buffer memory increase and a shell reshaping. Plus a new logo. So I don't understand why you are giving so much credit, you're talking as if they have built a brand new system from the ground up and a brand new camera. That is fucking stupid.

You keep banging on about "innovation" without mentioning the elephant in the room which I've pointed out time and again, that OM System have innovated jack shit and all they have done is cut & paste from Olympus. You say it looks great, aesthetically pleasing and all that, well this is subjective but I think it looks cheap for a $2000 camera and certainly worse than the E-M5 III. The size difference between the OM-1 and OM-3 is not equivalent to the GH4 v GM1, the OM-3 is wider at 140mm wide and 500g vs 590g for the OM-1 and 135mm, so a GM1 it ain't. I'll leave you to get to know your cameras better but in terms of the OM-3 whatever floats your boat I guess!

Olympus perfected it and OM System inherited it, big difference. OM system have not implemented anything big and new since 2020. Because they are an investment bank, not a camera company and certainly not a Japanese engineering company. Wrong, Fujifilm has this on the X-T5 and more. Sony has a 160MP pixel shift high-res mode. Canon has had a 400 megapixel pixel shift IBIS mode on the EOS R5 since 2020. And now Nikon with the Z8 has a 180MP mode from 47mp. How hard is it to do a bit of research my friend on Google... These are great features by Olympus, not OM System. They are inherited from a group of engineers who OM System effectively fired. How do they intend to carry these features forwards and develop them without a proper engineering team? It's by no means a bad camera. I just don't see any reason at all to buy it over the OM-1. The styling is subjective, I think it's fake looking and fugly. If you want a powerful retro styled camera for $2000 you can get a full frame Nikon Zf or some of the best APS-C cameras on the market from Fujifilm. If you want the unique Olympus features and IBIS, with a much better EVF and better ergonomics and better grip and more... you can spend as little as $1000 on a used OM-1. So the OM-3, you'd have to really really really like the way it looks to spend double for a worse camera.

Back in the 1080p days, we had line skipping and it wasn't really 1080p in a lot of cases, so a full pixel readout was needed and that's why 4K was so attractive as it would overcome the binning, downsample to whatever resolution you wanted and looked great at 1080p in most cases. Now we have a similar situation with 8K vs 4K because a lot of 4K is pixel binned from a higher resolution sensor, and 8K is a way to get that coveted full pixel readout again. Funny how history repeats itself. Just like with fascism. Anyway where was I... The current debate around specs leaves out the creative side, and that's fine... as the two can be talked about independently and are relevant to the art of cinema. What bothers me about the current state of play though is social media influencers passing off the grading or camera matching work as somehow relevant to what the camera is doing, when actually RAW can be any look you like. I also see a problem with overkill. A lot of people obsess over resolution and then go out and shoot some boring advert for Instagram. There's a lack of critical thinking there, and maybe a bit of ego.

Actually it's the camera from 2021... the sony a1. We have peaked!

Yeah, the cinematography and moody grading overcame the lack of resolution. https://www.eoshd.com/lens/kendy-ty-t2i-one-guy-amazing-things-5-year-old-dslr/ But we still feel the need (myself included) to pixel peep. I suppose it's a hobby if anything - whether it has any real creative use, is open to debate... In some way it is relevant, but it all depends on what serves the content and story, and the lighting and cinematography. Sometimes, that demands a Hi8 camcorder!