Andrew Reid

14bit sensor mode 31ms 8K rolling shutter. 12bit sensor mode 24ms 8K rolling shutter. The year is 2025. Canon solved this problem in 2020 (R5) and Sony in 2021 (a1), also Nikon too. So we now have to assume Panasonic have retreated from the cutting edge or at least are giving the impression that their cameras are underperforming relative to the competition. This is a flagship camera and it should really be better. We also now have the partially stacked Z6 III with the very fast readout speeds. On the overheating side, that's another sign Panasonic have cheaped-out with the less-than cutting edge semiconductor tech inside. That said, the price is $3000 not $4000 or $6000, right? But then again... what is the fucking point of this camera. Is it to make mainstream working pros swoon and dump their Sony a1 or Nikon Z8 and move over to L-mount at the cost of $20k in lenses and a new camera? Does Panasonic think this is realistic? I don't. So is the point to make a truly unique "artisan" tool aka Sigma and Leica to capture a niche with a high margin to justify lower volume sales? No, because then the S1R II wouldn't look like a fucking dumpling or some sort of office tool would it? So I think it will struggle to attract either a niche customer or a mainstream one, and might even struggle to attract Panasonic's existing customers like me. I am really lukewarm on it!

At first I thought they'd gone and done an APS-C camera. Nice that it has an updated sensor and the full pixel readout 6K. Sigma Fp 4K output was a bit scratchy looking. No word on Cinema DNG?

Worth a new topic! I'll split this one and can continue there with the BF. This is the perfect niche camera It's exactly what you do when you are not trying to do a Sony Clone like Panasonic are. There's no point Sigma trying to do a mass appeal Sony a7 clone and they know it - they know they can't compete in the worktool business with Canon, Nikon, Sony. So why not do something fun instead. Perfect. I do wish they would put IBIS and EVF in there, or at least in a higher-end version. But it has far more sex appeal than the Panasonic S9 doesn't it?

\ Looks real to me!

It looks like Panasonic are trying to copy Sony and do a one-body design suits all as in case of a7 series. So looks very much like it will be in the S5 mould with extra buttons. It will be a pity if that means losing the top-LCD display. Styling wise, ergonomics wise, they seem determined to make something quite charmless.

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.