Vintage Jimothy

Yeah, I'm honestly shocked that Panasonic have been taking so long to release their own top end Large Format cinema camera to compete with ARRI, RED and especially Sony. The Varicam was really popular with a ton of Netflix shows, but it's quickly been replaced for a ton of those productions with the Sony Venice.

Speaking of the VariCam, I’m honestly shocked that Panasonic haven’t announced a full frame/Large Format version of the camera yet.

Yeah, I was able to make it relatively easier on myself to switch from M43 to L-mount in part because the only native M43 lens I have is the kit lens that came with my G85. The lens kit I built for myself was comprised entirely of vintage SLR lenses from the M42 and Minolta MD mounts and were easily adaptable to the L-mount. I'm currently unable to autofocus with the S1 because of that, for obvious reasons, but then I rarely ever used autofocus with the G85 anyway. It really is crazy just how much new life Panasonic breathed into the S1 with Firmware 2.0. I've no doubt that we'll see plenty of more advanced models with even better specs come out in the relatively near future, but practically speaking I could absolutely get away with using the S1 as my main camera without upgrading for a good 3-5 years or so. Perhaps even longer once I pick up a Blackmagic Video Assist 12G recorder to utilize the camera's RAW output capabilities.

It really is crazy how great of a value the S1 is, especially used with the V-Log upgrade already installed. I went from using a G85 to the S1 and while I've done good work with the former camera, there really is a noticeable difference in capability that the S1 provides.

I'm going to cheer if Panasonic gives the S1 a firmware update to use BRAW, even if it's just externally.

Yeah, I've been building a basic set of Minoltas for awhile now and I swear by them. They never let me down. Heck, one of the more memorable films I've seen this year (Identifying Features) was almost entirely shot on a set of vintage Minolta Rokkors! And if there's one thing that every review I've read has in common with this film, it's that the cinematography is gorgeous.

Yeah, I spent the last two months prepping myself to buy a brand new S5, but wound up opting for a used S1 with the V-Log upgrade pack and Firmware 2.0 already installed. I would've been happy either way, I'm sure, but I think if you come across an S1 with all of its bells and whistles already in place, it's generally going to be the better value over the S5. For me, the biggest tradeoff is that I'm buying the S1 without any native L-mount lenses, its backscreen isn't a normal "flip-out" screen and I'll probably need to buy newer/faster SD cards and a CFExpress Type B card or two. Then again, all but one of my current lenses are all manual focus anyway and I've rarely ever needed to use the flip out screen on my G85 in previous gigs I've done. So really the only real issue I'll be running into for now is just buying new memory cards to better utilize the capabilities of the S1. I do find it a bit ironic that for all of Panasonic's extra efforts to prop up the S1 and boost its capabilities, the camera's value lies best in buying it used. Buying an S1 new and paying an extra $200 for the V-Log upgrade to go with it just takes the price of the camera up too close to something like the A7S3. And at that point, you're much better off just buying a new S5 at $2000/$2300 with a kit lens. I did the math when I bought my S1 and I saved at least $1000 overall in buying the camera used.

Glad to hear that! I'm hoping Panasonic eventually bring BRAW to the S1 and S5 too, but in the meantime I'm sure I'll be satisfied with the internal codecs the S1 now has. It's a total quantum leap from my trusty G85 that I've been using for the last three years.

Just bought a used S1 with V-Log and Firmware 2.0 already installed. And I gotta say... I am really looking forward to trying this monster out when it arrives!

How's the manual focusing? Is it linear and if so, how long is the focus throw?

Not to mention, as far as I can tell, there hasn't been much in the way of introducing and releasing new lenses for the M43 mount that are unique to the ecosystem either. Meanwhile, the full frame lens market is exploding with new glass. Obviously a lot of that is due to certain mounts (L, RF and Z mounts for instance) still being relatively new and their companies are trying to catch up to Sony and the E-mount to flesh out their lineups, but even the E-mount has a lot of new glass coming out these days from third party companies. Micro Four Thirds though? Not so much. Obviously there are already plenty of native lenses out there for the ecosystem, but between Olympus folding, as well as the lack of new glass and new bodies from Panasonic, it really does feel like M43 is generally a dead-end at this point. The GH5 and the Pocket 4K seem likely to be the final hurrays.

I had no idea until I saw this thread that Falcon Eyes had released an updated model on their RX-24TDX and RX-18TD flex lights. Have you ever been able to compare your Mark II model to the older original variants? I've been eyeing one of them for awhile now, so I'm curious if it'd be in my best interest to save up a bit more to get the new models. Also could you provide any more feedback on the Luxli Taiko? There's only a handful of videos on that light compared to the new Aputure P300c, and while it'll be quite awhile before I could afford buying either one, I'd love to hear input on which light would be the better option to invest in first.

Holy smokes, practically all of the sample footage in that video is stellar. Really hope a translation comes out for this review soon, as I'd love to hear this guy's thoughts in detail on the camera. Also, your argument about the advantages Sony has over the competition right now are, for better or worse, spot on. They're just flat-out further along than everyone else in the field when it comes to having an ecosystem of full frame mirrorless cameras and lenses to work with. Not to decry the value of other cameras (the RAW footage of the Sigma fp is genuinely beautiful, and if you're A-okay with APS-C/Super35 only then Fuji is a dream), but unless Panasonic hits the ball out of the stadium soon with vastly improved autofocus on its next generation of L-mount cameras, Sony is likely only going to continue dominating the market for full frame mirrorless.

The problem there is that their existing L-mount lenses are designed for Contrast Focus, so there'd probably still be a growing pains period for Panasonic in transitioning over to Phase Detect. But yes, at this point, they really do need to start to that transition as soon as possible if they want to really seal the deal on the market.

While this camera is certainly interesting and I can see certain advantages in pursuing 12K (though I think 6K and 8K are both already more than enough for most any production), I do kinda agree with people that it feels like the wrong camera for Blackmagic to make and put out there in this particular moment. A full frame 4K or 6K cinema camera would've probably been the smarter call, even if it is the more 'obvious' option.