MrSMW

Good spec and a nice looking camera. Why not available in Europe? The US I kind of understand. Trumpet doesn’t want anything not branded ‘Made in MAGAland’ on sale.

Yes, it’s not totally terrible or an absolute dealbreaker, but 61 beats 44 just as 100 beats 61! I’m looking at trading my 70-180 (plus 28-75 and maybe 20-40) against that 28-105 f2.8 Sigma, the only current ‘one & done’ lens I will consider. An APSC in camera crop at a flick of a switch, gives me 26mp 157.5mm (61mp sensor with Sigma 28-105) so already trading another 22.5mm at the long end over a heavier and bulkier, but same speed 70-200mm (ie, up to 42.5mm) so the question is…and I can’t do the maths, but can I live with something like a 16mp 180-200mm equivalent file from a 44mp sensor? For my needs, probably yes and the ‘one & done’ camera/lens combo has huge appeal. I could already do it with my A7RV by trading my 3 current lenses for the single Sigma, but feel the body is not quite right for such a lens without the full battery grip…which is an option, but not one I really wish to take. So spec aside, one of the most interesting and possibly deciding factors for me, will be how this new ‘S1-2RXii’ compares with the A7RV from a purely size, weight and ergo perspective…

Indeed. He’s probably lost about 20 or so pounds in bodyweight and the other 80 is from him emptying his pockets.

They are pretty simple and boil down to; ideally, I would like a 4th LUMIX/L Mount camera as a pure stills unit to complement my 2x S5II's and single S9, all 3 dedicated to video. The ability to swap lenses, maybe batteries, similar/the same menus, interchangeable backup etc... But I already have an A7RV plus 3 lenses dedicated to this role and anything such as this S1RII, needs to be at least competitive for stills, if not exceed it or it's a costly exercise as in the depreciation of 1x body and 3x lenses to go sideways. Or even backwards... 44mp (if correct) is already tampering with my plans for a 'one & done' body & lens combo, the benchmark for that being Leica SL3 plus Sigma 28-105mm f2.8, except for price. The Leica is beyond my budget by about 200% and my A7RV beats it at just about every point that matters to me except size, weight and ergos where I prefer the slightly beefier Leica. And as a photographer, who would not be pretty stoked shooting with a Leica? This new LUMIX though is looking more like a competitor to the next Sony, the A7V taking over from the A7iv. IMO.

I would not say 'angry' but was hoping for the 61mp from the SL3 and A7RV because of cropping. 44mp is not necessarily a deal-breaker for me, but does count against it. Waiting to see what it really is first before making any decisions but as things stand, my A7RV is currently 'winning'.

Hi Walter 👋

My Only Fans page? But sherioushly, although YouTube is bulked out with some utter shite, especially if you simply scroll, using the search function might yield the fruits you are looking for? It depends what your interest and ‘inspiration’ is really… Is it ‘Hollywood’ movie making? Documentary travel? Wood-turning household objects? Scantily clad ladies? Or fellas? But otherwise I suspect there is no actual official source for ‘Good Shit’ other than your own legwork.

Shutter mech from the S1H also!!

Sounds like my kind of compact. If it is an f2/2.8 lens…

I had the fan go on one of mine but as it was ‘like new’ used from MPB and under 6 month warranty, they just swapped it for another. Yes, it’s not in any way a bad chassis or anything but ‘mid’ is about the right term for it. The S9 is less than ‘mid’ IMO, but is what it is. I don’t mind if they reuse the chassis as long as they improve; the rear screen type and resolution plus upgrade the shutter button feel and sound, ie, damp it. EVF they can leave the same as I never use it. Oh and all the dials could do with a lock so you don’t accidentally knock them and not realise. Apart from that, not opposed to reusing the same basic chassis though. But really it needs to be something ‘more’ or it’s just another contender and there are already plenty of those.

And it would not be cheaper (for me), as the trade in on 1 body + 3 lenses for 1 body + 1 lens would actually cost me. Not much, but would have cost me. For a downgrade. Hmmm, let me think about the wisdom of that…🤔 I’m interested in an S2R not an S5IIR and no idea what’s coming now because I assumed it would be an SL3 wearing a LUMIX costume. Now the rumors are saying S5II body and not the SL3 sensor. Ah well, all will be revealed soon enough…

Nope and if it was not for the lack of decent AF, peak video camera for me. Yes I wish it was 10% smaller & lighter and I wish they had been able to update it to have the firmware features of the S9 and S5II, ie, the ability to burn in a LUT and multiple frame markers. Whether it was possible or not, I wish they had ‘simply’ made an S2R and an S2H using the S1H body and simply called them the S1Rii and the S1Hii. I suspect that unless they really knock these next releases out of the park, they are cooked though. They just do not seem to get it and that is great product + good marketing = continued existence. Anything less is death. It never ceases to amaze me how some brands with real heritage are simply run into the ground. Panasonic LUMIX does not have that and I am thinking companies more like Olympus and Kodak. You have to be an utter fuckwit to take such heritage and grind it to dust.

I rarely watch reviews of anything these days unless it is for something I specifically need or want. There is just too much hype and often complete BS with every new camera launch these days. Most of it just seems to be talk for the sake of talk, (a bit like some of my posts on this forum…), ie, ‘content for content sake’. Looks aside, this new OM camera based on specs looks very overpriced to me, especially compared with what else is available. Other than for folks determined to fit a square peg into a round hole.

I think I’d struggle to trade my A7RV for an ‘S5R’ as it would be a downgrade in pretty much every way. I think in terms of outright build quality, my A7RV is a ‘bit’ better than my S5II, but there is not much in it. Everywhere else, it’s an easy win for the Sony. I’d still rather use the S5II for video which is why I have a pair of them and now an S9, but for stills, nah, A7RV. Easily. If the new LUMIX is not going to be at least equal to the A7RV, it would be a step back for me and though I would prefer all my kit to be in one system, it would not make much sense to switch. But I am withholding final judgement on that because it may be something more than the rumour and speculation so until we actually know…

I would settle for ‘slightly cryptic’ but they are not even that are they. ’Totally silent’ is their attitude to their market. Possibly not the smartest approach, but if their product line is good…

Yep, always said a slightly smaller, slightly lighter, but otherwise S1H body/shutter mech/rear screen etc, would be PERFECT. If we can have something like that, I'm halfway in. Then I am the other half, ie, all in. I think Andrew is referring to the body/build/physical stuff rather than it's capabilities? It's not 'trash' as such, far from it, but it's not built like the S1H and I'm not just talking size/weight/heft, but stuff like that rear screen, that top display, shutter mech feel and sound etc... Are LUMIX going to actually release something a bit special...??!! Also, from that other thread, have you got a particular hat in mind if it turns out to be the case, ie, not the same sensor as the SL3? 😋

Well maybe, just maybe, they are going to replace what was a 3 model system with a 2 model and that will be a more photo-centric option that was previously the S1R and then a more video-centric one which was the S1H, but use the same sensor? They would need to differentiate these in some way or folks would just say, why did they not just make the one camera. Maybe, the S1R replacement will be your more trad DSLR type body and for the S1H 'replacement' will be more box/modular? The 'S2R' would maybe have mech shutter but the 'S2H' would do away with it? As I have said multiple times, I'm not really in the market for an 'S2H'. Interested, but it's not on my need list. Any 'S2R', is going to have to compete and be at least equal my A7RV and a smaller sensor is a mark against it already. If this rumour is true... If anything, I would rather it was larger than 60mp! If it's anything based on the S5II body it's game over for LUMIX for stills for me. It's a decent enough body, but in terms of build from screen type and res, through shutter mech and feel, to overall feel, it's not the pro level body I want for my stills work. We shall find out son enough I guess...

Well maybe, just maybe, they are going to replace what was a 3 model system with a 2 model and that will be a more photo-centric option that was previously the S1R and then a more video-centric one which was the S1H, but use the same sensor? They would need to differentiate these in some way or folks would just say, why did they not just make the one camera. Maybe, the S1R replacement will be your more trad DSLR type body and for the S1H 'replacement' will be more box/modular? The 'S2R' would maybe have mech shutter but the 'S2H' would do away with it? As I have said multiple times, I'm not really in the market for an 'S2H'. Interested, but it's not on my need list. Any 'S2R', is going to have to compete and be at least equal my A7RV and a smaller sensor is a mark against it already. If this rumour is true... If anything, I would rather it was larger than 60mp! If it's anything based on the S5II body it's game over for LUMIX for stills for me. It's a decent enough body, but in terms of build from screen type and res, through shutter mech and feel, to overall feel, it's not the pro level body I want for my stills work. We shall find out son enough I guess...

Car camping! I partially built out my Skoda Octavia estate for this with one back seat down, raised boot area with slide out cooking facility under the raised rear door. Inflatable air mattress taking up 50% of the boot and the folded rear seat. Portable plug in cooler went in the front passenger footwell. Then it was going to be Porta Potti with one of those pop up toilet tents you can get off Amazon for about 100 quid, but Covid hit and I never finished the full build out and bought a caravan in the second year of that era. Which had aircon! Power on the go is always a problem, even in my MH and I have a portable battery unit that can be either charged by solar or plugged into the dashboard when the engine is running, ie, when driving is best. But my MacBook can chew through that in around 2 hours max but if I had an inverter (I think it is), I could plug in to my vans electrics and massive lithium leisure battery. On site, plugged into electric, no issues. The entire car camping set up though (without the cost of the vehicle) was less than 1000 quid, so; cooking kit, coffee maker, flask, 10 litre water tank, air mattress, 4 season sleeping bag, travel cooler, power bank battery, timber, clip on privacy screens for all the rear windows and a curtain on a stretch cord to close of the front seats. Plenty of jacked up 4WD estates such as Skoda Octavia Scout (which is what I have and on all season tires, can munch through up to nearly a foot of snow. Uphill), Audi, Subaru etc, without going full SUV, though something like a Landcruiser of course is going to have more interior room, specifically head height and can go further of road. But as you say, start modestly and go from there... Good luck with it but take a look at pickup truck campers because with that option, you could start with a camping/tent option and then later upgrade to the actual truck top camper unit if and when budget/requirement allows.

How much budget are we talking here because it’s looking like 100k+ at this stage?! Each to their own, but I personally would want a proven business in place with at least 12 months of real turnover to justify any real expense. When I bought my MH, It was end of year 22 / start of year 23, so I had proven numbers of several decades. The MH cost me approx 65k. Previously, a typical 70 nights away per annum was costing me in dinner, B&B, approx €100 per night so €7k PA. Over 10 years, that’s €70k of dead money or +€5k over what I paid for the MH. OK, it costs me about double to fuel it over my Skoda Octavia and there is annual insurance and servicing and that all adds up to an additional expense over the car of approx €1.5k PA, so €15k over 10 years. €65k purchase + €15k additional running costs = €80k over car & hotels etc, but… Resale of MH after 10 years approx will be around €25-30k so net saving will be around €20-25k over that 10 year period. Plus as a family, we have a ‘free’ MH for every day I am not working! But unless your pockets are very deep and your turnover/margins are going to be very high… Camper + tent + trailer + quad is where I would be starting! One other option, truck top camper on flatbed pickup because you can dump it any time to go properly off road.

Actually The Oracle Of The Dolomites has just posted to say the S2R will now have a sub 60mp sensor 🤨

I would not expect to see any real world difference at all between a 45mp FF sensor and a 61mp other than in the most extreme of crops and pixel-peeping in direct side by side tests, ie, 'fuck all'. When I went from Fuji XT3 to OG LUMIX S5, I noticed a marginal difference. I could not have told you in words what that difference was except other than the raw files were a bit 'cleaner' and had a little more latitude? Then going from OG S5 to S1R, I noticed immediately another 'jump', but this time it was more to do with detail as should be expected. Then I went back to 24mp FF for the best part of a year before going to Sony A7RV and I would not call it night and day, but the clarity and latitude in the Sony files is on another level to LUMIX/Nikon 24mp files. After shooting most of last year with the A7RV (and I am talking purely stills here, not shot a single second of video with it) I went back to dabbling with some 24mp FF and they were definitely lacking compared with the 61mp sensor files from the A7RV. So I would expect any 'S2R' to be as equally 'ahead' of any 24mp previous or current gen LUMIX camera and that is one of my 'deal-breakers' for me to chop my A7RV in to get one. And ideally, multiple crop markers as per the current FF LUMIX cameras because I want to shoot in 3:2 aspect ratio with a 2.4:1 and a 9:16 overlay with every single frame. And 61mp, allows me an APSC crop with a 26mp file, with marginal more detail than a FF 24mp file. A 45 or as in the old S1R, 47mp, is about 18mp which was and is OK, but I'd rather have more so I can get the Sigma 28-105mm f2.8 as a genuine 'one & done' lens.

OK, sorry to hear about the health issues but that then leads me to think a motorhome with a quad bike on trailer is perhaps a better option? First, you have all the proper facilities in one single vehicle, ie, proper bathroom, kitchen, bedroom, office etc. Second, you have an off road vehicle to go off the beaten track with. Motorhomes/campers are a bit of an investment, but quad bikes and trailers are not so much and cheaper than a specialised travel trailer? If it's something VW'ish like a T5/T6, you can get away with it as a main 'family' transport also. Our MH is based on a Citroen Jumper van and though it's an 'off the shelf' pro factory build rather than a custom or self build and it could be used as every day transport, but it's not ideal for that. A 5-5.5m camper could be but 6m (mine) is pushing it a bit. The only thing with campers over motorhomes is you don't get a dedicated bathroom which is fine for short trips, but anything running into weeks, could become an issue very quickly. I used to watch a lot of those van life videos on YouTube and it was hilarious (and ridiculous) just how many of these kids think they can live in a van with no bathroom. Van conversions can and should be built around a bathroom as a very high priority IMO!! Most camper users stay on sites with facilities or the occasional overnight at the coast or similar, but I can park up in a venue car park and be self-contained for up to a week. Of course expeditions can be done on nothing more than a motorbike and tent, but as with all things, where and what is your compromise? My MH is my office, my home and my sanctuary on the road.

My money is on the same 61mp as in the SL3 and the Sony A7RV. There is a second rumoured LUMIX camera supposedly going to be announced in April if the information coming out of a certain mountain shed in the Dolomites is accurate and maybe that will have this 45mp sensor?

Curious as to why as I thought you lived in the UK? "Trip up to Scotland". I used to do a lot of field sports photography and went EVERYWHERE the Landies, Rangies, Shoguns, Landcruisers went in nothing more than my first gen and then a second gen, Nissan X Trail(s). OK, they had Yokohama Geolander tires on them, but that was it and they aren't that serious an off road tire... https://www.grip500.fr/pneu/255-60-18/yokohama-geolandar-x-at-g016-gp1552854?utm_source=compare&utm_medium=google-shopping&utm_campaign=tyre&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAC7HhBsoc7IWXQh_OvrqL4FevXYJL&gclid=CjwKCAiAqrG9BhAVEiwAaPu5zoxmhHdIXxEk067WnVZ0Ygsd_1i7eqZ1N4iS_HbLgri0YKg97Dgw1RoChx8QAvD_BwE Both very reliable as in never had a single issue with either. But off-road travel trailers, maybe... There's a company I looked at who if I remember correctly, were in Poland who made a really great one, but in the end, I gave up the field sports stuff (couldn't make any money from it) and focused on my wedding work. I had a caravan for 2 years, from 4/5 years ago and will be going into my 3rd season (out of 25 in total) with a compact motorhome this year. The advantage of the motorhome is the second part of that word, - it really is a home away from home (permanent; living/dining/work area, kitchen, bathroom and bedroom) and I spend up to 6 weeks in it on certain trips. It is not suitable for off-road stuff however. It's got some all season mud & snow tires on it, but the reality is they are shit. Or at least combined with the crappy traction control. A dry dirt track is about the limit, though there was this time I got lost in the dark on a rutted woodland track and had to press on as there was zero chance to turn and if I had taken my foot off the gas... There's always a compromise somewhere and various options including a roof top tent. I considered one once and they look fancy, but the reality is, they are stupidly overpriced because you can have a tent on the ground for a fraction of the cost which you can actually stand up, have furniture in, ie, actually 'live' in. I think they are a gimmick other than if you are afraid of scorpions. A 4WD compact motorhome makes most sense but they cost a bomb. On a tight budget, something like a well maintained ex-school run, used 4WD with some decent tires and pretty much any kind of fold out camping trailer makes next most sense because as long as that also has some decent tires, at the end of the day, it's just a fairly lightweight towed trailer and a lot of the articulation happens off the tow hitch so as long as you are not going flat out down endless off road tracks...