Z-CAM E2-F6 (Full frame 6K) goes head to head with Panasonic S1H (test by Flannel Ninja)

[Andrew Reid]

Incredibly close between these two. I have a Panasonic S1H with me at the moment, and am getting to know it. Meanwhile the Z-CAM, I had the briefest of hands-on at IBC and will be posting some footage from it. Both cameras are capable of 6K H.265 internal recording from a full frame sensor, and both are at the lower price-end of the pro-cinema market.

Flannel Ninja’s video above goes into really in-depth detail about the two, so do give it a look.

Read the full article

[thebrothersthre3]

The 1080p 120 on the Zcam seems to blow the S1H's away. 

[seattledv]

I agree the S1H 120fps doesn’t look right. Makes me want to see other samples. Almost looks out of focus in the watery areas. Andrew have you experienced issues with the S1H 120-1080?

[thebrothersthre3]

1 hour ago, seattledv said:

I agree the S1H 120fps doesn’t look right. Makes me want to see other samples. Almost looks out of focus in the watery areas. Andrew have you experienced issues with the S1H 120-1080?

looks really grainy too. 

[Parker]

The Z-cam looks really interesting, but it's already $1k more than the S1h, not to mention the necessary cost of still needing to add a monitor, and of course the lack of ibis and need for rigging to make it more suitably ergonomic, all of which the S1H can do out of the box, which is still a fantastic hybrid for still-use to boot. 

That being said, I'd love to see how much of an IQ and potentially DR-edge the Z-cam raw files give it over the Panasonic though. If it blows it out of the water, hopefully that can spur Panny in to giving us some raw-love as well. Gotta love competition! 

[deezid]

35 minutes ago, seattledv said:

I agree the S1H 120fps doesn’t look right. Makes me want to see other samples. Almost looks out of focus in the watery areas. Andrew have you experienced issues with the S1H 120-1080?

yep, noticed as well on mine. Never touched the mode again after the encounter lol

Also his rolling shutter 6K sample shows ghosting.
And there are gamut issues in the low light sample.

Really hoping for many fixes.
Loving the IBIS, dynamic range, color science, battery life and general usability. But there are things that could be better indeed.

[Video Hummus]

2 hours ago, deezid said:

Really hoping for many fixes.

If the S1H was made by any other camera manufacturer we probably would never seem them in a timely manner. Luckily, this is a panasonic camera. ?

[EthanAlexander]

New owner of the Z Cam E2 and I love it - with the two FF cameras in this test I may be biased but I'd go Z Cam again, if only for the internal ProRes. Hard to beat how run-n-gun the S1H is though.

Both can do some great work just depends on how you'd use them.

 

[Video Hummus]

3 hours ago, EthanAlexander said:

New owner of the Z Cam E2 and I love it - with the two FF cameras in this test I may be biased but I'd go Z Cam again, if only for the internal ProRes. Hard to beat how run-n-gun the S1H is though.

Both can do some great work just depends on how you'd use them.

 

Yes, two very different cameras in form and slightly in function. For me I would still choose the S1H as I would value the pick-up-ability of it much more.  

[thebrothersthre3]

I'd probably go with the S35 version that has the M43 mount over the S1H or F6

[EthanAlexander]

58 minutes ago, thebrothersthre3 said:

I'd probably go with the S35 version that has the M43 mount over the S1H or F6

According to Z Cam a third party is working on an E mount, supposedly with electronic connection, for the new cams. A FF with E mount would be killer - could mount practically anything, and use a speed booster for the cropped high frame rates. 

[IronFilm]

6 hours ago, Parker said:

The Z-cam looks really interesting, but it's already $1k more than the S1h, not to mention the necessary cost of still needing to add a monitor, and of course the lack of ibis and need for rigging to make it more suitably ergonomic, all of which the S1H can do out of the box, which is still a fantastic hybrid for still-use to boot. 

$1K might seem like a lot, but I'd say for people who are spending $5K+ on just the camera body itself, then it won't be a major factor in deciding which to go for as likely it is a business purchase and as such $1K is somewhat trivial in the grand scheme of things. 

[newfoundmass]

On 11/19/2019 at 4:37 AM, IronFilm said:

$1K might seem like a lot, but I'd say for people who are spending $5K+ on just the camera body itself, then it won't be a major factor in deciding which to go for as likely it is a business purchase and as such $1K is somewhat trivial in the grand scheme of things. 

Yeah, once you're getting in that price territory the difference in price becomes a bit less of an issue, though there are exceptions. 

I do think though that the versatility of the S1H is a difference maker more than price. Being able to just throw a lens on and start shooting will always be a nice benefit for a camera like the S1H. 

I'm very glad that I was wrong about Z-Cam though. They're going to be market disrupters and that's a good thing.

[IronFilm]

On 11/21/2019 at 7:51 PM, newfoundmass said:

Yeah, once you're getting in that price territory the difference in price becomes a bit less of an issue, though there are exceptions. 

 

Yes, when you're comparing a $500 vs $1,500 camera then it is much more likely an extra $1K is going to be a deal breaker for a potential buyer

[RobertoSF]

I didn't see Z Cam listed on Netflix approved camera list here, unless I missed something?
https://partnerhelp.netflixstudios.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000579527-Cameras-and-Image-Capture

For buying a camera at this level this list is a factor, at least for me.

I also like how Panasonic leverages their higher end (Varicam) camera tech for models like the S1H. After having a string of Panny bodies going back to the GH2... I honestly like how Panasonic keeps their menu system and nav around the camera working consistently and evolving well (so far). I hope I will be able to get ProRes Raw out of the S1H with a Shogun...hopefully we'll know soon. In any case, I agree, Z Cam is a poised to disrupt...  just not yet for me.

[IronFilm]

46 minutes ago, RobertoSF said:

I didn't see Z Cam listed on Netflix approved camera list here, unless I missed something?
https://partnerhelp.netflixstudios.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000579527-Cameras-and-Image-Capture

For buying a camera at this level this list is a factor, at least for me.

Are you making Netflix commissioned productions?

If you are: you'll have plenty of budget to hire Varicam/Venice/whatever!

If you are not: then that list doesn't matter at all.

 

[Trek of Joy]

Was at B&H a couple days ago and I am absolutely floored by how small/light the E2’s are. I forgot to grab a pic, but they had a S1h on the shelf next to the Zcams and when I handled both the S1h felt absolutely gargantuan. Same for the Pocket 4/6k’s. They also had the Meike knockoffs of the Veydra cine lenses. When paired with a E2 that’s an amazing small combo. I think I’m going to shift from hybrid do it all bodies to splitting my photo and video into at least two bodies. The S1h and the Zcams are at the top of my list. I just have a lot of reservations about buying into the L mount. 
 

chris

[RobertoSF]

On 11/27/2019 at 10:12 PM, IronFilm said:

Are you making Netflix commissioned productions?

If you are: you'll have plenty of budget to hire Varicam/Venice/whatever!

If you are not: then that list doesn't matter at all.

 

If I make a pilot for a show, with my own gear, and that show is picked-up by a platform, be it Netflix or others, then yes, Varicam and beyond is within budget, as is the whole crew surrounding it. Until then, exploring a look, professional workflow, and most of all story, all with my own gear, matters.

[EthanAlexander]

33 minutes ago, RobertoSF said:

If I make a pilot for a show, with my own gear, and that show is picked-up by a platform, be it Netflix or others, then yes, Varicam and beyond is within budget, as is the whole crew surrounding it. Until then, exploring a look, professional workflow, and most of all story, all with my own gear, matters.

Netflix will buy anything if it's quality content - you don't have to use a camera on their list. That's only relevant to shows they produce, not to ones they distribute after the fact.

[Zak Forsman]

I've had my Z-Cam F6 for a couple of weeks now. It's amazing what they have packed into this little camera. They gave me early access to the firmware they released yesterday which had a lot of color improvements. I also own an S1H and although i planned to sell one or the other, i'm keeping both. The S1H makes run and gun doc work easy. So when i'm hired to shoot behind the scenes footage by the studios, it'll be with the S1H. It will also serve as a B-Cam to my EVA1 for EPK interviews. The Z-Cam F6 on the other hand has strengths i'd want in a cinema camera that I'd use on productions where I'm not flying by the seat of my pants: shorts, features, dramatic documentaries. I'm loving the pairing of my SmallHD 702 Touch with the F6. I know they recommend the PortKeys BM5 because it can control the camera, but I wasn't a fan of the UI or the quality of the screen.