I'd Say Panasonic's Future Looks Bright

[ProDude]

Who would have thought over a year ago that Panasonic would catapult itself into the professional market quite as strongly as they have. I had the opportunity to work with a S1 for a bit and fell in love. The S1R is a goal and now the S1H for video lovers should prove to be a "go to" camera. For some reason they've sure caught Sony by the short hairs in some regards. Yeah I know unless Sony is waiting to unleash an utter monster in a new released videocentric model.

Otherwise I think it appears Panasonic is in the fight to be a serious contender. If they tighten up their focus system a few more notches they might well overcome the naysayers complaints. I'm sticking to the sidelines at least till next spring to see the smoke clear as the new models enter the fray. Aren't these technology days grand!

 

[Tom Caldwell]

They are a big company and I think that they are determined to be the best. They have a name to make as a camera and lens manufacturer. I think that they listen to comments made and even if our wishes are not always rewarded they are recorded.

Above all they seem to have workshopped user ergonomics seriously unlike Sony who seem to strive for the best performance as well but give less regard to the delights of using a well thought out device.

If they “hasten slowly” it should be the best course of action. I am hopeful that an L-mount camera body made today will still be revered and used in 5+ years time - even 10 years?

They have resisted the temptation of marketing cheap entry level gear in order to try and grab a large slice of the market by buying it. Samsung tried that and made themselves a reputation for “cheap cameras” so that when they did try and make quality gear the market was not going “to buy it” .... Pun intended.

 

[Richard_Wong]

Who would have thought over a year ago that Panasonic would catapult itself into the professional market quite as strongly as they have. I had the opportunity to work with a S1 for a bit and fell in love. The S1R is a goal and now the S1H for video lovers should prove to be a "go to" camera. For some reason they've sure caught Sony by the short hairs in some regards. Yeah I know unless Sony is waiting to unleash an utter monster in a new released videocentric model.

Otherwise I think it appears Panasonic is in the fight to be a serious contender. If they tighten up their focus system a few more notches they might well overcome the naysayers complaints. I'm sticking to the sidelines at least till next spring to see the smoke clear as the new models enter the fray. Aren't these technology days grand!

The autofocus with latest firmware is actually very good.

especially when filming in higher frame rate.

I did some comparison S1 with 1.2 firmware shooting at full HD 60fps with the A7III and the S1 performs just as good or arguably better than the Sony.

And now I've also tested the S1H at 120fps.. i think it's really good even when compare to the Nikon Z 6





(skip to around 9:30 mark)

 

[ProDude]

Who would have thought over a year ago that Panasonic would catapult itself into the professional market quite as strongly as they have. I had the opportunity to work with a S1 for a bit and fell in love. The S1R is a goal and now the S1H for video lovers should prove to be a "go to" camera. For some reason they've sure caught Sony by the short hairs in some regards. Yeah I know unless Sony is waiting to unleash an utter monster in a new released videocentric model.

Otherwise I think it appears Panasonic is in the fight to be a serious contender. If they tighten up their focus system a few more notches they might well overcome the naysayers complaints. I'm sticking to the sidelines at least till next spring to see the smoke clear as the new models enter the fray. Aren't these technology days grand!

The autofocus with latest firmware is actually very good.

especially when filming in higher frame rate.

I did some comparison S1 with 1.2 firmware shooting at full HD 60fps with the A7III and the S1 performs just as good or arguably better than the Sony.

And now I've also tested the S1H at 120fps.. i think it's really good even when compare to the Nikon Z 6
(skip to around 9:30 mark)

From what I saw moving fast forward and back the S1H appeared to lose it quite badly in the early samples. However when you were doing it in both crop mode and against the Z6 it excelled near perfectly and the Z6 failed a lot. Go figure.........

 

[Richard_Wong]

The autofocus with latest firmware is actually very good.

especially when filming in higher frame rate.

I did some comparison S1 with 1.2 firmware shooting at full HD 60fps with the A7III and the S1 performs just as good or arguably better than the Sony.

And now I've also tested the S1H at 120fps.. i think it's really good even when compare to the Nikon Z 6
(skip to around 9:30 mark)

From what I saw moving fast forward and back the S1H appeared to lose it quite badly in the early samples. However when you were doing it in both crop mode and against the Z6 it excelled near perfectly and the Z6 failed a lot. Go figure.........

The reason is the first two tests were done at 30p and 24p. It is a bit slow in response but it is (in my opinion) a lot more reliable and accurate compare to previous DFD

The crop was shot at 4k60p and last (with Z6) is at full HD 120 fps on both cameras.

As you can see, the faster the recording frame rate, the better AF performance

 

[teddoman]

What kind of video AF responsiveness setting were you at? I assume the FF Panasonics have this type of setting.

At least in this controlled setting, it did look quite useable. I didn't notice the unstable wobbly pumping in and out that I've seen on previous CDAF focusing cameras.

 

[Fotoni]

Their premium TVs are top quality. The biggest problem has been customers who don't appreciate top quality enough because it is expensive.

I'm glad that Panasonic didn't stick with M43 sensors only. Video can benefit from narrower focus range and increased low light and dynamic range performance are always welcome. Even though their S1 and S1H are currently the best for full frame video, they do not have insane prices. S1H might get discount quite early because of A7S III, they did discount S1 already.

 

[D Cox]

I think the contrast-based focussing will improve over the years as the processing chips get faster.

 

[jrsforums]

I think the contrast-based focussing will improve over the years as the processing chips get faster.

I agree. To paraphrase Willy Nelson.....faster hardware, better algorithms (and older whisky)

You, I’m sure, know better, but from reading between the lines of past Panasonic interviews, I think that has been there plan for some time.

 

[Chris 222]

I'd say Panasonic's future will be just fine. As to the Lumix brand and Panasonic manufacturing cams, that's a whole other story and I am, sadly, far less optimistic than you are.