Jordan takes a first look at the new Panasonic S1H while wrestling with the moral struggle of cheating on his beloved GH5.
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Editor's note: Instead of a sample gallery, we're providing several ungraded clips from the S1H for download so that you can try grading it yourself. (See the links below the chapter markers.) If you have difficulty playing the clips try using the VLC media player.
Been meaning to watch this for a while, and just got round to it. Hell, never mind the camera (which was, itself, awesome) - I was blown away when they switched to the Sigma primes. The shift in quality really stood out. WANT. Probably would have difficulty even lifting, but WANT.
That shot accidentally had the IBIS disabled. After considerable back and forth, we decided to stabilize the footage in post. Unfortunately, the rolling shutter jitters remain.
The majority of the episode had the IBIS on, and you can see that it does an excellent job. However, rolling shutter is quite pronounced on all but the Super 35 and 1:1 modes.
Yeah, I thought it was weird that one section had that Adobe Warp Stabilizer look to it, and figured that something must have gone wrong with production.
BTW, Jordan do you remember what the firmware version was with the S1H you were shooting ? Lok Cheung tested the S1H and he was working with firmware 0.4B, so I'm curious to know what firmware people are working with right now.
If the DC-S1 H body sells for $4,000, and the L lenses cost another $1,000 to $2,000, it is sure out of my league. Few small commercial operators, and fewer enthusiasts, have a real need for 10-bit or 6k video.
Better values: $2,200 for an a7iii, with a kit lens included, $3,000 for two GH5 bodies, $1,600 for an a6500 with lens, or affordable Canon, Nikon, Fuji, and Olympus hybrids with better or comparable AF. Manual focus pulling, on the fly, is no easy act.
"Value" gets little weight in the camera reviews, unless a value score were at the very bottom of the scale. A high price may also be excused, as in the case of a yacht, if a product is presumed suitable for the very affluent or for GAS victims easily swooned to lose their monetary sanity. Jordan, up to point 1:00 in the video, mulls over several sane reasons not to upgrade from his GH5. But no mention of cost? That is the hardest factor to dismiss, unless a person suddenly goes woo-hoo, as seems to happen at 1:01.
Most of the "better value" camera's in your list don't have the videocentric features that the S1H has. I think this camera is trying to compete with RED and other dedicated video cameras as a low cost alternative (relatively speaking)...maybe as a b-roll camera or one that can be placed into high risk environments (eg explosive stunts) where you don't want to loose a more expensive cam.
Ignore the moral struggle, Jordan. I have seen GH5 hanging around with so many other blokes that you couldn't even count on your fingers. It is not faithful to you either ;-(
his is good news! Well done, Panasonic! This camera is really for the cinematographer or film makers. Sony and those who have invested in that already, won't likely switch en masse.
IF this uses the sony sensor, this already forebodes what the A7S-3 is capable, at least sensor wise. Whether the A7S-3 will have those video tools, codecs, is another thing. But from a standpoint of sensor and processor,
What happens to MFT now?
It will remain there for a while. I think Panasonic has a lot on its plate already & just let things go on for now. Decide later. They should just focus on their 35FF MILCs and hope they can ease the MFT to transition to it. Well, at least those who are into the GH family. And if they do well, maybe they can steal some from Sony too! But for sure, Canon and Nikon are not even players in this arena. What is certain is, we are all now moving into these higher priced cameras and the 2 incumbent leaders simply cannot compete.
Oh no!! Not `yet another` micro 4/3rds demise post, i for one `do not` want to transition to 35FF MILCs, i am totally happy with my GH5, and i am sure there are plenty others out there who feel the same, Panasonic has already `CONFIRMED` that it will `continue` to develop` the micro 4/3rds system for the foreseeable future, along with new cameras and lenses, also Olympus is highly dedicated to furthering the format for the foreseeable future along with Black Magic, JVC, SHARP, and some major lens manufacturers etc!! they have both recently celebrated over ten years manufacturing micro 4/3rds equipment, not bad for a system that the ff and dslr fanatics laughed at, at its inception, cant wait until the rumoured GH6 becomes a reality, and what superb Panasonic features it will have in replacement for the awesome GH5, perhaps the new TOF focusing system for a start, now that alone would be nice!!
MFT will still be there but obviously everything is trending towards larger sensors as they have great low light ability and plenty of indie filmmakers are not lighting their scenes like Spielberg.
Everything is trending towards larger sensors because it's the only new flavor they have to sell. MFT cameras still produce solid results. ( on DvxUser some folks are hoping that the GH6 is a MFT version of the S1H, and I would be 100 percent behind buying a GH6 like this, even if it ends up being a $3K camera )
One of the things that stands out about the camera is how nice its menu system is. It's easy to forget but that can be really important in real world usage.
Panasonic has done a nice job with the usability and ergonomics. These are features too.
Nice work guys! Jordan - you have a chance to take Hollywood by storm in their next romantic comedy :-)
I'm just wondering what I am seeing starting at 7:24. Is that rolling shutter combined with some kind of digital stabilization (or I guess maybe IBIS)? I assume Chris was hand-holding the camera at that point. The wobbles are more pronounced than I would think and pretty distracting. At around 8:00 there is twitching along the edges - hence I was wondering about an electronic IS happening.
I'm not at all a video guy, but I can appreciate how awesome this camera appears to be. Seems to be another 'bar-raiser' camera that will force everyone else to up their game in the video world.
Even Jordan appears at least a bit disappointed: he would jump onto S1H and 24-70/2.8 lens combo, but the weight difference, compared to a similar GH5 setup, is only 1 kg. Mere 1kg is not sufficient. If the difference was, say, 3kg, I think he would be very pleased.
I think he is thinking that adding Panasonic's 50/1.4 lens, which is about 1kg and $3k+, will add to the weight, prestige, and make his weight lifting exercise, and DPR's mirrorless FF evangelism, more compelling chore. It getting close to the 3kg difference.
You’re trying to guess what is in somebody else’s mind? With zero evidence? Did you even watch the video? He’s Totally Excited about the camera! And for what it does, did you miss the discussion in the video mentioning that comparable cameras are a lot bigger!!!
Hybrid camera that's excellent for stills and with class-leading video features, but at a price point that's nearly currently half that of the S1H if you don't need the additional specialized video features of the S1H.
BAD AF = BAD CAMERA... why a fully articulated when you have unreliable AF?!?!??!? 4000$ for a camera with bad AF????? Even in 1080p????? are we all crazy???!?
Yeah why care about things actual dps use and need if you can have an amazing af they don't? No 10 bit for video is like telling a pro photographer to stick with jpeg. Possible but much worse than having good vs. Great AF.
I've been impressed with the S1 and S1R along the way having worked with an S1 for nearly a month back in the spring. This shows how serious Panasonic is at heading for the professionals. Good for them. I expect some even more impressive releases in the next coming year or so.
So does this mean I have to pile my GH5 and related gear on the lawn and set it on fire? I don't actually own a GH5, but I will buy one so I can be bummed out that I don't have the full-frame S1H.
Puzzling why camera makers keep leaving out punch-in support for focusing while recording video. There are technical challenges for sure - when recording is active the sensor is in a specific readout mode, which means the options for the pixel-level readouts needed for magnified view are limited (basically firmware has to use the 1080/4K feed coming off the ASIC). But even that is better than nothing, and what Sony appears to have implemented in their punch-in support on their A7 bodies.
Jordan's on-screen persona has evolved nicely since he and Chris signed on with DPReview, IMO. He and Chris both project a lot of charisma and their vocalizations keep the videos interesting. Well done guys!
I don't think it's a speed bump. To me, 8K is not going to make sense for most people, ever. To a studio, they probably won't be happy until they have 16K (which is 15360x8640 or 132.7mp). For great 4K, you're going to want 6K or 8K to play around with. 6K is not native to anything display wise but that's irrelevant if it's just an upstream format to what you'll be producing.
Thoughts, we aren't talking $1500 for a GH5 that you can burn video through for the interim. We are talking $3999 for this body plus thousands more for its absurdly priced lenses. That makes buying an interim 6K product like this much less viable.
Few people have 4K TVs still. 8K is going to be very niche for years. And 6K on an 8K TV under 100 inches will look as good at normal viewing distances.
@fprime: $3999 in the video world is still inexpensive. And as others have said, 6K will be around for a while. Why would you expect the market to change so quickly given the adoption rate of 4K?
And just when do you expect a mirrorless hybrid camera that can do 8K for under $5000?
It's not an interim product any more than a 4K camera is. It can be used to produce higher quality 4K content, just as a 4K camera can be used to produce great looking 1080p.
fPrime - until you start seeing cameras with dedicated NVMe SSDs for memory, you aren't going to be seeing 8K.
And those 8K cameras are still not going to be consumer cameras.
Realistically, we're looking at 4K staying the most common high-end distribution format for the foreseeable future. I would not expect anything higher than that for at least a decade, if only because streaming is the major destination for most professional content to drive adoption, and many consumers in North America don't even have high speed internet to accommodate 4K streams at a decent bit rate...
If you're worried about adopting 6K because it might be replaced, you're going to be forever living in the future fussing about what might come out next. Worry about "interim formats" all you want, it sounds like you're the one who is going to get left behind by the march of progress.
you're overselling the storage speed needs. 8K is likely going to be 400mbps h265. 400mbps isn't too much for flash cards. The GH5s already outputs that bitrate.
We're not far from 8K, it's true. That's not the point. This camera will be useful for producing higher quality 4K output compared to other products (less than 6 figures).
FWIW, if you're farther than screen width away from the screen you most likely cannot see difference over 4k. In static image. In video it's even worse. 10b and HDR make an immediate difference observable by almost everyone. I doubt 8k (or 6k) will be sensible delivery for 2D videos anytime soon if at all. For example, we don't have 48bit 192kHz audio even though it would be trivial to deliver.
otto's right, but the human ear can't tell the difference between 24/96 and 20/48 either but we still record mostly in 24-bit/96khz because it has so much processing room before you even have to think about sampling. Similarly, 4K is going to max out the entire "sit on a couch and look at a fraction of a wall" 2D resolution our eyes can detect. Headsets (VR) and movie theaters occupy a bit more viewing angle and those with good eyesight might notice some detail difference but we're reaching the limits of eyesight. Still to deliver the best 4K quality, you're not going to want to record in ONLY 4K. That's too limiting in the editing process. 6K or 8K, they're mostly going to deliver 4K so although more is always an advantage, 6K delievers most of that advantage and any more is further down diminishing returns.
24bit audio is needed for recording but for delivery the finished song ... even 16bit is easy. It's the same here. Broadcast 4k but record in 6-8k fro croping/downscaling/... I really like what they did in the interview situation. Just one camera and some edits and at least it doesn't get boring.
640K was actually 1024K and the upper (or Hi Memory area) was reserved for drivers and other mappings. But yes, that is a long time ago and I rather not remember the days of trying to squeeze a bunch of things into himem in order to get more out of the 640K :P
I was skeptical Panasonic would be able to add enough unique functionality to justify the S1H over the S1 but after watching this video I'm a believer.
I'm no video guy but I know a few and they are very excited about this camera. The consensus so far seems to be that this is the best mirrorless camera so far for video.
Kudos to Panasonic; they've created, as Jordan says, a very exciting product.
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