Panasonic LUMIX S1H Hands On Review

Panasonic officially announced today the S1H – a third member in its full frame mirrorless S camera line. This camera which was first revealed as “in development” back in late May 2019 is now finally official and there is a lot to share about this video oriented model.

The S1H is finally here (actually the camera will start selling at the end of September 2019 but the announcement today is official one and brings with it a lot of technical information that was not available before).

Looking at the specs this camera is a beefed up version of the S1 (same 24MP sensor) but with some important video features added plus some interesting design changes (2X SDXC UHS-II card slots, improved monitor mechanism etc.).

Here is some of the main features of the S1H:

24MP full-frame CMOS sensor (same as the one on the S1).
Dual native ISO (Two dedicated circuits are provided for each pixel).
4:2:2 10-bit internal recording (4k 30p/24p) and 4K 60p with 4:2:2 10-bit external and 4:2:0 10-bit internal.
6K video with full-sensor capture (10 bit) 24p in 3:2 aspect ratio.
Full V-Log gamma profile (matches that of Panasonic Varicam cameras).
No video recording time limit.
Dual-SD card slots (UHS-II with V90 card support.
Anamorphic capture with de-squeezed preview
Variable frame rate (VFR) option.
Dual stabilization (body and lens – if used with IS lenses).
New hinged and fully articulated rear screen (does not collide with an HDMI cable on the side of the camera). The monitor is also significantly brighter than the one on the S1.
H.264 and H.265 internal recording.
Active cooling system.
Many monitoring tools (some are improved compared to what you can find on the S1).
Red light indicator on the front and back of the camera indicating that the camera is rolling.
Price: The S1H will be available in late September 2019 for $4000.

The S1H has a long and very complex list of resolutions and frame rates – the company made a list which you can see below

There are still a number of downsides on this model – probably the most obvious one is the contrast based AF system which the company is trying to improve through firmware updates but it is still significantly less capable than phase based AF systems like the one on Sony and Canon cameras. Another downside is the active cooling system which definitely makes some noise (you will need to use an external mic and make sure it is far away from the camera.

Jordan Drake from DPR and his look at the long awaited S1H

B&H’s look at the S1H shooting a “commercial”

cinema5D specs and details of the new Panasonic LUMIX S1H

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Iddo Genuth

Iddo Genuth is the founder and chief editor of LensVid.com. He has been a technology reporter working for international publications since the late 1990's and covering photography since 2009. Iddo is also a co-founder of a production company specializing in commercial food and product visual content.