The Lumix S1 II sits at $3,200 list price, currently discounted to around $2,900, and it's trying to compete with video-focused cameras from Canon, Sony, and Nikon on both features and value. Whether it actually pulls that off depends heavily on a few specific trade-offs that aren't obvious from the spec sheet.
Coming to you from Josh Sattin, this technically detailed video puts the Lumix S1 II through a real-world review covering image quality, dynamic range, rolling shutter, autofocus, and a handful of quirks Sattin found during his time with the camera. Sattin shot the review itself on the S1 II in 6K open gate in Vlog, so the footage you're watching doubles as a sample. The camera was tested primarily with the Lumix 24-60mm f/2.8, which Sattin notes is exceptionally sharp and likely contributed to the overall look of the image. He graded everything in DaVinci Resolve using color space transforms, and found the colors largely pleasing with only minor adjustments needed to skin tones and red saturation.
The camera's standout feature is its dynamic range boost mode, which Sattin says produces a noticeable and measurable difference in shadow recovery. He ran a window test comparing boost on versus boost off, and the results in the shadows are striking. The trade-off is real though: with boost on, rolling shutter readings in 6K open gate hit 33.1 milliseconds, compared to just 14.8 milliseconds with it off. In the 4K oversampled 16:9 mode, those numbers drop to 28.6 and 12.2 milliseconds respectively. So you're essentially choosing between maximum dynamic range and a faster sensor readout depending on your shooting conditions. The camera has a partially stacked sensor, which helps, but it's not fully stacked, so you won't get sub-10 millisecond readings regardless of mode.
One thing Sattin flags that's easy to overlook: the histogram on the S1 II doesn't accurately represent the full exposure range. He demonstrates this clearly by comparing it against the waveform and false color tools, which he found to be accurate. If you rely on a histogram for exposure, you'll likely underexpose. Stick to the waveform or false color. He also points out that the camera lacks an optical low-pass filter, which keeps the image extremely sharp but opens the door to moiré on patterned fabrics or fine architectural detail. Sattin mentions that at least one third-party company makes a clip-on filter to address this, though he didn't have one to test. Autofocus, which was a known weakness in previous Lumix cameras, shows meaningful improvement here, though Sattin is careful to note he hasn't pushed it in demanding scenarios like wildlife.
Check out the video above for the full rundown from Sattin, including his takes on the ergonomics, the live cropping feature, ProRes Raw recording options, and how the S1 II stacks up against cameras like the Canon EOS C50 and Sony FX3.
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