Best Panasonic Lumix S1R Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals & Sales 2020:

After clearing the market for hybrid cameras with Olympus more than 10 years ago. Panasonic is tackling the 24×36 market with an ambitious S1R with a bit of delay. A daring, but inevitable bet.

Presentation

Change of direction. After having praised the compactness and lightness of Micro4 / 3 format cameras and optics for years. Panasonic has decided to respond to the increasing demands of photographers for whom the 24×36 remains a Grail. It must be said that small sensors are increasingly abused by the constant progress of smartphones in terms of image quality. If the photograph is not limited to the size of a sensor – it is naturally necessary to take into account the aiming, the autofocus, the reactivity, the burst … -, this one directly influences the quality of the images and the creative potential with in particular the famous bokeh. The market seems to be inevitably moving towards large sensors and Panasonic has decided to take the step with not one but two boxes, 

Panasonic intends to play the troublemaker in a 24×36 hybrid market already well occupied with the Z6 and Z7 of Nikon, the Canon EOS R and RP and of course Sony which declines A7 boxes for several years and which reigns supreme on this segment. To achieve this, the Osaka brand released the big game with a real S1R concentrated on the brand’s know-how in photos: 47 Mpx sensor, mechanical stabilization, 5 Mpx viewfinder, swivel and touch screen, autofocus doped with ‘AI, 4K video mode and construction in the worst conditions. Enough to shade already well established brands.

Best Panasonic Lumix S1R Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals & Sales 2020

1. Panasonic LUMIX S1R Full Frame Mirrorless Camera with 47.3MP MOS High Resolution Sensor. L-Mount Lens Compatible, 4K HDR Video and 3.2” LCD – DC-S1RBODY

2. Panasonic Lumix DC-S1R Mirrorless Digital Camera with 24-105mm Lens – Panasonic Accessory Bundle. Extra Panasonic DMW-BLJ31 Battery and Charger + Panasonic DMW-RS2 Remote Shutter + More

3. Panasonic Lumix DC-S1R Full-Frame Mirrorless Digital Camera with 24-105mm Lens-Bundle with 64GB Memory Card + More

4. Panasonic LUMIX S1R Full Frame Mirrorless Camera with LUMIX S PRO 50mm F1.4 Lens and Authentic LUMIX S Series Vertical Battery Grip

5. Panasonic Lumix DC-S1R Mirrorless Digital Camera (Body Only) with Deluxe Accessory Bundle. Includes: SanDisk Extreme PRO 64GB Memory Card, Camera Carry Case, Slave Flash & Much More

Reactivity

The Panasonic Lumix S1R is a very pleasant case to use with a very good general reactivity. We can, however, blame him for turning on a slow hair and an autofocus behind compared to the competition in low light. In good light conditions, the S1R proves to be formidable with its very rapid development.

Autofocus

With the gradual disappearance of mirrors, autofocus systems using the main sensor have rapidly evolved. From contrast detection systems, many brands have migrated to hybrid solutions which more or less successfully combine contrast detection and phase correlation. Panasonic has chosen not to use phase correlation, but to make the best use of contrast detection with in particular the DFD system (Depth From Defocus) which makes it possible to determine the direction of focus by analyzing the blur. To support its autofocus system, Panasonic has deployed an algorithmic layer based on machine learning. The S1R is therefore now able to recognize humans and animals and accelerate the development.

In the field, the Panasonic Lumix S1R also performed well, especially with the body / face / animal detection mode. Recognition is very fast and the follow-up impressive. In classic mode, contrast detection also works very well, with a slight flicker in the viewfinder (vibrations to find the point) in AF-C mode. In low and very low light, focusing is more delicate and the system tends to pump to find the point. Under these conditions, the S1R is for example less reactive than the Sony A7 III  and is practically on a par with the recent Canon EOS RP 

Burst and AF tracking

No problem on the side of the burst rate since the S1R collides at practically 9 fps in mode without autofocus tracking (AF-S), whether in JPEG or RAW + JPEG. In AF-C mode, the rate “drops” to 6 fps, which is reasonable for a 47 MP

In full light and with human / face recognition activated, the S1R equipped with 24-105 mm f / 4 offers good subject tracking at 6 fps with an acceptable waste rate. 

We also experienced the S1R in continuous autofocus mode on a person moving towards the photographer with a determined step (1/1000 s and f / 4). In several trials, we have had a success rate of around 70%, which is very good. Note that the extracts presented are 100% cropping of 47 MP files. 

The Panasonic Lumix S1R is a very pleasant body to use and if we could fear that the autofocus system with contrast detection will be outdistanced by hybrid systems with phase correlation, it is not. Supported by the detection of subjects (humans, faces, animals) and the DFD system, the autofocus is relevant and quick to react. Perfectible in low light (with 24-105mm f / 4), the S1R’s autofocus demonstrates all of the brand’s know-how on contrast detection systems.

Image quality

Electronic noise management

The files delivered by the S1R are remarkable up to ISO 6,400 and it will be possible to push up to ISO 12,800 without too many problems or with a little post-processing. In this respect, the new 24×36 hybrid from Panasonic does as well as the Sony A7R III and better than the Nikon Z7. 

Latitude of exposure

The dynamic range of the Panasonic Lumix S1R sensor is 6 EV. The performance is good, even if a little behind that of the  Lumix S1 . The S1R does a little better in the highlights, but also does less well in the shadows. The total range is therefore both more balanced, but also slightly reduced. If performance remains good, the more marked appearance of less aesthetic noise will tarnish the picture.

Video

While Panasonic is a well-known and recognized player in the video industry, both at the consumer and professional levels, the S1R naturally comes to position itself as a new benchmark in this field. 

Indeed, this 24×36 hybrid is the first to offer UHD recording (no 4K in 4096 x 2160 px in the program) in 60p. Please note, the entire surface of the sensor is not used and a slight cropping of 1.09x is to be expected. Cropping that is not in HDTV 1080 mode. You can choose to crop voluntarily in APS-C format and benefit from a 1.5x digital zoom or to work without pixel grouping with even greater cropping (2 , 18x in 4K and 4.36×8368 / 384 in 1080). The box offers numerous assistants (magnifying glass / focus peaking) for focusing or exposure (zebras).

The Panasonic Lumix S1R also offers different slow motion modes: 2x in UHD and up to 6x in HDTV 1080. Unlike the S1 which can be updated to use V-Log mode from Panasonic. The S1R can only count on the image profiles to standardize renderings. The housing offers CineLike D and V modes, classics from Panasonic on video. The recording is done in MP4 format in 4: 2: 0 8 bits and only the S1, via an update, will be able to deliver a 10 bit recording on card or HDMI output. It is in this respect that the S1 is more video oriented than the 47 MP model.

On the sound side, the S1R is equipped with two microphones placed on top of the electronic viewfinder for stereo recording. The box is also equipped with a stereo microphone input in mini-jack format and a headphone output to assess the capture and any errors. 

Precision

First, we compared the different UHD recording modes depending on the sensor surface used: 24×36 / APS-C and only the pixels required. The 24×36 mode gives the least precise image and in a rather surprising way. It is the APS-C mode and not Pixel / pixel which delivers the most precise image.

We naturally compared the Panasonic Lumix S1R to its main competitors, like the Sony A7R III and the Nikon Z7 in UHD recording. The differences are subtle, but very present. Sony and especially Nikon are more precise, but have fairly pronounced aliasing and colored moiré effects. The rendering of the Panasonic S1R is softer and a little less precise, but ultimately more balanced. 

In HTDV 1080 mode, the observation is somewhat identical with a rendering at Panasonic softer and less accentuated. For different cameras, you can naturally play on the rendering of images by playing with different parameters such as contrast, sharpness, saturation or reduction of electronic noise.

Autofocus

In video, the autofocus mode works well, with good reactivity, while respecting a welcome fluidity in video. With the 24-105mm f / 4, focus is very quiet and you can also use manual focus using focus peaking . Too bad the magnifying glass is not active during filming to further facilitate focusing with the eye

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