Panasonic unveils the LUMIX S1H - Able to record video in 6K24, will cost $4000

[D13H4RD]

I know I'm a bit late on this 

 

After Panasonic has launched the S1 line of mirrorless camera that feature a 35mm (commonly known as "full-frame) image sensor, with the all-rounder focused S1 and the high resolution stills focused S1R, Panasonic has recently unveiled a third member of the S1 line, the video-focused S1H. 

 

Whilst Panasonic has not shared much details of the S1H as the camera is technically still in its final stages of development, they did indeed confirm that the camera is indeed capable of natively recording in 6K at 24FPS

 

Quote

The S1H “combines the video quality of a professional camera and the high mobility of a mirrorless camera,” Panasonic says. “It accommodates a variety of recording formats like 4:3 Anamorphic mode, to meet professional needs. Its high-resolution data can also be used to create 4K videos with higher image quality or to crop images in 4K.”

 

The camera can shoot 6K/24p with a 3:2 aspect ratio or 5.9K/30p with a 16:9 aspect ratio. It’s also the first full-frame digital interchangeable lens system camera to allow for 10-bit 4K/60p recording.

The camera inherits many features from its other S1 siblings, such as the 5.76 million dot EVF with 120Hz refresh rate, 225-point DFD CDAF system, large 3100mAh battery, an SDXC UHS-II slot alongside an XQD slot, ports for power over USB-C, HDMI output and 2.5/3.5mm jacks for microphone input and headphones for monitoring. There is also no hard-baked recording limit, meaning the only factors that will limit recording time is power, heat and remaining storage. 

Interesting pieces of noteworthy details is that on the prototype (which is claimed to be close to the final version) includes exhaust vents for what is purportedly an internal fan alongside a fully-articulating screen much like on the GH5. 

 

Because the camera won't be ready for orders until a few months from now, Panasonic has not shared much details such as sensor information, autofocus tech, whether 6K recording would incur a Super35 crop and such details, but it does look like they're putting down the gauntlet in the realm of 35mm cameras that focus heavily on video, a realm that Sony practically defined with the a7S line (although one that Canon's EOS 5D Mark II started). With the a7Siii still quite a while away, it would be interesting to see how they respond. 

 

Sources;

NewsShooter

PetaPixel

 

Opinion 

Spoiler

I actually quite like what Panasonic has come up with. From reading the specs list, it does kinda look to be a bit like a glorified GH5, which itself was a very strong video option for hybrid shooters who do more on the video side. $4000 might seem like an exorbitant price but in the realm of cinegear, it's actually not bad. 

 

However, Sony is rumored to be pulling all the stops for the a7Siii although that is nowhere to be seen as of yet. Though if Sony is indeed doing that, it's going to be an interesting battle although a clear advantage for the Sony even though the a7Siii hasn't existed yet is that the E-Mount has a larger lineup of lenses that don't all cost a ton. The L-Mount is mostly made up of expensive Leica lenses as of now although Sigma lenses are coming in soon. 

 

[Fnige]

Now... to my loan people thingies whatever...

 

/s

[PlayStation 2]

Not gonna lie, $4000... doesn't sound bad for a camera capable of recording at higher than 2160p or 4K.

[Tech_Dreamer]

 

ME_IRL

[Sauron]

5 minutes ago, Tech_Dreamer said:

 

 

ME_IRL

You do get 5.9k at 30fps in 16:9, which in the end is what you're realistically going to go for for video production.

 

I think this is a pretty good deal for entry level professional videography, it allows someone to produce 4k video while having room to stabilize or crop frames after the fact without losing quality. It's expensive for amateurs but if you consider how much a higher-than-4k camera from, say, RED would cost you this is a bargain.

27 minutes ago, Dan Castellaneta said:

Not gonna lie, $4000... doesn't sound bad for a camera capable of recording at higher than 2160p or 4K.

yeah exactly

[D13H4RD]

22 hours ago, Dan Castellaneta said:

Not gonna lie, $4000... doesn't sound bad for a camera capable of recording at higher than 2160p or 4K.

Yeah, a lot of people don't really get the context of pricing camera gear aimed towards enthusiasts or working professionals. 

 

There were indeed eye-rolls when Fujifilm came out with the $10,000 GFX100 even though it was very significantly cheaper than the closest competition from Hasselblad and Phase One whilst also offering stuff that the two didn't have, so it was actually considered a bargain in digital medium format context (and no, enough with the "I'd rather buy a Rolex" comments. If you're one of those people, just buy an X-T100 and you'd be happy already). 

 

$4000 is actually a good price when you consider that this is aimed towards videography enthusiasts and those who do it as a job professionally. Yes, it ain't replacing a dedicated cine camera, but Panasonic has built a reputation for making SLR-styled mirrorless cameras that deliver video performance that fits neatly into a videographer's workflow. 

[PlayStation 2]

6 hours ago, D13H4RD said:

Yeah, a lot of people don't really get the context of pricing camera gear aimed towards enthusiasts or working professionals. 

 

There were indeed eye-rolls when Fujifilm came out with the $10,000 GFX100 even though it was very significantly cheaper than the closest competition from Hasselblad and Phase One whilst also offering stuff that the two didn't have, so it was actually considered a bargain in digital medium format context (and no, enough with the "I'd rather buy a Rolex" comments. If you're one of those people, just buy an X-T100 and you'd be happy already). 

 

$4000 is actually a good price when you consider that this is aimed towards videography enthusiasts and those who do it as a job professionally. Yes, it ain't replacing a dedicated cine camera, but Panasonic has built a reputation for making SLR-styled mirrorless cameras that deliver video performance that fits nearly into a videographer's workflow. 

Not to mention the type of hardware it’s packing to properly record and encode 6K video at 24fps. People seem to forget it’s only more recently that we’ve been able to do 2160p60 hardware decoding on the cheap. Now it’s time to go past even that to encode it without any trouble.

[Tiuqu]

8 hours ago, D13H4RD said:

capable of natively recording in 6K at 24FPS

for up to 30 minutes, to bypass "video recorder" tax

/s, maybe, hopefully, idk, is that still a thing?

[D13H4RD]

13 hours ago, Tiuqu said:

for up to 30 minutes, to bypass "video recorder" tax

/s, maybe, hopefully, idk, is that still a thing?

 

22 hours ago, D13H4RD said:

 There is also no hard-baked recording limit, meaning the only factors that will limit recording time is power, heat and remaining storage.

The law for that died recently. Notice that cameras released afterwards didn't pack in a 30 minute limit just for that law such as the a6400 and S1H.

[Clueless_Gamer]

Does the battery come included, or is it an extra $999.  :(

[RoseLuck462]

Cheaper than a Red camera!

[williamcll]

Well at least its 4k performance is good.

[rawrdaysgoby]

Well thank god for cheaper storage options right? 

[D13H4RD]

13 hours ago, Clueless_Gamer said:

Does the battery come included, or is it an extra $999. 

It's included 

[williamcll]

Now that I think about it it's perfect for the new apple monitor.