DPReview TV: Panasonic S1 Review

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[stevevansak]

As a new S1 owner, I’d say this is a fair assessment of the camera. I shoot portraits and weddings and it’s working out great! I wouldn’t choose this system (as of yet) if I were tracking sports, etc. This does not mean C-AF is worthless. I tracked couples walking down the aisle of a dark church today with no issues. Of course, they aren’t zig zagging like crazy and speeding up and slowing down. I can tell you that the camera feels GREAT and the controls are placed just right. For battery life there are a variety of power saving modes and for long shooting like I do you will want to experiment with those.

[christopherfrost]

Nowadays watching DPReview TV is like watching DigitalRev TV in the Kai Wong days, only a bit more chilled and analytical (so essentially....better)

[leerothman]

It is so very important for any photographer to determine their priorities they will incur regarding their shooting habits and styles. That said in MY case continuous focus has never been an issue. Having been a professional wedding photographer years ago, and now sticking to Real Estate, Portraits and Landscapes I'm finding, after having already worked with the Nikon, Sony and Canon offerings, this S1 is literally made for me. Superior build, better EVF, more useful feature sets and ergonomics you simply fall in love with. I know there are so very many reviewers and potential owners that will push this camera aside due to it's DFD, but in some ways I'm finding it so darn fast and accurate for my style of shooting I can't imagine a Hybrid for what I do any further. As I say each shooter needs to evaluate their priorities, but if they primarily shoot relatively slow or still subjects this camera WILL capture your heart.

[PischkePerformance]

After owning my S1 for a couple of weeks now, I can agree with almost everything said here. The continuous AF in my experience has been very reliable, I shoot a lot of cars and racing and it tracks them perfectly.

[REZrblde]

I love the S1 and all but honestly im falling DEEPLY in love with Canada's landscapes. The Calgary area where you guys always shoot and the places you go to. Absolutely breathtaking scenes.

[FotosyMas.]

I tried this camera at my local store. The ergonomics are great and the single shot autofocus was instantaneous even in the somewhat poorly lit store. People need to stop complaining about not being able to use tracking to photograph their kids running around. Instead they need to work on their technique and not rely 100% on automation. I photograph my 5 year old running in the park and around the house with my manual focus Leica M240 with a pretty high hit rate, even at f2. Not because I’m good, but because I practiced a lot and learned about focus traps, hyper focal distances and other terms unknown to modern enthusiasts.

[wylie_photo]

I have bought the S1, and it's a really nice camera to use. The ergonomics, EVF and fun factor is great. It also feels lighter than it looks, oddly as it is heavy. The autofocus is not as bad as people make out, it does miss things but the focus tracking does work if you set the camera up right and (a) get the camera to lock on at the start and (b) the subject is not too far away (e.g. about 40ft+). It does lose focus from about a meter out. I have put it through its paces to test it, using my children running, jumping and doing all sort of things to fool the system! Coming from a Canon 1DXii (and Sony A9), it's definitely not in the same league as either of these cameras. But, it's not as terrible as people are reporting. Bottom line is the AF is good enough for most normal applications, but it you shoot sport or wildlife, then avoid it (it's not marketed as this sort of camera anyway).

[DGBomber]

Well even if the AF isn't great, at least I can track a dinosaur if I find it.

[DinoJagger]

been loving my S1 and I shoot music and live events. More of a single AF type of guy and it works super well for that.

[JanneRanta]

Good that you dont skip over the autofocus shortcomings. Other videos I've seen either skip them completely or downplay them.

[quiteenough]

instead of music, you should use Chris' singing in every video from now

[michaelnewell]

the problem with the lighter, more compact full frames is that the lenses are as big & heavy as they always have been, that makes them feel unbalanced IMHO. i couldn't be happier with my G9 - great controls, viewfinder, & balance

[TheOfficialFusionProductions]

Just grabbed an Panasonic S1 and I’m really enjoying it, also the intro was hilarious 😂

[drpork]

1940's: We'll have flying cars





2019: Dinosaur Auto Focus

Edit: lol Thanks everyone for the comments and likes <3

[DONNYLAI]

1:42 The origin of the iconic "Jordan Crying in Fetal Position" ....

[AndrewSowerby]

Gorgeous image quality, but it's a shame about the lack of phase detect AF. That's not really a deal breaker for me though, because, as a Pentax shooter, I'm used to sticking to single point AF and using some old-fashioned techniques to get a good hit rate on my shots. Also, my shooting style is fairly slow and steady, and I don't tend to run and gun, so I don't suppose I'd really care about the shortcomings of the DFD system too much.
What really rules it out for me is the price tag, and lack of lenses, and I'm sure most people would feel the same. This is nothing that we didn't know before this camera was even released, but it's nice to see such great image quality, ergonomics and UI, so it's not completely D.O.A. and may work for some people (with fairly deep pockets).

[airdailyx]

I love Jordan, he doesn’t smile, sugarcoat, or glad hand. He just gives it to you like it is straight up!

[ricardorgomez]

"Life finds a way...." Awesome. :-)

I'm firmly in the Panasonic m43 camp. But if I was to go back to FF, one of these Panasonics would do it. Most likely, the S1R.

Okay, so video AF isn't as good as the best. And still needs work. I have to say, I admire Panasonic for sticking to their guns. It would be easy to say "Let's just do PD and make everyone happy". Even with the 'inferior' AF, GH5 and GH5s still are the best selling Indie and small production video cameras. So good for them.

Panasonic knocked it out of the park with these cameras. Keep up the good work DPR and Panasonic!

[timberwolves]

Sounds to me like the G9 is still Panasonics best overall stills camera if you don't need ultra low light performance or ultra shallow depth of field. Continous Autofocus is actually quite good on the G9. Stabilization and rolling shutter also performs better.

[ScottJWaldron]

Like Chris said, I think the S1R makes a lot more sense for most use cases I could see this combination of features being desired.