Walter H

I opened my box. I'm keeping mine & here's why: perhaps 80% of my income comes from clients that want a mix of still (heavy on the stills) and short video content. In this use case, the camera excels. 
It is very fast to use. A Panasonic that finally tethers to Capture One. Gorgeous, robust stills. Very good AF (although I am awaiting that first dimly-lit event). Fantastic IBIS in cropless mode - no more need to bring a gimbal for 60-90 second clips and walking shots (this was a serious knock against the Z8 for me). Nicely implimented, mid-range codec and the CineA2 is my new Eterna (when I don't want a Vlog workflow). Slightly better ergos and good in its own right mechanical shutter. 
I do not think I would keep this as a video-first camera body, which I think will doom it to irrelevance in this forum. I've had no issues in my limited time but the overheating that I am also reading about leaves a bad taste - more so than the rollign shutter concerns. I will experiment but for now, I wouldn't trust it filming 10-25 minute takes continuously over 2+ hours in a warm environment. Maybe 4k/24p would be ok and maybe all would be ok recording to an external SSD? A lot of variables would need to align.
I also note the "crunchiness" from the S5II/x in the video - slight and I need to spend more time with it. @ita149 Any further insights re reducing NR in Vlog? Regardless, for client work, it will NOT be an issue and for flimmaking primarily, I'm keeping my S1. 
Some bitchy posters in other places were droning on and on about how it should have been named the S5RII. Well, bitchers be right. It's a good-feeling camera but it takes more from the S5 line that the S1 series for sure. Rather than an S-Pro lens, it feels more like the 20-60. @MrSMW The shutter is not that wonderfully damped shutter of the S1 but it is a significant improvement over the horrid clatch of the S5. I don't love it, but I'm comfortable with it. 
I greatly disliked the S5's ergos and the S5II/x was better. This is better still. Other than the weight, I love the S1 and the best feeling small body to me is the X-H2s. But this new camera is good, and I may get the grip to help that pitiful battery and for better support with larger lenses.
But again, once I started working with the stills from yesterday's product shoot, no looking back. 

I'm running the camera and 7" Hollyland monitor off one V-mount, recording internally to a Lexar 512 silver CFexpress card. The camera battery is in the grip but fully charged. Camera is powered via usb-c and we are indoors so far about 20-21 C.
The clips/takes are about 30 - 45 minutes each per interview.
I *THINK* the overheating would be at extreme use, ( I have never had to shoot anything at 6k 60p or 120p in Pro Res HQ for 2 hours + in one take.....) but no issue so far with anything that I think is "normal" use!
 

This is reassuring! What was your setup - external power? external or internal recording? if internal, CFExpress or SD or both? HDMI monitoring? environment? 
All of this seems to conspire variably but I cannot bear to watch anymore on the interweb about this camera.

I'm going to keep this short as it's still early days.
So far I've been very happy with my S1rii, the files (stills + Video) are really great, the C1 tethering (FINALLY) is great.
It cuts with my two S5iix footage very nicely, and I haven't had a hint of overheating shooting 2+ hour talking head stuff, (4K 24 MOV)
Battery hasn't been that bad or great for me! The RS is there if you move the camera very fast but nothing that I shoot requires that (YMMV).
I can also report that the Sigma 24-70 L mount works perfectly on it, this is the first non brand L-mount on the Lumix for me and I had some concerns from reading some reports, but knock on wood, so far it's been fine!
Overall, very happy so far..... 

I opened my box. I'm keeping mine & here's why: perhaps 80% of my income comes from clients that want a mix of still (heavy on the stills) and short video content. In this use case, the camera excels. 
It is very fast to use. A Panasonic that finally tethers to Capture One. Gorgeous, robust stills. Very good AF (although I am awaiting that first dimly-lit event). Fantastic IBIS in cropless mode - no more need to bring a gimbal for 60-90 second clips and walking shots (this was a serious knock against the Z8 for me). Nicely implimented, mid-range codec and the CineA2 is my new Eterna (when I don't want a Vlog workflow). Slightly better ergos and good in its own right mechanical shutter. 
I do not think I would keep this as a video-first camera body, which I think will doom it to irrelevance in this forum. I've had no issues in my limited time but the overheating that I am also reading about leaves a bad taste - more so than the rollign shutter concerns. I will experiment but for now, I wouldn't trust it filming 10-25 minute takes continuously over 2+ hours in a warm environment. Maybe 4k/24p would be ok and maybe all would be ok recording to an external SSD? A lot of variables would need to align.
I also note the "crunchiness" from the S5II/x in the video - slight and I need to spend more time with it. @ita149 Any further insights re reducing NR in Vlog? Regardless, for client work, it will NOT be an issue and for flimmaking primarily, I'm keeping my S1. 
Some bitchy posters in other places were droning on and on about how it should have been named the S5RII. Well, bitchers be right. It's a good-feeling camera but it takes more from the S5 line that the S1 series for sure. Rather than an S-Pro lens, it feels more like the 20-60. @MrSMW The shutter is not that wonderfully damped shutter of the S1 but it is a significant improvement over the horrid clatch of the S5. I don't love it, but I'm comfortable with it. 
I greatly disliked the S5's ergos and the S5II/x was better. This is better still. Other than the weight, I love the S1 and the best feeling small body to me is the X-H2s. But this new camera is good, and I may get the grip to help that pitiful battery and for better support with larger lenses.
But again, once I started working with the stills from yesterday's product shoot, no looking back. 

I opened my box. I'm keeping mine & here's why: perhaps 80% of my income comes from clients that want a mix of still (heavy on the stills) and short video content. In this use case, the camera excels. 
It is very fast to use. A Panasonic that finally tethers to Capture One. Gorgeous, robust stills. Very good AF (although I am awaiting that first dimly-lit event). Fantastic IBIS in cropless mode - no more need to bring a gimbal for 60-90 second clips and walking shots (this was a serious knock against the Z8 for me). Nicely implimented, mid-range codec and the CineA2 is my new Eterna (when I don't want a Vlog workflow). Slightly better ergos and good in its own right mechanical shutter. 
I do not think I would keep this as a video-first camera body, which I think will doom it to irrelevance in this forum. I've had no issues in my limited time but the overheating that I am also reading about leaves a bad taste - more so than the rollign shutter concerns. I will experiment but for now, I wouldn't trust it filming 10-25 minute takes continuously over 2+ hours in a warm environment. Maybe 4k/24p would be ok and maybe all would be ok recording to an external SSD? A lot of variables would need to align.
I also note the "crunchiness" from the S5II/x in the video - slight and I need to spend more time with it. @ita149 Any further insights re reducing NR in Vlog? Regardless, for client work, it will NOT be an issue and for flimmaking primarily, I'm keeping my S1. 
Some bitchy posters in other places were droning on and on about how it should have been named the S5RII. Well, bitchers be right. It's a good-feeling camera but it takes more from the S5 line that the S1 series for sure. Rather than an S-Pro lens, it feels more like the 20-60. @MrSMW The shutter is not that wonderfully damped shutter of the S1 but it is a significant improvement over the horrid clatch of the S5. I don't love it, but I'm comfortable with it. 
I greatly disliked the S5's ergos and the S5II/x was better. This is better still. Other than the weight, I love the S1 and the best feeling small body to me is the X-H2s. But this new camera is good, and I may get the grip to help that pitiful battery and for better support with larger lenses.
But again, once I started working with the stills from yesterday's product shoot, no looking back. 

I opened my box. I'm keeping mine & here's why: perhaps 80% of my income comes from clients that want a mix of still (heavy on the stills) and short video content. In this use case, the camera excels. 
It is very fast to use. A Panasonic that finally tethers to Capture One. Gorgeous, robust stills. Very good AF (although I am awaiting that first dimly-lit event). Fantastic IBIS in cropless mode - no more need to bring a gimbal for 60-90 second clips and walking shots (this was a serious knock against the Z8 for me). Nicely implimented, mid-range codec and the CineA2 is my new Eterna (when I don't want a Vlog workflow). Slightly better ergos and good in its own right mechanical shutter. 
I do not think I would keep this as a video-first camera body, which I think will doom it to irrelevance in this forum. I've had no issues in my limited time but the overheating that I am also reading about leaves a bad taste - more so than the rollign shutter concerns. I will experiment but for now, I wouldn't trust it filming 10-25 minute takes continuously over 2+ hours in a warm environment. Maybe 4k/24p would be ok and maybe all would be ok recording to an external SSD? A lot of variables would need to align.
I also note the "crunchiness" from the S5II/x in the video - slight and I need to spend more time with it. @ita149 Any further insights re reducing NR in Vlog? Regardless, for client work, it will NOT be an issue and for flimmaking primarily, I'm keeping my S1. 
Some bitchy posters in other places were droning on and on about how it should have been named the S5RII. Well, bitchers be right. It's a good-feeling camera but it takes more from the S5 line that the S1 series for sure. Rather than an S-Pro lens, it feels more like the 20-60. @MrSMW The shutter is not that wonderfully damped shutter of the S1 but it is a significant improvement over the horrid clatch of the S5. I don't love it, but I'm comfortable with it. 
I greatly disliked the S5's ergos and the S5II/x was better. This is better still. Other than the weight, I love the S1 and the best feeling small body to me is the X-H2s. But this new camera is good, and I may get the grip to help that pitiful battery and for better support with larger lenses.
But again, once I started working with the stills from yesterday's product shoot, no looking back. 

I opened my box. I'm keeping mine & here's why: perhaps 80% of my income comes from clients that want a mix of still (heavy on the stills) and short video content. In this use case, the camera excels. 
It is very fast to use. A Panasonic that finally tethers to Capture One. Gorgeous, robust stills. Very good AF (although I am awaiting that first dimly-lit event). Fantastic IBIS in cropless mode - no more need to bring a gimbal for 60-90 second clips and walking shots (this was a serious knock against the Z8 for me). Nicely implimented, mid-range codec and the CineA2 is my new Eterna (when I don't want a Vlog workflow). Slightly better ergos and good in its own right mechanical shutter. 
I do not think I would keep this as a video-first camera body, which I think will doom it to irrelevance in this forum. I've had no issues in my limited time but the overheating that I am also reading about leaves a bad taste - more so than the rollign shutter concerns. I will experiment but for now, I wouldn't trust it filming 10-25 minute takes continuously over 2+ hours in a warm environment. Maybe 4k/24p would be ok and maybe all would be ok recording to an external SSD? A lot of variables would need to align.
I also note the "crunchiness" from the S5II/x in the video - slight and I need to spend more time with it. @ita149 Any further insights re reducing NR in Vlog? Regardless, for client work, it will NOT be an issue and for flimmaking primarily, I'm keeping my S1. 
Some bitchy posters in other places were droning on and on about how it should have been named the S5RII. Well, bitchers be right. It's a good-feeling camera but it takes more from the S5 line that the S1 series for sure. Rather than an S-Pro lens, it feels more like the 20-60. @MrSMW The shutter is not that wonderfully damped shutter of the S1 but it is a significant improvement over the horrid clatch of the S5. I don't love it, but I'm comfortable with it. 
I greatly disliked the S5's ergos and the S5II/x was better. This is better still. Other than the weight, I love the S1 and the best feeling small body to me is the X-H2s. But this new camera is good, and I may get the grip to help that pitiful battery and for better support with larger lenses.
But again, once I started working with the stills from yesterday's product shoot, no looking back. 

Wide range of reports from folks in wedding videography forums especially. The overheating issue varies camera body to camera body and isn't always predictable. Not a good combination for wedding shooters. I don't shoot weddings anymore personally, but my gear needs closely align with wedding needs. Most importantly, I need to know I can hit record and walk away without fear of problems.

Flirted with the idea of selling my S1 and go for the S1RII but eventually decided to keep it for life.

Parting with this kind of image quality in such a tank built body for 800€ is a crime 🙂

There is something to be said about how my S1 still comfortably covers all my needs 7 years later...

Got my S1RII and like I thought, I'm a bit disappointed.
Stills are great with very good resolution, the Dpreview studio test is odd because the camera is very sharp even when using not so sharp lenses like the 28-200mm. 
But there are better cameras for photography, AF implementation is weird, AF-S is only DFD and the buffer is a joke when shooting high fps pictures.
Video quality is the same than S5II, a bit less sharpening but still the same video engine, it still looks worse than the old gen, the resolution just feels not as good, no matter the mode or resolution used the image doesn't look really sharp in a good way, lines are not straight, some details are missing like if a filter or blur in some part of the image was added. The image looks like there is a slight oil painting touch softening the image at the core. Like on the S5II the rec 709 profiles are worse than V-log.
So it is a bit ironic from Lumix to say "discover unseen details" for their S1RII tagline. Because of this the moire is not too much prononced. Some will like this tradeoff. 
I tested Prores Raw 6K Pixel to Pixel and the image is much better, the weird processing is gone. But I can't get the image right when using Premiere Pro, colors are off, I don't think Prores Raw is really fully supported by Premiere. The crop and the data size also makes this mode hard to use and it is not supported at all by Resolve.
Using the Canon R5 or Z6III for raw is much easier as the files are better supported and there is no crop.
The rolling shutter is just bad when using the DR boost, I didn't think I could see it but I can see jello even with relatively slow movements. In addition 24fps is the max fps we can use with DR boost and Open Gate. I can't select 30fps, maybe a bug.
I think the best modes are 6k or 4k 60fps, there is only a slight crop, worse DR because no DR boost and the image quality becomes even slighltly worse but there is not a big difference with the 30fps and the rolling shutter is better.
I quickly tested the 4k 120fps and as if it isn't enough that the 4k30fps was not great, the 120fps is even worse : blurry, bad details, just unusable. When selecting Pixel to Pixel, the quality is better but again these crop make these Pixel to Pixel modes hard to use and feel like we are using a S35 camera. 
Stabilization is the best in the market and for me it's the main reason I still use Panasonic (with Open Gate too). But the S5II is as good ...
 
The S1RII feels like it was created for people taking mostly photography of still subjects. And for this the camera is good, not the best DR performance but nice colors and impressive 177MP handheld mode (the image makes a very long time to create though, much longer than on the S5II). For video it comes with marketing bait as 8k and 4k 120fps. The 8k like every other modes except raw is too much processed, it has high rolling shutter when the DR boost is enabled and the 4k120fps is not good at all. Yes we can do a lot of things with this camera but with big penalties most of the time.
The added Prores Raw is questionable too, the files are not supported in Resolve and the crop is really disappointing.

The fact remains, however, than the S1RII is the only affordable high resolution camera with acceptable autofocus for L mount. However, I don't see anything which could attract new users to Lumix or L mount, the S5II is a much better value for Youtube and other social media creators. And the A7RIV is much cheaper and has better AF for stills. 3600€ is a lot of money but I would have happily spend a bit more to get better video engine, better rolling shutter and 8k raw. 
As things stand at the moment with the current firmware, I think the right price should be more about 3200€.


About the reviews available online like the one from Northrup, I think the best is to always wait for some Chinese or Korean reviews, they provides much more informations and are much more unbiased than any Northrup or Undone reviews.

Here is an exemple of a good and accurate review :

 

I pick mine up from the store on Monday, excited to check out my own files.

https://www.photonstophotos.net/Charts/RN_e.htm
After you selected the camera, click on the name above the chart, it opens the table

As you see in R5m2 all points are triangles, meaning noise reduction on RAW at all ISO settings. 

I hear you. And a year from now the S1Rii will have made me that difference in price many times over with much less effort than my current camera - an S1 that I bought new in the spring of 2019 that had paid for itself within months of its purchase. 
There just aren't bad choices. There are preferences. There are more optimal choices. But there really are not bad ones.
I am very interested to see and read about people's direct experiences once the cameras are in hand and can make their own evaluations beyond interpreting the internet. The camera has compromises that I believe I'm willing to live with. I am psyched to learn along with others how to best deal with them. 

I’ve got a rental 28-45 arriving next week for a job (which is event coverage) that I’m looking forward to testing out. I’d be happy to report back my findings! I feel the same about the 28 and 40 focal lengths. And a lot of people complaining about its range don’t realize it’s almost the exact FF equivalent of the 18-35.

Every time I think I may be done with the Sigma FP, and think I need AF and IBIS, I mess around with some old footage...
Shot with the 50mm f/1.4 Super-Multi-Coated Takumar

Manny just released a video saying that he made a mistake about the noise is stiils.

According to him, he made the comparison opening all the files in Lightroom - he found surprising that Adobe have compatibility on day one with the new camera. But Panasonic told them after that Adobe jumped the gun and the drivers were not optimized yet - and that he should compare in Capture One, because in C1 they worked together and the drivers were right.

After he opened the files from Panasonic in C1, the noise problem was gone, and the files from the three cameras, bar from color differences, were "indistinguishable". In fact, what cought his attention is that the files from all the cameras were much better (color, details, rendering) in C1 than in Lightroom...
 
 

Summary of the Mackay video is that he won't take a stand on which is better as they both have relative strengths. For the way he shoots, he loves the LUT implimentation and the anamorphic function over the Z8 particularly.
His rolling shutter/stabilization "test" was ridiculous yet he did shred everyone obsessing over it regarding the S1Rii. 
Most striking to me was the shadow noise comparison with a backlit subject. Panasonic is shockingly better to my eye. He states that the Z8 noise could be readily cleaned with NR, but that is a lot of noise in hair and I think would be a bit of a mess without a lot of attention in post. 

Agree 100%.
Problem and an opportunity: problem for everyone who wants a video-capable-forward camera first (and I get that this is a film-making/video first forum); opportunity for others like me who very much need a advanced hybrid camera that can be a workhorse for high-quality stills too.
If this release for the S1Rii would not have been on the horizon for another four to six months, I'd likely have a Z8 in hand now while my bank balance would be crying about another system switch.

Agree 100%.
Problem and an opportunity: problem for everyone who wants a video-capable-forward camera first (and I get that this is a film-making/video first forum); opportunity for others like me who very much need a advanced hybrid camera that can be a workhorse for high-quality stills too.
If this release for the S1Rii would not have been on the horizon for another four to six months, I'd likely have a Z8 in hand now while my bank balance would be crying about another system switch.

Summary of the Mackay video is that he won't take a stand on which is better as they both have relative strengths. For the way he shoots, he loves the LUT implimentation and the anamorphic function over the Z8 particularly.
His rolling shutter/stabilization "test" was ridiculous yet he did shred everyone obsessing over it regarding the S1Rii. 
Most striking to me was the shadow noise comparison with a backlit subject. Panasonic is shockingly better to my eye. He states that the Z8 noise could be readily cleaned with NR, but that is a lot of noise in hair and I think would be a bit of a mess without a lot of attention in post. 

I hear you. I was also disappointed to see the newly released DPR studio results clearly indicating that. The Nikon NEF file holds more detail at higher ISO for sure.
When it comes to H.265, it is all about implimentation and we'll have to see what is not enough vs what is too much in real use. I'm not ready to make a judgement yet. The H.265 in the Z8 has been criticized for smearing and in time Panasonic might be skewered for being too aggressive with NR too, but on the contrary, I've yet to hear of compromises in detail with the S1Rii.
This still is from Cam Mackey's recent video. Skip to 19:45 for more of this.

And don't worry, this thread might be dead soon anyway. 😉
Our beloved source of all things rumor has just announced a video-centric, 24mp camera will be revealed by Panasonic in April. Let's see.

I hear you. I was also disappointed to see the newly released DPR studio results clearly indicating that. The Nikon NEF file holds more detail at higher ISO for sure.
When it comes to H.265, it is all about implimentation and we'll have to see what is not enough vs what is too much in real use. I'm not ready to make a judgement yet. The H.265 in the Z8 has been criticized for smearing and in time Panasonic might be skewered for being too aggressive with NR too, but on the contrary, I've yet to hear of compromises in detail with the S1Rii.
This still is from Cam Mackey's recent video. Skip to 19:45 for more of this.