Walter H

I have the S1RII and the S1II. I also still have the old S1 and S5.
The S1II is the same than the S5II about video details, even if some youtubers said the details rendering has improved, it's not true at all. Same bad rendering as the S5II.
I understand some people are not bothered or can't see the difference and it's nothing wrong about that, but the difference is clear by example if you zoom inside your videos on people faces.
Like the S5II, there is a sort of rough detail sharpening and in the same time a lack of very fine details.
As always V-log looks better than the 709 profiles but it's still not great in my opinion.
The S1RII also has the same detail rendering and I was very disappointed by the 6,4K Open Gate, it was not better than the 6K of the S5II, maybe even worse, like if this mode used a tiny bit of binning like the 5,9K 16:9.
The new 7,2K is ok and looks better than the 6,4K. 
The 8,1K Open Gate is even better but limited to 24fps. Even if the video engine is the same between the S1II, S5II and S1RII, the later has much more resolution in 8K, hence the fine details looks finer even with the bad processing.
it's only when the footage is a bit underexposed or overexposed that the S1 6K looks better.
I read somewhere something interesting about Real Time Lut, using a burned in lut with a good amount of contrast helps to recover fine details. When recording V-log without Real Time Lut and grading in post, some fine details can't be recovered. I can confirm it's true. So using Real Time Lut V-log on the S1RII in 8,1K Open Gate is the best for details rendering.
I'm glad Panasonic has fixed the colored pixels issue in Prores Raw on the S1RII and now the footage looks great, same details rendering than on the S1 or S5. But it's really crazy we must use Prores Raw to get the same good details rendering than on the S1 or S5 H264/265. And the crop is a shame, 1,45x ! When cameras like the Z8 or Z6III offer 6K or 8K 60fps raw video without crop ...
About the S1II, Prores Raw only has a minimal crop (about 1,05/1,1x I think) and it was the main reason I bought this camera. Like on the S1RII, Prores Raw is excellent and like it has much less crop, fine details looks even sharper (in a good way). Finally we have a Panasonic camera with not only excellent IBIS but also excellent detail rendering and good AF without using external recorder (even if Prores raw is a pain for the workflow).
The only issue I found is the 240fps 1080p mode, it is clearly not finalised because some horizontal lines appear randomly.
I also found the photo raw files of the S1II and S1RII to be slightly less contrasty than the S5 and S1, they have less that punchy looks and I still prefer the rendering of the S5 and S1 with my best lenses like the 50mm S or 24-70mm Pro. it can be because of ACR but the JPEGs out of the cameras also looks slightly less contrasty than on the S5 and S1.
Other than that, IBIS is stellar but sometimes more digital than on the G9II or GH7, color science is good but not as good as the GH6 to my eyes. The S1II also has better AF than the S1RII and I can feel the difference.
Compared to Nikon, Lumix has several advantages like the IBIS and Open Gate. L-mount also has great "practical" lenses but I think they lack really great lenses with very nice rendering and more pancakes.
After using most of the L-mount lenses, only a few looks really fantastic, like the 50mm S Pro (if it has not the coating issue), 24-70mm S Pro, 28-45mm Sigma and the APO Summicron SL. While absolutely great, the APO SL are really too much expensive for most people and it will be hard to attract a lot of people in the system, it is why Lumix try to attract people with smaller lenses and never released again new S Pro lenses since 2019/2020. 
Nikon has better AF most of the time but also more great lenses. The 50mm f1.8 is much better than the Lumix, the Nikon 35mm/50mm/85mm f1.2 and 135mm f1.8 are some of the best lenses you can buy. You can also adapt Sony FE lenses and there are more interesting "cheap" lenses available from third party manufacturers like Viltrox (mainly the 35mm f1.2 and 135mm f1.8).
 

Not especially no, but then maybe that’s because I am a hybrid wedding shooter and not a serious filmmaker? 
I mean it is/was on the list, but in no way would I switch to a camera purely just because it has marginally better highlight roll off when it isn’t so great in other areas, or completely misses the mark.
My criteria as I stated was I am replacing both a 61mp and a 24mp cameras for a 44mp one.
For stills which are 50% of my work, absolutely no way would I be considering a 12mp camera as a viable alternative.
Does the A7Siii meet my requirements for ‘all in one system’? Sure as does the A7iv, the A7RV and well…any/all A7 and FX bodies, but do any of them meet my requirement to shoot 6k open gate video? Nope, not a single one.
As I outlined in my reasoning, I have a minimum set of requirements in order to make any change and one of those was not better highlight roll off.
I don’t think you are necessarily being ‘that guy’, but you completely ignored my requirements and instead posed a question based on what I guess would be your main priority.
And that’s cool.
But regarding highlight roll off specifically, have I considered it?
No, not really. I’ve used full-frame Lumix now for 4.5 years and at no time have I considered it an issue and looking at the footage from the S1Rii that I have seen, haven’t noticed anything untoward.
I haven’t looked at or even aware of any comparisons in this specific area either. 
So back to my best Scooby Doo voice, “Idunnoknow” 🤷‍♂️

congrats,
The S1Rii may not be a dream camera, but it's been a fantastic tool that just shows up and works.
I really enjoy the files for stills, (I've mostly pushed mine into stills duty) tether shooting into C1 feels a wee bit slow, but not bad enough to make it annoying. The only strange thing the s1R2 has done for me is make me want a GFX100ii 🙂

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.