Walter H

The thread is sleeping, so I thought about sharing updates after having used the S1 for a month (and the newly announced firmware updates are a good occasion for that !).
So I used the S1 during a 1 month arctic journey across northern Swedish mountains and Norway in last September/October. I only took the S1, for photo and video, and brought with me the 24-105 f4 kit lens and the Sigma 14-24 2.8 dg dn (the new one, designed for mirrorless) which I brought 3 weeks before I left home.
I wanted to film (not doing time lapse) the northern lights, but we were not very lucky with the intensity of lady aurora, despite one or two explosions in the sky, and the f2.8 aperture of the sigma was not enough. I will soon sell the Sigma and buy a 20 1.4 Sigma art, and maybe wait for the newly announced pana 16-35 f4... (or a used canon 16-35 f4).
I was a bit frustrated with longer reach need, because, when I bought the S1, I thought the ex.tele converter worked the same as on Sony (clear zoom if I remember) and on the GH5 and G9. So I did not bring any tele for this trip (despite still having at home a Canon 200 f2.8 L ii prime at that time), hoping to film with the 24-105 at 105mm in apsc mode + exteleconv. Some days before leaving home, I discovered that it does not work in 4k… So on 1 or 2 occasions, to film wildlife or distant landscape, I used 1080, and pixel/pixel mode. I checked the results at home on my computer, and the results are really really awful eheh ! APSC mode is, on the other hand, really good ; so, in the end, I had a little reach on some occasions.
I really love the range of the 24-105, and find it very useful. Fot this kind of trip, it is perfect ; maybe the newly announced (yeah, so much "newly announced" today !) Sigma art 24-70 f2.8 dg dn will be better, I'll keep a close eye on it. The Sigma 14-24 f28 dg dn is a wonderful lens for photos, sharp enough for me in the corner, light etc. But the inability to put a vari nd on it was useless for video. I bought it for nighttime auroras filming, but a 20 1.4 + a wide zoom that takes filters will serve me better.
I encountered minor bugs  : occasionally, when I pressed the review button to check my images, it said "no valid pictures on card". Had to turn off the camera and I could access again my images. I had 1 or 2 freezes (really less than my fujis that used to freeze very very often) too. Ah, and the camera is slooooooooow to operate. Drives me crazy when in a rush !
All in all, it worked very well, even during snow storms and -10°C temperatures, and was covered with ice and used under rain with no problems. The handling and controls are phenomenal, especially in shitty conditions.
So far, I only reviewed my footage on my computer since I came back home, and I barely touched the camera again (little time) but I managed to play with some clips. The Vlog shots are gorgeous... really ! I tried to play with them with filmconvert nitrate and varicam profile (I need to try the """newly announced""" ? S1 profiles), and with the varicam luts supplied by panasonic, and I love everything about it : colors, look... I think i prefer the result I obtain by applying Resolve's color space transform to the vlog clip, and then tweaking it to taste. I am still learning and, thus, is a horrible color corrector, but with minor stuff applied, I obtain a really pleasing result.  I also filmed a lot with Cine-d and HLG. The former seems to be very good, and the latter... I still did not figure out how to treat it in Resolve eheh. I wish I had more time to learn the camera prior to departure, because I played with the flat profile last week-end, and I really like it too. One thing I instantly noticed is the iso capabilities : amazing !
I sadly found some missed focus shots while reviewing my clips. More than I wanted... I mainly used MF, but with a lot of "AF first then switch to MF", and maybe the struggling AF in low contrast scene + not always easy to check the focus peaking in bad weather conditions + my poor fillmmaking skills are to blame.
On the still side, not a lot of things to say : wonderful high iso performance, very flexible files... everything you want from a modern 24mp sensor. A great machine for my use : landscape, documentary, astro photo...

Sorry for the very unprofessional review ahah, hope some of you will find something useful. I attach just for the fun an image I took inside the tent, after a short night (I still have to post process my photos). Don't pay attention to the "clean" appearance of the camera... I was always wiping it, as it was often covered with snow and rain ? 

I will sell my Sigma 14-24 2.8 and, in the future, I will slowly build  a kit with a wide angle prime, lenses like the samyang 135 f2, takumar 50 1.4, and maybe the coming panasonic S lenses...
But for now, I will add the smallrig cage for the S1 + a cheap 5.5" monitor, and I think about buying a Panasonic G9 + pana leica 200 f2.8 + tc (unbelievable sales + cashback right now) . It will allow me to "deport" the long reach video and photo use to this setup.

@omega1978 sorry, I promised you to take sample images with the sigma 14-24, but I did not find time to do it before leaving. Did you put your hands on it ??

I'll shoot 30 seconds of FF VLog and Super35 VLog and upload the files straight from the card to my Google Drive this weekend.
There is, of course "some" difference is noise shape and pattern between FF and Super35. I did some lens cap noise tests between the two modes. The full frame mode has the advantage of 6k oversampling and the Super35 does not, it's of course a 1:1 4k readout. So, the ff scaled down noise is a finer grit. It's texture is very small. Whereas the Super35 is a larger, more common looking pattern but still truly excellent for a super35 camera. 
Panasonic amazingly gives us some noise reduction control! As you know, noise reduction is a DESTRUCTIVE process. Once it's applied to an image, it can never be removed in post. It's artifacts are burned in. I record entirely with noise reduction pulled back to "0".  I would MUCH rather surgically and more carefully remove noise in post than have any camera do it in real time for me. (for serious projects that I care about, not simple dumb stuff)
Again,...this S1 sensor is clean, clean clean. Even the tiny noise that it does produce is "pretty" looking.
I can't stress enough just how much it's dynamic range is in VLog.....wow!
CT

So did Panasonic, Sony, Olympus, Fuji and Canon. An Atomos rep told me years ago when demonstrating the Shogun that they could do Raw to prores and later raw to raw over HDMI. He told me all the camera manufacturers where informed and they just needed to say "go".
So I naturally assumed the A7sii, which wasn't announced at the time, would be first. But no, they all decided to drag their feet for a couple of years first.
Thank god for black magic.

HA!,...its funny that you say that as I'm holding my S1 with the MC21 adapter and the Sigma 18-35 f1.8 right now as I type this. It REALLY looks great. I can tell you also that ramping iris open and close is pretty smooth too. AF in video is very accurate with "AF-ON" one push AF.
Don't worry about Super35 mode. It looks just as beautiful as FF in terms of VLog, dynamic range and signal to noise ratio.
This image sensor in VLog is blowing my mind.
CT

I also "pestered" @Sage in the other thread. Dunno if they appreciate it or not but I do think a growing number of video-oriented folks are going to pick up this camera, whether they also work with the GH series or as a stand-alone. 

I also "pestered" @Sage in the other thread. Dunno if they appreciate it or not but I do think a growing number of video-oriented folks are going to pick up this camera, whether they also work with the GH series or as a stand-alone. 

@Sage As a very new Panasonic S1 owner and being extremely impressed by the image you have created, I'm piling on with others who have said they would be very interested in applying this to the S1. 
Thanks, and I will follow this thread. 

I am also picking up my S1 later today. Glad and nervous - big shift. (And a return to Panasonic after a bunch of years away with Canon and Fuji.)
Looking around for VLog exposure guides (other than what is available for the GH5/-s) and happened upon this - https://na.panasonic.com/ns/253602_V-Log_Excerpt.pdf - which may not be anything new for many on this thread, but might be helpful for others. It was for me - some good reminders.
Curious about sharpening Vlog shots vs. the same shots in CineD or Flat - needed?

@Skip77 You are not trying to help. You are jerking your ego with an argument, soapboxing, being disparaging to others, and dragging all of us thru it. That's my experience of your presence and intention anyway.
So how about F*CK OFF this thread and give users who either own or are genuinely interested in the camera the opportunity to share and work with one another to get the most out of the tool. 
Minimally, I will ignore you and I suggest others not reply or quote you unless you are posting something constructive. 
 

Cheers for sharing the footage!
Did a quick grade in Resolve (20 min) using @Sage GHa conversion lut. Some adjustments to white balance and luma here and there. Overall very impressed.
 
 

Appreciate that choice, and I hope this thread can remain focused upon people's current experiences, what's working for them (us since I plan to purchase one in the next few weeks), how they have been able to work around limits, what feels/feeds creativity.

Here is an S1 frame grab with my beloved contax Zeiss 50mm 1.7, this was shot in HLG and hasn't been graded at all, just pulled from rec2020 back into rec709. I think the color and dynamic range speaks for itself:

Thank you, yes they are on holiday in norvey now and the write me that he crying with happiness while watching the trailer ?

Cool. 
I've spent time (well over an hour) with it in my hands and capturing images in two different shops. Having never owned a full-frame DSLR, the size is an adjustment but what I think about more is what it will be like to point it at people relative to my X-T3. It is so much more conspicuous. 
But I am sooo impressed with the build of the camera and the color is exceptional, the possibility of high-quality audio (the pre-amps on the X-T3 are reasonable but the Z6 is deplorable), no record limits for 24/25/30p 4k make it viable for interviews (and my C100mkII can be a b-cam), stills far exceed the the flexibility of the X-T3 for event shooting (high-DR & high-ISO scenarios), etc. I've rarely relied on C-AF for video (wait - lying... C100mkII all the time - but those cameras can fill different niches.)
Interesting. I would be purchasing this as a true hybrid stills/high-end video camera. 
I've shot (in shops) and downloads raw files that I can find. I've had a notion that the files respond "differently" while I worked them in Capture One relative to the Fuji. Without question, tho, is the ability to recover shadows cleanly relative to the Fuji - such an improvement.

It begins.

Evaluating new cameras isn't my favorite thing, so I thought I'd share the pain. I've got a lot of work on ATM, so this will be an ongoing project. I might even end up making a youtube vid ?.
I've been shooting with the 5DMk3 ML raw exclusively for many years, you can check out some of my recent work here:
A few contenders have come along over the years like the A7s and BMMCC, but all have failed to measure up to the 5DMk3 with Magic Lantern raw. These jobs I did recently were particularly gruelling, up to 19 hour days, days on end, uncontrollable lighting, no recce, no crew, constantly on the move, a great stress test for any camera or operator. The weaknesses of the 5D have never been more apparent. With a slight lull in the storm, and some technical hurdles in upcoming work, I took the plunge and bought these two sought after bodies. Not being able to get a Pocket 4K for like 8 months allows a lot of time to pixel peep and contemplate the future. Pixel peeping is one thing, but you really don't know if it's for you until you test it for yourself, or wait for a crash test dummy like me to do the work for you.
Very early impressions: I have to say that of the 2 cameras, I was more excited about the arrival of the Pocket 4K, at least until I remembered the lens adapters I ordered haven't arrived yet. I rummaged through one of my four film detritus drawers and found 5, yes 5 ? Nex adapters (remnants from a brief Sony affair) but not a single M4/3 adapter of course. So I unboxed the P4K, grabbed one of my Canon batteries, and fired up the little beast. The fan: super quiet, probably the quietest fan I've ever heard, a non issue. The firmware: 6.2.1, no CDNG for me. For those who haven't heard: BMD have put a new touchscreen in the latest cameras that only works with 6.2.1 firmware. I'm not really fussed, the Braw stuff I've seen looks really good, and the file sizes are amazing, 4K Braw files are smaller than 5DMk3 raw 1080p files. UHD 12:1 Braw files are roughly the same size as 1080p ProRes HQ files,and 200Mbit/s 1080p X-T3 HEVC files.
I've had the X-T3 for a couple of days and I got an 18-55mm f/2.8-4 OIS lens with it. This lens is fantastic, creamy bokeh, and the OIS is amazing, I can get super steady shots at the long end handheld, I know I'm very late to the party with OIS, but wow. Can't wait to put an Iscorama anamorphic on this puppy, no 58-52mm step down rings in the detritus drawers either ?. Low light on the X-T3 is a mixed bag: up to 8000 ISO the noise is tolerable, film-like chroma grain, no fixed pattern noise, however: the X-T3 image falls apart in the shadows, that's a big minus. The other image related issue that comes to mind is: white balance. I had to go digging into the detritus drawer for a grey card! I mean srsly, what's the world coming to? I haven't used a grey card in years;  I'm so accustomed to shooting raw I just don't even think about white balancing anymore. I haven't drawn any conclusions on custom white balancing yet other than it's absolutely necessary with the X-T3 ?.
Ergonomics: the X-T3 is terrible in big hands, I rarely handhold a camera, rolling shutter micro jitters are a thing, but the OIS lens makes it doable. The Smallrig cage has a handgrip extension, so that may help. The P4K is much better in the hand.
Stay tuned.

It has been a solid performer for me. I don’t use the app for anything other than firmware updates and settings so can’t comment on complaints there.The focus servo is awesome and a big plus to me because I prefer flying with manual lenses. I use it in underslung mode most of the time and it’s really well balanced when held by the rear/top handle. I’m usually following people/characters, or doing little moves, when i use it and it’s been very smooth turning corners, or craning up from the ground to the subject while moving. I’ve only experienced jitter once and fixed that by rebalancing quickly.
I wanted something that would be more compact and lighter than gimbal setups i’ve had in the past because you do get tired quickly. With the GH5s and the Weebill, I find I can make it to the first meal break before really needing to rest my arms. And I credit that more to the new design. You can lock each axis with a flick of a switch and carry it at your side. Whereas before, I was always holding it out in front of me between shots. So yeah, between the axis locks, the weight, and the rear handle design, it’s my favorite gimbal I’ve owned. Makes my job easier, not harder.
I don’t know if there are bad early units out there but I saw more of that kind of thing before I received mine. With no real evidence, I suspect there might have been problems with some of the first units shipped based on motor strength issues others have complained about that I’m not experiencing. But who knows?

This is what I said in my review as well.
I am pretty sure they are being paid to say that, but from what I have seen it is a good gimbal, but much heavier that the weebill.
 
Also, if you look at the comments on my review, there are people telling me that I am not praising it enough and people who are asking me if I am sponsored because I am praising it too much. The truth is that most of these people have no idea what they are doing with a gimbal so take their opinions with a grain of salt. The other day I received a message about someone who was having a problem with a gimbal and I asked for a video to demostrate the problem. It was a kid of probably 10 years old who was pointing the gimbal up at the sky (maybe shooting clouds and birds) and waving it around like a gimbal should not be waived around. I learned something valuable that day. Just an example...
 
Last thing is that Zhiyun did add a new firmware and now you can change modes in the app so it is possible to have full follow while on a monopod.
Honestly Walter, I am pretty sure you would be happier with the Zhiyun Crane v2, plus or Moza air 1 or maybe 2 depending on how good it is. I would never use the Weebill as my A gimbal on a paid shoot. That being said I am flying a heavier cam than you. If you are looking for examples I did a pan+tilt example half way through my video.

@mojo43 Thanks for this review. Really appreciate how straightforward and "non-hype" you are. As you mentioned, most youtube "review" content is pretty unbearable. 
I am interested in this gimbal for my X-T3 and Fuji primes for a project in the next few months. Seems ideal for size/weight (although the Moza Air 2, etc. would also be effective obviously). This would be my first serious use of a gimbal in video production. Mostly panning and crane shots, not a lot of following thru spaces. 
Curious if you have used the subject tracking at all? Whether a person of a static object that you are moving around? Panning/tilting?
Thanks. 

It does work with the x-t3 as far as supporting the weight, but depends on the lens.  The 14mm and the 35mm 1.4 work fine.  The 23mm 1.4 works ok if you are careful.
The 10-24 is about the weight limit and works just ok as long as you don't move to fast or use the vortex mode.   
I'm also using it with my 6dmkii and it works with the 40mm pancake lens.
The reason I like it is it's light for travel, but you just have to be aware of the weight limitations for heavy setups.

@Emanuel I would be very interested in your review if you touched upon the ability to lessen/strengthen the stabilization effect, if that is a possibility and how effective it is. 
Often when I stabilize in post, I knock the effect down to between 20-30% to "take the edge off" w/o creating that floating feel.

Thanks a lot! I don't have a Fuji body at the moment, but I have some savings for the X-T3. If it turns out to be good then I'll make new LUTs. Until then visit my experimental project: http://colorizer.net/index.php?op=lut_contrast
With this tool you can remove the contrast curve of a 3D LUT. With the method I use the curve of the Eterna LUT can't be removed without distortion of the RGB transformation, but you won't necessarily see it in real-life footage. Maybe try 50% strength or less.

Totally agree. Unhelpful, unnecessary, ego-driven, snarky. No, Kisaha, it is not "simply pointing out information" if your reply swings that way. These sorts of comments just bring the purpose of these forums down.
I'm looking forward to spending significant time with the new firmware later in the week. Curious if the slow-mo aliasing issues of the X-H1 show up in the X-T2 post-firmware update - in the 60p as well.
Glad, glad for the Flog and Eterna LUT. Jonnie at Cinema 5D had a nice, short intro to the new firmware. Basic story but the images look good.

Totally agree. Unhelpful, unnecessary, ego-driven, snarky. No, Kisaha, it is not "simply pointing out information" if your reply swings that way. These sorts of comments just bring the purpose of these forums down.
I'm looking forward to spending significant time with the new firmware later in the week. Curious if the slow-mo aliasing issues of the X-H1 show up in the X-T2 post-firmware update - in the 60p as well.
Glad, glad for the Flog and Eterna LUT. Jonnie at Cinema 5D had a nice, short intro to the new firmware. Basic story but the images look good.

Looks like the Micro is already going down in price on the second hand market. I got one for under $700. This is my first test, also my first time shooting Raw. Love this little camera. My Micro and Pocket should compliment each other well.