MrSMW

So what advantages does the S9 have over the S5II now? The S5II clearly has many over the S9. The S9 has: Size & weight, but add a cage and not much in it. Choice of colours if that is your thing. And...?? My S9 has not arrived yet, (later today I think) and I'm wondering if I am better served with a third S5II as I had previously. It was mostly 3 factors that tipped me towards the the S9. 1. The hybrid/crop zoom function, which I have discovered since does not work in any of my use cases. 2. Multiple frame markers, as of today, now on the S5II. 3. Err, because I wanted a red one and it would primarily be a monopod/in hand unit, but because mine would be caged, there is not much in it. Summary = + red leather (or whatever material it is) is possibly now the only thing I am getting over an S5II...and chucking away a whole load of pro features (weather sealing, twin card slots, fans etc) for a single cosmetic option?

This is exactly why I was asking for the need for AF, because if not really, then 3x these with a lens each.

Do you need AF at all?

To quote myself 🤗 this is exactly what I decided upon. I love the i series lenses from Sigma and if I was looking at a set for stills, I would go with those instead, but being 'sensible', the LUMIX primes just make more sense, so 18/50/100 it is!

If it happens, I hope they release an entire set of lenses and not drip drip drip lenses because I personally don’t like mix & match sets of lenses if I can at all avoid it.

Not a dealbreaker, but further research shows the hybrid/crop mode is not what I thought, ie, it does not work for photo or video in any 6k mode and neither does it in 4k 50/60p. Bum. Oh well, not a biggie as I think I have settled on a trio of lenses anyway instead of the Lumix 50. I think if I went with that, as much as I like the purity of one focal length, the reality is for certain scenarios on every job, I need something wider, between 20-28mm and for ceremonies & speeches at weddings, as my roaming unit, I'm always going to want longer than 50mm, so, probably these 3: 20 or 24mm f2 Sigma. Most likely the 20. You can't crop for more width. 65mm f2 Sigma. Had that lens before. Loved it. Just that slightly longer reach works for me over a 50. 105mm f2.8 Macro Sigma. About half the price of Lumix's more recent 100mm f2.8 Macro and will be very useful for roaming sniping duty during ceremonies and speeches whilst the 2x statics do their thing. The closest Lumix equivalents add up to more cost and I find them a bit boring even if they have slightly better AF for video...but I may still go with them 🤪 (18mm f1.8, 50mm f1.8, 100mm f2.8) I've looked at some of the zooms and nah, there just isn't anything that doesn't kind of defeat the purpose of this unit. The only zoom I like for roaming about video use is the Sigma 28-70mm f2.8, though I find it's not always long enough. Considered replacing it with the new 28-105mm f2.8 and had it been internal non-extending zoom, it would have been a no-brainer, but it isn't, so it's not happening. For video anyway... Might be perfect pairing for stills with any future S2R... I might trade the 70-200mm f4 against a Samyang 35-150mm f2/2.8 though as that might be a more useful lens, but €€€'s... Decisions decisions decisions...

Actually, that is not a bad idea, - having the M4/3 crop on the FF sensor and better still if M4/3 lenses could be mounted with an adapter. The G9II and S5II already share the same chassis and OK, some bemoan the size over some of the previous smaller bodies, but actually with some of the bigger M4/3 lenses, they would pair up very well. And if we started with something like a 61MP sensor, plenty of size to crop into for what would be what, something somewhere around 20MP I guess (based on knowing that APSC is 26MP). I body, many lenses, so many different use cases...

Plus if you wanted to, you could return the lens FOC back to them and they gave you a voucher to spend on something useful 😈

It gets jumped on if you import anything, at least in my experience… Anything from outside the EU, unless it’s one of those companies that ship to somewhere in the EU (and have already covered or somehow bypassed duties) and then they ship to you from an EU address. I paid €1250 for a red leather, brand new which is €200 less than someone like MPB is asking for a ‘Like New’ with only 6 months instead of the full warranty. I’ve used them a few times before and suspect they are one of these ‘we are a legit French business’…except they are more one of these ‘middle man’ outfits. Anyway, as long as it’s legit and it is, I’m good with it. I try and get most major purchases used these days and mostly manage it, but as this was cheaper than used, it made sense. I just need my ‘S2R’ now and I am done. You listening LUMIX?!

Well having mulled it around in my noggin for a few months, plus based on actually owning one and shooting a wedding with it...and then selling it for another S5II for a couple of reasons, I have decided I will get an S9 again. Why? I'm pretty sure I am welded to LUMIX/L Mount (for video at least) for what remains of my career and I have gone backwards and forwards over whether I am best served by having 2 units or 3 and come to the conclusion, 3 is the magic number. If I had not recently sold my third S5II, I'd have been running with 3 of the things in 2025, but as I did sell it last month, I'm going to take the opportunity to pick up an S9 again. Why an S9 over another S5II? I have an S5II with battery grip on a heavyweight tripod with 70-200 pulling static duty. I have an S5II in a cage on a lightweight tripod with 28-70 pulling static and quick to move about duty. I need/want a roaming in hand/lightweight monopod unit I can keep on me that is super lightweight. Lack of a second card slot and no built in fan were and still are slight negatives, but the rest of the what are for me, features over the S5II make sense. Ideally I'd like those multiple frame markers and the video zoom function will make shooting prime lenses more practical and along with some other very minor stuff, makes up a compelling package for me. I've gone around the houses also regarding what lens to pair it with and initially it was going to be a used S Pro 50mm f1.4 but then for the same money, I could get a smaller and lighter Sigma 50mm f1.2, but then for less than one third of the cost, an even smaller and lighter Lumix 50mm f1.8. So that's what I am going to pair it with. Already have the Smallrig cage I saved from last time. And it's available in my corporate logo red colour so it would be rude not to also have a camera with a red body 😋

My plan for 2025 is to add a second copy to YouTube because I can link to that from my website if Vimeo was to cease to exist. I'd still need to re-upload anything I wanted to use from prior to the 1st Jan this year though and that is dozens of videos. I actually have around 700+ but the vast majority I couldn't care less about now and some are over 15 years old! But the last couple of years work that I'd still want the world to see would amount to 50+ pieces, so 50 overnight uploads based on my rural location. Hopefully it won't come to that and I really only used Vimeo as an on-line storage/host to link my own website to...

I was at uni and it was cheap wine, snacks and packed student house every evening it was on. It was an event. No one distractedly scrolling on their phones either…because no one had phones back then, other than people that worked in The City in banking!

IMO, THE best series of the 90’s and one of the best series of all time.

True, but personally I’ll take build over lesser weight, ie, +300g for: higher quality build, better & larger LCD, damped shutter mech etc are all wins for me, but would I rather have them in a smaller & lighter body? If possible, sure. And I do. It’s called the Sony A7RV 😘 I had the S1R and S1H and currently have the S5II and the A7RV. Based purely on build, ergos, how they feel in the hand as lens platforms, I would place them: A7RV S1H S1R S5II IMO, the A7RV and the S5II (book ended here as best and ‘worst’ overall based purely on weight vs size vs build vs features, ie not internal spec) are the least suited to the bigger lenses and the more mid-sized stuff suits them better and then stuff like the A7CR, primes or compact zooms. Anything can work though of course, it’s more a case of what suits each of us. I think the SL3 is about the sweet spot in terms of size and weight. But doesn’t have the rear LCD I need which is where the S1H and A7RV score massive wins for me. So if any future S1R mk II, is anything around that size & weight with a rear LCD like the S1H or A7RV, happy days!

The S1R has better build quality over the S5II, better EVF, better rear LCD, MUCH better shutter mech and the 47mp sensor was...and still is great. Where it's not so great is 'average to good' AF for stills, but very limited AF for video. Has a great 5k SOOC Natural profile, but no log. Body design of the S1H was much better, albeit slightly beefier. I personally would be 100% happy to have the the 61mp sensor from the SL3/A7RV in the S1H body and would buy instantly. Ditto, the S5II/SL3-S sensor in the S1H body. My issue with LUMIX has always been as above, - the right sensors in the wrong bodies! I'd buy one of each instantly...but maybe I'd be their only sales, I dunno 🤪

An S5II-R then? IMO, the body, shutter mech, rear LCD and EVF would need to be upgraded because none of these elements are 'flagship' worthy.

Both Lynch and Blue Velvet were one of the staples of my film studies days at uni back in 90-92. RIP old fella.

I was thinking about making a YouTube comparison but then decided it would simply be quicker to add a link to the 37x S5II’s for sale on MPB Eu at less than €1.5k a pop. My maths tells me it’s +€4k to get one with a slightly better EVF and an arguably much better LCD, but with LUMIX spelt differently on the front. I’m still hoping my previous ‘trade’ comment is a reality and hope @Andrew Reid is wrong! But if he isn’t, no biggie because I have an entire Sony A7RV kit already in the house and it’s bloody good…just not cross-compatible with my LUMIX video tools…😏

I am hoping the deal went something like this… Leica: “Can we please use the internals from your S5IIX for our SL3-S?” LUMIX: “Sure can, but immediately after you announce that, can we have the internal stuff from your SL3 for our S2R?” And both parties agreed.

I think this one any one of us could have written the script for this release any time within the last year. And so it came to pass... Now where is my S1R mk II??!!

Is about the real world sum of it. I would MUCH rather have one of these over the S5II, but financially, back in my real world... Agreed, highly unlikely or LUMIX will be up a creek because it's just S5II spec internally which you can get for around €1k.

Ah gotcha. They have had a few collabs and I really thought they were moving closer with the ‘LS3’, but if that isn’t still a thing, then it appears to have at least fizzled, another example of LUMIX’s shite marketing. But yes, maybe this imminent announcement will reveal some hints as to what possibly could be, but until LUMIX start blowing their own trumpet…

I think it will need to be a hell of a camera simply to exist…which may explain why we have heard next to nothing about it. If one will ever exist… I’m still not sure about the latter but think it more likely than not and if one ever does appear, probably last chance saloon for them at that level? The ‘S2R’ seems far more likely doesn’t it and ‘should’ be a re-bodied SL3. I have my fingers crossed for that for mid-Spring latest or it won’t work for me this year. Or possibly ever. (Pure business perspective). For video I have needs and they are covered. For photo I have both needs and wants and those are technically also already covered, but I want to have everything within one system ideally.

I'm guessing it's a combo of size + lack of hype. Plus a little of 'maybe the price was a bit too high in the first place?' I'd have one for sure. If only I had slightly different needs... And that is probably the 4th element. Same as stuff like the Sigma FP, it's a little too quirky and doesn't quite fit into the low-end pro market for wedding vid hacks like me, but also isn't something the bigger boys can work with, so these things find homes with the slightly left-field enthusiasts. I've tried the 'wilfully different' approach many times over the last couple of decades and have come to the conclusion that whilst it might be fun, it's also frustrating and frustrating in business costs time and money. So whilst I refuse to conform 100%, I have to lean evermore into the 'sensible corner' 😏

Is it even available to them? (Leica & Lumix) Does that even exist? But it is much smaller and I think that is the main appeal? Always have been and always will be 😉 Well maybe 'idiot' is too strong and I can see the appeal of say an X100VI over an OG GFX100 as in one has a fixed lens and can just about be squeezed into a pocket and the other you'd have to have pockets like Matt Granger to even attempt that feat. But if comparing outright imaging capability, it's a no-brainer isn't it. But apples and pears. The rule applies though that generally you can get MUCH better value on a used product and have to pay a premium for the so called latest and greatest.