MrSMW

I suspect it will be a fixed lens. That will have to be a new body and surely a new lens and I assume a prime? If it’s FF, I would hope for the latest 44mp sensor. The body could be a modified version of the S9? It could be a successor to the LX100 series though. Who knows and let the speculation begin!

If I was a betting man… But again, seriously, it never ceases to amaze me how totally thick even some multi-billion businesses appear to be. I said ‘appear to be’ as in maybe they are not, but if they appear to be, to most people, most of the time, that cannot be a good thing. Any press releases, any statements or even comments, should always be vetted and considered. If you are a big Japanese company and let’s say 75% of your market is not Japan, but ‘Western as in North America and Europe’, then have someone ‘Western’ at least read your translated statements so it doesn’t include mention of warships because if it contains mentions of warships, it makes you realise that the vast majority of the text has also probably been badly translated and could be interpreted the complete opposite of what you intended. Some companies just seem to be better at this kind of thing than others…

Yep, warships in cameras is a bit overkill. But being serious, this sounds very much to me like S1H not coming any time soon and this next supposed camera announcement in April is more likely to be for a fixed lens unit?

They just don't get it. The jealous cows. There they are coveting their bags and shoes and then they get all huffy over your new BF, even if just window shopping. It's not exactly as if you've gone all the way. At least not yet. But still...

Will these wives of ours be so understanding when they read over our shoulders about how in love with our new BF's we are?

Part of the fun of this place is deciphering Emanuel's posts 😉

Indeed. Do they actually have an international working photography/videographer/filmmaker 'team' behind the scenes, or simply rely on AFTER each product launch, banging the things out to a 90% shill YouTube group? Because it seems like the latter. I think LUMIX have more cred though than Tesla as Panasonic have not mentioned the last world war at any point.

I’m one of those and keep circling round the one body with ‘one & done’ fast(ish) zoom lens vs 2 smaller bodies with a pair of primes each, one set for indoors where my needs are wider and another for outdoors where my needs are longer. So something like Sigma 28-105mm f2.8 vs Sigma 20/35/65 f2’s + 90mm f2.8 The primes in my above scenario are optically sharper and slightly faster for lower light stuff except for the 90mm. The zoom is not as wide but is longer. But in terms of handling, the twin body set up has more appeal to me. I nearly did it with Sony and their A7CR but it’s not nearly as good a camera as the A7RV. But a pair of these Sigmas could work and the only real issue to me is then not having anything longer than 90mm and by longer, I mean something in the 150-200mm range and if I did also have that, it would be ridiculous on one of the bodies! The ‘answer’ is of course high megapixel and cropping. Now if they made a 61mp sensor version such as the FP-L… ding ding ding, winner winner, chicken dinner!

One other thought is that they (LUMIX) have not helped themselves with the naming strategy. S1Rii sets certain expectations. Why not simply name it something new such as S6? It’s a modified S5ii more than anything and sits above, so S6 makes most sense to me.

I think they all are and you can make a case for or against any of them in this ballpark class whether it be an offering from Sony, Nikon, Canon or Lumix. They each have strengths. They each have weaknesses. It is the system as a whole that counts for your specific needs, plus how invested (or not) you may be in any system already. A clean sheet choice and purchase is MASSIVELY different to someone with multiple bodies and even more glass in a single system. For most, it’s therefore not as simple as Camera Body A vs Camera Body B vs Camera Body C vs Camera Body D, because it’s a MUCH bigger picture than that. In isolation, is the S1Rii a ‘perfect’ camera? For some folks, it might just be. Is it a ‘great’ camera? Again for some it will be and with time, may be considered better than it seemed at launch (S9). Or not as good. Is it better or worse than the competion? It’s better in some areas and not as good in some others but no camera is going to be for everyone. Is it a worthy successor to what came before? Possibly… It’s an upgrade over the S5ii pretty much everywhere, but not by a huge amount, but by calling it an S1Rii, it is designated as a successor to the S1R. Is it a worthy upgrade to the S1R? I think that’s trickier to call… On the whole, I think you’d have to say yes, but perhaps not as much as might be expected after 7 years and this point is one that I think is not helping it’s cause in Feb/March 2025. I still think Panny’s fundamental mistake is not having a road map in principal as in one that we, the great unwashed, are privy to plus we were all expect the S1R mk2 to be a more photo-centric successor to the OG with the 61mp sensor, but it seems to be mostly being judged on it’s video spec. My summary is I think it’s a decent thing as an isolated bit of kit, even better if you are already within the system, but overall the company continues to annoy.

They can. They just need to be a little more vocal about their product line such as: “In early 2025 we will be releasing a successor to the S1R and then in the late Spring, a successor to the S1H”. Press release. Bosh. Job done. Shuts the speculation down with a single sentence. People respect integrity. At least the folks that count do. I’m not saying Panasonic LUMIX lack integrity, but a lot of these companies could kill a lot of the stupid shit that goes on by being a bit more informative and less Secret Fucking Squirrel. In my humble opinion.

The former is good to know but define 'easy' because if it's eBay, I hate selling stuff there ad have had so many issues, I'd rather not. Not that `I am currently selling! But MPB are offering well under €1k now! Let me know because if the price is right, I 'might' be interested...

I personally would not trade an S5ii for an S1Rii for any of those things. I would however because I wanted or needed 8k. I personally don’t but it could be a reason to someone else. The trade in on an S5ii is now less than 1k so the price to trade on a new S1Rii is around 2.5k. You’d have to REALLY want one to do that! But for photographers, trading up from 24mp to 44mp might be a more valid reason. Buying either from scratch, brand new, is a slightly different proposition but when you can get a ‘like new’ S5ii for approx 1.5k, 3.5k for the new boy makes zero sense to me. Unless someone can convince themselves the upgraded bits and bobs are worth +2k to them. 2k is a whole chunk of glass options!

Possibly, I don’t really know even coming to S5ii from S5 and S1H. And S1R. I honestly haven’t noticed any real difference but then I haven’t especially been looking and changed my workflow/editing. What I do know is that I am more than happy with what the S5ii produces. Specifically in 6k 30p open gate with my LUT burnt into vlog and using a 1/8th mist VND on my lenses. I have had the very occasional weird lighting effects when shooting outdoor weddings in the evening when there are strings of lights, but otherwise not a single issue that I have ever noticed. Moire, nope. Fringing, nope. RS, nope. Other than perhaps 8k (which I personally do not want or need), I doubt if there is much if any real world difference shooting an S5ii or the new S5iiR…sorry, S1Rii. Oh I am sure there are many pedantic types out there that can prove at the nano-microscopic level there is, but the fact that they don’t have a life is not my concern.

Because you are already heavily invested in whatever system that new camera is in, otherwise agree. I think for my specific needs though, if I had to start from scratch again today, I'm pretty sure I'd still go for the same 3 video units I have and probably go for the S5iiR (for stills), even over the A7RV and Z8 and certainly over the Canon's because of their ridiculous priced lenses. Camera purchase in isolation is a different equation to part of 'as a whole'. I'm still pondering whether I might just flip my A7RV + Zf and 4 lenses for the new S5iiR and 1-2 lenses despite there being compromises, because there are certain benefits. Indeed it's not exactly light for what is a fairly limited zoom range, but for my indoor needs, it's the best single lens in existence and is 2 fast primes with a rotation of the wrist. If they can make a longer sibling such as a 45-90 and keep it f1.8, that is it, I will have my lens pairing for life and would choose my camera system to fit around that pairing. It's partly why I am with both Sony & LUMIX at this time as in they are the only two that natively can use these lenses and you can send them in to have the mounts replaced if you need to. But NOT having (or ay sign I am aware of) of that longer focal length sibling, the 28-45 currently doesn't have a place in my line up.

Oh and why not S1R's? Could be an option but whereas MPB have 10x S1H units, they have 0x S1R's. They do as of today have 4x S1's, but I don't think I'd choose an S1 over an S1H...

It's actually quite tempting... A pair of used 'like new' S1H's can be had on MPB for basically €3000. Add an 18, 35, 50 and 85 f1.8's from LUMIX or 20, 35, 65 and 90 f2's from Sigma, and I'd be good to go. I'd still need something longer, 70-200 equivalent, but could probably pick up a used older lens for that need. Hmmm... I'm talking primarily stills here, albeit with an option to go hybrid or even pure video if needed and this pair of S1H's in addition to the S9 and pair of S5ii's I already have. All within budget trading what I already have from Sony, Tamron and Nikon.

For stills or video, as long as you were aware the AF is not always 100% reliable for forward motion tracking such as entrances and exits. For anything else, the AF is actually pretty decent and sticky. It's just a bit slow to lock on initially in that forwards or subject moving away scenario, but not as big of a deal as some made out. It could be improved by tweaking the settings, using S35 mode, lens choice (zooms better than primes) and shooting smaller apertures such as f8...but some of these are 'workarounds' and we'd all rather stuff just worked without having to align the planets. It's quite funny though that the image is considered 'as good'. It's a 2019 camera vs a 2025. How is that progress??!! But then to be fair, the S1H image was and still is very good. Also a vastly underrated stills camera unless you absolutely had to have the sharpest images around such as for maybe say product photography, but for portraits and events, superb IMO.

The new boy probably is a better option than the S1H now. The S1H probably has the better build, albeit with a bit of extra size & weight. The S1H has a higher res LCD and better battery life, but that's probably about it? The S1H comfortably beats it on price however as you can pick up 2 for the price of a brand new S1Rii. If I was shopping between the two today, with the cost taken out of the equation, it would almost certainly be the S1Rii even though I think the S1Rii is not a completely worthy successor to the S1R (which it is arguably replacing and not the S1H).

All the ex-BBC cameramen left to become wedding videographers ages ago. I know this because they were always telling me so when I met them at weddings as a photographer. Which was really special for me.

I don't disagree! It's almost as if they had an agreement with Leica, "OK, you can be the premium one" and with Sigma, "OK you can be the slightly wacky one" and we'll be "the safe and uninspiring one". I think with the S9 they at least tried 'very slightly' by offering them in different colours. I went for red because I am totally krayzee. Which is (partly) why I bought my Zf. My only issue with that is it's a bit bigger than I'd like and I might trade it for a Sony A7C that will pair better with my A7RV...but then I bought my A7RV over the A7CR/A7C because the A7RV is a vastly better piece of kit than either of those which only inspire me because of their size. I don't think so. Slightly bigger and heavier than I'd like, but if with just firmware alone, they would add the ability to burn in a LUT, I'd go back to it in a heartbeat. But then again having said that, add crop markers to my A7RV and I think I'd pick that. The bottom line is no one yet quite makes my perfect camera! Give me an A7RV with the video spec of the new LUMIX and it's crop markers etc with a Nikon badge on it. When I put it that way, the S1Rii is possibly the closest to my ideal 🤔

In no particular order... Tools that simply 'get out of the way' as much as possible which can be summarised as: 1. Little or need to faff about with them, - they simply do what you expect and need them to do. 2. Reliable ie, don't shut off due to overheating etc and don't need to be nannied in that regard. 3. Portability both in terms of amount of kit and the portability/set up/use of each bit of it as part of the whole. 4. Probably more personal to me than many others but the ability to burn my LUT directly into the files is less of a timesaver on the shoot, but is pretty big overall for the entire project. 5. Fast and accurate AF for me is a must for about 5% of my work but that 5% is critical so dictates I need fast and accurate AF. 6. Minimal lens swaps so generally zooms beat primes for me for simple convenience. Stuff I don't care about: A. Internal ND. Yes it would be nice to have, but no biggie for me spinning a VND as and when. B. Hi res LCD. Yes, I'd prefer it to be but as long as it has decent enough clarity and brightness for super sunny days and as long as I trust the camera based on what I can't see... C. Full frame video. I'd be quite happy with a dedicated APSC/S35 system, but even happier shooting FF open gate 6k 30p as at present. Stills, less so. I'd struggle now to go back to anything less than 45mp FF for photo.

This would be a 'maybe' for me. What do I like? The body. I think it's best in class for size, weight, ergos, build etc. It's Goldilocks for me from that perspective. For video, easily nails my needs. For stills, it would cover it, just... I'd rather have another 15 or so mp as with my A7RV, but... Lenses is a bit of a tricky one in two regards. 1. I think the native Z line is still a bit thin. It has some of the rebadged Tamron lenses, but not all of them and the Tamron lenses, specifically the trio of 20-40, 25-75 and 70-180, all f2.8 and in their latest spec, are insanely good for their size & weight with no discernible real world difference to their fatter 24-70 and 70-200 equivalents. 2a. Adapted lenses. I wouldn't trust the adapted M lenses as far as AF goes and all the tests vindicate that as in it's 'OK' at best, in good light, but you would not rely on it for anything critical. But for using manually, I think adapting M glass is superb. Voigtlander especially for quality vs cost. 2b. Megadap. For video use, possibly less of an issue. For stills however, because there is no in camera correction that native Sony lenses provide, you can get some weird distortions that are almost impossible to correct. This is mostly in regard to verticals. I know because I used all 3 adapted Tamron lenses listed above on my Zf for 4-5 jobs at the start of last year and though it was not an issue or noticeable in over 90% of shots, especially outdoors, for indoor work, not so great. AF though with the Megadap is very good. It's not quite native, but it's not that far off. I think for me as a user of currently 3 systems; Sony + Tamron for stills, LUMIX + Sigma for video and Nikon Zf for 'less serious' stills, ie, a foot in all 3 camps, the system that makes the most sense for my needs would still be L Mount with Sony & Nikon tied for second, Sony for stills and Nikon for video. To be honest, I'd be happy with any of them and have come so close to pushing the Z8 button myself other than what it would cost for me to do so because any future changes for me, I want to go all in on one single system. Financially, that is currently beyond my means.

Well as a former S1H, S1R and OG S5 owner plus currently an S9 + S5ii + A7RV + Zf user… I don’t ‘mind’ them essentially reusing the S5ii chassis now that they have implemented the S1H style rear screen. The S5ii body though to me is simply adequate. I don’t like; the shutter mechanism sound or feel. It’s not the worst, but compared with the S1H it’s pretty poor. That is only really an issue for the photographer side of me. The rear LCD isn’t great. Anything under 2000 wotsits isn’t great so the S1Rii despite having a better mech, is still a bit low res for me. The rest of the body is just OK. It’s OK to hold, the build is generally OK, the design/visual appeal is OK but dull. The size & weight is good. In fact, I would not object to it being slightly heavier, but not by much. The new S1Rii has better locking dials and positioning. It’s not a brand new body and I do not think ‘flagship’ worthy, but I think it is a reasonably decent upgrade and overall on a rating of 1-5 is now a 3.5/4. Compared to OG S5 = much better and that didn’t have the cooling. Compared to the S5ii = better. Compared to the S9 = blows it out of the water, but I did not buy the S9 for it’s build but for it’s size & weight. Compared to the S1R = hmmm equal. The build quality of the OG S1R was/is better as is the shutter mechanism, but a bit too much whiff of old school DSLR about the S1R for me. Compared to the S1H = a downgrade. The S1H still remains my favourite camera ever. (I would still be using it today as my principal unit except for one single factor and that is I can’t burn a LUT into Vlog like I can with my S5ii’s, so swapped it for an S9. It makes a MASSIVE difference to my workflow and I think stuff such as digital sharpness and moire). Compared to Zf = totally different bodies so no comparison really. The Zf is more a ‘fun but pro’ camera to me but the S5ii/S1Rii is significantly better ergonomically. Compared to the A7RV = this is where it falls apart a bit… The A7RV is just better built, better to hold, better to use, has a better rear LCD, better AF, smaller and lighter lenses at the same apertures, twin Type A card slots, also shoots 8k though I think it’s video specs are not quite as good so as a pure video machine, the S1Rii probably beats it for video spec. I am no Sony fanboi and would like to hate on it if I could, but for me, right now, it is the top dog. Would I swap it for a Leica SL-3? Yes if I had the funds. Would I swap it for an S1Rii? Possibly if I was not already invested. Would I swap it for a Z8? Maybe… I think the Z8 body is best in class, but doesn’t quite have the lenses and that AF is slightly suspect. My Zf is certainly not as good as my A7RV.

This ^ And this ^ Plus this ^ At least for me anyway.