The Panasonic S1 II pricing is wrong, and so is the entire product strategy since 2018

[PannySVHS]

5 hours ago, Clark Nikolai said:

Um... you do realize what the nickname for this might be.

Of course, Lumexa😎

 

5 hours ago, eatstoomuchjam said:

Sort of, yes, but it's only a 24 megapixel sensor.  The resolution in super 16 mode or super 8 mode would be pretty low.  You'd be at 4k in S35, and closer to 2k in M43.

1:1 crop mode on the GH7 would be one of best right now for using S16 or Super 8 lenses.  You'd still have decent resolution and probably not be at 720p or less.

S16 gate on the S1II would be around 2100 x 1250px, considering a 2.88 crop factor and a 1.66 aspect ratio. That's not too bad, better than the og pocket. Mft sized gate would sport around 3000px in width.

[EduPortas]

I have no idea why Panny chose to go the expensive route for their cameras.

Up until the GH5 their products offered the biggest bang for the buck (GH5s was catastrophic bc it started this whole upward pricing trend).

Now? Not so much. GH6-7 were considerable costs upfront for anyone, let alone indie filmmakers.

Their FF lineup has been all over the place regarding prices. Why would anyone buy this new camera when the S5II and its different variations was released just some months ago? 

It makes NO sense whatsoever and makes us long for the GH-1-2-3-4 pricing and innovativeness. 

Every single one of the original GH cameras had some sort of innovation that differentiated it from the rest of the Canon-Nikon-Sony parade. All of that was lost with the move to FF.

A true fall from grace.

[D Verco]

Love a hot take like this. I kinda agree it's not going to get people to switch for the price. but it does offer a lot of features. 50/60p open gate is pretty cool. 

[eatstoomuchjam]

Pyxis also does 72p open gate for not a lot more - though it can only do open gate 72p at 8K, 12k is limited to a mere 40.

And the UC12K does 12k open gate at 80fps and 8k at 144fps.

Komodo-X also does open gate at 80fps, though open gate on K-X is 17:9.

All of those cameras support those framerates in raw.  I think the S1 II can only do it in 10-bit or less formats, right?  Not a deal-breaker, but another limitation.

I don't know why anybody acts like shooting high FPS open gate is a hugely exciting feature, though.  Is shooting slow motion 3:2 really a huge use case?  For the sort of stuff that I shoot, we're usually delivering in scope and overcranking done rarely at best.

[MrSMW]

3 hours ago, eatstoomuchjam said:

I don't know why anybody acts like shooting high FPS open gate is a hugely exciting feature, though.  Is shooting slow motion 3:2 really a huge use case?

I would prefer to have it if I could for the few times I would like to be able to do 50% slow motion, but that option alone is not worth the compromise for me having to go back to a much larger and heavier camera over my S9.

Instead I accept the crop factor involved and have it on the mode dial rather than a default shooting option.

[ND64]

Thom Hogan:

"Nowhere in Panasonic's press releases or marketing information I've seen so far do they actually seem to know how to market their six different 24mp cameras (S1II, S1IIE, S5II, S5IIX, S9, and BS1H). In the S1IIE features list the sensor is listed as "inspired by the performance characteristics of the Lumix S5II," which tells you nothing. Those of us in the press these days are dealing with AI driven press releases, but I'm failing to even see the I in Panasonic's. Nothing tells me which 24mp camera to buy, let alone why I should buy it instead of Canon's, Nikon's, or Sony's. This feels like "stuff the channel and see if it sells" product management, not clear, user centric marketing."

[BTM_Pix]

38 minutes ago, ND64 said:

Their six different 24mp cameras (S1II, S1IIE, S5II, S5IIX, S9, and BS1H

Make that seven if you live in Europe with the S5D.

[Andrew Reid]

They must have needed to buy that 24 megapixel sensor in such large quantities, the 7 different models were a necessity.

And by the time the year is out, it might turn into 10!

[Andrew Reid]

3 hours ago, ND64 said:

Thom Hogan:

"Nowhere in Panasonic's press releases or marketing information I've seen so far do they actually seem to know how to market their six different 24mp cameras (S1II, S1IIE, S5II, S5IIX, S9, and BS1H). In the S1IIE features list the sensor is listed as "inspired by the performance characteristics of the Lumix S5II," which tells you nothing. Those of us in the press these days are dealing with AI driven press releases, but I'm failing to even see the I in Panasonic's. Nothing tells me which 24mp camera to buy, let alone why I should buy it instead of Canon's, Nikon's, or Sony's. This feels like "stuff the channel and see if it sells" product management, not clear, user centric marketing."

If I were the modern day Chris and Jordan in a camera store somewhere I would try and explain it like this...

Buy the S5 II as it's cheapest, unless you need a few extra video features, which I'll explain in a moment. But if you're a photographer it's an easy choice, definitely S5 II best and cheapest. Unless you compare it to the Canon R8, Nikon Z6 II, Sony a7c, or wait actually I forgot the S9... That is the cheapest for photographers, except not if you are a photographer that needs to look through an EVF or wants a mechanical shutter. I'll explain what that does in a moment. But first, you say you're actually quite interested in video, so I'd recommend the S1 IIE instead, as the S5 II is already made obsolete by it, so pay the extra for the E version and you will get... erm... An E on the badge. Also are you sure you don't want to go all the way out to $3500 for the S1 II, yes that is $1000 more than a Z6 III for the same sensor and no N-RAW, worse body design, but it is the best Panasonic... for video... I think... At least for a month or 2 before the S1H II might come out, or it might not... Oh shit, we're forgetting the S1R II. That does 8K open gate now, they just gave it a firmware update. Hey, Johnny where're you're going... Come back Johnny! HEY! STAY AWAY FROM THAT CANON EOS R5 II FFS!