When Panasonic first entered the full-frame market at the start of 2019, it did so with a pair of high-end cameras designed for professionals: the 24MP Lumix S1 and the 47MP S1R. Since then, though, it’s concentrated on 24MP models at a more affordable price, with a strong emphasis on video features. Now the firm has returned to the high-resolution professional sector with what is surely its best camera yet: the Panasonic Lumix S1RII.

　　Panasonic Lumix S1RII at a glance: $3,299 / £2,999 body-only £3,799 with 24-105mm F4 lens 44.3MP full-frame BSI-CMOS sensor Up to 40fps shooting 8K 30p, 5.9K 60p, C4K 120p, Full HD 120p video recording 5.76m-dot, 0.78x viewfinder 3in, 1.84m-dot tilt/vari-angle screen Unsurprisingly, after 6 years, the S1RII has relatively little in common with its Lumix S1R predecessor. It’s built around an entirely new 44.3MP sensor that’s placed inside a smaller body based on the 24MP Lumix S5II. The new sensor brings some impressive capabilities, including continuous shooting at 40 frames per second and 8K video recording.

　　With this combination of resolution and speed, Panasonic is touting the S1RII as a camera that should meet the needs of both professional photographers and demanding enthusiasts, for both stills and video. Indeed on paper, it appears to be a genuine alternative to pro all-rounders like the Canon EOS R5 Mark II, Nikon Z8, and Sony Alpha A1 II, but at a considerably lower price of $3299 / £2999 body-only.

　　One key technical difference between the S1RII and these cameras, that goes some way to explaining its relative affordability, is that it uses a conventional, rather than stacked-CMOS sensor. But how much does this matter in real-world use, or might the S1RII turn out to be the biggest bargain in the high-end sector?

　　Panasonic Lumix S1RII: Features Panasonic has employed an entirely new sensor for the S1RII, which is a 44.3MP, back-side illuminated, full-frame unit. Like with the firm’s other recent cameras, but unlike the original S1 R, it includes phase detection elements for autofocus. The standard sensitivity range is ISO 80-51,200, which is extendable a stop each way to ISO 40-102,500.

　　This sensor enables impressive continuous shooting speeds of up to 40 frames per second in full-resolution raw using the electronic shutter, complete with AF tracking. Using the mechanical shutter, you get 10fps with focus fixed, or 8fps with AF tracking. A pre-burst mode buffers up to half of a second’s worth of images for capturing unpredictable action.

　　For its full-frame cameras, Panasonic uses the L-mount that was originally designed by Leica, and is also used by Sigma. As such, the S1R II is compatible with a broad range of lenses from all three makers, with focal lengths ranging from 14mm to 600mm. Third-party lenses are starting to become available too, from the likes of Samyang and Sirui.

　　In-body image stabilisation promises up to 8 stops of shake reduction when shooting hand-held. This drops only slightly to 7 stops in the telephoto range when using with an optically stabilised lens. Cropless electronic image stabilisation is also available for video recording.

　　Panasonic has also included two different high-resolution multi-shot modes for hand-held and tripod-based shooting. These are available from the drive mode dial and create a 176MP composite raw directly file in-camera. You get a choice between two JPEG output resolutions, either 88MP or 176MP.

　　Panasonic Lumix S1RII: Video features This being Panasonic, video features are comprehensive. The headline option is 8K recording at 30 frames per second, with up to 14 stops of dynamic range claimed. But the camera can also deliver 5.9K at up to 60fps, C4K at 120fps, or Full HD at 120fps. A fan built into the viewfinder housing provides active cooling for extended recording times.

　　Panasonic has also included Open Gate recording that uses the full sensor area, which facilitates cropping to different aspect ratios in post-production. This is available in 6.4K initially, with 8.1K promised via a firmware update. Internal 5.8K raw recording is available to the camera’s CFexpress Type B card, too, using Apple ProRes RAW HQ or ProRes RAW formats. The camera can also record directly to an external USB-C SSD.

　　What’s most striking, though, is the sheer number of options available in terms of resolution, frame rate, bit rate, compression, and file format. Panasonic’s full spec list reveals no fewer than 424 options for the standard video mode, and 72 more in Slow and Quick (SQ) mode. So you really should be able to select exactly what you need.

　　You get a full-size HDMI port for connecting to an external monitor or recorder, plus standard 3.5mm stereo headphone and microphone sockets. For those who need the highest-quality sound, 32-bit float recording is supported via the optional DMW-XLR2 adapter. There’s a full set of video display options too, including waveform, vectorscope and false colour displays to aid setting white balance and exposure.

　　Panasonic Lumix S1RII: Connectivity Built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth provide smartphone connectivity via the Lumix LAB app. Here you get all the expected options, including the ability to copy photos and videos to your smartphone for editing and sharing. There’s both a basic Bluetooth shutter release, and comprehensive remote control over Wi-Fi. You can also use the app to download LUTs and copy them to the camera, and to enable live streaming to YouTube.

　　Panasonic is also offering a neat new Lumix Flow app for planning a video shoot, allowing you to list the shots you need, and then tick them off as you go along. With this app, you can even use your smartphone as an external monitor via USB-C. The S1RII is also compatible with Adobe’s Frame.io camera-to-cloud collaboration platform, and in a first for a Panasonic camera, it supports tethered shooting via Capture One.

　　Panasonic Lumix S1RII: key features Power: Panasonic’s standard DMW-BLK22 battery is rated to deliver 340 shots using the LCD and 280 with the EVF, and charges in-camera via USB-C Connectors: On the left side you’ll find microphone, headphone, USB-C and full-size HDMI ports. Panasonic’s proprietary 2.5mm remote release is on the handgrip Storage: One card slot accepts CFexpress Type B media, while the other is for UHS-II SD. It’s also possible to record directly to a USB-C SSD. Built-in fan: A cooling fan is built-in, with vents on either side of the viewfinder housing. There’s no hard limit to the video recording time Vertical grip: The S1RII is compatible with a new BMW-BG2E vertical grip, which boasts a replicate set of shooting controls and hot-swappable battery. It costs $350 / £299. Shooting mode switch: A new switch beneath the drive dial selects between photo, video, and slow-and-quick shooting modes Panasonic Lumix S1RII: Build and handling Physically, the S1RII closely resembles the 24MP S5II and S5IIX twins, and indeed the Micro Four Thirds Lumix G9II. Measuring 134.3 x 102.3 x 91.8mm and weighing in 795g including the battery and SD card, it’s much the same size as the Sony Alpha A1 II and Canon EOS R5 Mark II. This means it’s noticeably smaller than the Nikon Z8.

　　Thanks to a deep handgrip and a small but effective thumb hook, the camera feels extremely secure in your hand. Its magnesium alloy body is dust and splash resistant and should keep working at temperatures down to -10 °C, at least. The exterior is covered in buttons, dials and switches, giving direct access to all the most important camera settings.

　　Overall, the S1RII retains the same excellent handing as previous Panasonic cameras. You get no fewer than three electronic dials for changing exposure settings, a well-placed 8-way joystick on the back, and a large drive mode dial on the top left. A row of buttons behind the shutter release provides quick access to white balance, ISO, and exposure compensation, while secondary functions are easily accessed via the Q button on the back.

　　Pretty much the entire interface can also be operated by the touchscreen, which complements the physical controls perfectly.

　　Compared to the S5II, though, there are some noteworthy updates. Most importantly for a camera that touts its hybrid credentials, there’s a new still/video/SQ switch beneath the drive mode dial (previously, video and SQ were on the exposure mode dial). Photo and video settings are now kept entirely separate, too. Both these changes count as welcome usability improvements for anyone using their camera for both stills and video.

　　The power switch has also been redesigned, so it’s easier to flick the camera on quickly using your right thumb. Both the exposure mode and drive mode dials gain toggle-lock buttons, so they don’t get knocked by accident. A switch on the left shoulder allows you to lock any subset of the other controls you choose, to prevent inadvertent settings changes while shooting.

　　On the back, the layout has been subtly tweaked, with the combined AF mode switch / AF area button moved away from the viewfinder for easier access. The top rear dial has also been repositioned, so that all the controls operated by your right thumb are now clustered together more tightly. This makes the camera just that bit quicker to use.

　　There’s now a second movie record button on the front, like on the videocentric Micro Four Thirds GH9. Personally I find it’s far too easy to press this button by accident when changing settings, so I disabled it in photo-shooting mode (although unfortunately, this doesn’t stop it from initiating recording when you’re playing back images). You don’t get the GH9’s handy audio control button, but it’s possible to map this function to any button.

　　You get no fewer than 5 custom positions available on the mode dial, labelled C1 to C5, which allow you to save your personal camera setups for different kinds of shooting. It’s also possible to assign these modes meaningful names; for example, I called C1 ‘Wildlife’. But unfortunately, those names aren’t shown onscreen when you select the C positions on the mode dial, which rather misses the point.

　　You also have to keep in mind that the focus and drive modes are always defined by their respective physical controls, and remember to set these appropriately too.

　　I do still have to take issue with the fact that the dials are distinctly underused in the camera’s default setup. Both the top dials do the same thing except in manual exposure mode, while the rear wheel sets the headphones volume (which is fine for video, but makes no sense in photo mode). But every single control is customisable to suit your preferences, so I reconfigured the top thumbdial to change exposure compensation, and the wheel on the back to set ISO.

　　Overall, though, once I had the S1RII set up to my liking, I found it a real pleasure to shoot with. It’s every bit as well designed as its competitors from the traditional camera companies, and in some respects better.

　　Panasonic Lumix S1RII: Viewfinder and screen One area where the S1RII is a step above its Lumix siblings lies with its electronic viewfinder. Panasonic has employed a 5.76m-dot panel, as used on the original S1R, but in contrast to the 3.68m-dot unit on the S5II. With 0.78x magnification it provides a large, clear view that’s really only surpassed by the 9.4m-dot, 0.9x EVF that Sony uses on cameras like the A1 II and the 60MP Alpha A7R V.

　　Exposure, white balance and colour are all previewed by default, which gives a good idea of how your images should turn out.

　　One area where the S1RII differs from previous Lumix models, though, lies with depth-of-field preview, which previously required pressing a button on the front. Now, the preview image is displayed at the set aperture until you half-press the shutter button, at which point the aperture opens up again. This sounds counter-intuitive, but in fact it means you get live DOF preview while you’re changing the aperture, which I find works really well.

　　All the expected compositional aids are available for stills shooting, including gridlines, a level display, live histogram, and focus peaking. Switch to video mode, and you also get such things as a vectorscope for judging white balance and colour, and a waveform display that shows the distribution of lighting levels across the frame. But unfortunately, you can’t view these both at the same time, or indeed use them for stills.

　　The S1RII also gains a brand-new articulation design for the rear screen – at least for Panasonic. This places a vari-angle screen on a tilting frame that can be angled both up and down (unlike on the GH7, where it only tilts up). In essence, it’s the same mechanism as Sony uses on its high-end cameras.

　　I think this design provides the best of both worlds, allowing the screen to be pointed at practically any angle you please. It’s every bit as useful for photographers shooting at awkward angles in portrait format, as it is for vloggers filming themselves in front of the camera. Unlike conventional side-hinged designs, the fact that you can pull the screen away from the back means that it doesn’t conflict with cables plugged into the side of the camera, either.

　　Panasonic Lumix S1RII: Autofocus Once upon a time, autofocus was Panasonic’s Achilles’ Heel, with its reliance on depth-from-defocus technology placing it at a disadvantage compared to the likes of Sony. But the firm has made great strides over the past few years. Now, the integration of phase detection and more sophisticated subject recognition algorithms place the S1RII on a much more even footing with its peers.

　　Subject recognition includes settings for humans, animals (including birds), cars, motorcycles, bicycles, trains, and airplanes. Unlike its rivals, though, the S1RII doesn’t have an Auto mode, so you always have to specify the kind of subject you’re shooting in advance. Eye detection is available, but while it’s enabled by default for humans, it’s disabled for animals; you’ll want to switch it on for the most accurate results. With vehicles you can tell the camera to focus on the most important part, which is usually the front.

　　Crucially, Panasonic clusters all the AF controls close together under the control of your right thumb. AF area and subject detection settings are accessible via a button in the middle of the focus mode selector switch, with the AF ON button and joystick alongside. Once you’ve mastered how this all works, it’s unusually quick and easy to tailor the focus settings to suit different shooting situations.

　　In practice, I was quite impressed by how well the S1RII’s autofocus worked in real-world use. I tested it using the Lumix S 70-300mm F4.5-5.6 Macro OIS, which surprisingly is Panasonic’s longest full-frame lens. It’s not pro-spec though, which means it probably limits the overall focusing performance.

　　Generally, the subject recognition does a great job of finding and tracking subjects, even when they’re small within the frame. When it identifies multiple possible options, it will highlight the active one in yellow, and the others in white. You can then select between them using the joystick.

　　With subjects that move predictably, such as trains, I found the S1RII did a very good job of tracking them and keeping them in focus. However, it struggled a bit more with those that are move erratically in terms of both speed and direction, such as birds in flight.

　　When the S1RII does pick up a subject, the autofocus will usually track it perfectly well. However, it doesn’t quite have the same capability to lock near-instantly onto a subject as more expensive cameras with stacked-CMOS sensors. So if you shoot a lot of wildlife or sports, it’s unlikely to be as good a choice as more expensive rivals from Canon, Nikon or Sony.

　　You don’t have to use subject detection, of course, and can use the conventional AF system instead. Here you get a wide range of focus area sizes and shapes which can be positioned freely within the frame. This performs very well indeed, giving consistently accurate focus.

　　However, when shooting close-ups of spring blossom and flowers, I did find the S1RII had a habit of shifting focus onto the background, and then locking on stubbornly. In these situations, I found myself having to switch to manual focus instead, which works well. But if you find this to be a regular problem, unusually Panasonic provides an option to configure the AF-ON button to shift focus onto the foreground.

　　Panasonic Lumix S1RII: Performance As befits a camera that’s designed for professional use, the S1RII is for the most part quick and responsive. Usually, it’s ready to go within a fraction of a second of you switching it on, although I did find it can take a moment longer to start up if it’s been inactive for a while. The shutter sound is fairly unobtrusive, too, firing with a soft, low-pitched clack.

　　Battery life is reasonable if not great, as indicated by the CIPA rating of 280 shots using the EVF. I found myself constantly keeping an eye on the battery indicator as it depleted, and would certainly get at least one spare, and probably two if I was planning on shooting long events. It’s always worth noting, though, that if you’re mainly shooting bursts, you’ll get many more shots from a charge, as the CIPA rating reflects shooting single frames at a time.

　　On the subject of continuous shooting, the S1RII had no trouble meeting its specified speeds in my testing. I confirmed speeds of 40 frames per second using the electronic shutter, 10fps using the mechanical shutter with focus fixed, and 8fps with C-AF, with a buffer of approximately 70 frames in all cases when using a CFexpress Type B card. That’s not quite a match for top-end sports cameras, but it should still be more than enough for must uses.

　　At this point, though, its worth noting that there’s no apparent means of shooting at slower than 40fps using the electronic shutter. Personally, I wish there were some more sensible options around the 15-20fps mark – 40fps is much faster than I usually need. Another quirk is that files shot in a 40fps burst get grouped together in playback, but those shot at slower speeds don’t, so you have to browse through them all individually.

　　By default, Panasonic records 12-bit raw files during burst shooting, which can limit how much you can brighten dark areas in raw processing. If this bothers you, there’s an Image Priority setting that records 14-bit raw instead. This doesn’t seem to have a massive impact on speed, and none on buffering, so it could be worth using if you often need to carry out extensive shadow recovery, perhaps when shooting birds or planes against a bright sky. Personally, though, I found the 12-bit files usually enabled sufficient adjustments.

　　As always, Panasonic’s image stabilisation works notably well, for both stills and video shooting. Using the Lumix S 20-60mm F3.5-5.6 lens, I was able to get sharp hand-held shots pretty consistently at shutter speeds a little longer than a second, even at the 60mm end. When recording video, you can get almost tripod-steady results hand-held using the Boost mode. This is really impressive, and certainly a match for any other full-frame camera.

　　Panasonic’s metering is generally reliable, although I did occasionally find myself applying some negative exposure compensation to tame highlights in high-contrast conditions. Meanwhile, auto white balance and colour rendition are very much tuned towards neutrality and accuracy. Personally I prefer images with warmer, punchier colour, and would switch over to the AWB (warm) option and Vivid colour mode for JPEG shooting.

　　Of course, photographers buying a camera at this price are most likely to shoot in raw. Having shot hundreds of images with the S1RII during the course of my testing, I can confidently conclude that its new 44.3MP sensor meets my expectations for a modern full-frame camera. It delivers usable images up to ISO 25,600, and potentially even a stop higher using AI noise reduction such as Adobe Denoise.

　　Raw files have plenty of dynamic range, too, with at least five stops of additional shadow detail recoverable at low ISOs without noise becoming excessive. This malleability isn’t confined only to the lowest sensitivities, either; I was able to make extensive adjustments at medium-high settings around ISO 3200, too. Overall, this is a camera that delivers consistently excellent image quality across a wide range of shooting scenarios.

　　High-resolution multi-shot modes If you occasionally need even higher resolution than the 44MP sensor provides, then Panasonic’s high-resolution multi-shot modes are genuinely usable. They’re engaged directly using the drive mode dial, and generate composite files in-camera, which means they’re much more practical than other manufacturers’ versions. Raw files come in at about 200MB per shot, or four times the size of regular raws.

　　Many such modes don’t work very well, giving little increase in real resolution and ugly image artefacts. But that’s not the case with Panasonic. The hand-held mode is the more practical of the two options, giving visibly increased detail that’s a good match for the 88MP JPEG output. Tripod mode, meanwhile, can get close to the full 176MP resolution, but only if you use a good tripod and impeccable technique. Its best suited for studio work where you have control over lighting and the subject is entirely static.

　　My main irritation is that while the two modes are completely different, they share the same shooting settings. But you’ll almost certainly want to set a shutter delay for tripod mode, and not for hand-held. Likewise, there’s little point in shooting 176MP JPEGs hand-held, but there could be when using tripod mode. It would make much more sense for the two to be treated as entirely different modes with separate settings.

　　Panasonic Lumix S1RII: ISO and Noise With its new 44.3MP full-frame sensor, the S1RII delivers levels of detail comparable to cameras such as the 45MP Canon EOS R5 Mark II, 46MP Nikon Z8, or 50MP Sony Alpha A1 II. Images are extremely clean at low ISOs, and there’s barely any perceptible drop in quality at settings up to ISO 1600. Beyond this, progressively degrades fine detail and colour saturation, with both suffering visibly by ISO 12,800 when viewing images close-up onscreen.

　　Personally, the limit of what I’d consider acceptable with conventional processing is ISO 25,600. Using AI noise reduction such as Adobe Denoise, even ISO 51,200 should be usable if necessary. But the extended ISO 102,400 option is probably a step too far.

　　Below are 100% crops at various ISOs from our standard studio, shot in raw and processed using Adobe Camera Raw at default settings. Click on any thumbnail to see the full-size image.

　　Panasonic Lumix S1RII: Our Verdict With the Lumix S1RII, Panasonic has laid down a serious marker in the high-end full-frame market. It offers an impressive combination of high resolution and blistering speed, in a compact and robust body that handles exceptionally well. Without doubt, it’s the firm’s best camera yet for stills photographers, while also offering high-end video.

　　Even if we restrict ourselves to thinking about the S1RII’s photography capabilities, there isn’t anything else that can quite match it at the price point. You can get similar resolution from older bodies like the Canon EOS R5, Nikon Z7II, and Sony A7R IVa, but they can’t shoot as fast and don’t have the same sophisticated subject detection AF. The latter two are also stuck with outdated tilt-only screens.

　　But how does it measure up to more expensive 45-50MP rivals such as the Canon EOS R5 Mark II, Nikon Z8, or Sony A1 II? Here its main disadvantage probably lies with autofocus on fast, erratic subjects, with the S1RII not quite able to match those cameras’ ability to pick up subjects in the blink of an eye, and then keep track of their movements. But this only matters if you shoot the kind of things that really need this, most obviously sports and wildlife. It’s also a little more prone to rolling shutter distortion with the electronic shutter. In many other respects, though, its a close match.

　　Overall, then, the Panasonic Lumix S1RII offers an impressive feature set at an extremely competitive price. It’s one of the finest high-end still/video hybrid cameras around, and it may very well be the best value.

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　　Panasonic Lumix S1RII full specifications