Panasonic has expanded its range of Lumix series cameras with the launch of the Lumix S1R II. It has arrived as the successor to the Panasonic Lumix S1R that the company introduced five years ago. The new Lumix series offering has several upgrades in the photography tech, body design, and performance.
Panasonic Lumix S1R II is the brand’s first Lumix camera to flaunt 8K video recording
The new Lumix S1R II boasts a newly developed 44.3MP BSI CMOS sensor and a high-performance L2 Engine. The biggest highlight of the new full-frame camera is the support for 8K video recording at up to 30 fps in 10-bit, making it the first Lumix camera to offer this feature. Notably, the camera provides open-gate 6.4K video at 30 fps and up to 4K at 120 fps, both in 10-bit.
Furthermore, there’s support for 4K 120 fps slow-motion capture for high-frame-rate cinematography. Another first for the Lumix S series in the new camera is internal recording in ProRes RAW HQ and ProRes RAW 5.8K recording to a CFexpress Type-B card. The S1R II is also the first Lumix camera to record 8K video with 14 stops of dynamic range.
Talking about the design, the original Panasonic S1R was among the biggest full-frame mirrorless cameras on the market. However, the company has shaved quite a bit of volume and weight off the successor, which brings it much more in line with Panasonic S5II (X) cameras. The new camera has a 3-inch vari-angle OLED display. It has dual memory card slots and also supports external recording to a solid-state drive. Just like the original S1R, the successor is compatible with a range of L-Mount lenses.
AI-powered hybrid autofocus system and 177MP photos support
Panasonic has also overhauled the phase-detect autofocus system on the Lumix S1R II to provide more speed and artificial intelligence smarts. It sports the 779-point Phase Hybrid Autofocus system, which was first introduced with the more premium S5 II camera. The AI-powered autofocus system provides advancements in subject detection and tracking, apart from improved accuracy in face and eye detection.
Furthermore, there’s five-axis image stabilization rated for up to eight stops. The camera is capable of capturing images of up to 177MP when used in the high-res mode. It can shoot full-resolution photos at up to 40 fps with continuous autofocus. The new SH pre-burst mode of the S1R II captures images before you fully press the shutter. It’s worth mentioning that the device processes all the images entirely in-camera, so you don’t need to rely on external software to create high-res photos.
Coming to the pricing, the Panasonic S1R II costs $3,299.99 and will be available in major markets in late March. Panasonic has priced the new camera competitively to go against the likes of the Canon R5 II ($4,300) and Nikon Z8 ($3,400).
