Lumix S1 for Wedding Photography
I’ve used the Lumix S1 for plenty of weddings, pre-wedding shoots, and other paid work now. So here are my thoughts on the Lumix S1 as a wedding photographer’s main camera.
First of all, it’s quite a chonk to lug about all day, but the ergonomics make is surprisingly well balanced and it hasn’t affected me as much as I thought it was, with me coming from the Lumix GH5.
My GH5 is still my second cam, by the way. I use them both a ton during a wedding day, I haven’t and won’t be giving up micro four thirds any time soon! But for the purposes of this review, all the images shown are from the Lumix S1 with the 24-105mm f4 stock lens. Cool? Cool.
Lumix S1 for Wedding Photography — Battery Life
Whoever said a battery would get only 400 raw images before dying was absolutely underselling it. I honestly have gotten THOUSANDS of images off one battery. Granted, to help with blinking etc I shoot in burst mode most of the day, so maybe the quick succession of the shots should be taken into account. But I have only 2 batteries for the S1 and that will happily get me through a wedding day, even if I’m shooting both photo and video.
Check out the Lumix S1 on Amazon
P.S. all my weddings are edited with my brand new preset pack, The EVERYTHING Preset. It works with video too. Check it out here!
Lumix S1 — is it reliable?
On the whole, yes it has been reliable. There have been a few quirks. The most alarming of which is every so often (usually after a lot of burst shots) the touch screen just freezes up. And because I shoot on single point auto focus, and move the point on the touch screen as needed, this is a PROBLEM, ladies and gents. It often gets stuck in a corner when it does freeze and the only way to get it back to working again is Off and On again, and occasionally taking out the battery for good measure.
I have to say, in many many jobs, many many hours, and in the UK summer sun, it has happened maybe eight times? But in my opinion that’s about eight too many. I have every faith that it’ll get fixed in a firmware update. Please. Please Lumix.
Lumix S1 Stock Lens Quality
I love the stock lens. Don’t get me wrong, the next time I win the lottery I’m definitely buying that sexy 50mm f1.4 Lumix prime. But until then the f4 stock lens has been doing incredibly well. It’s great for those macro detail moments we need, it’s great for portraits and wide enough for group shots. What’s not to love. It’s sexy. Even in low light. Which leads me to…
Lumix S1 Low Light Performance
This camera is making me lazy again. It really is. It can see in the dark, even at F4. I have been using ISO 12,600 just without a single issue. It’s mental. I know that no matter the conditions it’ll pull through for me, and that will only get better when I get that sexy f1.4 prime. Can you imagine? Book me for your cave weddings please! Getting married in the vacuum of space? That’s fine. The S1 will see it all.
The elephant in the room: Is the Lumix S1 significantly better than the Lumix GH5?
That honestly depends. In most of these example images, lighting is great, the GH5 would have been absolutely fine. Where the S1 starts to pull away in the race is of course in those more challenging conditions.
You CAN shoot in low light with micro four thirds — I have many times and managed it fine. However, it is a bit more of a mental exercise. You have to nail your settings. You have to think a lot and be prepared and calm. And sometimes take chances with slower shutter speeds than you’d like.
With the S1 you can just trust that everything will be fine. So yes, it can be easier at times with the S1. But for 90% of a wedding day the GH5 would be just as good, especially with my favourite m43 lens: the Lumix 25mm f1.4
Lumix S1 for weddings — things I’ve learnt
For whatever reason — possibly the larger megapixel count — 128gb doesn’t get me through a wedding anymore. In the past, with 2x 128gb (dual writing) in my GH5 I was absolutely set for a full day’s photography. With the S1 I am running out of space about three quarters through. It’s actually ridiculous how much space these raw files take up. I’m so glad I didn’t opt for the S1R!
So. More memory cards to buy. More expensive memory cards to buy. The S1 can be a bit of a money-pit when you’re starting out. From memory cards, to bigger bags, to bigger gimbals, to SEVENTY BLOODY QUID batteries, there are plenty of hidden costs. But it’s cool. It’s cool.
It can also overheat. It gets hot even on cloudy UK days when you’re snapping away. It occasionally leads to freezing as I have previously covered but most of the time it’s just mildly inconvenient that it’s warm in your hand.
The stock lens as a manual MF/AF button which I sometimes knock and it gives me a heart attack when the camera doesn’t focus. But that is absolutely me being an idiot.
Shooting 4K 60p when in aperture mode, which is very likely if you’re shooting photo and video on the day, only crops in to APS-C AFTER you press record. Does my head in. You frame a shot, press record and… boop! Cropped in. Zoom out. Balls up the first three seconds of your take. I think it would be easier to deal with if I wasn’t duel-wielding the GH5, which doesn’t do this.
Lumix S1 focusing
Honestly it’s been great. I shoot lots of movement in my couple portraits — I find it makes people more relaxed and less self conscious. So there’s lots of walking towards the camera, dancing, generally just not being static. I’ve found it to be reliable and fast in all circumstances, even in the dark.
Of course, I’ve shot contrast based focus cameras now for a number of years so maybe my expectations are just lower than other people? But my shots are in focus, there are very few duds, so I’m happy.
Lumix S1 for wedding photography — Conclusion
It’s been wonderful. Very few negative points to report. I wish it wouldn’t get so hot. I wish it would stop freezing. I’m sure those things will be addressed ASAP in firmware. And bear in mind, I know this sounds like the end of the world, but my wedding days can be like twelve hours long.
Times that by ten weddings, god knows how many pre-shoots, and every other job, and then eight freezes isn’t THAT bad. Right? I mean, it isn’t that good either — it shouldn’t happen at all! — but it has been very occasional and thankfully only cost me one shot. Which made me feel like a tit. But there we are.
The S1 is rugged, and I’ve been in rain, sand, and baking heat with it so far with no ill effects.
Stock up on memory cards coz this bitch is thirsty.
Get a decent strap for it because it can hurt your back a bit during a long day.
If you’re worried you will need to buy a field full of lenses before making the jump, don’t worry. The stock lens is one of the best I’ve ever used and with the frankly insane ISO performance of this camera, f4 isn’t the end of the world. It’s more than enough to get you going and get working with this new setup.
So there we go. My new camera in the family. A few teething problems, but on the whole, I regret nothing. Here’s my review of the S1 that I filmed before shooting most of these weddings.
Check out the Lumix S1 on Amazon
P.S. all my weddings are edited with my brand new preset pack, The EVERYTHING Preset. It works with video too. Check it out here!