The Lumix S1Rii is the best hybrid camera Lumix have ever made — REVIEW!
Lumix S1Rii — Introduction
I’m a long-time user of Lumix cameras — everything from the S1, S5, and GH series — so i’ve got a lot of experience with the ecosystem. I’ve had the chance to test out Panasonic’s newest release, the Lumix S1RII. I thought I’d share some of my favourite new features, and give some special attention to the improvements in this camera versus others in the Lumix line-up. There’s so much spec here to cover, and I’m sure this camera will make a LOT of people super happy. But is it worth the upgrade for you if you’re coming from a Lumix S5ii, or original S1? Could this be the best hybrid camera to date? Let’s dive into my Lumix S1RII review to find out.
Disclaimer: I attended the announcement event in Tromsø, but this is not a sponsored review. Panasonic has not seen or influenced this content prior to publishing, and this is not a paid-for review.
Snappiness! — Lumix S1Rii
One of the biggest upgrades in the Lumix S1RII is its snappiness. The camera powers on instantly, and hitting record starts filming with no delay. That might sound like quite an obvious feature? But if you’ve used other Lumix cameras in the past you’ll know what I’m getting at! There have been times when I’ve thought my camera battery was dead because the boot up time has been so slow. But no more: the Lumix S1Rii is fast and responsive… yay!
New Photo & Video Mode Dial
This is a huge improvement for me. The dedicated photo/video dial allows you to set unique custom button layouts and settings for each mode. For example:-
Photo Mode: Exposure compensation at zero, shooting in Cinelike D, 1/250s shutter speed.
Video Mode: Exposure compensation +1, shooting in V-Log, 1/50s shutter speed.
Switching between modes is now seamless and instant, making hybrid shooting incredibly efficient. In the past, with the Lumix S5ii for example, you could usilise your Custom modes to switch between the two but it was far from perfect. This new dial makes it like you have almost two completely different cameras in one. Love it. All hybrid cameras should have this.
Full-Frame 4K 60p & 120p Video
4K 60p: Works with phase-detect autofocus and subject detection.
4K 120p: No subject detection, but you still have contrast-based AF, and the quality is incredible.
Adjusting to full-frame 4K 60p took me a minute since I’m used to the whopping great big APS-C crop on the S5ii. But no more! The focal length doesn’t change and you get the full sensor readout for each of these modes. I was excited to see even 60p, but having 4k 120p without a crop as well is just showing off. It’s like a full frame Lumix GH7.
Improved Back Dial Design
On previous Lumix models, I constantly knocked the back dial, especially when filming. The new design prevents accidental adjustments, ensuring your shutter speed stays consistent — a small but crucial update, especially when shooting video! The new design is a subtle change but it makes a huge difference. It’s placed further into the camera body now as you can see in this photo.
Lumix S1Rii design
The Lumix S1RII takes the best elements from the original S1 (although we do lose the top info screen, unfortunately), the GH7, and of course the S5ii.
98% the size of the S5ii, so most S5ii cages (like my SmallRig Black Mamba cage!) will fit just fine.
GH7 articulating and flippy screen, but without the huge thermal management fan on the back. Best of both worlds.
The small form factor of the S5ii, but with the additional front custom buttons and tally lamp of the GH7.
A small thing? But you now have individual doors on each port as well so it’s much tidier and more premium.
Individual port doors for cleaner cable management
Photos taken with the S1Rii, edited with my City Escape preset pack
High-Resolution Handheld Mode with the S1Rii
This camera offers 44MP straight out of the camera and up to 176.5MP handheld! The detail is incredible, making this a fantastic option for photographers who need ultra-high resolution. The amount you can crop in to a high-res image is actually mind-blowing, honestly. And to be able to capture it handheld is amazing too. I’m actually a bit scared it’ll make me a lazy photographer as you can crop and edit so much with these RAW files.
S1Rii Burst Mode & Pre-Burst Functions
Up to 40fps continuous autofocus tracking (!)
1.5s pre-burst mode, just like the Lumix G9II
54MB RAW files mean buffering can be a challenge, but CFexpress storage speeds things up significantly.
I was expecting this area to be lacking, to be honest, given how pixel dense the sensor is now, but no… Lumix have knocked it out of the park here. The pre-burst mode is particularly handy for birds in flight and a feature that I love on the G9ii. So happy to see it here.
Image used with permission from Josh Cameron’s excellent YouTube channel. Check it out here, he has loads of videos on the S1Rii!
Lumix Flow App for Wireless Monitoring
You can now use your phone as a live monitor with the new Lumix Flow app. This is a great feature for solo content creators. Personally, I hate lugging a monitor around — it’s always one more thing to charge and remember! — but we all have our phones on us. Can’t wait to play with this feature more. It looks really snappy so far.
Built-In False Color Monitoring. Eeek!
This is so cool and so in-keeping with my war against external monitors. The main reason I used a monitor in the past was to access False Colour, and now I can do it in-camera, and use my phone as a monitor? Ahhh this is music to my monitor-hating ears!
Cropless Electronic Stabilisation?!
So this new feature on the Lumix S1rii blew my tiny mind… If you’ve ever used E-stabilisation you’ll know there’s always a pay off… the crop. Well now, there’s a new way of doing things. With this new cropless E Stabilisation, you can get the best of both worlds: enhanced stabilisation without a crop penalty. This only works with Lumix lenses, but in my testing it seems to work excellently, and it’s particularly handy when you want to retain a wide-angle field of view and have the most stable shot possible.
It isn’t quite as powerful as the full E Stabilisation, which is still an option on the S1Rii, but it’s certainly a good bump up from optical alone.
Final Thoughts: Is the Lumix S1Rii The Best Hybrid Camera?
There are so many more features to go through! But that was a list of some of my favourites. Check out my full video below for more.
So is the S1Rii the best hybrid camera Lumix has ever made? Absolutely. There are only a few negatives that I’ve encountered so far. One is the battery life seems a bit worse than the other Lumix cameras, but that’s a small price to pay for all the additional features and the performance boost.
The new AI subject detection is a little different from the S5ii series of cameras — definitely not worse, in fact it is quite a bit better, according to the engineers — but you have more custom options to tinker with. You can hone the sensitivity based on the environment. I personally just love the way the S5ii just WORKED, out of the box, but I appreciate that the S1Rii is a more specialist tool and many people will prefer to have more control.
Otherwise? I honestly think Lumix have knocked it out of the park with this new camera. The price is also insanely competitive, so I can’t wait to see what the public’s reaction will be!
Should YOU buy the Lumix S1RII?
This camera will be the ideal solution for so many people. If I was still a full time wedding photographer and videographer, I’d certainly be investing in a Lumix S1Rii or two.
Similarly, when I used to film corporate interviews and social media content for other businesses… this is a superb setup with all the professional features you could ask for.
For me, personally, as a full time content creator, I think the S1Rii might be a bit over-kill for my needs. But if you did want to invest in something that could do everything you throw at it and more, this would be a brilliant option. This really does seem to be a full frame hybrid camera that will tick the boxes for both photo and video enthusiasts.
Check out my video on YouTube!