Panasonic takes on Canon with the full-frame, 45-megapixel S1R II mirrorless camera

Panasonic’s mirrorless cameras are best known for their video powers, but with its latest model, the company is finally getting serious about photography as well. The $3,300 full-frame Lumix S1R II is not only the company’s first camera capable of 8K video but can fire off 40 fps bursts of high-resolution (45 megapixel) RAW photos. It also offers a more advanced autofocus system, putting it squarely into the conversation with Sony, Canon and Nikon.

I’ve had a pre-production unit for several days now and so far, I’m impressed. The original S1R was a chunky 2.24 pound monster, but the S1R II is much lighter at 1.75 pounds and considerably smaller in size. That makes it less burdensome than before — though still a bit bigger than the Nikon Z8 and Canon R5 II. It also has one of the fattest grips I’ve ever seen that gave me a firm, secure hold on the camera.

Panasonic made other substantial changes to the body, removing the top display and shifting the mode dial from top left to top right. In the latter’s place a dedicated burst mode dial and photo/video/S&Q switch was introduced, while a new autofocus dial was placed at the back. Handling is now near the top among high-end full-frame cameras in my book, matching or even beating my favorite, the Sony A1 II.

The rear 1.8-million-dot display was also overhauled and not only flips out for content creators but also tilts up and down for photographers — putting it on par with the excellent screen on Sony’s A1 II. The electronic viewfinder has the same 5.76-million-dot resolution and 120Hz refresh rate as before, but now offers a more natural 100 percent magnification.

The S1R II supports both SD UHS II and fast CFexpress Type B cards (rather than XQD as before) with a slot for each, while also allowing SSD recording via the USB-C port like the S5 IIX and GH7. Other inputs include mic, headphone and a full-size HDMI slot, along with a 10Gbps USB-C port. The battery is the same as the one on the GH7 and G9 III but delivers just 350 shots max on a charge, unless you buy the optional DMW-BLK22 battery grip. The S1R II will also offer full-float 32-bit audio recording, but only with the optional DMW-XLR2 audio accessory.

Shooting performance is dramatically better with up to 40 fps (RAW 12-bit) burst speeds with continuous autofocus enabled, compared to a rather pitiful 6 fps on the previous model. It can also hit 10 fps speeds in mechanical mode or 9 fps with 14-bit RAW output. That matches the lower-resolution Canon R1 (though that model does it in 14-bit RAW mode) and is only below Sony’s A9 III that can hit a mind-boggling 120 fps burst speeds in RAW mode.

Panasonic also overhauled the phase-detect autofocus system to add more speed and AI smarts. It can now lock onto a subject’s face and eyes quicker and follow their movements more smoothly, but also detect and automatically switch between humans, animals, cars, motorcycles, bikes, trains and airplanes. From my observations so far, it’s not quite up to the speed and fluidity of Sony and Canon’s latest models, but Panasonic is nearly there.

When it comes to image quality, JPEG photos look natural with realistic colors, though I wasn’t able to open RAW files on this pre-production camera. One big improvement is at high ISOs in low light thanks to the dual ISO sensor that keeps noise under control all the way up to about ISO 12800.

On the video side, the S1R II now supports internal ProRes RAW and 8K video capture, but not both at the same time. ProRes RAW captured to CFexpress or USB-C is limited to 5.8K but uses the full width of the sensor, so it’s a good solution for 4K productions. 8K, meanwhile, can only be captured in 4:2:0 LongGOP MP4 formats at 30 fps (4K tops out at 120 fps in Slow & Quick mode).

That compares to 60 fps max on the Canon EOS R5 II and Nikon Z8, and both of those cameras can do that format in RAW. Sony’s A1 II, by contrast, can also do 8K 30 fps video but doesn’t support RAW recording at all. And of course, the S1R II supports V-Log recording and promises up to 14 stops of dynamic range, slightly less than the S1R. It’ll also allow for external ProRes RAW recording at up to 8K to Atomos recorders via a firmware update coming after the initial launch.

Panasonic’s updated stabilization system promises up to 8 stops of shake reduction, but there are a few significant updates. It reduces edge distortion for video without cropping, though there’s a small amount of vignetting if you do that. As before, it supports e-stabilization at regular and high strengths, and now offers the high-strength mode for anamorphic lenses.

That raises the issue of rolling shutter, since the S1R II doesn’t use a stacked sensor like its main competitors, the Nikon Z8 and Canon R5 II. Distortion is definitely more prominent than on those models, but readout speeds are relatively quick so it’s not offensive except when doing whip pans or filming very fast moving subjects.

At $3,300, the S1R II is priced well below the $4,300 Canon R5 II but nearly on par with the Nikon Z8, which can currently be found at $3,400. It’s set to start shipping at the end of March 2025.