Used Panasonic LUMIX DC-S1 Mirrorless Digital Camera Body

2023-03-05T14:15:58

I'm a professional photographer who uses the S1 every day. I purchased it new and currently have over 240,000 shutter actuations with it so I have a good deal of experience in both the pros and cons of this camera. I use the S1 exclusively for professional real estate photography and video, so my needs and my review are specific to that need. I've used it day in and day out for three years and it still look and feels practically new. It's been very reliable in heat and cold, sun and rain. I do have it in a SmallRig cage so that may help but it's also taken a number of solid knocks and kept on going. This is a solidly built tool intended for professional use. It's heavy but the grip is deep and fits my large hands well so the weight is well balanced. I've been very pleased with the image quality. I rarely use ISOs higher than 800 but the files are very malleable and tolerate some pretty heavy shadow lifting with almost no noise. Color remains vibrant and accurate even with shadow pushes where other cameras would have issues. Highlights recover nicely as well. Real estate photography is often about pushing shadows and pulling windows all in the same image and the S1 gives me a lot of latitude to do just that. I use it for video frequently, some of it hand held. The image stabilization works very well and makes a big difference in hand held pans (although you still need to be reasonably steady with any camera). It offers more video capabilities than I would ever need for professional use. My auto focus needs are specific to real estate where there is absolutely no action but sometimes low light and low contrast scenes. Most times it is excellent. There are the occasional misses but that is likely the result of contractor bland empty rooms with no contrasty edges to lock focus on. Manual focus with the excellent peaking function easily fills in those times. My biggest complaint is somewhat specific to my use but also applicable to portraiture. Like both Nikon and Sony (don't know about Canon) Panasonic feels that if you are using flash you no longer need to see a preview of ambient exposure. It simply makes the entire scene bright to make viewing easier. This may be okay in many cases but I want to see the ambient exposure so I can adjust for windows and adjust my flash separately for room illumination. This isn't only useful for real estate. Any off camera flash portrait work would greatly benefit from being able to see ambient exposure in live view. I have been told that you can set a custom button to turn the flash off briefly to adjust ambient but for someone who shoots well over a thousand exposures every day every button push multiplied a thousand times gets quite annoying. My solution was to run a PC sync cable from the PC port to the flash. In this way the camera doesn't realize a flash is even plugged in but it still fires a sync pulse to set it off. It works, sure, but I don't appreciate having to run a 1950s flash solution in a 21st century camera. Both Olympus and FujiFilm allow me to see ambient exposure previews even with the flash so it's clearly a design decision. Other than my moderately specific flash issue I have nothing bad to say about the Panasonic S1. It's been a fantastic workhorse that gets the job done with little fuss and delivers solid images.

Patrick P.

2020-08-04T19:37:13

My favorite camera so far. It's so versatile for video and stills. I love everything about it. It's so rugged I've gone on long climbs without a scratch. Hot, cold and wet it handles it all like a champ. Bravo Panasonic

CHRISTINE C.

2019-12-22T01:09:45

Lots of m o i r e in pictures!!! It is a no brainer! Chunky batteries, very heavy design. I got dust on the sensor almost every day that have to be removed, otherwise you will see faded areas in your pictures. (This is going automatically by default with Canon or Nikon.) I have lots of moire both in photo and in video mode. This camera obviously doesn't have any anti aliasing filter. I can't film or capture any images with this camera off from books because of the raster dots, or any brick walls. I use to have this problem with my Canon EOS 5D Mark II camera ten years ago!!! On the top of this, we bought this as our main video camera for documentary films, but it doesn't offer any 4K DCI option, which is really annoying. Also, with the MC21 adapter continuous autofocus is disabled, which makes this camera a real deal-breaker. (Also, with native Panasonic lens the autofocus is more sluggish than with Canon or with Sony ecosystem.) Just beware of these when you would purchase this camera. The battery is below average. I got only 120 shots with the original one. Why has S1/S1R/S1H the worst autofocus in the market? How I could make a lawsuit against Panasonic?

Orosz M.

2019-10-09T13:21:49

I love this camera. I use it mainly for its video features, which are incomparable to any other camera on the market. While the bitrate is not as good as the EVA-1, it blows Sony and Cannon out of the Water with its 4k30p 10-bit fidelity. Its shutter is fast, the menu systems make sense, and the viewfinder is absolutely the best one I have ever looked through. One thing the definitely needs improvement is the autofocus, Its leagues better than the GH5 but still way behind the competition. When it comes to the general 'look' of the camera, I found that when comparing an image right off the sensor of this one, the Fuji XT-3, and a Sony A7iii, I and my family preferred the S1 every time. It's sharp, warm, and the highlights are incredibly even. Overall, I can highly recommend this camera to anyone, despite its drawbacks.

BRAD B.

2019-10-04T12:30:57

Till now i have been a Canon fan i have been using canon 5dm4 and 1dxm2, l am not a professional photographer but i love photography & travel. i switched to lumix s1. Initially i felt it's HEAVY. With it's Kit lens, I felt like i am carrying 3 brickes on my back pack. I can say its not a travel friendly. Its a big con for me. The color since is great, i loved it. I bet you will love too when you are switching from nikon or canon family. Video features are great. 4k in 60fps is great to have but you will feel hot, camera is struggling to capture the content. Battery is ok nothing to complaint About it. The kit lens is heavy too, thats the biggest drawback. Auto focus is decent but it struggles in low light situation. This camera feels good in hand. I wish they could manage the weight other wise its a 5 star camera.

Sriram M.

2019-07-02T07:57:19

Other that this camera make beautiful pictures also its the best construction in the world. I own before Nikon d7100 and 750 and they not even close to S1.Very happy to own this camera

MAREK M.

2019-06-30T15:06:45

I've been shooting with the S1 for a few weeks now and it's been awesome! I did a 300 photo time lapse and it pretty much drained the battery, so battery life is Okay. Having the feature to use an external power pack is super nice and that's probably what I'll do from now on. The video has been amazing. I just wish they had 24p as an option for some of the compressed HD settings. Right now it's only 30p, so maybe this will change with the firmware upgrade along with the added 10bit. I think my GH4 has more compression options. However, the 180fps, is super sweet! It's the Best camera I've owned, so I'm just being picky with a couple critiques in the review

Jesse W.

2019-05-11T18:38:10

Wow! I've been using Panasonic exclusively for years on the MFT's systems. Coming from the latest GH5 and GH5s, the Lumix S1 is the obvious next step for Panasonic creatives. I absolutely love this camera. the "kit" 24-105 lens, if it can be considers a kit lens, is tack sharp and far from a typical cheap "kit" lens. It's a solid pro-lens! The video is excellent and the AF system is by far better than the GH5 and GH5s. Being full frame, I think this has got to be the future of Panasonic Lumix!! Worth it!

JESSE P.

2019-05-09T15:43:49

This could easily be one of my favorite cameras. We already all know that it contrast instead of phase detect. Not a deal breaker. No flippy screen (even though they could if they wanted) but whatever. My concerns right now are limited lens selection and a horrible adapter. I purchased the MC-21 and focus speeds along with hunting was a nightmare. This is their first attempt at a FF camera and they did extremely well. It just seems limited at this point in time. Who knows when more native lenses come out. Also, we know about the cost that's involved when completely switching over systems. I'm still trying to unload all my Canon stuff.

ERIK V.

2019-04-18T09:27:53

I am brand-agnostic. I’ve shot pro photo and video with Sony A99, Nikon D7100 and Z 6, Samsung NX1 (won’t ever sell it) and Canon DSLRs. This is the best of them all. WOW! ESPECIALLY for firmware V1.0. First, the AF for photos is stellar. Eye AF with active smart switching to/from facial- then body-recognition AF. Menus are amazing and Fn button customization is unparalleled. It’s a photo camera with very capable video specs. Works with the legacy GH-series XLR adapter (unlike the G9.) This thing is built like a 1960s vintage typewriter! It’s pro-DSLR size and that means the grip fits the hand for control, FF IBIS has room to move the sensor and that any heat resulting from longer video record times has a big heat sink to dissipate heat. Switches on quickly, clean audio preamps for internal video recording, and a firmware upgrade promises 10-bit 4:2:2 UHD recording. Will it record RAW internally once the XQD slot goes CFExpress? Low light champ! Color. Build. I could go on. Get. One.

RAYMOND T.

2019-02-01T02:01:46

This is a great camera, perfect for landscape and hi end videos

Francisco G.