Recently I was lucky enough to attend the Panasonic Pro Experience training showing off their amazing new S series of full frame cameras which have been recently released. We spent 3 days on the Central Coast of NSW putting the cameras through their paces shooting landscapes, portraits and product photography with some of the best photographers in the country.

Here are some of my personal thoughts on the cameras along with some of the specs of Panasonic’s first venture into the world of full frame cameras.

Panasonic S1

KEY FEATURES

Full Frame 24MP sensor
96MP High resolution Mode
Unlimited 4k recording at 24/30p
HDR 4K up to 60fps
Dust, Splash & Freeze resistant design
Leica mount3.2" 2.1m-dot LCD
Sensor-Shift Image Stabilization
Bluetooth and Wi-Fi

Panasonic S1R

KEY FEATURES

High Megapixel professional camera perfect for print photography and Landscapes.
Full frame 47MP senor
No Anti-aliasing Filter
96MP High resolution Mode
HDR 4K up to 60fps
9.0 Fps Continuous shooting
Dust, Splash & Freeze resistant design
Duel card slots
Leica mount
3.2" 2.1m-dot LCD
Sensor-Shift Image Stabilization
Bluetooth and Wi-Fi
12 Months Warranty with Panasonic Australia

After an eye-opening presentation on the first night at Ken Duncan’s gallery, he had us up and about at 5 o’clock the next morning to head out for sunrise at Norah Head; one of his favourite locations. This was my first hands on with the Panasonic S1 and I managed to get a few shots I was happy with. The first thing I noticed was the amazing dynamic range and great detail the images had straight out of the camera. Below are a few of my favourite images from that morning. Minor adjustments have been made in photoshop to keep in line with what I would normally do in my workflow.

Once the sun was well and truly up, we had a very busy rest of the day shooting four different scenarios. Well it was supposed to be video for two and stills for two, but some of us stills shooters cheated! These were followed by a sunset photo shoot with Ken Duncan.

This was my first chance to use the Panasonic S1R, and in all of the different scenarios that we experienced I simply couldn’t fault it! The images all had super sharp details and dreamy looking bokeh. Up till now I had only used the 24-105mm lens, but after sunrise I also had the chance to try out the 50mm F1.4 and the 70-200mm F4 lenses. The 50mm will be an amazing portrait lens, and the images produced whilst shooting the food and the recently married couple once again have great detail and excellent separation between subject and background. With the food shots in particular I really wanted to get a bright light feel to the images even though it was actually quite dark and raining outside. With the 1.4 aperture this was no problem at all.

For the sunset shoot I tried out the high definition mode with some amazing results. The camera shifts the sensor to take 8 shots and stitches them together in camera. This produced a 338mp raw file that had some of the best detail I have seen. For example, I could zoom in to a small piece of seaweed (about 700% zoom) and I could see all of the colour and detail that quite frankly I wasn’t used to! The other thing that stood out to me was not only the lack of noise (especially in long exposure shots), but the excellent way the camera processed what noise there was. In my post processing I used noise reduction software to see how the files held up and it processed them perfectly with no loss of quality. I am sure this is because of the quality of the images in the first place.

On the final morning we went to Glenworth Valley to shoot horses running at sunrise. This was another test for the camera as we were shooting mainly before or at sunrise at ISO 3200. I couldn’t believe that we not only produced usable images straight from the camera, but they were really crisp and sharp with no visible signs that they were shot at such a high ISO.

Overall, I was very impressed with the Panasonic S1 and S1R full frame mirrorless camera and what they had to offer as their first venture into the world of full frame cameras. With the recent announcement of the S1H specialist video camera it appears that Panasonic have a clear direction to cater for everyone’s needs with the S series of cameras. Considering the availability of a multitude of lenses and an adaptor to use Canon glass, I think these cameras are a smart move for anyone looking to venture into the full frame realm. Oh and for anyone wondering, yes I have ordered mine!

I would like to thank Panasonic for inviting us to be a part of their evolution, and the amazing photographers who led the workshops with their valuable knowledge.

Panasonic Pro Experience - Making The Most Of Your Photography Experience