Six years is a very long time on the earth of digital cameras, so what precisely has modified between the Panasonic Lumix S1R II that was launched in 2025 and the unique Lumix S1R from manner again in 2019?
We’re bringing you this in-depth Panasonic Lumix S1R II vs S1R head-to-head comparability to clarify the variations and assist you select between these two mirrorless cameras.
You can even learn our detailed Panasonic Lumix S1R overview to search out out precisely what we consider that digital camera.
Sensor
The unique Lumix S1R makes use of a 47.3MP full-frame CMOS sensor with no low move filter to assist maximize total decision.
The S1R II includes a newly developed 44.3MP BSI CMOS sensor that provides barely much less decision however helps quicker steady capturing speeds and higher video.
Each fashions use the Venus picture processing engine.
Excessive Decision ModeBoth cameras provide a particular Excessive Decision mode, which captures 187-megapixel equal images on the S1R and 177-megapixel equal images on the S1R II by quickly taking 8 separate photographs and mixing them into one.
On the S1R, this mode required the digital camera to be mounted on a tripod or different steady floor to make sure enough sharpness.
The newer S1R II can moreover seize its excessive decision photographs while hand-holding the digital camera even on the full 177-megapixel decision, which makes it much more versatile, though it is nonetheless greatest suited to non-moving topics.
ISO Velocity
The S1R has an expanded ISO vary of 80-51200, which the S1R II betters at every finish by providing an expanded ISO vary of 40-102400.
Twin Native ISO is a brand new function on the S1R II that’s borrowed straight from the S1H and Panasonic’s broadcast line of video cameras. This mechanically switches between native ISO settings of 80 and 400 with out growing noise by altering the best way the digital camera reads out the picture sensor.
You may manually swap between the LOW and HIGH settings or select Auto and depend on the digital camera to take action at numerous ISO ranges.
Video
The unique S1R featured 4K video recording at as much as 60/50p in 4:2:0 8-bit high quality with a 1.09x crop of the total body sensor.
The S1R II ups the ante considerably by being the primary Lumix digital camera to supply 8K 30p video recording with 14 stops of dynamic vary. It additionally options 4K 120p recording with none crop.
The favored Open Gate format has been enhanced, permitting you to shoot in 6.4K, and even as much as 8.1K / 7.2K with a future firmware replace.
It additionally helps 5.8K Apple ProRes RAW HQ / ProRes RAW inside recording to a CFexpress Sort B card for the primary time on a full-frame Lumix digital camera. You may file to an exterior SSD through USB-C.
Autofocus
The six-year-old S1R was forward of its time by that includes an Eye AF mode and animal recognition pushed by Synthetic Intelligence Expertise.
Sadly it used a 225-point Distinction AF system with Panasonic’s distinctive DFD expertise which made it slower in low-light than its fast friends.
Quick ahead to 2025, and as you’d anticipate the brand new S1R II has a hybrid distinction and phase-detection auto-focus system with AI monitoring that rapidly and exactly detects human eyes and faces and follows a topic’s actions easily.
Autofocus on each cameras works in low mild all the best way all the way down to -6 EV with the 50mm F1.4 lens.
Burst Taking pictures
The Panasonic S1R’s capturing mode allowed you to take 9 frames per second with the main focus and publicity locked on the first body, or extra usefully 6fps with full-time AF/AE monitoring.
The S1R II provides high-speed burst capturing charges at as much as 40fps with the digital shutter “SH” mode, and an prolonged steady capturing “H+ (Excessive Velocity Plus)” mode of roughly 10fps with the mechanical shutter, each with full-time AF/AE monitoring.
The SH pre-burst mode even begins taking footage earlier than the shutter is absolutely pressed, guaranteeing you by no means miss a shot.
Shutter SpeedsThe S1R provides a quickest shutter velocity of 1/8,000sec for stills and video, whereas the S1R II can shoot stills at 1/16,000sec within the Digital shutter Velocity Precedence mode and video at as much as 1/10,000sec.
Physique and Design
Measuring 148.9 x 110.0 x 96.7mm and weighing 898g physique solely, the Panasonic S1R is among the largest and heaviest mirrorless cameras available on the market, so for those who equate mirrorless with being small, the S1R will certainly “shock” you. The Panasonic S1R paired with the Lumix S Professional 50mm F1.4 lens weighs in at nearly 2kg.
The S1R II has a newly designed, far more compact physique that’s nearly an identical to the Lumix S5 II, which measures 134.3 x 102.3 x 91.8mm and weighs 712g / 1.57 lb physique solely.
This does imply that the the massive standing LCD on prime of the S1R which was helpful for rapidly checking the digital camera’s key settings has been eliminated on the newer mannequin.
Each fashions are absolutely weather-sealed and splash/dust-proof and freeze-proof all the way down to -10 levels Celsius.
ViewfinderThe Panasonic S1R had among the finest, if not the very best, digital viewfinders that we ever had the pleasure of utilizing.
The S1R’s OLED unit has an exceptional decision of 5.76-million-dots, provides 100% area of view, and a magnification ratio of 0.78x with a 50mm lens at infinity.
The EVF operates at a local charge of 120fps with a minimal lag of lower than 0.005 sec, which helps to make it utterly flicker-free.
The brand new S1R II continues to make use of precisely the identical viewfinder as the unique mannequin.
LCD Display
The S1R has a triaxial tilt 3.2-inch touchscreen LCD with 2.1-million-dot decision.
The brand new S1R II makes use of the identical 3.0-inch, 1.84 million dot vari-angle LCD display screen because the S5 II mannequin, which provides barely much less decision however extra versatility.
IBISThe S1R has a 5-axis, 5.5-stop in-body picture stabilisation system, growing to 6-stops when used with suitable lenses.
The S1R II has an enhanced in-body picture stabilization system that provides 8 stops within the centre and seven stops on the edges of the body and seven.0-stops even within the telephoto vary with Twin I.S.2.
There’s additionally a newly developed cropless E.I.S. video distortion correction which stabilizes footage with out cropping the angle of view.
LUTsThe S1RII is suitable with the LUMIX Lab good telephone software, enabling you to load LUTs straight into the digital camera.
A brand new LUMIX Circulation app can be launched to reinforce manufacturing workflows throughout numerous eventualities, corresponding to brief movies, documentaries, music movies, and company promotionalvideos. This app provides a spread of options, from storyboard creation and capturing to file group.
Seize OneFor the primary time in Lumix historical past, the S1R II helps tethering through Seize One, helping numerous creators throughout numerous manufacturing eventualities.
Reminiscence Playing cards
Each cameras have two reminiscence card slots, utilising one UHS-II SD slot and one XQD / CFexpress slot housed in a devoted compartment on the aspect of the physique.
Battery Life
The S1R’s DMW-BLJ31E battery provides as much as 340-shot battery life when utilizing the Reside Viewfinder. This may be considerably boosted to 1,100 pictures utilizing the Energy Save LVF mode.
In actual world use, we took round 300 stills and some brief movies and the remaining battery life was about 50%, so markedly higher than the CIPA score with out having to make use of the facility save mode.
The S1R II provides as much as 280-shot battery life when utilizing the Reside Viewfinder and 350-shots when utilizing the rear LCD display screen, growing to 1,100 pictures utilizing the Energy Save LVF mode.
Value
When it was launched in 2019, the Panasonic S1R was priced at £3,399 / $3,699 physique solely, or £4,199.99 / $4,599.99 with the Lumix S 24-105mm MACRO F4 O.I.S. equipment lens.
The Panasonic S1R II physique solely can be accessible in March 2025 for £2,999 / €3,599 / $3,499, or £3,799 / €4,499 with the identical 24-105mm lens.
ConclusionThe new S1R II improves on the unique mannequin in nearly each manner, which might be what you’d anticipate provided that the S1R was launched in 2019. Whereas house owners of the unique mannequin could not just like the transfer to a smaller S5 II-esque physique, for everybody else the S1R II is clearly the digital camera to choose.
So what do you suppose? Would you select the brand new Lumix S1R II or the larger, dearer S1R? Depart a remark beneath!
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