- Hey guys, my name is Matt Johnson,
and Panasonic just announced that this autumn
they will be releasing the S1H,
a more video focused version of their popular S1 camera
that also happens to come with a much higher price tag.
So, today I want to tell you about
the video features of this camera
that have been revealed and give you my thoughts on them.
And, please keep in mind that Panasonic
just announced this camera and they said themselves
that they were not going to reveal
all of the video features yet,
so I'm sure some of this is subject to change.
Up first, let's talk about
the headlining feature of the S1H.
This camera is capable of recording
up to 6K in the the three by two aspect ratio
at 24 frames per second,
and 5.9K in the 16 by nine aspect ration
at up to 30 frames per second.
It is also capable of recording 6K
in the four by three aspect ratio
if you want to shoot animorphic as well.
And to be clear, Panasonic has said
that it records 6K in full-frame with no crop.
That is very impressive.
I hear some of you saying, "Matt,
"why do I need a camera that can shoot in 6K?
"My computer can barely edit 4K footage at this point.
"Why would I need 6K?"
Well, just like how you can deliver
a video in 1080p but shoot it in 4K
so you can crop in and have a lot of room
to manipulate it in post,
if you shoot a video in 6K, you can then
deliver it 4K and have a lot of room
to reframe things as well.
That is an awesome feature to have.
Now I do want to temper this excitement
with a bit of uncertainty.
Panasonic has not stated if the 6K video modes
would be recording in 10 bit.
They may only recording in 8 bit,
we do not know yet.
The second major feature of this camera
that I want to talk about is that the S1H
is capable of recording 4K
at 60 frames per second in 10 bit.
Up until this point, the GH5 and the S1, etc.
were only capable of recording 4K, 60 in 8 bit color.
So having the ability to record 4K, 60
in 10 bit color is going to be huge for a lot of people.
One thing that we don't know is
if there is going to be a crop
when shooting at these higher frame rates.
With a Panasonic S1, whenever you're recording
in 4K, 60, there is a 1.5 times crop.
With the S1H, Panasonic has not stated
whether there will be a crop or not.
One last benefit of the S1H is
that it comes with V-Log preinstalled.
Unlike with the S1 and the GH5 and other Panasonic cameras,
you do not need to purchase a software license upgrade
to enable it to shoot in a flatter picture profile.
You get V-Log in this camera built in.
Of course this camera also has
many of the features and strengths
of the S1 that came before it.
You're getting the fantastic in-body
image stabilization from the S1.
You're getting great battery life, unlimited recording time.
It' built like a tank.
The S1H is going to be a great tool for film making.
There are a lot of things that we don't know
about this camera yet,
and I touched on some of them earlier.
Does it have that same 1.5 times crop
when shooting at 4K, 60 frames per second?
Is the 6K video recorded in 10 bit?
What bitrates is this camera recording at in 6K?
And what about overheating?
Panasonic has said in an interview
that, while the camera has unlimited recording time,
it may shut down if it gets too hot.
You may not be able to shoot an outdoor wedding
in 6K in the Texas heat,
which I am about to be experiencing,
as summer rapidly approaches.
Aside from these unknowns, there is one issue
that we do know about that I think
is gonna keep some film makers
from purchasing the S1H, and that is the price.
At four thousand dollars, this is
definitely not a cheap camera.
And this comes at the time when we have
so many options from so many different
camera manufacturers for such good prices.
You have Sony with their A73 for two thousand dollars.
You could buy two of them for the price of one S1H.
You have the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K
for 13 hundred dollars that records gorgeous raw video.
You have the Fuji X-T3 for 15 hundred dollars.
Even the S1, this camera's younger brother,
for 25 hundred dollars is gonna have
many of the same features as the S1H.
At this event Panasonic announced that on July 8th
they would be releasing a firmware update
for the S1 that adds V-Log and 4:2:2 10 bit
recording in 4K at up to 30 frames per second.
This update will cost two hundred dollars,
but, even then, the price is still
much lower than the S1H.
My point is that we are living in
the golden age of video cameras right now
with so many options from so many manufacturers
for such cheap prices.
And so, whenever you see the S1H
with its four thousand dollar price tag,
I can really only recommend this camera
if you need a camera that can record
full-frame video in 6K.
For me, I'm still shooting with
the Sony A7S II and I love this camera,
but, come this fall, if Sony has not released
the A7S III by then and it does not match
many of these specs or improve on them over the S1H,
I might jump to Panasonic.
If you wanna read more about this camera,
I'll be sure to post any news or updates about it
to my Facebook page, which I'll link to
down in the video description.
Thanks so much for watching and have a great day.
(cheerful music)