Panasonic Lumix DC-S1R II

With classic prosumer DSLR style design and handling, albeit via a marginally smaller mirrorless format, the full frame S1R II sits alongside the recently announced S1 II and S1 IIE yet boasts a bigger 44MP resolution, as opposed to the duo’s 24MP. A slight drop from the 47.3MP pixel count of 2019’s original S1R has enabled 40fps capture speed via electronic shutter, plus 8K video in a first for the series. The result is a feature-packed flagship from Panasonic that fulfils its hybrid brief to satisfy stills photographers and videographers alike.

The S1R II is Panasonic’s best hybrid camera ever thanks to the excellent photo and video quality, but rolling shutter may be a concern for some.

The Lumix S1R II takes the core design and feature-set of the S5 IIx, boosts the resolution of photos and video, upgrades the viewfinder detail and screen flexibility, enhances the subject detection, improves the controls and sprinkles-in some nice new features to become their most powerful hybrid camera to date. Some will be disappointed Panasonic chose not to go with a stacked sensor nor the highest possible resolution, and it’s true there is visible skewing if you throw the camera around while using the electronic shutter or when filming video. But these in turn have allowed a lower price point while avoiding stepping on the toes of L-mount partner Leica in pure resolution. And lest we forget, unstacked sensors generally perform better in terms of noise and dynamic range, so it’s important you weigh-up which sensor technology best meets your needs. I was certainly pleased with the photo quality and the chance to generate higher resolution files with the pixel-shifting mode. And while video frame rates incur crops as the frame rates increase, it’s still pretty mild at 1.1x for 60p and 1.17x at 120p. And in terms of genuinely new innovation, the cropless stabilisation is so cunning you could pin a tail on it and call it a fox. If you don’t need the speed of a stacked sensor or single frames measuring over 44 Megapixels, there’s little the S1R II can’t do nor any major features it’s missing. Indeed there’s very few cameras directly competing against the S1R II at the time of writing, and if you’re already invested in L-mount, it’s positioned nicely between the bargain S5 II and the Leica SL3. It could also represent a nice upgrade from a lower-end or ageing model.

The S1RII is a hybrid camera that offers solid detail capture, pleasing JPEGs and plenty of video capabilities, but its autofocus system isn't the best for capturing action and movement.