Who shoots video at 4K? Well forget 4K … you can now “affordably” record at 6K with the Panasonic S1H!
Panasonic has added a third full-frame mirrorless camera to its L-Mount lineup with the launch of the video-oriented Lumix S1H, revealed at Cine Gear Expo 2019. It packs many of the specs we were hoping for but didn’t receive with the S1, like 6K video, 10-bit 4:2:2 internal recording and V-Log/V-Gamut with a Sony A7 III-beating 14+ stops of dynamic range.
There’s no doubt that the S1H will be the most advanced full-frame mirrorless camera for video, well ahead of anything from Canon, Nikon and Sony. You’ll be able to shoot 5.9K 16:9 video at up to 30 fps, giving you more options to punch in or crop for a final 4K release format. It can also shoot full 6K at a 3:2 aspect ratio, and will support cinema-oriented anamorphic lenses just like the GH5.
Panasonic notes that the S1H is the world’s first full-frame mirrorless camera to handle 10-bit 4K DCI (4,096 x 2,160) video at up to 60 fps. However, that’s a slightly dubious claim, as the camera will crop 4K DCI video to a Super 35mm (roughly APS-C) equivalent size. Still, it looks like it is the largest effective sensor area on a mirrorless camera for 60fps 4K video, beating Panasonic’s GH5 (4K 60fps at Micro Four Thirds) and Fujifilm’s X-T3 (4K 60fps at APS-C with a 1.25x crop). It will, however, shoot 4K 30fps video using the full sensor area, just like the S1.
