Full-frame mirrorless with a serious penchant for video, the Panasonic Lumix DC-S1H is clearly distinguished by its impressive video capabilities, but also features notable flexibility to suit multimedia applications along with an especially durable design. The full-frame 24.2MP CMOS sensor affords versatile performance to suit both video and stills, with a broad 14-stop dynamic range, sensitivity from ISO 100-51200, adept processing to realize high color accuracy, responsive recording, and a broad array of video capabilities. Using nearly the full sensor, 3:2-format 6K24p video recording is supported, along with 16:9 5.9K30p and both DCI and UHD 4K60p settings with internal 4:2:2 10-bit sampling or external raw recording capabilities with a compatible recorder.

Inspired by broadcast cameras, the S1H also uses the updated sensor design to provide Dual Native ISO settings that prioritize either low noise or low sensitivity to realize imagery quality with greater color fidelity and reduced noise. Variable Frame Rate (VFR) recording also permits using slow and quick motion effects and High Frame Rate (HFR) settings allow the use of higher frame rates in conjunction with 10-bit sampling. Additionally, V-Log has been pre-installed, and a Hybrid Log Gamma is also available for achieving greater detail when recording, and to benefit color grading during post-production.

In terms of still photography, the Panasonic S1H isn’t lacking with an impressive 9 fps continuous shooting rate with AF-S, or 6 fps with AF-C. In the cases where 24MP isn’t quite enough, a specialized High-Resolution mode can be used to boost the effective resolution to 96MP by compositing sequential shots together. Also benefitting stills, as well as video, is a 225-area Depth from Defocus (DFD) contrast-detection autofocus system that achieves quick and precise focusing and subject tracking. Additionally, sensor-shift image stabilization helps to minimize the appearance of camera shake by 6 stops for sharper handheld shooting.

Beyond the imaging attributes, the Panasonic S1H is also characterized by its body design, which incorporates an impressively high resolution 5.76m-dot OLED electronic viewfinder along with a 3.2″ 2.33m-dot tilt free-angle touchscreen LCD. The magnesium alloy body is weather-sealed to permit working in harsh conditions and has a 1.8″ top status LCD for reviewing shooting settings on the fly. Dual SD memory card slots offer flexible storage capabilities and Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity afford remote camera control along with wireless image transferring to tablets and smartphones.