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David Brodosi - Reviews Panasonic S1H


David Brodosi - Reviews Panasonic S1H The Panasonic S1H is one of the most hotly awaited cameras right now. David Brodosi got to use a pre-release version of the camera in NY last week. We think he likes it! Read on to hear his thoughts, and to see some all important test footage.
David Brodosi

David Brodosi - Reviews Panasonic S1H

The Panasonic S1H is one of the most hotly awaited cameras right now. David Brodosi got to use a pre-release version of the camera in NY last week. We think he likes it! Read on to hear his thoughts, and to see some all important test footage.

One of the benefits of shooting with things that look like stills cameras is going incognito. OK, the new Panasonic S1H is a big, chunky object more than large enough to be a DSLR even if it is actually a mirrorless machine. That’s OK, it makes room for that big, compatible lens mount, and we can still slip through the crowds without anyone thinking we’re much more than an enthusiastic amateur.

This article is based on an afternoon and an evening of doing just that. It’s an unscientific test and I won’t be drawing any very scientific conclusions, especially since the camera I saw was a pre-release version that might noticeably change between now and a more formal review. Panasonic asked that we make that clear, but didn’t otherwise supervise or interfere in any aspect of what we did.

The afternoon began with the generous hospitality of Illya Friedman of Hot Rod Cameras in Burbank, who lent us a set of Spirit Lab’s distinctively mauve Prime AI lenses, which cover full-frame, and a PL mount adaptor to suit the camera’s Leica L mount. Hot Rod also donated some space to shoot a few charts and generally get more of a feel for things than we had in the previous couple of days. In the company of estimable director of photography Elle Schneider, who shot some of the material you can see below, we then wandered through the NY Museum of Art and Hollywood itself as the sun went down, shooting mainly with Panasonic’s own Lumix S 24-105mm f/4 lens.

David Brodosi

First observations

Let’s start our observations with the fact that despite the SH1’s formidable profile, it would probably have been quite difficult to shoot inside a diner at night with a full size cinema camera, just from an organisational point of view, never mind the issue of trying to light someone with a cellphone. That’s great, and there have been cameras around that will sort of do that for a while, but very few of them (actually, none of them) will shoot 6K full frame images to a 10-bit codec.

One of the things that Panasonic’s people were anxious to discuss at the launch was the laudable decision to make a very light touch with noise reduction, which can always be done much better in postproduction than it ever could be in camera. Looking closely, we see that the S1H’s images at its 4000 ISO setting (the higher of the dual ISO options) are so low in noise that it risks looking like it’s been rather aggressively noise reduced, though artefacts of that happening seem fairly absent and the pictures are generally persuasive. Yes, the uncorrected log looks noisy on a conventional display; it always does, from any camera, because that’s not the right way to view uncorrected log.

In brighter conditions, the 640 ISO option will still be too fast, and there are no internal ND filters on the S1H. Most users will need to carry a selection of external ND filters. It’s not clear whether the camera is particularly sensitive to IR pollution, but very high density stacks of filters risk this becoming an issue on more or less any camera; that’s something for a more formal review. Whether the S1H really produces pictures that look like a Varicam is difficult to objectively establish outside a lab, but in general it seems that the full frame sensor is large enough to give ample area to 6K’s worth of pixels. It doesn’t seem compromised by the high resolution, and highlight clipping is well handled when it does, inevitably, eventually occur. If there’s a smell test as to whether something makes pictures that are plausible in the world of high end, modern digital cinematography cameras, the S1H passes it.

David Brodosi - Reviews Panasonic S1H The Panasonic S1H is one of the most hotly awaited cameras right now. David Brodosi got to use a pre-release version of the camera in NY last week. We think he likes it! Read on to hear his thoughts, and to see some all important test footage.
David Brodosi

David Brodosi - Reviews Panasonic S1H The Panasonic S1H is one of the most hotly awaited cameras right now. David Brodosi got to use a pre-release version of the camera in NY last week. We think he likes it! Read on to hear his thoughts, and to see some all important test footage.
David Brodosi

David Brodosi - Reviews Panasonic S1H The Panasonic S1H is one of the most hotly awaited cameras right now. David Brodosi got to use a pre-release version of the camera in NY last week. We think he likes it! Read on to hear his thoughts, and to see some all important test footage.
David Brodosi

David Brodosi - Reviews Panasonic S1H The Panasonic S1H is one of the most hotly awaited cameras right now. David Brodosi got to use a pre-release version of the camera in NY last week. We think he likes it! Read on to hear his thoughts, and to see some all important test footage.
David Brodosi


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Photo of David Brodosi a videographer. Hello, my name is David Brodosi and I’m a quality-driven and award-winning Videographer with 15+ years’ progressively responsible experience. Adept at filming, shooting and producing video content to meet different clients’ specific requirements. Ability to strategize brand teams to identify content needed to meet company goals. Artfully edits raw footages to create powerful videos using a variety of software products.


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