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Today, Panasonic is announcing two new cameras in addition to a new lens. Previously, we reported on a teased Panasonic 24-60mm f2.8 lens, and today, it’s finally being announced. What’s more, we’ve already had time with it, and so you can check out our coverage on that lens. But perhaps more fascinating are the two new cameras the company is announcing today. Panasonic is taking the cover off of their Panasonic LUMIX S1 II and the LUMIX S1 II E. The former seems to have a lot in common with its predecessor, while incorporating a ton of the new changes that the S1R II received. Meanwhile, the S1 II E takes the sensor from the S5 II and gives it the S1 II’s processor and camera body while dropping the price to $2,499 — positioned between the S5 II and the S1 II. Then, there’s a bunch of firmware updates coming too.
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Panasonic 24-60mm f2.8 Tech Specs
This lens was previously teased, and I believe that everyone can say that it’s quite an odd choice. It feels like a decision made right in line with something that Tamron would do, similar to their 70-180mm f2.8. Tamron made that lens to keep the weight down, and primarily, the best uses are for portrait photography. 24-60mm is an odd choice, though. This lens is not going to replace the Panasonic Lumix S Pro 24-70mm f2.8 lens. Instead, it’s going to live beside it. We’ve got the new 24-60mm f2.8 in house right now for testing, and amazingly, it really does seem to be just as fast. That’s an advantage we think this lens will have over the Lumix S Pro optic.
Here are the specs that you care about.
- A new focusing unit that’s similar to the one in the 100mm f2.8, which allows the lens to focus insanely fast
- Function buttons that can have new assignments and will work with specific cameras
- Switchable control ring
- Weather resistant
- Very lightweight
- $899, launches in June
- Also called the LUMIX S 24-60mm f/2.8.
Panasonic S1 II Tech Specs
We don’t have this camera in for review yet, but it will come soon. Here are the specs that photographers will care about.
- New, partially stacked 24MP full-frame sensor with 3.5x faster readout speed
- Same processor as the S1RII, which is the Leica 2
- 5760k OLED viewfinder
- Weather resistance
- 3″ 1840K dot LCD screen with tilt and free movement
- Capture One compatible
- Copy and move assets
- Shutter comes down before turning off the camera as long as that’s enabled
- Frame IO ready
- Same battery grip as the S1R II
- Real Time LUT, multiple exposure mode, and Live Composite all return
- $3,1499 with sales starting in June
- Also called the S1II
Panasonic S1 II E Tech Specs
We’ve got it in for review, of course. And it feels nice to have something similar to the S5 II but with a bit more of an upgrade. If anything, this upgrade gives us everything that I wanted in the S5 series. It’s not replacing the S5 II from what I’m told. But it’s going to be kind of a higher-tier mid-level product. The S9, if anything, is the entry-level product.
- Same 24MP full-frame sensor in the S5 II
- Same processor in the S1 II that’s also in the S1 II R, which is the Leica 2
- 10fps with blackout-free burst shooting in mechanical shutter
- 5760k OLED viewfinder
- 30fps in electronic shutter
- Shutter comes down before turning off the camera as long as that’s enabled
- 1.5 second pre-burst shooting
- Shutter comes down before turning off the camera as long as that’s enabled
- Same battery grip as the S1R II
- Godox flash validation
- Inclusion of the Cinelike a2 color profile
- Urban Sports autofocus: designed for things like skateboarding, breakdancing, etc.
- Various storage configurations
- CF Express type B and SD card storage
- HEIF recording capabilities while shooting RAW
- Real Time LUT, multiple exposure mode, and Live Composite all return
- $2,499 price point with sales starting in June
- Also called the S1IIE. The “E” is for the essentials
Future Firmware
In addition to all this, Panasonic presented us with a list of many new firmware features coming in the future. Many of them relate to video shooting. But photographers know that the urban sports autofocus mode and HEIF are coming to the S1R II. From what we’re told, the rest is all going to be video-related.
