Hi I'm Gordon from camera labs and this Is my review of the Panasonic Lumix S9 a Compact full-frame camera with 24 Megapixels 6K open gate video ibys and Easy access to picture Styles and Effects the smallest model in the S Series to date the S9 is available in Jet black crimson red dark olive and Night blue I tested a pre-production Blue version running firmware 1.0 which Is your favorite color announced in May 2024 and in initially costing around $1,500 or pound the S9 on the left Shares the same core innards of the s52 On the right but slices off its Viewfinder and simplifies some features To become more affordable lighter and Smaller in every Dimension at the time Of the s9s launch the s52 is already Over a year older and enjoying some Discounting as such with body prices Available from around $1,800 or £650 I'll mention the differences Between them throughout this review for Me the though the closest camera to the S9 at least in concept is Sony zv1 which Is basically a viewfinder lless version Of The a7s Mark 3 ignoring the lenses Here you can see the S9 and zv E1 bodies Are actually very similar in size and Weight but with quite different sensors Inside the zve one inherited the 12 Megapix sensor from the A7 S3 that's Targeted more at video alone whereas the
S9 inherits the 24 megapixel sensor from The s52 making it more attractive as a Photo and video hybrid now there's many More differences between these two Models that I'll also mention throughout The review but for now I'll will note That the S9 launch price is around $500 Or pound cheaper than the current street Price on the zv1 which is already a year Older and getting some discounts so That's a decent saving for the S9 right Out of the gate but again there are some Key differences let's start with design Unlike the zv E1 which has a fairly Chunky grip Panasonic has opted for a Completely flat front on the S9 that's Luckily paired with a decent thumb rest On the rear allowing you to hold it more Comfortably and easily than it looks but If you'd like more to wrap your fingers Around small rig offers an L-shaped grip Accessory that screws into the bottom of The camera and makes it much more Comfortable to hold I reckon it also Really improves the looks too now I Don't know the exact price of this Particular accessory but small rig sells Similar grips for other models for Around $40 the next thing you'll want is A suitably small small lens that matches The aesthetic of the camera and as a Look would have it the S9 was launched Alongside a new 26 mm prime lens that Certainly looks the part it's less than
20 mm thick and weighs just 58 G so Barely adds to the overall package Impressively the combination is only 1 Cm thicker than a Fujifilm x16 and a Barely noticeable 25 G heavier as such It's no wonder the lens is being used to Market the S9 but in order to achieve That size this lens is involves some Compromises which could rule it out for Many first it's manual focus only and in The absence of distance or Zone markings On the barrel you're going to be relying On focus peaking and magnified Assistance in order to focus it properly Even at f8 I found I needed to magnify The view by double tapping the screen Before the peaking became sufficiently Accurate to nail the focus now it's not A difficult process but it's obviously Slower than using an autofocus lens Secondly it has a disappointingly low f8 Aperture greatly limiting the chance for Shallow depth of field effects and Forcing you to use high isos in low Light but what makes the aperture Particularly frustrating is that it's Fixed at f8 unable to close any smaller Which makes achieving motion friendly Shutter speeds for video in daylight a Bit of a challenge especially since There's no filter thread nor even a lens Cap for that matter and third the focal Length not that useful a bit too wide For General photography but not quite
Wide enough for most handheld vloggers I Suspect it was chosen to optimize the Size and weight now to be fair the Optical quality isn't actually that bad And the price is very reasonable at Around $200 or pound plus again what Should we expect for a lens that weighs Less than 60 G but I do feel it's more About jumping on an X100 bandwagon and Selling a look more than a usable Experience especially for the target Market if you're after a more practical Prime lens with a larger aperture and Autofocus that's still reasonably Compact consider one of sigma's I series Lenses for El Mount available in a Variety of focal lens including a nice 20 mil F2 that's ideal for vlogging I've Got reviews of most of them if you're Interested or for the hipsters Among Us And I count myself as one how about Pairing the S9 with a vintage SLR Pancake lens like the rather tasty Nikon 45 mil 2.8 I picked up for about £120 sure it's manual focus again but The aperture is much larger than the 26 Mil f8 and I think it looks pretty Classy on the S9 what do you think Alternatively there's the upcoming Lumix S 18 to 40 f4.5 to 6.3 Zoom obviously Larger than a pancake Prime but still a Good size match for the body and promise For later in 2024 but at an unspecified Date and price at the time I made this
Video but with a compelling Ultra wide To almost standard range the 18 to 40 Looks perfect for the S9 not to mention Attractive for other El Mount bodies so It's a bit of a shame that it wasn't Ready for this camera's launch so in the Meantime the initial S9 kit will rely on The existing 20 to 60 f3.5 to 5.6 one of My favorite general purpose zooms that Still starts very wide and extends a Little Beyond standard but obviously Loses some of the S9 compact charm that Said in terms of range both of Panasonic Zooms are arguably more interesting than Sun's 28 to 60 kit lens for the zv1 Ultimately I guess it depends how small You want either camera to be both are Obviously more portable than bodies with Viewfinder humps when fitted with the Same lenses but for me personally Cameras like the S9 and zv1 are just Crying out for Quality compact lenses Now I'll be showing you some sample Photos and videos from not just the new 26 and older 20 to 60 but also a couple Of Lumix s prime lenses to demonstrate The potential for shallow depth of field Effects as well as for my vintage Nikon 45 right let's get on with the body tour Starting with the top panel which Employs a shorter version of the S5 2's Mode dial with a power colar around it Alongside or an exposure compensation Button movie record button and the
Shutter release with a finger dial Around it while it's possible to start Recording video in any mode the Dial's Options are biased more towards Stills Photography with only snq and Manual Movie dedicated to video contrast this With the simpler switch between photo Video and snq modes on Sony zv E1 which To me feels more appropriate on a camera That's likely to be used equally for Video stills speaking of the zv1 notice Its more sophisticated three capture Microphone which is also supplied with a Wind Muffler accessory versus the more Basic built-in stereo mics on the S9 Which will also be more susceptible to Wind noise both cameras of course can be Used with external microphones but Sony's more sophisticated accessory shoe Also supports extra pins to work with Microphones that don't actually need a Separate wire while neither camera goes As far as to include a built-in wireless Microphone receiver like dji's osmo Pocket 3 Sony's definitely thought about Audio more than Panasonic has here You'll also notice there's no built-in Flash while sliding the cover from the Shoe on the top of the camera reveals no Sync pins for an external flash either This is because the S9 only has an Electronic shutter which on this model Does not support Flash sync but I'd Still like some contacts for a neita
Microphone solution turning to the rear You'll see the S9 has no viewfinder so Like the zv1 it uses a screen for Composition only this 3-in panel is Fully articulated flipping out to the Side and twisting up and down for easier Composition at high or low angles or Forward to face you for selfies or Filming pieces to camera nether camera Has an option for an electronic Viewfinder accessory although you could Always slide on a thirdparty optical Viewfinder if you really want eye Lev Framing but if you do want an evf you'll Just be better off going for a model Like the s52 to the side of the screen Is a flat thumb wheel which can be Clicked up down left or right to Directly access the iso Drive AF area or White balance options there's no Joystick on this model above the screen You'll see two chunkier buttons one for Afon and the other labeled L this stands For lookup table the term that's used by Videographers for what are essentially Filters or picture effects LS are Traditionally applied to videos during Editing in a color grading process but Panasonic's realtime look capability Allows you to bait them in at the point Of capture to photos or videos saving You time in the edit if preferred Panasonic includes three sample looks to Get you started in the S9 but you can
Create your own or download some from Other creators via the new Lumix lab app You can see a selection that I've Already downloaded onto the camera here This app will soon merge with the Existing Lumix app to also offer remote Control of the camera but for now it's All about downloading and applying LS or Transferring photos and videos to your Phone so let's see it I mean let's see It in action with bluetooth enabled the S9 can automatically connect itself to Your phone's Wi-Fi and there's Switchable support for 5 GHz too here I Have the camera set to the default Quality options an autot transfer Enabled for immediate copying over so Now if I take a photo you can see it Automatically copy across a low Resolution medium-sized version about 5 Seconds later switching the camera to Video and recording a 6-second clip then Takes about 12 seconds to subsequently Copy onto my phone and that's in 4k Quality using the new 50 mbit per second MP4 light format which I'll talk about In a moment the auto transfer mode works Well but maintaining a Wi-Fi connection Inevitably takes a toll on your battery Now in my test my phone wasn't hit too Hard but I did manage to drain a fully Charged S9 pack in about 90 minutes During which it was only transferring About 30 photos and a few short video
Clips so I'd say it's better to do them All in a batch at the end of a session As for the look The down download Section of the app gives you access to Loads of free options from various Creators including my friends Emily Lowry and Sam Holland do check out their Channels if you haven't already I'd Already downloaded some of their LS onto The camera so for this demo I'm going to Show you neutro by kataro kumazawa first Download it which takes a few seconds Then in the l section of the app tap on Device to find it before selecting and Then applying it to a spare Library Position in the camera here I'm going to Apply to set 13 and it's copied across Now when you push the look button on the Camera you'll see the ones that you've Already downloaded in the list so just Choose the effect that you're after if You'd like to tone down or customize the Luts though you'll need to access them Via the realtime lot section on the Photo style menu here you can choose the Desired L Again by pushing the look Button but now you can also adjust the Opacity or effectively the strength of It in 10% increments as well as tweaking Other parameters but why isn't this aail Able when you just push the lot button By itself though wouldn't that be easier It's also possible to apply two Ls Simultaneously but to do that you'll
First need to customize one of the my Photo Styles and scroll down through the Parameters there you'll find options to Choose one or two lots as well as Adjusting the opacity of each I think at This point what started as easy access Has now become a bit complicated I do Like the dedicated L button but feel This should also let you at least access The opacity control to turn it down a Bit if preferred but by going through The my photo Styles you can at least set Up your own preset to easily apply Everything in one step later moving on To physical connectivity a small door on The right hand side opens to reveal Micro HDMI and USBC ports while a 3 and 1/2 mil microphone Jack is hous behind Its own flap on the left side unlike the Zv1 there's no headphone jack though and Unlike fujifilm's cameras there's no way To adapt one to the USB port either I Wonder if the target market would have Pre preferred a headphone jack instead Of an HDMI port as I'm not sure how many Are actually going to connect external Recorders or make TV slideshows with it Which would you prefer as you'd expect The USB port can be used for charging The battery but annoyingly Panasonic Still hasn't implemented UVC and UAC That would allow it to work as a simple Standard USB webcam now there is a Driver that you can install on your
Computer that allows it but it's just Not as easy as plug andplay that's Offered by most cameras these days Including the zv1 meanwhile the battery And single SD card slot are housed in a Compartment below with the S9 powered by The same BLK 22 pack as the s52 Providing around 450 photos or around an Hour's worth of video under super Conditions now the card slot under the Camera isn't as convenient as the slot On the side of the zv1 though if you Have either of the mounted on a tripod Or gimbal in my own test I managed to Record 90 minutes worth of 4K video on The S9 9 before it shut down due to Overheating with about a quarter of the Battery remaining in contrast I only Managed just under an hour of 4k on the Zv E1 before it overheated but the S9 Has a limit on individual clip lens that I'll mention in a moment moving on the S9 inherits what appears to be the same 24 megapixel full-frame sensor as the S52 with essentially the same photo and Video quality options including the Composite high-res pixel shift mode and Pre capture bursts now I believe there Is a minor update to support phase Detect autofocus in 1080 50 or 60p using The full Center area though that was Strangely lacking on the s52 I'm pleased To report the S9 also features built-in Stabilization or Ibis for short which in
My test proved to be one of the most Effective around particularly for video So let's have a quick vlogging demo Using the 26 mil lens which are Prefocused to my face using peaking Starting with no stabilization at all Bit wobbly right next you're looking at Ibis alone where the view has become Much steadier in fact maybe good enough But if you'd like to iron out more Wobbles here's how it looks with Additional digital stabilization set to Standard and finally with digital Stabilization set to high where there's More compensation but in return for a More substantial crop it's more Effective but the 26 now just isn't wide Enough for handheld vlogging at arms Length so here's the S9 fitted with the Lumix s 18 M f1.8 where is not only much Wider but also delivering a way Shallower depth of field for nice Blurring effects behind me this is the Lens you want for handheld vlogging with Any Lumix s body like the zv1 Panasonic Has dumped the mechanical shutter making The S9 an electronic camera only now This made sense on the Sony as few People would be using its 12 megapixel Sensor for photos but with the S9 being More of a hybrid camera with 24 Megapixels I think it's important to Understand the pros and cons of an Electon IC shutter first it's silent and
Vibration free which is great for Discretion although I personally miss The sound and the haptic feedback of a Mechanical shutter when taking photos Secondly on all but the most expensive Sensors electronic shutters can suffer From skewing artifacts with fast motion Or pans as well as banding artifacts Under artificial light here's a quick Panning test I made with the S9 using Its burst mode where you can see the Skewing effect with vertical lines now Leaning to the side if you regularly Shoot fast motion or take photos in Doors at events a camera with a Mechanical shutter option such as the S52 is going to be preferable and now Here's an example in 4K video where Again you can trigger the skewing effect With sudden or fast movements so the Moral for video is to be gentler with Your movements third most sensors with Electronic shutters can't synchronize The Flash at least at the kind of speeds That you want so that's also ruled out As an option on the S9 electronic Shutter assign though since the actual Photo quality is essentially the same as The s52 I'm going to concentrate on What's new here and direct you to my Review of that camera for a detailed Report on quality if that's what you're Looking for but for now a brief nod to The various aspect ratios including a
Cinematically wide option which fellow YouTuber Richard Wong inspired me to use Do check out his channel too as for Video The Core modes are the same as the S52 so you're getting 1080 from 24 to 120p 4K from 24 to 60p and that's using An apsc crop at 50 and 60p and even 6K From 24 to 30p in an open gate format That uses the full height of the sensor In contrast the Sony zv1 allows 1080 up To 240p and 4K up to 120p without Cropping making it preferable for slow Motion but it doesn't offer anything Higher than 4K nor any open gate formats So what is the benefit of Open Gate Anyway okay so most video modes take the Full width of the sensor but crop it Vertically into a 16×9 shape that Matches modern TVs but most camera Sensors are actually taller typically 3×2 shaped an open gate mode simply Record the full area giving you greater Flexibility when editing here's a clip I Filmed in open gate on the S9 initially Cropped here for the usual 16×9 Presentation but notice how I have extra Room above and below to pan up and down Or reframe if necessary I'm doing this In the edit now his two versions of the Same clip shrunk down so you can see the Full 3×2 shape that was C captured next I'll crop each of them for 16×9 Landscape or vertical framing where You'll see the benefit of having extra
Headroom on the latter it's way more Flexible than cropping 16×9 footage into The vertical shape and means you may Only need to film one clip for multiple Formats amazingly for such a powerful Feature many camera companies including Sony have resisted equipping their Consumer cameras with open gate Facilities and that gives the S9 and the S52 a key advantage over their Alpha Rivals and rather than only hiding it at The top of their movie quality menus Panasonic has now decided to promote Open gate is a key selling feature on The S9 with a new MP4 light mode that's Designed for quick and easy transfer to Phones this records the full 3×2 sensor Area but at a lower 4K resolution to Allow a more modest 50 megabit per Second bit rate that's quicker to copy Onto your phone as you saw earlier There's no other quality options to set Just 30p or 25p depending on the region That you've chosen in the menus like the S52 the S9 video quality is excellent And also has very effective Stabilization and continuous autofocus Allowing you to confidently stand in Front of the camera and know that it's Going to keep you nice and sharp let's Have a quick look at the video quality In practice starting with 1080 at 30p Before switching to 1080 at 60p now back To 1080 30p before having a look at 4K
30p for a boost in detail then to 4K at 60p which incurs an apsc sized crop and Now back to 4K 30p again before taking a Look at 6K 30p which may look the same When played on a 4K timeline but see how You can zoom in a bit to exploit the Extra detail that it captures while Maintaining 4K quality but the smaller Body has involved compromises in Recording times with the S9 limiting 1080 Clips to 20 minutes each 4K Clips To 15 minutes each and 6K Clips to 10 Minutes each in contrast the s52 has Built cooling which allows you to keep Recording while power and Memory Remains While the zv1 has a menu option that Allows the camera to get warmer if you Like before it will shut down now in my Tests I managed just under an hour of 4k On the zv1 before it overheated and that Was with a single clip on the S9 I Recorded five consecutive 15minute clips Of 4K so that's 75 minutes worth before The temperature warning icon appeared it Then allowed me to film another 15minute Clip before shutting down with about 1/3 Of a battery remaining so in my test the S9 actually gave me almost 50% more 4K Recording time in total than the zve one Before either of them shut down but in 15-minute clips for short videos this Won't be a problem but if you film Presentations like this one it could be Limiting so I do wish that Panasonic
Would add a temperature warning option That let you allow longer Clips even if Only for half an hour it should let you Decide how hot it's going to get moving On one of the most interesting new Features on the S9 is hybrid Zoom which Merges Optical and digital zooms into a Continuous longer range cleverly Operated by the mechanical ring on the Lens alone this is available in photo And video but works best of all on video Where you can effectively extend the Zoom range in 1080 or 4K modes without Losing quality by exploiting the full 6K Resolution of the sensor to demonstrate Here's the standard range on the 20 to 60 Zoom going from wide to long and Back Again note the focal length indicated in White that means this is an optical Process and now for the hybrid Zoom Version which simply appears to deliver A longer range that's still operated by The physical Zoom ring alone note the Focal length changing to Yellow when Processing is taking place here with the Camera set to 1080p the 20 to 60 can be Transformed into a 20 to 187 mil range With seamless adjustments now this is More than just a standard digital Zoom Which would simply multiply the entire Range by by the same factor thereby Losing out on the wide end with the Hybrid Zoom you're still getting the Wide end but an extra longer reach and
Again you're operating it with a Physical Twist of the zoom ring rather Than pushing buttons on the back of the Camera now if you'd like to preserve a Fully optical zoom for the first few mil Of the range the S9 also offers an Option that only begins to apply the Digital aspect a little further in on The 20 to 60 notice how it stays with Optical only indicated by white numbers Until 28 8 mil after which the digital Kicks in this may be preferable for the Ultimate quality but it does mean that You miss out on a linear Zoom speed Throughout the whole range instead it Appears to speed up on the digital Version next let's try it in 4k where There's fewer spare pixels to use for Scaling this time the range is extended To 93 mil so not anywhere near as much As in 1080 but still roughly 50% further Than the lens can do optically alone Note that I've switched back to linear Scaling here so that the Zoom speed Remains proportional to how I'm twisting The zoom ring and finally if I try it in 6K movie quality it becomes unavailable Because of course there's no spare Pixels to work with I really like the Hybrid Zoom for video is it extends the Range of your Zoom without any real loss Of quality at least in 4k or 1080 modes But for still photos you will experience A reduction in quality now it remains
Seamless in operation but you can't Create detail out of thin air and the Longer end of the hybrid zooms just Records IM is at a much lower resolution For example at 1920 by 1280 pixels That's just 2 and 1/2 megapixels in fact I compared 1920 by 1280 crops from Full 24 megapixel images and found the detail Was unsurprisingly the same but the Hybrid Zoom will effectively preview That tighter framing at the time of Capture and it will also expose Accordingly for that portion alone Sometimes when you take a full image and You crop just a small part of it the Exposure isn't optimized for just that Bit that said for the best quality i' Don't only really use hybrid Zoom for Videos where again the 1080 and 4K modes Can exploit the full 6K resolution of The sensor to extend the range without Impacting quality oh and so far I've Only tested it with a couple of Panasonic Zone lenses so I'll report Back and let you know if it also works On Sigma El Mount lenses and indeed the Rest of the Panasonic range which now Brings me to my final verdict during Which I'll include a selection of Samples taken with a variety of lenses As promised the Lumix S9 becomes one of The smallest and most affordable Full-frame cameras around similar in Size to Sony zv1 but undercutting it on
Price while also sporting high Resolution photos and video The Core Quality and autofocus not to mention the Excellent stabilization and decent Battery are mostly inherited from the S52 making it an effective tool for Content creators pop a small lens on it And you've got a nice travel camera Almost like a fullframe X100 but like The zv1 there are a number of Compromises to meet the size and price PR Point most obviously both models lack A viewfinder relying on their screens Alone and neither have the Dual card Slots nor mechanical shutters of the Larger models that they're initially Based on Panasonic takes this even Further still by imposing limits on the Video clip length just 15 minutes in 4k While the accessory shoe on the top has No electrical contacts for dedicated Microphones and there's no headphone Jack either all features that are Notably available in the zv1 albeit at a High price price and while the new 26 Mil lens is remarkably small it's manual Focus only with a fixed fa aperture if You want autofocus you'll be fitting Something larger although Panasonic does Have a compact 18 to 40 arriving later In the year that delivers ably more Compelling range than Sony's 28 to 60 Kit Zoom but with the increasingly Discounted s52 giving you a viewfinder
Twin card slots mechanical shutter flash SN more controls greater connectivity And a bigger grip for not much more Money it may be initially hard to choose The S9 over it but over time I did grow Fond of its looks not to mention the Easy access to lot effects the clever Hybrid zoom and the new MP4 light mode I Wonder how many of those features could Arrive with a firmware update on the s52 Though and while Sony zv1 made boast Uncropped 4K up to 120p and a fun Reframing mode it does lack the 6K in Open gate mode to the S9 which made that Model much more practical to repurpose Clips for both landscape and vertical Formats meanwhile mobile creators will Also appreciate the S9 light mode for Quicker transfers to their phones Ultimately while it's not quite a Fullframe X100 with interchangeable Lenses the Lumix S9 remains an Attractive option for those who won't Miss the features that are lost from the S52 meanwhile those who do want things Like the view find and twin card slots Will be very well served by the s52 Which is quite frankly remarkable value For what it offers and if you're still In doubt whether Panasonic's autofocus And quality are good enough for single Person creators you may find it Reassuring that I filmed almost all of My reviews over the past year with the
S52 including this one so tell me what You think of the S9 in the comments and Whether it's reduced feature set versus The s52 is no problem for you or a step Too far and while we're at it what would You like to see on a future Lumix s Flagship model surely that's going to be Coming next and in the absence of a Sponsor section in this video you can Always help me out with a like and a Follow and if you're feeling extra Generous I'm always up for a coffee or You could treat yourself to my in camera Book or a camera Labs t-shirt links for Everything in the description below Thanks for watching and I'll see you Next time bye-bye
