Panasonic has just recently launched the Lumix S9 camera in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and I managed to sneak myself inside, as a plus one to my friend Jaya Jaya (thanks man) who was invited to the event. Obviously, again, I am not important enough to be invited directly. I am just a photographer being isolated on his own island. Having the opportunity to get my hands on the Lumix S9 and used it briefly, I decided to do a quick first impressions preview on location and shared some of my thoughts about the Lumix S9. Obviously, this is not a review, I did not have enough time with the camera to make a meaningful review. The Lumix S9 is indeed an interesting camera, and I have a lot of things to say about it.
DISCLAIMERS
Let's start with some disclaimers. I am not connected or associated with Panasonic. Heck, I was not even invited to the launch event. I went as a plus one, and whatever I am saying in this blog article is from my own honest opinion and quick experience having used the camera briefly.
WHAT IS S9?
The Lumix S9 is a small form factor camera that is made with content creators in mind. It was designed to be able to produce high quality video quickly, and to help minimize content creator's workflow. It is a compact sized full frame camera that comes with some limitations, both for photography and video shooting.
WHAT I LIKE?
I do genuinely love the design of the Lumix S9. It looks very similar to the older Lumix GM1, but an oversized version. I love the minimalist look and sleek design. The camera is also very small for having a full frame sensor, and it weighs only about 486g. The S9 also features 5-Axis image stabilization, which is rated at about 5 stops effectiveness, if true, is not to be scoffed at. A powerful image stabilizer can definitely benefit video shooters in stabilizing their footage while handling the camera hand-held. I also like that the camera does come with built in phase detection AF, which can help greatly when dealing with moving subjects, improving C-AF and tracking speed and accuracy. I think PDAF is a must have if you are a one-man crew (like myself). The full frame sensor can bring a lot of advantages - better resolution, dynamic range and low light high ISO performance, and of course, something that many content creators look for - creating organic and natural looking shallow depth of field effect. A full frame sensor can guarantee more blur to meet your bokeh fetish.
WHAT DON'T I CARE ABOUT?
The new feature in the Lumix S9 is the Real Time LUT, where you can choose from pre-installed LUT in the camera to be applied on your footage, you can preview the effect live while recording with the camera, looking at it through the LCD screen. You can also download many available LUTs, or create your own LUT and download them into the camera, for more customizable look. While I believe this will be useful for a lot of creators, I personally don't use LUT at all for all my content creating work on YouTube. I shoot with Flat Profile and do minor color grading to make the footage look natural. I don't fancy the weird, off-tint colors from any of the LUTs. It is just not for me.
WHAT I DISLIKE?
I am primarily a photographer, and this Lumix S9 seems like a camera that could have been made for photographers as well. So, my opinion here will be strongly biased as a photographer.
Panasonic made some questionable decisions in removing the mechanical shutter from the Lumix S9. This directly crippled the photography capability of the camera. Without mechanical shutter, the sensor in the S9 which was not a fast one, and definitely not a global shutter, will suffer serious rolling shutter when dealing with fast panning, or moving subjects. It will also show ugly banding in low light, LED light situations. To further stamp their "made only for content creators" tattoo on the S9, they intentionally not include an electronic viewfinder, which a lot of photographers would find a necessity to have in a camera.
While I understand that the Lumix S9 is a content creator's camera, I also see an opportunity of that camera to be used as an everyday carry, casual shooting, travel and street shooting camera. It is one of the smallest full frame cameras out there, and with Lumix technology, it can be a powerful camera. I feel that Panasonic was a little shortsighted in their decision in crippling the camera by taking out the mechanical shutter and EVF. Having these features could have opened up more sales opportunities and broaden the target audience. A lot of photographers are looking for small, compact cameras with high imaging quality. Look at Fuji X100 series, look at Ricoh GR series, this Lumix S9 could have smoked them all, if it had the photography necessary features intact. Why, Panasonic, why?
And then there is a recording limit: if you shoot video in 6K your limit is 10 minutes only continuous recording. 4K - 15 minutes. Full HD - 20 minutes. Imagine if I am doing a cooking video, and I want a continuous recording from start to finish, and it may take 45 minutes to record the entire session, and I will edit the video down to maybe 5 minutes. With a lot of time-lapse, high-speed motion (sped up in editing). Now while I am cooking, using the Lumix S9, I have to constantly look over my shoulder and hope that the camea has not stopped recording. This is just one case scenario, I can easily think of 10 more, where the recording limit can be a deal breaker. Even for myself, I leave the camera on the tripod recording me doing my talking head for my YouTube video. I may need 20 minutes to finish my usual video, the 4K recording limit of 15 minutes just could not cut it!
If you are making the camera for content creators, then why cripple the video recording time limit? It makes zero sense.
WHY NOT MICRO FOUR THIRDS?
Then Panasonic explained that the reason why they took out the mechanical shutter and not include an EVF is to make the camera smaller. I cannot help but wonder if this camera is more suited for Micro Four Thirds format. You can further downsize the camera easily, without having to make so many compromises. And I am sure, you can get rid of the recording time limit too.
I don't understand why Panasonic is making this camera an L-Mount full frame camera - the Micro Four Thirds option would have been more practical. You can target BOTH content creators AND photographers, if you don't make so many compromises. The answer is simple - if you want to make a small camera without sacrificing features and capabilities - Micro Four Thirds is the best format. Being one of the big supporters and manufacturer for Micro Four Thirds, why can't they see and understand that?
Why not make a fully capable, zero compromise, highly capable Micro Four Thirds camera than a half-baked, heavily crippled S9? It just does not make sense to me.
CONCLUSION
Whether the Lumix S9 will be a hit or not, only time will tell. I strongly feel that they can make the S9 slightly larger and fit all the necessary features without so many compromises and open up the sales reach even wider to the photography crowd. Or they can make the camera smaller without any compromise by going the Micro Four Thirds crowd. As for me, I feel that the S9 is an incomplete camera, if you want a truly capable full frame L-Mount camera, go for S5 II. If you are willing to go to other camps, there are MANY options out there to explore (Canon, Nikon, Fuji and Sony).
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I followed a lot of the discussion on your recent live stream, and I have to agree that it seems like a flawed product, aiming for an audience that might overlook some deficiencies but then preserving deficiencies that would be deal-breakers for that very audience, like those recording time limits. In discussion on one review, someone remarked that it would be adequate only for TikTok creators, which is a pretty damning but not entirely inaccurate statement. I suppose that a camera costing $1800 aimed at people filming video "shorts" is a sign of our times, and not a particularly encouraging one.
ReplyDeleteDespite enthusiastic coverage from some, I think Gordon Laing nicely highlighted some of the crucial problems, convincingly demonstrating the problems of an electronic, but not global, shutter in just a few seconds in his review. Maybe people might claim that fast panning in video is an unfair demonstration, but this is not a cheap camera, and Panasonic should be making every effort to minimise the issues even in the areas where its flaws are most apparent.
And that leads to the choice of a full-frame sensor in this product. It seems quite likely that a global shutter would be more achievable or affordable with a smaller sensor, and the heat management issues which are the root of those recording limitations would also be mitigated with a smaller sensor, too. Then there is the pruning of features like the viewfinder and "hot shoe" to fit the product in a small-enough body. All of that should have pointed Panasonic's product strategists towards their Micro Four Thirds line-up and making a camera that quite a few people have said they would buy.
I imagine that someone in the corporate hierarchy sees higher margins to be made with L-mount products, also sees that it needs some kind of promotional boost to get traction in the marketplace, and believe they have identified a market populated by people who like to spend big money on gear. I'm not convinced that they arrived at the right conclusion, managing to make the OM System obsession with wildlife even look mildly sensible!