Panasonic announces two new full-frame mirrorless cameras

Amateur filmmakers have loved using the Panasonic GH camera line. A mirrorless camera with a micro four-thirds sensor that was capable of recording cinema 4K. Last year Panasonic released the GH5s, an upgrade to their popular GH5 camera that was geared towards filmmakers. It has a 10.2 megapixel high sensitivity MOS sensor and was able to record cinema 4k up to 60fps.

The Panasonic GH cameras did come with a hiccup that a majority of filmmakers couldn’t get around, the micro four-thirds sensor. The M43 sensor was a two times cropped sensor, so a standard 25mm lens would be equivalent to a 50mm lens on a full-frame camera, and as we all know, full-frame reigns supreme. Sony cameras control the full-frame mirrorless market with their A7 line. Most mirrorless shooters you come across would be using a Sony camera, and with both Nikon and Canon announcing their own full-frame mirrorless camera, the market is about to see a lot of competition. Today at Photokina Panasonic announced itself that it will be entering the full-frame mirrorless market with their Lumix S1 and S1R cameras, both that will utilize the Leica L-Mount system.

Both Panasonic cameras will both be able to record video up to 60fps in 4K and will have a tiltable LCD, High-resolution EVF, and built-in image stabilization. They will each also have a dual card slot for SD and XQD cards. The S1 will be geared towards video creators as it will have a 24-megapixel sensor and a lower price point, while the S1R will be leaning towards photographers with its 47-megapixel sensor. Both cameras will see a release date sometime in spring 2019 with no price point announced just yet.

The announcement of Panasonic’s new camera line came just after it announced the new L-Mount alliance with Leica and Sigma. This partnership with these three manufacturers will allow more flexibility for the consumers who lean towards their line of products. Leica being the premiere full-frame camera for professional photographers has over the years created lenses and cameras with incomparable quality, with some of the lenses brandishing the Panasonic Lumix name. In the last few years, Sigma has gained major popularity with its Art and Contemporary series lenses, with the Sigma 18-35 f/1.8 becoming the most popular lens amongst photographers and videographers for its wide use.

Along with the camera announcement, Panasonic also announced three lenses that will launch along with the camera. A 50mm f/1.4 prime lens, a 24-70mm, and a 70-200mm lens. They also promised that by 2020 they will release up to ten different lenses for their cameras, with sigma also producing lenses of their own carrying the L-Mount. With this announcement, Panasonic has also mentioned that they will continue to support their Micro-Four thirds system, in which they announced the release of a 10-25mm f/1.7 lens which they say “will achieve the world’s first zoom with a constant aperture of F/1.7.”

With the release date to be next year, we can expect to see more news and specifications about the new S line in the next few months, particularly during CES in Las Vegas beginning of January. As of now, specs-wise, it looks like Panasonic will be giving Sony, Nikon, and Canon a run for their money but can it be enough to knock down Sony and take over the top spot? Guess we’ll have to wait until spring to see.