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Earlier this week, Sony announced its FE 28-70mm F2 GM lens, its first constant F2 zoom. The company promised "prime levels of performance" and said the lens doesn't rely on software corrections.
Our sample gallery shows how the lens performs in general use as a portrait lens and contains a few samples designed to show how it renders sun stars and its vignetting performance throughout its aperture range. There are also some shots designed to show off how it renders bokeh when wide open at F2.
A note on processing: our standard procedure for lens galleries is to export the JPEGs using Capture One, as it gives us more control over how lens corrections are applied than Adobe Camera Raw. However, we shot this gallery with the just-announced Sony a1 II, which currently isn't supported in Capture One, so we reverted to processing these images using ACR. We've worked to use settings similar to our standard C1 recipe. No correction for vignetting or distortion was applied.
The 11th annual International Landscape Photographer of the Year competition has announced the winners of its 2024 awards, showcasing stunning imagery from around the world. Photographers competed in various categories, including the coveted Landscape Photographer of the Year, requiring a portfolio of at least four images, and Landscape Photograph of the Year, recognizing the power of a single captivating shot.
This year's competition saw Canadian photographer Andrew Mielzynski, an amateur with a deep connection to the natural environment, claim the top prize for his portfolio of stark images with simple color palettes. Ryohei Irie from Japan captured the Landscape Photograph of the Year award with a mesmerizing image of fireflies illuminating a forest.
Beyond the overall winners, the competition presented awards in specific categories, including Black and White, Aerial, Snow and Ice, and Forest, along with at-large winners. In addition to the overall and category winners, we've included several of our favorite photos from the 202 photographs recognized this year. You can visit the competition's website to see all the winning images or to download its 2024 eBook.
Landscape Photographer of the Year: 1st place
Photographer: Andrew Mielzynski, Canada
Subject and location: Cono de Arita in the Salar de Arizaro, Atacama Desert in Argentina
Description: The Cono is a perfectly cone-shaped volcano at 3,690 meters above sea level. It’s very graphic due to the contrast between the dark, perfectly formed cone and the bed of white salt that is found at its base.
Copyright Andrew Mielzynski / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year
Landscape Photographer of the Year: 1st place
Photographer: Andrew Mielzynski, Canada
Subject and location: Winter Cottonwoods, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Description: During the pandemic, I went out for a walk at a local park during a fierce winter storm. I ran across this scene. It seemed very chaotic, with many layers of trees. I loved how the snow, driven by high winds, was embedded into the bark of the trunks. The snow on the bark created a textural contrast that adds detail and interest to the trees. I took a few frames, trying to simplify the scene in front of me and settled on this one, loving the tones, the depth, the order and the minimalism. Even in a chaotic scene, there seems to be a sense of balance that feels orderly and pleasing.
Copyright Andrew Mielzynski / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year
Landscape Photographer of the Year: 1st place
Photographer: Andrew Mielzynski, Canada
Subject and location: Found in a roadside ditch near Heathcote, Ontario, Canada
Description: After a melt, we had a flash freeze with extremely cold temperatures and a clear blue sky. I was driving by a ditch on the side of a road that had been filled with water and had to stop and look (as we photographers do, can’t pass a ditch without investigating). This is what I found. Great textures and patterns, tones and flow, with lovely graphic lines creating a dynamic, abstract designs. I love this type of work – it’s so much fun, yet challenging to find just the right composition.
Copyright Andrew Mielzynski / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year
Landscape Photographer of the Year: 2nd place
Photographer: Ignacio Palacios, Australia
Subject and location: Pumice Field, La Puna, Argentina
Copyright Ignacio Palacios / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year
Landscape Photographer of the Year: 2nd place
Photographer: Ignacio Palacios, Australia
Subject and location: Seven Colors Mountain, Siloli Desert, Bolivian Altiplano
Copyright Ignacio Palacios / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year
Landscape Photographer of the Year: 2nd place
Photographer: Ignacio Palacios, Australia
Subject and location: Arita Cone, La Puna, Argentina
Copyright Ignacio Palacios / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year
Landscape Photographer of the Year: 3rd place
Photographer: Gheorghe Popa, Romania
Subject and location: Early Autumn, Vânători Neamț Natural Park, Romania
Copyright Gheorghe Popa / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year
Landscape Photographer of the Year: 3rd place
Photographer: Gheorghe Popa, Romania
Subject and location: Poisoned Beauty, Geamăna, Apuseni Mountains, Romania
Copyright Gheorghe Popa / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year
Landscape Photographer of the Year: 3rd place
Photographer: Gheorghe Popa, Romania
Subject and location: Whispers of the Sunken Trees Cuejdel Lake, Romania
Copyright Gheorghe Popa / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year
Landscape Photograph of the Year: 1st place
Photographer: Ryohei Irie, Japan
Subject and location: Traces of Light, Ichinomata, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan
Description: The Landscape Photograph of the Year Award went to Ryohei Irie of Japan. He likes the mysterious atmosphere created by the standing dead trees and firefly light. “I have been visiting this Subject and location for several years during the firefly season, and it is an interesting place because the intensity and length of the firefly light and the Subject and location where the fireflies fly vary greatly, depending on the year and time of day, resulting in completely different works, even when photographed in the same way.”
Copyright Ryohei Irie / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year
Landscape Photograph of the Year: 2nd place
Photographer: Justinus Sukotjo, Indonesia
Subject and location: Mother Care Framing, Walakiri Beach, Sumba Island, Indonesia
Copyright Justinus Sukotjo / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year
Landscape Photograph of the Year: 3rd place
Photographer: Himadri Bhuyan, India
Subject and location: The Flow, Sohra, Meghalaya, India
Copyright Himadri Bhuyan / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year
The Black and White Award
Photographer: J. Fritz Rumpf, United States
Award: The Black and White Award 2024
Subject and location: White Tie Affair. Death Valley National Park, California, USA
Copyright J. Fritz Rumpf / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year
The Aerial Award
Photographer: Benjamin Barakat, Switzerland
Award: The Aerial Award 2024
Subject and location: The Final Dune, Namibia
Copyright Benjamin Barakat / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year
The Snow and Ice Award
Photographer: Jeroen van Nieuwenhove, Iceland
Award: The Snow and Ice Award 2024
Subject and location: Isþyrlu – Ice Swirl, Scoresbysund, Greenland
Copyright Jeroen van Nieuwenhove / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year
The Forest Award
Photographer: Shirley Wung, Taiwan
Award: The Forest Award 2024
Subject and location: Fireflies flying in the Misty Mountains, Wufeng Township, Hsinchu, Taiwan
Copyright Shirley Wung / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year
The Exciting Sky Award
Photographer: Federico Delucchi, Italy
Award: The Exciting Sky Award 2024
Subject and location: Aurora, meteor shower and other cool stuff, Rocca la Meja, Italy
Copyright Federico Delucchi / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year
Other top entries
Photographer: Laura Bennet, United States
Subject and location: Sumba Island, Indonesia
Copyright Laura Bennet / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year
Other top entries
Photographer: William Preite, Italy
Subject and location: Pale di San Martino, Falcade, Dolomites, Italy
Copyright William Preite / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year
Other top entries
Photographer: Siegfried Makedanz, Germany
Subject and location: Sandfellsjökull Glacier Lagoon, Southern Iceland
Copyright Siegfried Makedanz / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year
Other top entries
Photographer: Sabine Weise, Germany
Subject and location: Moonscape Overlook, Utah Badlands, USA
Copyright Sabine Weise / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year
Other top entries
Photographer: Yuriy Vantowski, United States
Subject and location: Mount Bromo, East Java, Indonesia
Copyright Yuriy Vantowski / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year
Other top entries
Photographer: Tanay Das, India
Subject and location: Kistwa, Himalaya, Jammu and Kashmir, India
Copyright Tanay Das / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year
Other top entries
Photographer: Rajesh Jyothiswaran, United States
Subject and location: Texas, United States
Copyright Rajesh Jyothiswaran / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year
À partir d’avant-hierNews: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
It wasn't long ago that many of our reviews of APS-C cameras had to come with a warning: no matter how good the body was, you were almost certainly going to be limited by lens selection. This was especially true with Nikon and Canon's mirrorless cameras. Sony has followed its longstanding tradition of letting third parties build out a healthy selection of lenses, and the selection for Fujifilm's APS-C-only X-mount is second to none, but Nikon's Z mount and Canon's RF mount appeared to be almost completely locked down. As a result, you could count the number of APS-C lens options available on your fingers.
Same old song
Even during the DSLR era, the big camera makers had the conflict of interest of trying to up-sell users to their full-frame systems. It's always fallen to companies such as Sigma to provide the lenses to let APS-C work as a format in its own right.
But things are changing. Over the past year, we've seen several APS-C lenses announced and released for Canon and Nikon cameras, filling notable gaps in the first-party lens lineups. But while the situation is improving, it's clear that the two companies are still in control.
This week, Sigma released four APS-C primes for Canon's RF mount, making good on its promise to release six licensed lenses for the system – earlier this year, it released the 10-18mm F2.8 and 18-50mm F2.8. Meanwhile, Nikon has allowed Sigma to release select primes for Z-mount – a trio of F1.4 primes at 16, 30, and 56mm. It's worth noting the company's 23mm F1.4 is the only one of its APS-C primes that it hasn't brought to Z-mount; it likely isn't a coincidence that Nikon's only own-brand APS-C prime lens is a 24mm F1.7.
However, Nikon hasn't actively prevented companies like Viltrox and Sirui from releasing a slew of Z-mount APS-C prime lenses, complete with autofocus. If you pick up a Nikon Zfc or Z50II, you can get anywhere from a 13mm F1.4 (20mm equiv.) to a 75mm F1.2 (113mm equiv.) to go with it, as well as most of the classic focal lengths in between.
Sigma's APS-C prime lens lineup is quite good, and now most of them are available for almost any mirrorless APS-C camera.
Image: Sigma
This is an important change for APS-C shooters. Even going back to the DSLR days, it's felt like many manufacturers have viewed the format as a stepping stone to full-frame rather than something enthusiasts and pros might consciously choose. Neither Canon nor Nikon have been particularly prolific when releasing new APS-C glass. But with the gates being slightly opened, you're no longer limited to a few first-party options, manual-focus-only lenses from third parties, or heavier, more expensive full-frame lenses. Now, there's at least some selection of third-party lenses with autofocus to choose from, alongside Canon and Nikon's offerings.
Your choices are no longer limited to a few first-party options, manual-focus only lenses, or glass meant for full-frame bodies
This isn't to say that you can now buy any APS-C camera you want and be assured that all the lenses you want will be available – you are still at the mercy of what Canon and Nikon wish to allow. While plenty of primes are available for Z-mount APS-C cameras, no fast zoom lenses are available; Nikon's all start at F3.5 and end at F5.6 or F6.3.
In fact, there are currently no third-party APS-C zooms available for Nikon Z-mount at all, despite the fact that two have made the jump from E and X-mount to RF – it also goes without saying that there are many others more available on Fujifilm and Sony's systems. That's a bummer for anyone looking to step up from the kit lens or wanting to shoot sports or birds in anything but ideal lighting without having to shell out for and lug around a full-frame 70-200mm.
Tamron has promised to bring its 11-20mm F2.8 APS-C lens to Canon RF mount this year as well – no word on Z-mount, despite Tamron bringing some of its full-frame lenses to Nikon.
Image: Tamron
RF mount at least has the two constant F2.8 zooms thanks to Sigma, with one more on the way from Tamron, though those are all at the wide end. However, there are far fewer autofocus primes available for Canon, as manufacturers like Sirui and Viltrox aren't producing them. That's not surprising; a representative for the latter once said that Canon had told it to stop producing products for RF mount. The 85mm F1.4 lens that Samyang announced for the system in 2020 also disappeared from the market not long after.
In a perfect world, these problems wouldn't exist. Canon and Nikon would make the lenses that their APS-C cameras needed to stand on their own feet as a real alternative to full-frame options, and there would be robust competition from third parties, which would be allowed to make whatever lenses they want.
None of that seems particularly likely. However, at least those who choose to shoot with a smaller sensor in a Canon or Nikon body have gotten a wider choice of lenses, even if they're still bound by the companies' rules.
At the end of the day, that's better for everyone interested in APS-C, because it means that cameras like the EOS R7 and Z50II are competitive with the Sony a6700 and Fujifilm X-T5 in a way that they wouldn't have been with an extremely limited lens selection. With any luck, this trend will continue, and the APS-C landscape will become more competitive – even if Canon and Nikon aren't giving it their full attention.
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Yesterday, Sony announced the a1 II, a new flagship camera aimed squarely at professional photojournalists shooting sports and other high-speed action. The camera uses the same 50MP sensor as its predecessor but features an updated autofocus system that supports more subject recognition types.
While we'll have plenty more testing to do once we get a production model, we were able to get a feel for what the camera is capable of by shooting part of an American football game and several portraits in New York City, as well as using it for other general photography in Florida and Washington State. You can see the results in the gallery above.
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Product photos by Mitchell Clark
The Sony Alpha 1 II is the company's latest flagship full-frame mirrorless camera. It's built around the same 50.1MP stacked CMOS sensor as the original but now includes an "AI processing unit," which allows its autofocus system to recognize seven different subject types and to automatically select one based on what's in the scene.
Key specifications
50.1MP stacked CMOS sensor
In-body stabilization rated at up to 8.5EV
Improved autofocus subject recognition with automatic selection
Continuous shooting at up to 30fps with full AF tracking
Pre-release capture from 0.03 to 1 second
Fully-articulated rear screen on tilt-out cradle
8K 30p video downsampled from 8.6K / 4K 120fps
9.44M dot 240fps viewfinder - full res up to 120fps
The a1 II will retail for $6,499.99 – the same as its predecessor – and will be available in mid-December.
Despite using the same sensor as its predecessor, Sony claims the a1 II will have improved image quality at mid-to-high ISOs thanks to its improved image processing engine. Presumably, these improvements will only appear in the JPEGs.
Improved Autofocus
The original a1's autofocus system could recognize humans when shooting stills and videos, and animals and birds when shooting stills. The a1 II, however, inherits the dedicated "AI processor" seen in cameras like the a7R V and a9 III and can now recognize even more subjects: it adds insects, cars, trains and airplanes. All the recognition modes are now available in movie mode as well, and the system can specifically target key parts of recognized subjects, such as a driver's helmet.
The a1 II brings an 'Auto' subject recognition mode to the Alpha line
Sony also claims that human and animal eye recognition should be around 30% better than the a1 and that bird eye recognition should be 50% better. The Animal and Bird modes have also been merged, meaning you won't have to switch between subject recognition modes if you want to go from shooting animals to birds or vice versa.
The a1 II's Auto Subject Detection mode lets you narrow-down the types of subject it'll search for, to help optimize the performance.
Not that you would necessarily have to switch modes manually. The a1 II is Sony's first Alpha camera to have an Auto subject recognition mode, where it can determine what type of subject it should be tracking and lock on to it. As with the similar system on Nikon's cameras, this comes with a small speed penalty compared to having a specific subject recognition mode selected. However, it can be useful if you need to quickly go between shooting a variety of subject types.
You can also speed up the system by limiting which types of subjects the Auto mode selects between; for example, you can make it so it only looks for humans, animals, and birds if you're not planning to shoot any insects or vehicles.
Finally, Sony's also adding extra small and extra large spot focus area options.
Pre-Capture
One feature that's become commonplace since the launch of the a1 is pre-capture – a way for the camera to save the moments before you press the shutter, helping you capture key moments beyond your ability to anticipate them. The a1 II adds it, recording up to 30 frames in the moments leading up to you pressing the shutter button, though if you want to go above 20fps, you will be limited to using lossy compressed Raws instead of lossless compressed ones. When enabled, the pre-capture is activated by a half-press of the shutter, the press of the AF button, or both, depending on your settings.
You can set the pre-record window to be as short as 0.03 seconds or as long as a second, with several options in between.
Better stabilization
The a1 II's internal image stabilization is now rated for up to 8.5 stops in the center of the frame and 7 stops on the periphery (a new CIPA metric), up from a 5.5 stop rating on the a1.
Viewfinder tweaks
Hardware-wise, the a1 II's EVF seems largely unchanged from the a1's: it's the same resolution and can run at the same 240fps. However, Sony says you can now run in 120fps mode with display quality set to 'high,' though you will still see a drop in resolution if you go up to 240fps.
There's also now a 'deep' viewfinder eyecup included in the box, alongside the standard one
Video
The a1 II retains most of the original's video specs. This means 8K capture at up to 30p, full-width 4K capture at up to 60p and up to 120p with a 1.13x crop. The 4K isn't derived from the 8K footage, though, so you don't gain the detail benefit of 2x oversampling.
The a1 II adds a few quality-of-life updates, though. The most impactful will probably be the aforementioned support for using all the subject tracking modes while shooting video, but you can also now import up to 16 custom LUTs that you can use to preview what your Log footage will look like when graded. You can also embed the LUT alongside your files, so that someone else editing your footage can match your intended look.
Just as we've seen with Sony's other recent large-sensor cameras, the a1 II only shoots the S-Log3 profile, which captures a very wide dynamic range. It no longer offers the less expansive S-Log2 option. The a1 II also gains the attractive and flexible S-Cinetone profile if you don't want to color grade in post.
The camera also has the Auto Framing feature found on some of Sony's vlogging cameras, where it will crop in on the subject and move the frame around to make it seem like there's a cameraperson tracking them. There's also a 'Dynamic active' image stabilization mode, which Sony says will increase the stabilization by up to 20% compared to the standard 'Active' mode, and a 'Framing Stabilizer' mode that's meant to ensure that your frame maintains the same composition as much as possible when shooting handheld.
Noise Reduction Composite Raw
Sony has expanded on the a1's pixel shift multi-shot mode, adding a noise reduction mode that shoots between 4 and 32 Raw images that can be composited together using a desktop computer running the company's Imaging Edge software. Sony pitches it as a mode for low-light portraiture.
It's most easily understood as a multi-shot mode without the pixel-shift movement. Rather than trying to boost resolution it aligns and combines multiple images to boost the signal-to-noise ratio (ie: tonal quality) at each pixel position. As with pixel shift mode, it'll work best when there's little to no movement within your scene.
The a1 II also gains focus bracketing, which the original a1 lacked.
How it compares
The most direct competitor to the a1 II is Nikon's Z9, its pro-focused high speed, high resolution model. Canon's EOS R1 lower resolution makes it more of an a9 III competitor, but it's these models primarily and explicitly made for professional shooting in the most demanding circumstances that Sony's trying to target.
However, given how much of the Z9 and R1 Nikon and Canon have included in the Z8 and EOS R5 II, respectively, it's also fair to include one of those models here, too. Sony doesn't use the two-grip and larger battery design for its pro models, which makes the comparison even more inviting, despite them being a different class of camera.
Sony a1 II
Nikon Z9
Canon EOS R5 II
Sony a1
MSRP
$6,499
$5,499
$4,299
$6,499
Pixel count
50MP
45MP
45MP
50MP
Sensor type
Stacked CMOS
Stacked CMOS
Stacked CMOS
Stacked CMOS
Max frame rate
E: 30fps lossy compressed Raw / 20fps lossless compressed raw
20fps 14-bit Raw
30fps JPEG
E: 30fps
M: 12fps
E: 30fps lossy compressed Raw / 20fps lossless compressed raw
M: 10fps
Flash sync speed
M: 1/400
E: 1/200
E: 1/200
M: 1/200
E: N/A
M: 1/400
E: 1/200
Stabilization
8.5EV center, 7EV periphery
6EV
8.5EV
5.5EV
Max video res / rate
8K/30
8K/60
8K/60
8K/30
Video formats
XAVC HS
XAVC S
XAVC S-I
N-Raw
ProRes Raw
ProRes 422 HQ
H.265
H.264
Canon Raw
Canon Raw Light
XF HEVC S
XF AVS S
XAVC HS
XAVC S
XAVC S-I
AF sensitivity
-5.33EV*
-5.0EV (-7.0 in Starlight AF mode)
-7.5EV
-5.33EV*
Viewfinder
9.44M dots 0.90x
3.69M dots 0.80x
5.76M dots 0.76x
9.44M dots 0.90x
Rear LCD
3.2" 2.1M dot, fully articulating with tilt
3.2" 2.1M dot, 4-axis tilting
3.2" 2.1M dot, fully articulated
3.0" 1.44M dot, tilting
Connectivity
802.11ac Wi-Fi 2x2 MiMO
USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps
2.5Gb Ethernet
2x CFexpress Type A / UHS-II SD
802.11ac Wi-Fi
USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 5Gbps
1Gb Ethernet
2x CFexpress Type B
802.11ac Wi-Fi
USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps
1x CFexpress Type B
1x UHS-II SD
802.11ac Wi-Fi
USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps
1Gb Ethernet
2x CFexpress Type A / UHS-II SD
Stills battery life EVF / LCD
420 / 520
700 / 740
250 / 540
430 / 530
Video battery life (LCD) Cont. / Actual
150 min / 90 min
170 min / -
150 min / 95 min
Dimensions
136 x 97 x 83mm
149 x 150 x 91mm
138 x 98 x 88mm
129 x 97 x 81mm
Weight
743g
1340g
670g
737g
* - Sony rates its AF sensitivity using an F2 lens, while Nikon and Canon use an F1.2 lens. We've adjusted Sony's rating by -1.33EV to account for the difference.
The a1 II has the joint fastest shooting rate here and its sensor readout is quicker than the roughly 1/160 that the EOS R5 II can achieve. Likewise it has a built-in Ethernet connection, which the Canon lacks and, unlike the EOS R5 II and Nikon Z8, has matched card slots so that pros can focus on a single type of media and never have to worry about an performance difference between slots.
It's much more evenly-matched against the Z9, which has a much lower resolution viewfinder but a low-latency readout path from its sensor to make the viewfinder more responsive. The Z9 can only shoot at up to 20fps in Raw, dropping to 12-bit readout and JPEG-only mode to hit 30fps.
Body and handling
Given that the a1's audience is professionals who use it day in and day out, it's no surprise that Sony has been conservative with changes to its magnesium body and controls – the a1 II's tweaks are largely the same as the a9 III's, with the grip getting deeper and the shutter button being angled forward towards your finger.
The dials and buttons are largely in the same places, though the exposure compensation markings have been removed from the locking top-plate control dial. The stills / video / S&Q modes have also been moved to a sub-dial rather than being settings on the mode selector dial, and the drive select dial now has a disable setting that lets you control the camera's drive mode purely through menus.
The a1 II also features an additional programmable button on the front next to the grip. By default, it acts as a 'Speed Boost' button, upping your shooting rate as you hold it down. For example, you could be shooting at 15fps and press the button to start shooting at 30fps for a few seconds when the action speeds up or when you want to be sure you'll capture a specific moment. This option can be moved to another button and the boosted frame-rate can be tailored to suit your subject.
The biggest physical change is the display. It's a bit larger and higher resolution than the a1's, and it can now tilt in addition to being fully articulated. It's a design we saw with the a7RV, and one that should make both photographers and videographers happy. It also has the slightly updated menu system from the a7RV as well, with the interactive settings tab.
As discussed above, the viewfinder is largely still the same, with a large 0.9x magnification and 9.44M dots giving a resolution of 2048 x 1536px. Its 120fps mode is nicer to use now that it doesn't come with a substantial drop in resolution.
Ports and slots
The a1 II's I/O is largely unchanged from its predecessor, though the ports have moved around a bit. It still has a headphone and microphone jack, a USB-C port that runs at 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps speeds, a full-size HDMI port, Sony's micro USB 'Multi' accessory port, and a flash sync port.
It also has dual-band 2.4 and 5GHz Wi-Fi with 2x2 MIMO and an upgraded Ethernet port that runs at 2.5Gbps instead of the 1Gbps speeds the port on the a1 was limited to. That should make transferring large videos and batches of photos over long distances faster – try finding a high-speed USB-C cable that's more than a few meters long – and is another sign of the pro workflows this camera is designed to support. The Ethernet port also now has a Wake on LAN feture that can be used to remotely turn the a1 II on using Remote Camera Tool.
On the other side, the a1 II features a pair of the combined CFexpress Type A / UHS-II SD card slots for storage that feature on many of Sony's cameras.
Battery
The a1 II uses Sony's NP-FZ100 batteries, and includes a dual-battery charger in the box, which it claims will charge two batteries at once in around 155 minutes.
The camera is rated to give 420 shots per charge when using the rear screen. As always, CIPA figures tend to significantly underestimate the actual number of shots most people will get, and this discrepancy gets significantly larger when you're shooting bursts. But, while we'd expect a camera rated at 420 shots per charge to actually be able to shoot multiple times this number in practice, it's usually a good indicator of how its battery life compares with other cameras (ie: if it gets a rating 50% lower than another camera, it's likely to capture around 50% fewer shots per charge).
Initial impressions
By Richard Butler
The a1 II's AF proved very effective at staying focused on the player we'd specified, in our testing so far.
Sony FE 400mm F2.8 GM OSS | F2.8 | 1/4000 sec | ISO 640 Photo: Richard Butler
When the original a1 arrived, just shy of four years ago, it represented an unprecedented combination of high resolution and speed. Despite a 50MP sensor, its Stacked CMOS design with on-board RAM let it capture stills at up to 30fps with readout speeds of around 4ms (fast enough to allow flash sync at up to 1/200 sec). This was around four times faster readout than the 20fps Canon EOS R5, which had previously come closest to offering high-speed and high res.
However, in the time that's passed, both Canon and Nikon have produced fast high-res bodies and done so at something closer to a consumer-reachable price, leaving Sony's pro flagship looking expensive, rather than exemplary. Don't let this or Sony's single-grip approach fool you: the a1 II is designed to square-up against the Z9 and R1, not the Z8 and R5 II. But it goes to show how quickly things have been moving that these more affordable models can match so much of the of the original a1's spec and offer more advanced subject recognition.
A pro sports camera doesn't have to be used solely for sports, and its impressive autofocus can help maintain a very high hit-rate even when scrutinizing all 50 million pixels.
Sony 28-70mm F2 GM @ 70mm | F8 | 1/200 sec | ISO 100
The a1 II helps redress this balance, somewhat, pairing the same processing capabilities as Sony's other pro-focussed model, the a9 III, with the 50MP Stacked CMOS sensor. This includes the gain of subject recognition AF modes with the first 'Auto' option that lets you pare back the range of subjects it hunts for, to hit an optimal speed/convenience balance for your photography. We've been very impressed by the camera's AF performance so far.
The a1 II also gains the pre-capture option that's been becoming increasingly common on action-focused cameras. It still tops-out at 8K/30 on the video side though, and has no option for 4K derived from this 8K capture, leaving it behind both the R5 II and Z8 in this regard.
Interestingly, the a1 II still needs to drop to Sony's damagingly lossy Raw format at 30 fps: it can only shoot lossless compressed Raw at 20fps. The difference only becomes apparent at high-contrast edges after significant editing pushes, so is unlikely to be a major issue for action shooting, but it's a surprise that this couldn't be addressed with the Mark II's greater processing grunt.
"It's these workflow features aimed at professionals that try to set the camera apart"
Critically, the a1 II also includes a series of features from both the a1 and the a9 III designed specifically for professionals trying to deliver images quickly that the less expensive rivals lack. This includes a variety of transfer options, including SFTP and several ways of marking files to be transferred. We'd also expect the a1 II to gain the ability to encode C2PA authentication metadata to its files.
Unsurprisingly, it's the cumulative impact of these workflow features aimed at professionals working in high-intensity environments that try to set the camera apart. And if you're not one of those people (and most of us aren't), then the a1 II almost certainly isn't worth so much more than the more consumer-priced models.
Details such as a high-speed Ethernet port and options like Start-on-LAN to enable a goal-line camera to be remotely activated and controlled are what help set the pro-tier products apart from the very high-end enthusiast/crossover models.
But how can these small details, an Ethernet port, that huge, high-res viewfinder and details like matched media card slots really add up to justify a 50% premium over the enthusiast/pro crossover bodies, such as the Z8 and EOS R5 II? Ultimately, it may simply be a 'Pro Tax': that $6K is how much a pro-focused camera costs. It's the amount the market has shown it will bear, and it's likely to be how much companies (including single-photographer companies) will have budgeted.
If there's any doubt in your mind about whether the a1 II is worth the extra $2000 over the Z8 or EOS R5 II, then you're not its target audience, and consequently it almost certainly isn't, But if you are a Sony-shooting pro, the a1 II adds significantly to the skill-set of the previous model. But against dramatically improved competition and with so much Z9 and R1 tech trickling down to the Z8 and R5 II, it's not the game-changer its predecessor was. We'll get a chance to test this assessment as we continue using the camera.
Please do not reproduce any of these images on a website or any newsletter/magazine without prior permission (see our copyright page). We make the originals available for private users to download to their own machines for personal examination or printing (in conjunction with this review); we do so in good faith, so please don't abuse it.
Sample gallery
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The FE 28-70mm F2.0 GM, attached to the newly-announced a1 II.
Photo: Mitchell Clark
Sony has announced the FE 28-70mm F2 GM, a zoom lens that trades 4mm at the wide end for an aperture that's a stop brighter than the one found on a classic 24-70mm F2.8. It's the company's first constant F2 zoom lens for its E-mount cameras.
The lens's optical formula consists of 20 elements in 14 groups, with three aspherical lenses, three super ED elements, and one ED element. It uses an 11-blade aperture. The front element has an oil and water-resistant flourine coating, and the lens is moisture and dust resistant.
It's far from a compact lens, though it's not as monstrously large as you might expect – it weighs in at 918g (32 oz) and is around 140mm (5.5") long. It has an 86mm filter thread.
Sony makes it obvious what lens it's competing with, highlighting that it's 36% lighter and 11% smaller in diameter than Canon's RF 28-70mm F2 L lens while claiming better corner-to-corner sharpness. The company also says the lens's four linear motors can focus even when shooting at 120fps, and emphasized that they're quieter than the older ring-type ultrasonic style motor in the Canon F2. In fairness, that lens was one of the original RF-mount releases, announced in 2018.
"Sony makes it obvious which lens it's competing with"
The quieter operation should help when shooting video. Other pluses for video: it has an internal focusing mechanism which should make it easier to use the lens on a gimbal, the ability to switch the aperture ring into clickless mode and support for the focus breathing compensation mode included on some Sony bodies. You can also set the manual focus ring to have a linear response, which should make focus pulls easier.
The lens has a variety of switches and buttons. There are two customizable focus hold buttons, an Iris lock switch, the aperture click switch and a zoom smoothness switch that lets you adjust between "smooth" and "tight" torque settings.
It's not the fastest zoom lens available for E-mount: at the time of writing, that prize goes to Sigma's 28-45mm F1.8, though that model has substantially less reach on the tele end and only a 1/3EV increase in light-gathering ability.
The FE 28-70mm F2 GM will be available in mid-December and has an MSRP of $2,899.
Sony Electronics Announces Its First Constant F2 Aperture Zoom Lens: The Full-Frame 28-70mm F2 G Master™
The Unique Combination of a Versatile Focal Range, Large F2 Aperture, and Compact Form Factor
SAN DIEGO, Nov. 19, 2024 - Sony Electronics Inc. introduces the 28-70mm F2 G Master, the first1 Sony zoom lens with a constant F2 aperture and 77th lens in the Sony E-Mount lineup. This full-frame lens offers a versatile focal range from 28mm to 70mm while delivering prime-like2 bokeh with its constant F2 aperture. Despite its wide aperture and zoom range, the 28-70mm F2 G Master remains compact, lightweight, and well-balanced, making it ideal for both photography and video applications. This combination of zoom range, large aperture, and compact design makes this an innovative and versatile lens for portrait, sports, wedding, event, and video professionals.
“Our goal with the 28-70mm F2 G Master was to create a high-performing zoom lens that could be a strong single lens alternative to multiple primes,” said Yang Cheng, Vice President of Imaging Solutions, Sony Electronics Inc. “We prioritized a lightweight design during the engineering process as we knew that was a critical factor for real-life, practical use. And in a manner that only Sony can do, we were able to deliver a small, standard F2 zoom lens that does not sacrifice image quality. We’re proud to add this to our G Master series and believe it is one of the most innovative lenses ever offered to professionals.”
Sharp Imagery and Beautiful Bokeh
The 28-70mm F2 G Master produces extremely sharp corner-to-corner results throughout the entire zoom range, even while shooting wide open at F2. The high-resolution output is made possible by the three XA (extreme aspherical) elements and three aspherical elements built within the lens that minimize aberrations. The lens also features a floating focusing system that helps maintain internal stability. This focusing mechanism enables an impressive minimum focusing distance of up to 14.8 inches (0.38m) throughout the entire zoom range.
Staying true to the G Master lens lineage, the lens’ aperture up to F2 produces extraordinary bokeh, ideal for creating images that showcase a shallow depth of field. The 28-70mm F2 amplifies the G Master bokeh standards through a newly designed 11-blade circular aperture unit. Chromatic aberrations, which cause color fringing within photos, are effectively minimized with three Super ED (extra-low dispersion) elements and one ED element built within the lens. Additionally, Sony’s Nano AR Coating II reduces flare and internal reflections, ensuring clear images, even when strong light sources are present in the frame.
Compact, Lightweight Design Without Compromising Quality
The 28-70mm F2 G Master is one of the most advanced mirrorless camera lenses manufactured with a total 20 different lens elements arranged within 14 internal groups. Despite the advanced optical design, the lens remains compact at 3.6 x 5.5 inches (92.9 x 139.8mm) and lightweight at approximately 32.3 ounces (918g). The combination of imaging performance and a compact form factor offers an innovative solution that meets the demands of industry professionals.
Precise Autofocus Tracking with Instant Response
Reliable and responsive autofocus is delivered through the lens’ four XD (extreme dynamic) linear motors powered by advanced control algorithms. This smooth performance system provides accurate and quick focus tracking, often essential in many professional use cases like weddings and sports. This lens is fully compatible with Sony’s Alpha 9 III‘s high-speed continuous shooting capabilities of up to 120 frames per second3 with AF/AE (autofocus/autoexposure) tracking, even while zooming.
Designed for High-Performance Video Shooting
Along with its F2 aperture, the zoom range of the 28-70mm G Master provides a versatile video option that can cover standard field-of-view shots and tighter compositions up to 70mm. This lens minimizes focus breathing through its build and compatibility with the Breathing Compensation feature on various Alpha bodies4. Its high autofocus performance ensures reliable focus even when recording in high frame rates up to 4K 120p / FHD 240p5. Additionally, the XD linear motors and newly developed aperture unit operates silently, preventing any lens noise from being captured during filming.
The lens is ideal for gimbal use with a minimal zoom extension of approximately .68 inches. The compact form factor and short external zoom helps maintain gimbal balance, even at varying focal lengths.
Operability and Reliability for Versatile Control
Key control features include Linear Response MF for intuitive manual focusing, adjustable zoom ring torque, and an aperture ring with a click ON/OFF switch. The lens also offers two customizable focus hold buttons, an iris lock switch, and an AF/MF switch. The 28-70mm F2 G Master has an 86mm filter diameter and a convenient window on the lens hood for variable filter adjustments.
For durability, all buttons and switches are sealed with silicone gaskets, and critical areas are designed to resist dust and moisture6. This ensures reliability, even while using in challenging outdoor environments. Additionally, a fluorine coating on the front element repels contaminants for easy cleaning.
Pricing and Availability
The 28-70mm F2 G Master will be available in December 2024 for approximately $2,899.99 USD and $3,999.99 CAD. It will be sold at a variety of Sony's authorized dealers throughout North America.
Exclusive stories and exciting new content shot with the new 28-70mm F2 G Master and Sony's other imaging products can be found at www.alphauniverse.com, a site created to inform, educate, and inspire content creators.
We're at Sony's 'Creative Space' event in New York, which happens to coincide with when the company said it would announce the Alpha 1 II. We'll be reporting from the event as it happens.
"Authentication technologies, that protect photographers are high on our list of priorities," says Masaaki Oshima - Head of Imaging Entertainment Business.
He's discussing the role played by the different models in the company's lineup.
The Alpha 1 provided extraordinary resolution and speed, he says, and feedback from its users has been incorporated into its new products.
As previously teased, he has revealed the Alpha 1 Mark II and a 28-70mm F2 G Master zoom.
In the a1 II, features for workflow efficiency have been updated and improved, he says.
He claims the lens rivals the quality of primes, without the use of digital compensation.
The a1 II has a dedicated "AI" processor, allowing what Sony says is "the best human detection, the best animal detection." It includes a technology Sony calls 'Human Pose Estimation' which tries to recognize human bodies in a wide range of poses, so that it can find the face and eye.
The AF system has 759 points, with 92% coverage and works down to -4EV when using an F2.0 lens. The system can perform 120 autofocus calculations per second.
The camera also gains pre-capture, allowing it to capture up to 1 seconds-worth of images at up to 30fps, with Raw. The a1 II also gains the 'Speed Boost' function from the a9 III, letting you boost the burst rate when you hold down a custom button.
The camera's in-body stabilization now performs 3 stops better than the Mark 1, now rated at 8.5EV. It co-ordinates with in-lens stabilization to maximise performance with OSS lenses.
In addition to the multi-shot pixel-shift mode, the a1 II also has a Raw compositing mode to boost noise performance by combining multiple images (in off-board software).
As with the Mark 1, the a1 II shoows 8K at up to 30p, derived from 8.6K capture. It can also shoot 4K/60p from an APS-Cregion, taken from 5.8K oversampling. It can also capture full-width 4K at up to 60p, though this isn't taken from the 8K feed.
It also gains the 'Auto Framing' and 'Framing Stabilizer' modes from the ZV-E1 vlogging camera: punching in to the footage and following your subject around the frame, to give dynamism to locked-off shots, or maintaining your chosen composition if you're presenting to camera, hand-held.
The a1 II has the same 0.9x magnification viewfinder as its predecessor, with 9.44MP dot resolution, and can be operated at up to 240 fps. It also comes with a second, alternative "squishy" eyepiece cup in the box.
The camera has a 2.5Gbps Ethernet port with improved FTP capabilities, 2.5x faster than in the a1 or a9 III.
The FE 28-70mm F2 is the company's 77th E-mount lens, the 56th full-frame E-mount lens and the first constant F2.0 zoom.
The company says it give "prime levels of performance" for both stills and video.
We're told the lens doesn't rely on digital correction. It weighs 981g (2.16lbs). Its autofocus is designed to work up to 120fps on the a9 III or 240fps for video. It uses four linear motors to drive its autofocus.
It has almost no focus breathing, Sony says, but you can add focus breathing compensation on compatible bodies to correct what breathing there is.
They say it has "the best image quality we've ever produced in a zoom lens."
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Image: Sigma
Earlier this year, Sigma announced plans to release several of its DC DN APS-C lenses for Canon's RF mount, making it one of the first third-party manufacturers to sell autofocus RF lenses under license.
Today, the company has announced pricing and availability for four of those lenses: the 16mm F1.4 DC DN, the 23mm F1.4 DC DN, the 30mm F1.4 DC DN and the 56mm F1.4 DC DN. On Canon's APS-C cameras, the lenses deliver full-frame equivalent focal lengths of 26mm, 37mm, 48mm, and 90mm, respectively.
These prime lenses join two Sigma zoom lenses announced for RF-mount earlier this year: the 10-18mm F2.8 DC DN, announced on October 5, and the 18-50mm F2.8 DC DN, which has been available for other lens mounts since 2021.
This brings the total number of Sigma APS-C lenses for RF-mount cameras to six, significantly increasing the number of dedicated APS-C lenses available for Canon's RF system. To date, Canon has released only a handful of slow RF-S zoom lenses, along with a dual fisheye lens for VR or spatial capture, though users can also use Canon's full-frame RF-mount lenses on its APS-C cameras.
The four Sigma F1.4 DC DN prime lenses join two F2.8 zoom lenses in Sigma's APS-C lineup for Canon RF mount.
Image: Sigma
With Sigma's newly minted RF-mount lenses in the mix, Canon's RF mount should become more attractive to APS-C shooters, especially those looking for dedicated APS-C lenses with faster apertures or primes.
The six lenses are already available for Sony E-mount, Fujifilm X-mount, and L-mount cameras. The 16mm F1.4 DC DN and 56mm F1.4 DC DN are also available for Z-mount and Micro Four Thirds.
The Canon versions of the 30mm and 56mm lenses will arrive first, launching on December 5. The 30mm F1.4 DC DN will retail for $369, and the 56mm F1.4 DC DN will retail for $529.
The 16mm and 23mm lenses will follow on January 23. The 16mm F1.4 DC DN will retail for $489, and the 23mm F1.4 DC DN will retail for $599.
Editor's note: As DPReview celebrates its 25th anniversary, we're revisiting some key moments and trends in digital photography during that time. We invited Jeff Keller, a former DPReview editor and founder of DCResource.com – one of the internet's first sites dedicated to digital cameras – to share his historical perspective on some of the changes.
I've been using and reviewing digital cameras since 1995, which makes me the right person to tell the story of the consumer camera market's boom and bust. I became interested in digital photography thanks to my job at the university bookstore, which eventually became a successful website until 2013, when I jumped to DPReview.
The Casio QV-10A had a fixed 36mm-equivalent F2.8 lens with a macro mode, a simple (and slow) interface, and no memory card slot.
Photo: Jeff Keller
The first camera I ever used was the Casio QV-10A, the world's first consumer digital camera, which arrived in 1994. It had a 0.25 megapixel sensor that could take 320 x 240 stills and video, a 1.8" LCD with a terrible refresh rate, a swiveling lens, and a whopping 2MB of storage capacity. Unfortunately, it had no memory card slot; instead, it used a serial cable. Good luck finding one of those in 2024.
The swivel lens design was popular for a while, and I was a bit sad when rotating LCDs replaced it. The most famous camera with this design was the Nikon Coolpix 950 (introduced in 1999), which was one of DPReview's first reviews.
In addition to Casio and Nikon, Sony, Minolta, Ricoh, and Kyocera (remember them?) made swivel-lens cameras.
Photo: DPReview
Up next for me was the Olympus D-600L, which had an internal 3X zoom lens and a whopping 1.3 megapixel CCD. While it was my personal camera for many years, at this point, my website was launched, and I'd use whatever came through the door.
This is a photo from the Olympus D-600L, slightly cropped. The image quality is cringy, but it was very good in 1997. Shooting data is not available.
Photo: Jeff Keller
Cameras were pretty dull for the next few years, though there were some innovative models. Sony made cameras with mini CDs and floppy disks that created a file structure for easy viewing on a computer or TV. To create the CD or floppy, you had to 'finalize' the disc, which made it read-only.
Other fun cameras were the Minolta DiMAGE V, which had a detachable lens, several Kodak models with their own programming language, and, lest we forget, the Canon PowerShot Pro70.
The Pro70 was the first review on this website and a crowd favorite. It had a 1.5MP sensor, internal 28-70mm equiv. F2-2.4 lens, fully articulating LCD, Raw support, and two CompactFlash slots. Sony would bring out its competitor, the Cyber-shot DSC-D700, a beast of a camera with a fast 5X zoom lens, a manual zoom ring, a gigantic 2.5" (fixed) LCD, and a Memory Stick slot.
I could go on about the unique compact cameras over the years that followed, but we already have Throwback Thursday features that cover most of them.
The Megapixel Race
As the early 2000s began, two trends occurred. The first is that camera resolution kept going up and up, even though noise became a tradeoff after a certain point. The second is the overwhelming number of models, which I'll get to in the next section.
Average compact camera resolution over time
Visualization: Jeff Keller
You don't need to be a data analyst to see the substantial resolution increase between 2004 and 2010. I can't tell you how many cameras came out with a resolution bump and little else every year – sometimes twice yearly.
The higher resolution made cropping more flexible, but manufacturers were still mostly using very small sensors in compact cameras. Over time, better image processing somewhat compensated for the noise inherent to small sensors, but it couldn't fix the fact that smaller sensors simply captured less light.
Thankfully, there was a selection of cameras that bucked the norm. Sony's RX100 compacts and RX10 super zooms offered larger Type 1 (13.2 x 8.8mm) sensors, which were roughly 4X larger than sensors in other compacts. Canon also launched several models with Type 1 sensors, such as the PowerShot G9 X II.
"You don't need to be a data analyst to see the substantial resolution increase between 2004 and 2010."
Some companies went even larger. Panasonic's LX100 I and II (and their Leica counterparts) used crops of Four Thirds sensors, which allowed for shooting in multiple aspect ratios while still maintaining the field of view. Canon's G1 X Mark I/II siblings used a Type 1.5 sensor (18.7 x 14 mm), and the third iteration jumped to APS-C. Fujifilm's cult favorite, the X100 Series, uses an APS-C-sized sensor, as does the Ricoh GR series.
Are you wondering about the drop at the tail of the chart above? That can be attributed to the minuscule number of new products released – more on that below.
Overflow
If there was one time of year I dreaded during my time running DCResource, it was early January during the Consumer Electronics Show. On January 5th, 2011, fifty-four new cameras were announced. I had to add every one of them to my product database and write a news story. While I enjoyed my job most of the time, that wasn't one of those days, and I'm sure the DPReview team didn't love it either.
The manufacturers were releasing nearly identical models but at slightly different price points. You'd get a basic model, one with a somewhat larger display and another with a slightly longer lens. Case in point:
And there you have it: a camera at every price point. And there were two more models on top of those in the table. (To be fair, Sony wasn't the only company doing this.) You'd rarely see all of these models lined up at Best Buy, but they'd probably have two.
Another twist to the compact camera boom is that many people unknowingly bought cameras made by a completely different company than they thought, especially on the low end of the price spectrum. Let's just say that Sanyo made a lot of cameras for other companies.
Lenses were also sold under different brand names. Phil Askey noted this in his review of the Canon PowerShot G1:
These three lenses are identical yet carry different brand names. So who made it? In DPReview's Canon PowerShot G2 review, Canon insisted that it did.
This same lens also appeared on cameras from Casio and Sony.
The Fall
Apple introduced the iPhone in 2007, and, along with some help from Samsung and other manufacturers, it would change photography forever. However, iPhone sales didn't really take off until around 2012, and, what do you know, that's when the compact camera crash began.
Visualization: Jeff Keller
The number of compact camera introductions in 2016 was one-fifth of what it was the year before. While that meant fewer news stories to write, it was bad news for manufacturers (and digital camera websites). In the years that followed, most cameras were waterproof or enthusiast compacts. The effects of COVID-19 on the supply chain made 2020-2023 extremely quiet, with only one camera arriving in 2022: the Ricoh GR IIIx, which is very much an enthusiast model.
"You don't need to be a data analyst to see the substantial resolution increase between 2004 and 2010."
So, what were people buying instead of compact cameras? DSLR sales were sliding, and mirrorless cameras were becoming more popular, but let's face it: The compact camera buyer was now taking photos with their smartphone.
Data: Gartner, Visualization: Statista
The early years of smartphone photo-centric features were limited, but they were fine for shots of friends or tourist destinations. As the years passed, however, phones got better. Advances in computational photography, including the ability to merge multiple images, resulted in image quality that was good enough to meet most consumers' demands.
I made a living writing about compact cameras, and my PowerShot S95 is in a drawer somewhere. I use my Samsung S24 Ultra for everyday photos. My Panasonic G9 II comes out for travel and 'important' photography only.
Final Thoughts
Where do compact cameras go from here? In my opinion, they don't. I wouldn't be surprised to see waterproof, superzoom, and compacts with larger sensors sticking around, but I think we're mostly done in terms of innovation. As someone who spent two decades writing about point-and-shoot cameras, I'm a little sad, but technology has left compacts in the dust. (Please responsibly recycle your old electronics!)
Our November Editor's Photo Challenge theme was 'Fog', and your entries rolled in thick and fast. We were astounded by over 500 photo submissions, many of which demonstrated exceptional quality and creativity. While we can only showcase a limited number here, you an view the complete collection and see how your peers voted on the challenge page.
Did you miss this challenge? Stay tuned for our December challenge announcement! In the meantime, consider participating in these current and upcoming challenges hosted by other members of the DPReview community:
Description: On this day, temperatures dipped below freezing point. I was initially disappointed to see the entire location covered with a thick mist upon arriving before dawn. Having taken landscapes primarily with an ultra-wide angle lens, I opted for 85mm on this occasion to frame the shot. When the sun rose (out of frame on the right), it lit up the falls beautifully and cleared away some of the mist.
Description: As we stepped out of the club into the cold April night in Helsinki, the surreal lighting amidst the deep fog instantly captivated us. The streets, slick with moisture, reflected lights from all directions, and the light sources themselves were shrouded in dense mist. I quickly seized my camera and began capturing the scene.
Description: My friend and I were flying the Hudson when the fog crept in like cats' feet, a spectacular flight in 159 papa golf. As we were buzzing around Miss Liberty, my buddy handed me his tank, and I got off a few shots. Unfortunately, he had it on JPEG.
Description: Fog is a very rare occurrence in the Phoenix area and seems to happen even less frequently recently... This is a sunrise in the desert south of Phoenix, Arizona, on a cold December morning. Not much vegetation grows there, but what does created this eerie image.
Description: Taken at Algonquin National Park, ON, Canada. Early morning, and the water in the lake is completely still, like a mirror. As the sun rises, the fog reveals an eerie scene.
Description: Taken on a trail headed home from Mason Lake in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness near Seattle, Washington, during a September backpacking trip last year. Morning mountain fog made for spectacular "God rays" through the alpine forest.
Description: The trees in the first part of the forest look almost arm-like as if they are reaching out to the other side. Everything in this area is very green and very damp, making for a very colorful landscape.
Description: This is a photo of Mount Mythen at night, towering over patches of fog that lie over the town Schwyz beneath it. The photo was taken on a clear night, several hours after sunset. The landscape in the foreground was lit up by a nearby village. The mountain in the background is in the dark, but the night sky reveals its contours.
Happy weekend, everyone. It seems like there's an interesting week ahead, but this past week was also quite a busy one for accessory makers. Today, we're going to look at some cards, card readers, exciting software updates, and more. But first, as always, the deals:
Some great Nikon deals
Photo: Dan Bracaglia
For a while now, the Nikon Z5 – still one of the cheapest full-frame cameras ever released – has been on our Best Cameras under $1,500 buying guide thanks to its great ergonomics and stabilized sensor. It's older, but we still think it's a pretty solid buy for the money.
So imagine if it was $400 cheaper, coming in just under the $1,000 mark. Better yet, you don't have to imagine – you can just go to your retailer of choice and see it for yourself because that's the sale Nikon's running right now.
Speaking of cameras that rank highly on our buying guides, the Nikon Z8 is also on sale for $500 off. While the sale doesn't knock it down an entire price bracket like with the Z5, it will still let you get a heck of a lot of camera for $3,500 right now.
If you have a recent Sony camera, you may be familiar with the difficulty of finding a CFexpress Type A card that doesn't break the bank, especially if you're looking for one of the faster 4.0-spec ones. While the situation has slowly been getting better, there are still not that many options for people who want CFexpress type A but don't want to spend a ton.
One company trying to fix this is OWC. It's added a 240GB card to its Atlas Pro lineup of CFexpress 4.0 type A cards, which comes in at $199. That's obviously a chunk of change, but for context, the 480GB option costs $319, and upgrading to the 960GB card adds another $70 on top of that. And while there's definitely a trade-off in capacity – expect to offload often if you're shooting 60MP Raws or 4K video – the cheaper card still sports up to 1,850MBps read speeds and 1,700MBps write speeds. That means that even when you fill it up, it should only take a few minutes to dump it onto your computer, assuming you have a reader fast enough. But we'll get to that in just a moment...
Speaking of OWC, they've also got something for anyone who's just picked up one of the new M4 Pro or M4 Max Macs with Thunderbolt 5 and is wishing for a few more ports. The company's newly-announced Thunderbolt 5 Hub plugs into your computer with a single (included!) cable, and, through the power of Thunderbolt's daisy-chaining abilities, gives you access to three additional Thunderbolt ports, each with 120Gbps of throughput. There's even a USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps USB-A port.
The hub can also provide up to 140W of charging to the computer it's connected to, which should be enough to keep even a top-spec MacBook Pro powered.
If you're looking for a more traditional dock with a wider selection of ports, OWC isn't selling one yet. However, Kensington does have a $399 option, which has three Thunderbolt 5 ports, three USB-A ports, 2.5GB ethernet, a UHS-II SD card and microSD card reader, and a headphone jack.
Not enough card readers?
Image: Lexar
Speaking of Thunderbolt add-ons, Lexar has come out with a new docking station designed to add storage, card readers, and ports to your setup. As its name implies, the Professional Workflow 6-Bay Docking Station has six slots that you can fill with your choice of the sold-separately card reader and storage modules.
The system is almost certainly overkill for most casual photographers, but it could be a good choice if you need to be able to offload several cards at a time, no matter what type. You will want to be a bit careful with how you arrange your modules, though: four slots run at 10Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 2, while two feature full-fat Thunderbolt 4 connectors capable of 40Gbps. If you buy SSD modules or CF Express readers, you'll want to put those in the faster ports.
In addition to the modular bays, the dock has two 10Gbps USB ports on the front – one type A and one type C – as well as two Thunderbolt 4 ports on the back, though you'll be using one to connect it to your computer. The other can be used to output to an up-to 8K display or to even daisy-chain to another dock or Thunderbolt device.
Image: Lexar
You probably wouldn't want to haul the dock around unless you had a cart for it to sit on, but you can pop out the card reader or SSD modules and connect them to a laptop with a standard USB-C cable.
As you may have guessed, none of this comes cheap. The docking station itself, without any modules, costs $599. The SD card readers cost $50 each, the CF Express ones $100, and the SSDs are $299 for a 2TB model, and $499 for a 4TB one.
If that's a bit rich for your blood, Sandisk's $340 Pro Dock 4 may be worth considering. It only has four slots and is a few years old, so it uses Thunderbolt 3, though theoretically, that shouldn't have a speed disadvantage compared to Thunderbolt 4.
A new Final Cut
Apple's latest update to its video editing software is a big one, at least according to the version number*: the company says that Final Cut 11 "begins a new chapter" for editors. That may be a bit of a stretch. It's largely the same software as before – there's no entirely new paradigm the way there was with the switch from FCP 7 to X. However, there are some cool new features.
The first is 'Magnetic Mask,' which is essentially a semi-automated rotoscoping system. It lets you select an object to cut out and will then attempt to automatically mask it out for the rest of the clip – though you can make tweaks if the system gets it wrong. That way, you can have the cut-out portion appear in front of titles, or add effects to it that don't affect the rest of the clip.
You can also now have Final Cut automatically transcribe your project's audio and create closed captions for it. The software is also now capable of editing "spatial" video clips, like the ones produced by iPhones or cameras with Canon's dual VR lenses. The update also includes various workflow improvements: you can now automatically scale clips to match the height of your timeline, hide clips in the browser, and easily create a picture-in-picture effect.
Thankfully, Apple hasn't used the version number upgrade to switch up pricing, or to make users pay for it again. It's still a $300 one-time purchase, and if you bought Final Cut Pro anytime between when it launched in 2011 and now, version 11 is just another free update. There was concern that wouldn't be the case, after Apple announced the subscription-based Final Cut for iPad, which also just got its own update. At least for now, that hasn't come to pass.
* - Real Mac-heads know this doesn't neccesarily mean much; in 2020 Apple ditched the long-running macOS 10.x naming scheme with macOS 11 Big Sur. The fact that it was called macOS 11 and not 10.16 didn't even get a mention in the press release.
ACDSee for Mac
Image: ACDSee
Earlier this year, ACDSee released a new version of its photo editing and management software, Photo Studio. It added features like AI-powered upscaling and new AI selection masks. However, the update was only for Windows. Now, those features are available for the Mac, too, with the release of ACDSee Photo Studio for Mac 11.
In addition to the new and improved AI features, the software is now able to import a Lightroom database, letting you bring your collections, keywords, ratings and color labels into Photo Studio.
ACDSee Photo Studio for Mac normally costs $99, but the company is selling it for $79 through November 27th. There's also a free 15-day trial.
Our product database now includes the full range of Viltrox AF lenses, including the Viltrox AF 135mm F1.8 Lab.
Photo: Viltrox
Today we've added sixteen Viltrox autofocus lenses to our database, so that our site and its lens search tools represent a wider range of the lenses available for mirrorless cameras.
We're also committing to maintaining the database and will continue to add new lenses from Viltrox, as they're announced.
All lenses in our database will appear in our lens search tools, so that these give a clear picture of the options available for different mounts. Viltrox's range currently covers Sony E, Fujifilm X, Nikon Z and Canon EF-M mounts.
The addition of these lenses, with full specifications, is something we've been planning for some time, and was helped by some initial assistance from community member Wolfgang Janzen. We've also gone back and associated all our existing Viltrox news coverage with their respective products, so you can easily find all the information we've published about each lens.
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Image: Meike
Meike has announced the 85mm F1.8 Pro, a full-frame autofocus lens for Nikon Z-mount, Sony E-mount, and L-mount cameras.
The lens is entering a bit of a crowded market, as there are a number of of 85mm F1.8 primes available for each of the mounts, including another similar model from Meike itself, which costs $130 less than the one with the "Pro" badge.
Compared to that lens, Meike's new offering adds a manual aperture ring and has a different optical formula. Meike's (even more) budget option is built out of 9 elements in 6 groups, while the new Pro model has 11 elements in 8 groups. The Pro has a minimum aperture of F16, while the regular model can stop down to F22. It also adds what appears to be a gasket at the lens mount, though the company doesn't make any claims of weather or dust sealing about the lens.
The 85mm F1.8 Pro has a 62mm filter thread and a minimum focusing distance of 0.85m (33.5").
In fact, Meike's product page doesn't say much of anything about the lens; there's a specs table, but no copy at all apart from a notice that the lens will be available starting November 19th for $339. There are seemingly official graphics floating around with weights and some information about lens composition, and we'll be sure to update this story with that information once it actually appears on Meike's site.
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Photo: Richard Butler
The 26th anniversary of the Canon PowerShot Pro70 hitting the shelves heralds us nearing the end of our 25th anniversary year. It was the first camera founder Phil Askey reviewed, and that review's publication, on December 25th, 1998, is the point we consider the start of DPReview.com
The Pro70 was a pretty high-end camera for its day. It was built around a Type 1/2 (~6.7x4.5mm) sensor and an impressively ambitious 28-70mm equiv F2.0-2.4 lens. It arrived some ten years before automatic distortion correction allowed wide-angle zooms to be squeezed into small bodies, so that 28mm-equiv starting point was a premium feature, and one that helps explain the camera's size.
That wide, bright lens gives a hint at how high-end the Pro70 was. That and its $1500 MSRP marked it out as an enthusiast camera of its time. The next step up in quality from this was really the Kodak DCS SLRs, which cost multiple thousand dollars.
Because it dates from the very beginning of the site, I can't speak with authority on what the Pro70 meant for the progress of cameras, in the way we've tried to in the rest of this series. But instead I can highlight the way the Pro70's status as the first DPR camera has led to it popping up throughout the site's history.
The Pro70 is such a landmark camera for the site, we've had cause to look back on it before. I shot the old studio test in preparation for the site's 10th anniversary, though we never ended up publishing the Pro70 vs Sony Mavica FD91 head-to-head we had planned. Technology had moved so fast in those first ten years that its lack of custom white balance, the choice of just two ISO settings (with a third available at 1/4 resolution), its tiny screen and agonizing shutter lag felt completely alien to someone who'd first really gone digital in about 2004.
The Canon PowerShot Pro70 isn't as significant to the history of cameras as many of the other models we've covered in this series, but it's popped up at key milestone's in the site's history.
Photo: Richard Butler
It cropped up again at another key point in the website's history: PIX 2015, the photo show we hosted at the Seattle Center in October 2015. As well as getting together a broad selection of speakers and brands to present to the in-person audience and over the web, we put together a booth showing what we did, giving attendees the chance to meet and talk to the team. Our booth included a range of significant cameras from the site's history, including a Pro70, displayed in a custom perspex case.
I suspect it's this same Pro70 that I planned to dig out as part of our 25th anniversary celebrations, only to find myself with a tighter deadline, when we were told the site was going to close in early 2023. I went ahead and shot our current studio scene, to show how far cameras had come during the site's history and I still enjoy the symmetry of the lowest resolution and highest resolution cameras having pixel counts that differ by a factor of approximately 100.
In that same, strange period for DPReview, I went back and rebuilt the sample galleries of the earliest reviews, accidentally deleted some years earlier, so that it would be the most complete version of the site that got delivered to the Internet Archive. Which means it's now possible to go back and see the Pro70 review as it was originally written, over twenty five years after it was first published.
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Updated: November 13th, 2024
Whether you’re just sharing clips with friends or you’re launching an online on-camera career, vlogging matters. And there’s a point at which your smartphone may not give you the look, control, or flexibility you’re after. With 180-degree selfie screens, wide-angle lenses, microphone inputs and great video quality, more and more dedicated cameras are catering to people who want to take video of themselves and post it online.
The meaning of vlogging has changed over the years, so our picks cover a variety of styles – we'll explain what makes each camera good for vlogging, and what key features each has that make taking video of yourself easier. We've also included videos shot on the cameras in question when we have them to give you an idea of what kind of performance to expect.
Best camera for vlogging on the move: DJI Osmo Pocket 3
DJI’s Osmo Pocket 3 is a stabilized handheld vlogging camera, designed for on-the-move vlogging. It’s built around a type 1 (13.2 x 8.8mm) sensor mounted on a tiny gimbal, meaning it can deliver stabilized footage with smoother motion than any conventional camera or phone.
The small sensor means the Pocket 3 works better in well-lit situations, though a reasonably bright F2.0 lens means it’s usable indoors, too.
It can shoot 4K 16:9 video or, by rotating the screen into the upright position, 3K vertical 9:16 footage. A small joystick lets you control the camera’s movement, and tapping the joystick button flips between the camera pointing toward you or away from you.
Its reliance on contrast-detection autofocus means its focus can be prone to hunting, though its face-detection mode works well enough that this is rarely a problem when talking to the camera.
In addition to the smooth stability of its gimbal and its genuine pocketability, one of the Osmo’s main benefits is that it’s compatible with a series of Bluetooth microphones, meaning you can capture good-quality audio without the need for additional transmitters or receivers.
The video quality isn’t always the highest, and the autofocus can occasionally lead to frustration, but overall the quality and convenience of the Pocket 3 as a package is really hard to beat.
We also considered Sony's range of entry-level vlogging cameras with Type 1 sensors, the ZV-1, ZV-1F, and ZV-1 II. The latter is the best pick of the bunch, given its zoom lens and built-in ND, but it's hard to recommend. Its quality will be slightly better than that of a flagship phone, but if you're going to be carrying an extra gadget around anyway, it's probably best to spend a bit more for a more flexible interchangeable lens camera with an APS-C sensor for a big boost in image quality.
The Sony ZV-E10 II is focused on vlogging, with solid 4K/24p and 4K/60p shooting capabilities, and a suite of features for taking footage of yourself.
The ZV-E10 II has an excellent grip, easy-to-hit buttons and a touchscreen that lets you control the most important settings without turning the camera around. The zoom rocker is great for power zoom lenses.
Subject tracking autofocus is fast, sticky, and accurate, though it doesn't have all the modes available on other Sony cameras. Product showcase prioritizes items held up in front of your face and has lots of options. Menus are easy to learn and responsive, and battery life is good.
The ZV-E10 II pairs useful, video-focused features with excellent hardware, making it an excellent vlogging camera depending on your style.
The rolling shutter performance is good, bordering on excellent. The lack of IBIS can make handheld footage look shakey, and electronic stabilization is only useful for stable shots. The built-in microphone is good, and the camera has headphone and mic jacks.
The ZV-E10 II brings many – but not all – of the a6700's vlogging features to a more compact and less expensive body. If you can live without IBIS and built-in ND, it's a solid interchangeable lens vlogging camera.
Fujifilm recently announced the X-M5, an APS-C camera with a lot of the vlogging features found in the ZV-E10 II. While we haven't had the opportunity to fully test it, its price point and Fujifilm's broad lens selection make it an interesting choice – however, based on experience with Fujifilm's other recent models, its autofocus system is likely to be less reliable than Sony's, particularly with moving subjects.
We also considered Nikon's Z30 and Sony's similarly-specced ZV-E10, but the improved video performance of the Mark II and the lack of headphone socket on either of these older models mean it's the newer Sony we'd lean towards.
Best camera if you do a mix of both: Panasonic S9
24MP BSI CMOS full-frame sensor | 6K/30p 10-bit video | Sensor stabilized to 5EV
The Panasonic S9 is a full-frame L-mount mirrorless camera aimed at creators who want to post images and videos to social with as little editing as possible.
The S9's stabilized sensor earns it a place on this list – while it won't provide video as smooth as the Osmo Pocket 3, it does a good job of reducing the shakiness that typically comes with handheld footage. Its full-frame sensor provides good image quality for shooting indoors.
It can be difficult to adjust settings when you're holding the camera with one hand, and the rear control dial is extremely sensitive, making it easy to accidentally change settings. Lack of a grip makes the camera a little slippery.
The S9's autofocus is generally reliable but can occasionally miss or hunt for focus. It can overheat in harsh conditions. It's Real Time LUT system lets you get already-graded images and videos straight out of camera.
The S9 is a camera that goes all-in on posting to social media.
Its open-gate 6K and UHD 4K modes have good quality, with plenty of detail. Its open-gate 4K 'MP4 Lite' codec produces files that are quick to transfer to your phone, crop, and upload to social media. 10-bit video is a plus if you plan on editing.
The S9 has a well-thought-out workflow for posting media from it to the Internet. It's very capable at shooting video, but the photography experience isn't as strong.
The Sony ZV-E1 is a full-frame E-mount mirrorless camera aimed at vloggers and ambitious content creators.
It has pretty much everything a vlogger would need: Sony's class-leading autofocus, a front tally light, a stabilized sensor, 4K60p with no crop and excellent rolling shutter performance. It also has features that make shooting alone easier, such as its auto framing mode that dynamically zooms in on the subject in a frame, much like a cameraperson would, and the product showcase mode that overrides the face detection AF when you're clearly trying to show the camera something.
The ZV-E1 has two command dials, both on the back of the camera, which makes manual video control a little fiddly, there's a touchscreen-led interface to encourage more automated presenter/operator working, though.
The ZV-E1's subject recognition system is highly reliable. The lack of a fan means it's much more susceptible to overheating than the otherwise similar FX3. It adds automated modes that crop and follow a recognized subject around the frame, adding dynamism to single-operator footage.
"The ZV-E1 has some clever automated modes but can be a bit fiddly to operate. It's hard to match the power for the price, though"
The camera's 4K footage (up to 120p) is detailed with relatively little rolling shutter, but you'll want to use the strongest level of image stabilization (with crop) for hand-held shooting as it's a little juddery in less intensive modes.
The ZV-E1 tries to marry the capability of the FX3 cinema camera with automated ease-of-use, but can end up being quite confusing in the auto modes and quite fiddly if you try to take a more hands-on approach. It's hard to match the power for the price, though.
This buying guide is based on cameras used and tested by DPReview's editorial team. We don't select a camera until we've used it enough to be confident in recommending it, usually after our extensive review process. The selections are purely a reflection of which cameras we believe to be best: there are no financial incentives for us to select one model or brand over another.
Fujifilm has announced that it's working on "its first-ever filmmaking camera" called the GFX Eterna, which will use the 44 x 33 mm medium-format sensor found in its GFX 100 II and 100S II cameras. The company says it's set to be released in 2025, when it'll likely compete with other large-format* cameras like Red's V-Raptor with a 41 x 21.6 mm sensor, and Arri's Alexa 65 with its 54 x 25.6 mm sensor.
The 102MP sensor will be paired with Fujifilm's X-Processor 5, also brought over from its more stills-focused cameras. That sensor is "approximately 1.7 times larger" than 35mm sensors, which themselves are considered relatively big for cinema cameras.
The GFX Eternal looks like a typical cinema camera
While there are plenty of details still missing – this is only a development announcement – the company's news post includes two renders of the GFX Eterna, which looks like a typical cinema camera: it's adorned with buttons and ports, including connectors for Genlock, USB-C, Ethernet, remotes, audio equipment and video output. Also included is a locking lens mount, which is vital when dealing with extremely heavy and costly cinema glass.
Alongside the camera, the company says it's working on a 32-90mm power zoom GF lens, which translates to roughly 25-71mm full frame equiv. The company is also working on an adapter that will let you put industry-standard PL-mount lenses onto the camera's G-mount. However, anyone using PL mount lenses with the camera will want to make sure they have a big enough image circle, as many cinema lenses are made for cameras with "Super35" sensors, which can be 25 x 13.9 or 25 x 18.7 mm. That makes them closer in size to APS-C sensors than the 36 x 24 mm full-frame sensors the GFX sensor was made to outclass.
While the GFX Eterna may be the company's first cinema camera, it's not necessarily a surprising move. The GFX 100 II has a ton of video features, including a series of video modes designed for the company's incredibly expensive Premista cinema lenses, which have a larger imaging circle than full-frame but smaller than the full GF mount.
GF lens mode
Premista lens mode
35mm lens mode
Anamorphic mode
The GFX 100 II has a wide array of video modes.
However, it is interesting that the company would choose to jump into the cinema market with this sensor, given its relatively poor rolling shutter performance in the GFX 100 II. In its UHD and DCI 4K modes, it manages a 14-15ms readout rate via line-skipping, but at higher resolutions, it reaches upwards of 30ms, which could render even moderate speed pans as a wobbly mess.
*In video terms
Press Release:
Fujifilm Unveils the Development of its First Filmmaking Camera “FUJIFILM GFX ETERNA”
Achieving rich, true to life visuals with the large format sensor
Paving the way for a new era of film production and timeless masterpiece creation
TOKYO, November 12, 2024 – FUJIFILM Corporation announces that it is currently in the process of developing its first-ever filmmaking camera, the “FUJIFILM GFX ETERNA” (GFX ETERNA), with plans for a release in 2025. The “GFX ETERNA” will feature a large format sensor, “GFX 102MP CMOS II HS”, which is approximately 1.7 times larger than a 35mm sensor, and the high-speed image processing engine “X-Processor 5”, enabling filmmakers to capture rich, true to life visuals and have enhanced flexibility in post-production. Both the “GFX 102MP CMOS II HS” sensor and “X-Processor 5” are the latest technologies featured in the mirrorless digital camera “FUJIFILM GFX100 II”, which delivers extraordinarily high image quality with its 102 million pixels.
Fujifilm will showcase the “GFX ETERNA” as a reference exhibit at the comprehensive media event “InterBEE 2024”, which will be held from November 13th to 15th 2024.
After its founding in 1934, the Fujifilm Group has played an important role in Japan’s film industry by developing and introducing domestically-produced positive film for movies. Through continuous innovation, Fujifilm has expanded its product range to include the motion picture color negative film “ETERNA series” and the cinema zoom lenses “Premista series” and “ZK Cabrio series”. For over 90 years, Fujifilm has been providing reliable products for the film production industry and beyond. In addition to its success with photographic films, cameras and digital cameras, in 2017, Fujifilm introduced the groundbreaking mirrorless digital camera “GFX series”, featuring a large format sensor approximately 1.7 times larger than a 35mm sensor, delivering extraordinarily high image quality. Fujifilm has since made continuous improvement to the “GFX series”, including its video capabilities.
The “GFX ETERNA,” currently in development, is set to revolutionize film production. Leveraging Fujifilm’s expertise and experience in the field of filmmaking, the company will combine the exceptional capabilities of Fujinon lenses with the advanced technology of the “GFX series.” Aptly named “GFX ETERNA,” it aspires to become a driving force in shaping a new era of filmmaking and dedicate to contributing to the creation of timeless cinematic masterpieces.
In addition to the development of the “GFX ETERNA”, Fujifilm is also working on the development of a power zoom GF lens that is optimized for this G mount camera, planned to have actual focal length of 32-90mm, and a mount adapter from G to PL mount lenses, widely employed in film production.
As the demand for producing various types of videos such as feature films, short films, documentaries, and web content continues to grow, there is a growing need in the film production industry for high-quality videos that can be produced quickly and inexpensively. In preparation for the launch of the “GFX ETERNA”, Fujifilm will conduct rigorous field tests, while expanding its product lineup to enhance the “GFX system”. Through these efforts, Fujifilm is committed to contributing to the video production with high-quality and productivity across a wide range of fields.
Sony has teased its newest high-performance camera, the a1 Mark II, on its Sony Alpha Universe website, as well as on its social media channels like Instagram and TikTok. According to the teaser, the new model will be announced next Tuesday, November 19, during a live-streamed event that starts at 9:00 am Eastern time.
The company did not provide any details beyond the new product name and announcement time. However, the banner on the Sony Alpha Universe website links to a scheduled video on Sony's YouTube channel where the launch will be live-streamed.
The Panasonic Lumix S9 is the newest addition to Panasonic's line of full-frame mirrorless cameras, though it differs considerably from previous models by being the first to diverge from the traditional DSLR form factor. More significantly, it's the first full-frame Lumix camera aimed squarely at social media content creators.
The basic premise of the S9 is that it's designed to simplify and speed up the social media workflow. The goal is to allow content creators to generate photos or videos ready to publish straight out of the camera without additional editing in other applications.
Key specifications
24MP BSI CMOS full-frame sensor with on-sensor phase detection
Sensor stabilized to 5EV (6.5EV w/ lens)
1.84M dot fully-articulating LCD
Open-gate video at 4K or 6K up to 30p
Extensive range of video resolutions, frame-rates and codecs
Dedicated LUT button to apply LUTs to output (photos and video)
Tight integration with the new Lumix Lab smartphone app
Dual conversion gain sensor with explicit 'Dual Native ISO' gain selection
Single UHS-II card slot
The Lumix S9 is available at a suggested retail price of $1499 in six color options: night blue, dark olive, crimson red, sakura pink, mint green and jet black.
Alongside the S9, Panasonic also announced a new L-mount lens designed to pair with the camera. The Lumix S 26mm F8 is a fixed-aperture, manual focus 'pancake' style lens with a suggested retail price of $199. But the S9's primary kit lens is the 18-40mm 4.3-6.3, a collapsible zoom that presents a compact combination, but increases the cost to $1797.
Under the hood, the Panasonic S9 has a lot of similarities to the Panasonic S5II. However, by necessity, it omits some of that camera's hardware features in the interest of size, including an EVF, a second main command dial, a joystick, a second card slot and an integrated fan.
While the two cameras share a common technology platform, the S9 is not simply a more compact version of the S5II: the cameras have very different design philosophies and are aimed at different types of users. One of the starkest examples of this is in the S9's lack of a mechanical shutter or hot-shoe mount, which signals its prioritization of video over stills. There's no reasonable way to use a flash with this camera, and you'll have to be careful to avoid rolling shutter when shooting moving subjects.
Social media-focused workflow
The S9 is specifically designed with a social media workflow in mind. This means providing social media creators with the tools necessary to generate distinctive, signature looks to their photos and videos straight out of the camera without requiring any editing skills. Panasonic describes this as the ability to "Shoot, edit and share in 30 seconds." While 30 seconds may be a bit optimistic, it's important to understand that this social media workflow underpins the camera's features and design choices.
In essence, the S9 is intended to provide a camera-to-social-media workflow that can be executed quickly and easily, without relying on a computer or any third-party software. Although the camera can support an enthusiast photographer's workflow, it's not optimized for it, and lacks features that dedicated photographers are likely to value, such as a dedicated viewfinder, a second command dial and direct controls for features such as AF mode and area.
Expanded use of 'Real Time' LUTs
A core feature of the S9's social media workflow is Panasonic's 'Real Time' LUT system, first introduced on the S5II. This does more or less what it sounds like: it lets you instantly apply a look-up table (LUT) color transformation to a photo or video as they're captured to provide a custom look that would otherwise require additional editing to achieve.
LUTs have been a standard method of applying color and tone transformations in the video world for years, but Panasonic has expanded their use to broadly apply to both stills and video. It promises this LUT-based workflow will let you skip the color editing step entirely because you can use LUTs to achieve whatever look you want straight out of the camera.
LUTs are such an essential part of the S9's identity that it has a dedicated LUT button next to the AF-On button on the back of the camera. Tapping this button allows you to quickly cycle through all the LUTs loaded into the camera to select the look you want to achieve.
The S9's Real Time LUT feature allows you to generate custom looks straight out of the camera.
In addition to a dedicated LUT button, the camera improves upon the system found on the S5II in several ways. The S9 can store up to 39 LUTs in memory, up from ten on the S5II. LUTs can also now be applied to any of the camera's Photo Style color modes; previously, LUTs could only be applied to the V-Log style (for which most existing LUTs are designed). When using the Real Time LUT system, this is handled automatically; if the LUT you're using is designed for V-Log, it'll be applied on top of V-Log. If it's designed for the standard color mode, it'll be applied on top of that, and so on.
Users also now have the ability to control LUT opacity, ranging from 10-100%, and it's even possible to apply two LUTs at once by creating a custom 'My Photo Style', which lets you choose a base Photo Style and apply one or two LUTs on top of it. However, switching between a single Real Time LUT and a customized Photo Style requires using a separate menu, as the My Photo Styles aren't included in the list of LUTs.
New LUTs can be added to the camera quickly and easily using a companion smartphone app, though it's also possible to add a LUT in .cube or .vlt format from an SD card if desired.
4K open-gate recording and MP4 (Lite) codec
Another part of the S9's focus on social-media-ready footage is its 4K open-gate video mode. This captures video from the entire 3:2 sensor region and downsamples it from 6K to 4K. The taller, squarer 3:2 format makes it easier to take both a standard 16:9 crop (for platforms such as YouTube) as well as a tall, narrow 9:16 crop for vertical video platforms such as Instagram and TikTok.
The 4K open gate footage is captured in a new MP4 (Lite) codec, which records either 25 or 30p footage at an average of 50Mbps. This low bitrate assumes you won't be making major edits to your footage (having already used LUTs to get the color right, in-camera), and allows quick transfer to a smartphone. This is the camera's default mode.
The S9 can still capture standard resolutions at higher bitrates if you prefer, and handles vertical shooting well if you're solely interested in 9:16 output. It can also capture its full sensor 'open gate' output at full 6K resolution, if you want to punch-in and pan around the footage on your computer. But the camera's app doesn't handle the MOV files these higher quality modes are recorded in.
Aspect ratios
Frame rates
Bit-depth
Chroma
Max bitrate
6K Open gate 3:2, full width
3:2
29.97, 25, 24, 23.98
10-bit
4:2:0
200
3.8K Open gate 3:2, full width*
25, 30
50
5.9K full-width
16:9, 1.89:1
29.97, 25, 24, 23.98
200
4K full-width
4:2:2
150
4K APS-C
59.94, 50, 29.97, 25, 24, 23.98 (48, 47.95)
200
*Open gate 4K recording is the default video mode for camera
In most of the camera's modes it will shoot 4K open-gate footage by default. This can be changed in the menu, but the camera can only shoot at up to 4K resolution. To access the full-width 5.9K and 6K open-gate options, you'll need to switch out of the dedicated video mode to use them.
In video mode you also get access to Panasonic's excellent video features like waveform monitor, shutter angle, zebras, Log view assist, record frame indicator, and the other usual suspects (including extensive support for shooting with anamorphic lenses).
Lumix Lab app
Part of the S9's social media workflow depends on the Lumix Lab smartphone app.
Lumix Lab allows you to apply LUTs to photos and videos and to manage the LUTs installed on your camera. However, the real power of Lumix Lab is the ability to quickly and easily create your own custom looks and generate custom LUTs based on those looks. The app includes various editing tools, including exposure, color, HSL, tone curve, split toning, sharpening, noise reduction, sharpness, and even simulated film grain. If you edit an image or video clip and get a look that you want to reproduce in the future, you can instantly save a custom LUT based on your edits and load it into one of the camera's 39 memory banks.
The Lumix Lab app allows you to create and manage LUTs on your camera.
The idea is to allow you to create a signature look that you can automatically apply to any media you capture in the future simply by selecting your custom LUT using the camera's LUT button.
Lumix Lab also includes a library of ready-to-use LUTs, including LUTs created by Panasonic and by other social media content creators. This means you have many creative options to choose from, even without having to make LUTs yourself.
You can also use Lumix Lab to generate different crops from a video to post to different platforms. This comes into its own if you shoot the default whole-sensor 3:2 'open-gate' footage. However, the app only accepts footage shot in the MP4 (Lite) and MP4 formats. The 6K open-gate and full-width 5.9K modes, which you might want to edit more extensively, can only be shot as MOV footage, so aren't compatible. So you need to think about your intended workflow when choosing a codec.
Lumix Lab has a fair number of tools for editing your footage – assuming you shot it in MP4 instead of MOV.
Its auto-transfer system is also at the mercy of your phone's operating system. When testing it on iOS, it would often stop automatically downloading files from the camera when the phone went to sleep, prompting the S9 to pop up a warning about un-transferred files that would prevent the camera from turning off until we tapped a button. It is possible to get around this by selecting what media you want to send to your phone from your camera, rather than having your phone try to automatically download everything.
How it compares
Panasonic's pitching this camera squarely at creators who are still mainly shooting with their phones. If it wants the S9 to woo them, it has to do two things: be almost as convenient to carry around and shoot with as a phone while producing much higher-quality images. The camera's compact size, along with the revamped app, are plays at making it convenient, while its full-frame sensor should provide enough raw photo and video quality to stand out in a crowd of smartphone images.
Of course, the S9 isn't the only choice for creators looking to step up to a dedicated camera. Sony's ZV-E1 is a direct rival focused on meeting the needs of creators. We've also included the Panasonic DC-S5II, the company's more photographer-friendly model underpinned by similar hardware.
Finally, the Sigma fp is admittedly a slightly left-field comparison, but its lack of viewfinder, reliance on an electronic shutter, and use of the same sensor make it an interesting point of comparison.
Panasonic S9
Sony ZV-E1
Panasonic S5II
Sigma fp
MSRP
$1499
$2200
$1999
$1899
Pixel count
24MP
12MP
24MP
25MP
Viewfinder (Res/Mag)
N/A
N/A
3.69M dot OLED, 0.76x
Optional
Rear Screen
3.0" 1.84M dots, fully articulating
3.0" 1.04M dots, fully-articulating,
3.0" 1.62M dot, fully-articulating
3.2″ 2.1M dot, fixed
Image stabilization
Body: 5EV
w/lens: 6.5EV
Body: 5EV
Body: 8EV
w/lens: 8EV
N/A
Cont. shooting rate
30fps e-shutter
10fps e-shutter
30fps e-shutter 7fps mech (AF-C)
18fps e-shutter
Mechanical shutter
No
No
Yes
No
Video resolution
6K 3:2 <30p
6K/5.9K <30p
4K 60p (APS-C)
4K <30p (full width)
4K <60p
1080 <120p
(4K <120p, 1080 <240p via f/w*)
6K 3:2 <30p
6K/5.9K <30p
DCI/UHD <30p
DCI/UHD <60p (1.5x crop)
4K <30p
1080P <120p
Video bit-depth
10 bit with HLG and Log
10 bit with HLG and Log
10 bit with HLG and Log
12 bit Cinema DNG
No 10-bit or Log option
Mic/Headphone sockets
Yes / No
Yes / Yes
Yes / Yes
Yes / Yes (via USB-C)
Card slots
1x UHS-II
1x UHS-II
2x UHS-II
1x UHS-II
Battery life (CIPA) LCD / EVF
470
570
370 / 370
280
Weight
486g (17.1 oz)
483g (17oz)
740g (26.1oz)
422 g (14.89 oz)
Dimensions
126 x 74 x 47 mm
121 x 72 x 54mm
134 x 102 x 90mm
113 x 70 x 45 mm
*A free firmware upgrade is required to access 4K/120 shooting on the ZV-E1
For its price and size, the S9 has a pretty impressive spec sheet for an entry-level camera, largely owing to its high-res, full-frame sensor and ample video features. The company's stabilization tech is some of the best in the business when it comes to video, but its autofocus is still not the most reliable, while Sony's is.
This makes the comparison with the Sony ZV-E1 interesting. It, too, aims to make creators' lives easier, but through different means. The S9's forte is making it easy to find or create a look for your images, while the ZV-E1 is tuned to make filming yourself easier. While it has its own custom LUT feature, it's mostly focused on video instead of photos, and can only be applied to S-Log3 footage.
The S9's focus on creators means there are plenty of features that could push enthusiast and more photo-focused buyers towards more expensive cameras like the S5II. The S9's bigger cousin has more controls, a viewfinder, a mechanical shutter and a second SD card slot. It's also better equipped for video, with a full-size HDMI port versus a fragile micro one and a dedicated headphone socket (with the ability to record to an SSD on the more expensive S5II X model). The S5II's extra features come at a cost, though, both figurative and literal; it's over 50% heavier, and its MSRP is $500 higher than the S9's, both factors that could be dealbreakers for on-the-go content creators or people who are just starting out.
Body and handling
The S9 has a sleek design reminiscent of old rangefinder film cameras. Its face is a mostly flat surface, a leatherette cover that comes in six colors. (Real ones, too; it's nice that Panasonic hasn't skimped on saturation like many gadget makers are these days.) Unlike Panasonic's higher-end offerings, the S9 doesn't have any programmable buttons up front.
The camera is relatively compact for housing a full-frame sensor; it's smaller and lighter than Panasonic's four thirds-equipped G9II. However, the S9 is still not a small object, and we felt its thickness, rounded edges, and lack of ergonomic affordances made it difficult to confidently shoot it one-handed like you can with cameras like the S5II or GH5II. Its surface finishes are relatively slick, and it doesn't have any front grip to speak of. (There is a leatherette-inlaid thumbrest, but it can only do so much.)
At the top of the camera is the mode dial, along with a programmable command dial that runs around the shutter button. There's also a programmable red button that, by default, will start recording up to 4K video even if you're in a photo mode, in your choice of MP4 Lite, standard MP4, or MOV. If you want access to the camera's highest resolution mode or all of its framerates, though, you'll have to switch to video mode. Finally, there's a cold shoe mount, which could be useful for mounting accessories like vlogging microphones or on-camera lights as long as they can provide their own power.
Moving to the back of the camera, there's the flip-out touchscreen, which is the S9's only display. It's also the main way to select your focus points, though you can also use the four-way controller once you've entered the AF point select mode. The screen is responsive, crisp and clear at 3.0" and 1.84 million dots (960 x 640px), but it's susceptible to glare and washing out even on relatively overcast days.
Above the display, you'll find the LUT and AF On buttons, both of which are programmable and easy to reach while shooting. Down to the right is the control wheel, along with the rest of the camera's buttons. We found the dial to be quite sensitive, which limited our choices while choosing its function; it's no fun looking down at your camera and discovering that you accidentally changed to a black and white photo style, or adjusted your white balance.
That sensitivity does help you zip around menus, but it doesn't make it any easier to use the wheel when you're one-handing the camera. It's placed such that you'll have to remove your thumb from the thumbrest to make adjustments, something that will almost certainly unbalance the camera unless you're supporting it with a second hand.
Photographers used to direct control of two principal parameters will probably wish for an extra command dial, and those who hate diving into menus will likely want an extra programmable button or two. However, you can make things a little less fiddly if you customize the Q menu and "My Menu" systems. The main menus of the camera are also reasonably easy to navigate, and you can control them with either dial, or using the touchscreen.
Battery
The S9 uses Panasonic's 16 Wh DMW-BLK22 battery, the same one found in the S5II, G9II, and GH5II. It's rated to give you around 470 shots per charge, though as always that number is likely well below what you'll get during real-world use. That's quite a good showing, especially for a camera of this size; that's enough power that most photographers could head out for a weekend of shooting without worrying about bringing a second battery, unless you plan on shooting a lot of video.
The S9 doesn't come with a power adapter or battery charger, but it has a USB-C port that you can use with standard charging bricks. According to Panasonic, you should be able to keep it topped up with a battery bank, provided it and your USB cable support outputting at 9V at 3A.
Image quality
Our test scene is designed to simulate a variety of textures, colors, and detail types you'll encounter in the real world. It also has two illumination modes, full even light and low directional light, to see the effect of different lighting conditions.
Image Comparison
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The S9 has the same sensor as the S5 II, so it's no surprise that it has very similar image quality in most situations. While we haven't shot the studio scene with the ZV-E1, the a7S III has nearly identical performance to it. Its 12MP sensor captures much less detail than the S9's 24MP one, meaning that it's even less suited to taking stills.
The S9's Raw files have roughly the same amount of detail as most other 24MP cameras, such as the Nikon Z6 II, and similar levels of noise at moderately high and very high ISOs.
The S9's JPEG engine does a decent job at sharpening fine details at low ISOs without giving images an overprocessed look. At moderately high ISOs the noise reduction does a good job of retaining all but the finest details, though it can start to struggle at extremely high ISOs.
In its standard color mode, the S9's JPEGs generally have good colors, and, though our color chart does suggests the greens can be a bit yellow, and the yellows can be a bit green, this didn't have a noticeable impact in landscapes or photos of foliage that we took as part of our testing.
Part of the allure of the camera is the ability to easily go beyond the standard color mode by applying a LUT. With the ability to built LUTs on top of the built-in Photo Styles, and to mix them together using the My Photo Style profiles, the S9 gives you more ability to tune the JPEGs to your liking than most other cameras – though that does come with the risk of going overboard.
Dynamic Range
The S9 doesn't have the strongest dynamic range performance, displaying higher levels of read noise than other cameras that use the same sensor. This is because the lack of a mechanical shutter forces it to use the faster 12-bit readout mode on the sensor, which results in lower dynamic range than a 14-bit readout mode.
The camera's intended audience of content creators and vloggers likely won't run into issues with it unless they routinely edit their Raw images and try to raise the shadows.
It's of no disadvantage at all for video users, as almost all of its rivals also drop to 12-bit readout to capture video. It is one more small reason not to consider the S9 as a general-purpose photography camera, though, as it could be somewhat limiting when shooting high-contrast work such as landscapes.
A few months after the S9 launched, Panasonic released its 18-40mm F4.3-6.3 collapsible lens, which became one of the kit lens options for the camera. You can look at our sample gallery, shot with the S9, to get an idea of what images taken with it look like, but the summary is that it's a lens that prioritizes compactness and lightness over image quality. That isn't necessarily a bad thing; when paired with the lens, the S9 is surprisingly light and compact for a full-frame camera.
That won't necessarily be true if you decide to upgrade the lens. There are plenty of L-mount options that are good for video, but the faster and sharper the lens, the bigger and heavier it'll be; you don't have to go much bigger than the 18-40mm before the lens starts to outweigh the S9, partially negating its compact design.
Autofocus
The S9 features 779 autofocus points, along with several modes for choosing autofocus: pinpoint, one area, one area plus, zone, horizontal / vertical zone, full area and tracking.
To select where you want the camera to focus, you can either tap the touchscreen or use the four-way controller. By default, the four-way controller focus point select mode requires a button press before you can start moving the focus point.
Each subject detection mode also has its own part priority mode.
Like most modern cameras, the S9 features several subjects that it can automatically recognize. It also lets you pick which part of each subject you'd like to prioritize. Following the v1.1 firmware update, that list is:
Humans (Eye/Face or Eye/Face/Body)
Animal (Eye/Body or Body)
Car (Driver/front priority or entire subject)
Motorcycle (Helmet priority or entire subject)
Train (Cab priority or First car)
Airplane (Nose priority or airframe)
The S9 also does a good job of not overriding your tracking selection point if it recognizes a subject elsewhere in the frame.
All the subject recognition modes are also available when shooting video. As with many cameras, the regular autofocus tracking performance isn't as strong in video, but the subject recognition tracking is relatively dependable. It would occasionally have to hunt for focus in busy scenes, but such instances were rare.
When shooting photos, the S9 could keep up with a subject moving towards it at a predictable speed, in a straight line in focus at its 8fps 'high' speed during our continuous autofocus test.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
The usually reliable subject detection system wasn't able to keep the subject in focus as he slowed down and then sped back up.
Its performance in our more difficult autofocus tracking test wasn't as reliable. When asked to identify and stay on a subject moving across the frame and coming towards it at a varying speed, it sometimes struggled to keep him in focus. Like many cameras, it would do fine until the subject turned, slowing the speed with which the subject was moving toward the camera.
The issue appeared in both the regular tracking mode and when using subject detection, and the S9 was generally able to recover after two or three frames, suggesting the camera is able to recognize the subject it should be focusing on but is less good at measuring and predicting its distance. While this performance is far from terrible, it solidly places the S9's autofocus system in a tier behind the most capable systems from Sony, Nikon, or Canon.
Our everyday use of the camera outside of the test reinforces those results, but the main focusing pain point wasn't the system's accuracy; it was the ergonomics of picking a tracking point. Both methods – using the touchscreen or the four-way controller – require readjusting your grip and touching the camera, which can throw off your framing. Overall, we found it difficult to quickly select a focus point and get the framing we wanted, which hurt the experience of photographing quick-moving subjects.
Video
The S9 can shoot open-gate in both 6K and 4K; the former is useful if you want maximum quality and flexibility to crop and reframe in traditional editing software, and the latter is useful if you plan on doing quick, simple crops on your phone. The goal is to make it easy to shoot a single video that can be output as vertical and landscape, though it can be difficult to frame a shot in a way that'll be sensible in both formats.
It can also shoot in standard UHD 4K, DCI 4K, and 1080p and has some more obscure options: 5.9K for maximum resolution but pre-cropped to 16:9 and a 4:3 '3.3K' mode that uses a 1.5x crop of the sensor and can be used for shooting with anamorphic lenses. You'll also run into that crop if you shoot above 30p in the 4K modes.
The S9 has several video-focused features: it has a resizable and movable waveform exposure monitor, a red border on the screen to act as a recording indicator, two levels of zebra patterns, the option to set shutter angle instead of speed and, as of the v1.1 update, multiple customizable frame guides to make it easier to compose for different aspect ratios.
You can have up to three frame guides, which you can move and scale, letting you understand how your framing will work for different output crops.
Perhaps the most important feature, especially for vloggers, is the quite capable in-body image stabilization. The stabilized sensor does a good job of smoothing out the shakes that come with shooting hand-held footage while still being reactive enough to let you intentionally move the camera without the sensor fighting you. We didn't run into much of the jerkiness or grab-and-release issues that can show up with less sophisticated stabilization systems.
If you need an even steadier shot, you can also activate 'Boost I.S.' mode, which is meant to mimic footage shot on a tripod, at the cost of giving you less freedom to move the camera – if you try to pan with Boost I.S. on, the aforementioned issues will start to show up. The S9 also has electronic image stabilization that can be layered on top of the physical stabilization and support for Panasonic's 'Dual I.S.' mode that syncs the IBIS with a lens' optical image stabilization to provide an even smoother shot.
One notable omission is the 3.5mm headphone jack. Thanks to the lack of audio monitoring, we had to re-shoot a few videos we filmed with the S9; while an audio meter appears on the display when you plug in an external microphone, it won't always tell the whole story, especially if the issue is interference or handling noise.
One last note for vloggers hoping to quickly capture footage from their lives: the S9 can occasionally take upwards of 4 seconds to boot up. Subsequent boot times are much lower, around a second, but it's worth being aware of if you need your camera to reliably start up in situations where two or three seconds could be the difference between getting a shot and missing it.
Video Quality
Image Comparison
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The standard 4K footage from the S9 has an acceptable level of detail, though it's far from the best we've seen. It does manage to provide a little more detail than purely 4K cameras like the ZV-E1, which aren't able to do any downsampling. When shooting above 30fps in 4K, the camera uses a crop of the sensor, resulting in less detail and worse noise performance. This is something to keep in mind if you prefer to shoot at 60fps for slow-motion purposes or to achieve a hyper-real aesthetic.
Switching to 6K or the other >4K resolutions does provide a slight increase in detail. That's another advantage over the Sony ZV-E1, which caps out at 4K, for scenes where you really need that extra bit of resolution. However, most creators would likely best be served sticking to 4K rather than dealing with substantially larger files, especially if they plan on transferring the files to their phones. The exception is those who need the flexibility of the open gate aspect ratio in editing.
Rolling Shutter
It's not the worst rolling shutter performance we've seen, but it's definitely something to keep an eye out for.
Depending on what subjects you typically shoot, the S9's rolling shutter performance could be something to watch out for.
Shooting mode
Rolling shutter rate
6K / 3.8K open gate
25ms
4K 24p
22ms
4K 60p
14ms
1080p 24p
22ms
The camera's 4K 24p mode takes a little over 20ms to read out, which is towards the upper end of what we'd consider acceptable. There's a definite risk of you seeing the warping effects of rolling shutter at these speeds (though we didn't experience any jello-like interaction between this and the camera's stabilization movements).
The 6K and 3.8K open-gate modes take even longer, as they're reading more of the sensor's height at the same rate. This is no problem if you then crop a 16:9 region out of the footage, since there'll only be 22ms worth of change between the top and bottom of that crop, but any full-height, vertical 9:16 crops will have a higher risk of distortion, as they'll show the full 25ms.
LUTs
The S9 isn't the first time we've seen Panasonic's Real Time LUT system, but it obviously plays a big role on the camera, given the dedicated button for it. Essentially, it lets you shoot footage with a 'look' baked in; you can download new looks from Panasonic's Lumix Lab app or make your own.
If you're used to a LUT-based workflow where you apply a LUT to Log footage, there is one extra aspect to be aware of: Photo Styles. The S9's LUTs have a base Photo Style, which can be – but isn't necessarily – V-Log. Many of the new LUTs are built to be applied to other color modes, such as Standard or Portrait.
If you stick to using the Real Time LUT feature via the LUT button, it's not something you'll have to worry about; the camera automatically figures it out for you. However, it's something to be aware of if you're using the My Photo Style feature to apply two LUTs at once. It automatically sets the base color profile based on the LUT you put in the first slot, but if you inadvertently change the base Photo Style or your second LUT is meant to apply to a different Photo Style, you can end up with some strange results.
You can combine two LUTs in a custom Photo Style.
There is one quirk of the LUT button: it automatically switches to the Real Time LUT photo style, but you have to use the separate Photo Style menu to switch out of it if you want to return to one of the built-in color modes. It's navigable once you've figured out the hierarchy, but can take some getting used to.
The S9 also has a "Log View Assist" mode, which lets you shoot in VLog but use one of the LUTs for the preview on the display rather than baking it into the footage. That way, you don't have to guess how it'll look with the LUT applied in editing but aren't married to that particular look.
Overheating
The camera usually takes a few minutes to recover from overheating.
When it was first released, the S9 had aggressive record-time limits to prevent overheating. With the v1.1 update, Panasonic added a setting that lets you bypass them if you're okay with trading known software record limits for longer but more unpredictable thermal ones. During our testing, we found it was possible to get the S9 to overheat, but it was able to handle recording for far longer than the typical social media workflow requires.
Conditions
Record time
18°C (64°F) / 6K
Indoors
Did not overheat; card filled after 87 minutes
23°C (73°F) / 6K
Indoors
41 minutes: temperature warning
51 minutes: overheat shutoff
26°C (79°F) / 4K 24p
Indoors
1 hour: temperature warning
1 hour, 20 minutes: overheat shutoff
31°C (88°F) / 4K 24p
Outdoors, direct sun
13 minutes recording over 17 minutes: overheated
If your shooting style involves recording relatively short clips with breaks in between, as is the case with many vloggers, you likely won't run into issues unless you're shooting outdoors in harsh conditions. The one time we ran into overheating issues during actual use was when shooting relatively long (4-6 minute) clips in direct sunlight with high ambient temperatures around 31°C (88°F). It must be said that the person shooting the clips also struggled in those conditions.
Conclusion
By Mitchell Clark
Pros
Cons
Wide range of video features
Quick camera-to-phone workflow
Real Time LUTs can negate the need to color grade
Very capable in-body image stabilization
Comes in fun colors that complement a sleek, classic design
Aggressive price for a full-frame camera
L-mount lens ecosystem is robust
No EVF, mechanical shutter or hot shoe and limited controls make it clear it's not for photographers
Autofocus tracking is decent but not great
No headphone socket or front tally light
Mediocre rolling shutter performance
Screen can be hard to see outdoors
Only one top plate control dial; rear control dial is extremely sensitive
Add-on front grip is almost a must
When reviewing some cameras, it can be hard to tell where the line is between a stills camera that can also record video and a video camera that can also take stills. This has not been an issue with the S9. To put it bluntly, you will be disappointed if you buy this camera purely for photography – many people will probably be sad to hear that, given that its $1,499 price makes it one of the most inexpensive full-frame mirrorless cameras ever released, and its looks make it appealing.
That's not to say that you can't get good pictures out of the S9 because you can. If your goal is to separate yourself from the crowd on Instagram with image quality, the S9 is more than up to that task. However, if you're looking to get into photography as a hobby or already consider yourself a photographer and want a compact full-frame camera, it's worth looking for something that makes the experience more enjoyable. In the weeks I've been shooting pictures with the S9, I haven't reached a flow state with it where it felt like an extension of my hand; I had to stop and dive into menus or adjust my grip to change settings or focus.
In the weeks I've been shooting pictures with the S9, I haven't reached a flow state with it
I came closer to reaching that flow state when I stopped trying to use it as a photography tool and started using it to shoot videos with the intention of sharing them online. In the course of this review, I filmed part of a video review for the DPReview YouTube channel and almost a dozen videos for our Instagram page with it, and it fits well into that role. Its autofocus was mostly reliable, the video quality was more than sufficient for social media and even low-to-mid-range commercial work, and the ergonomics didn't matter once it was mounted to a tripod. When I took it off the tripod, the image stabilization was one of the better systems I've used.
I also appreciated that it was flexible enough for shoots where I was uploading straight to Instagram, and ones that had more extensive editing. That's clear from the differences in open-gate modes; the 4K one is good for quick phone-based edits and crops, and the 6K option provides wiggle-room for reframing in proper editing software even if you're delivering in 4K.
This came in use when shooting our video review of the S9, which you can watch below – it, like our first look video, was filmed entirely using an S9, which should give you some sense of how it performs.
Personally, I'm less enthused about the emphasis on LUTs. As I've said before, I suspect most people will find or develop one or two looks that they broadly stick with rather than picking a new LUT for each piece of content they're producing. If that's your workflow, though, the S9's LUT button makes it easy. However, I suspect many S9 owners will end up reprogramming it to do something else – even if they continue to use the Real-Time LUT feature to apply their signature look in-camera.
Outside of not being able to download MOV videos, Lumix Lab does a good job of streamlining the process of getting things off your camera and onto the Internet while still giving you the power to create and edit LUTs, apply them to ungraded images and videos, and make crops for different sites. However, it also didn't feel like the camera was useless without the app – if you wanted to use it more like a traditional camera that offloads footage to a computer, it's more than capable of that, too.
The microphone socket is so lonely without a headphone jack.
Some annoyances cropped up even when I was using the camera for its intended purpose. During my testing, the lack of a front tally light and a headphone jack occasionally led to me having to reshoot videos that I thought were in the bag, and rolling shutter performance could definitely be improved.
However, for most beginner creators, those will be caveats, not dealbreakers. If someone asked me what camera to buy to start a YouTube channel or to up their Instagram game, the S9 would definitely be on my list of recommended cameras.
Arguably, that could mean that it deserves a Silver award since it serves its niche well. The thing that keeps it from getting it, though, is that it's a bit of an unhappy medium competing for an audience that already has a lot of good choices: yes, it's really good for social media, but so are a lot of cameras that will also give you more room to grow as a photographer or videographer. And if you are really only going to be doing social media, you should think about saving some money and going with one of the APS-C vlogging cameras that are even smaller and lighter.
For those looking for the perfect photographer's compact or even one that's just good, you'll have to keep waiting with the rest of us.
Scoring is relative only to the other cameras in the same category. Click here to learn about what these numbers mean.
Panasonic Lumix DC-S9
Category: Entry Level Full Frame Camera
Build quality
Ergonomics & handling
Features
Metering & focus accuracy
Image quality (raw)
Image quality (jpeg)
Low light / high ISO performance
Viewfinder / screen rating
Optics
Performance
Movie / video mode
Connectivity
Value
PoorExcellent
Conclusion
The S9 is a capable video camera for creators who want the look and image quality of a full-frame camera. Its ergonomics and lack of photography essentials like an EVF and mechanical shutter don't make it ideal for stills, but we're impressed by the well-thought-out video-to-phone-to-social-media workflow.
Good for
Shooting video for social media
Experimenting with different colors
Occasional picture taking for social media
Not so good for
Photo hobbyists or enthusiasts
Ultra-compact kits
85%
Overall score
Compared to its peers
As a vlogging or general-purpose video camera, the Sony ZV-E1 is a strong contender to the S9. Sony's autofocus tracking is quite a bit ahead of Panasonic's, and the ZV-E1's 12MP sensor is more suited to video and has substantially less rolling shutter – and substantially less detail in stills. It also has features like a front tally light, auto framing to add dynamic movement to what would otherwise be static shots and a product showcase mode. And while it doesn't go all-in on LUTs like the S9 does, you can still upload your own looks and use them for monitoring and recording, though there’s no equivalent of the extensively customizable My Photo Styles. You will pay for those upgrades, though, as the ZV-E1 is much more expensive than the S9.
The Panasonic S5II shares a sensor with the S9 but in a substantially larger and heavier body. In return, you get all the features a photographer would want: an EVF, mechanical shutter, hot shoe mount, dual card slots and a heaping extra helping of buttons and control dials. It also adds a fan for cooling during marathon video shoots. And, thanks to a recent software update, you can now program one of the S5II's buttons to be a Real-Time LUT shortcut. It's also now compatible with the Lumix Lab app. Like the ZV-E1, the S5II is more expensive than the S9, to the tune of around $500.
The Sigma fp has always been a bit of an odd camera, but it is intriguingly comparable to the S9 in terms of its size, weight and, if you find the right sale, price. However, the fp's video could hardly be more different than the "Shoot. Share." ethos of the S9. To get the best out of it, you'll have to shoot the rather awkward CinemaDNG Raw to an external SSD or stream to a separate capture device; it doesn't have an internal codec capable of 10-bit encoding. It also has a fixed screen and contrast-based autofocus; while the S9 isn't an autofocus champion by any measure, its system runs circles around the fp's.
Sample Gallery
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Sample gallery
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Note: these sample images were taken using the original samples provided by Panasonic. However, the company said the models were reviewable. If you'd like to see samples taken with updated firmware, you can browse the sample gallery for the 18-40mm F4.5-6.3 kit lens, which we've re-uploaded with out-of-camera JPEGs.
Sample gallery
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Introduction
Nikon has talked about targeting 'creators' with each of the four APS-C Z-mount cameras it's launched so far, but has generally made sure the results are solidly photographer-friendly, too.
Its Z50 and Zfc models were differentiated primarily by the Zfc having a fully articulated rear screen, along with throwback styling and controls, which meant that the decision between the two was primarily a question of style. The Z50's built-in flash was the other key feature to set them apart.
With the launch of the Z50II, even the difference in rear screen movement has been eliminated, which might make the choice seem even harder. But the Z50II is based on a newer generation of technology than the Zfc, so we thought we'd take a look at what that means, so you can work out how much it matters for your needs.
Both the Zfc and Z50II are based around the same 21MP CMOS sensor, first introduced in 2016's D500 DSLR. We've seen 26 and 40MP APS-C sensors arrive in the intervening years but although these can capture more detail, they don't generally do any better in terms of tonal quality, noise and dynamic range, so we're not overly concerned about its age.
The main respect in which the two cameras differ is in terms of processor. The Z50II is built around the newer, more powerful Expeed 7 processor, helping it deliver a level of capability and performance the Zfc simply can't match.
Features
The newer, more powerful processor gives the Z50II much improved autofocus (which we'll look at later in this slideshow) as well as enabling faster shooting and much more flexible video.
In stills mode the Z50II can capture 15 or 30fps bursts of JPEGs with full autofocus, making it much better for capturing action than the Zfc, which topped-out at 11fps in JPEG (9fps in Raw). Also on the Z50II's side is its pre-burst capture mode that starts buffering images when you half-press the shutter, letting you record up to one second of action from before you fully press the button.
The Z50II can also capture 10-bit video, which expands your output options, and 4K/60p from a 1.52x crop region of the sensor. We'll look into the implications of this later.
The cost of the new processor is a precipitous drop in battery life. The Z50II is rated as delivering around 38% fewer shots per charge than the Zfc, using the same battery. This is a slightly unfair comparison, given the Z50II has a flash and the Zfc doesn't, but it's still rated to give at least 25% fewer shots per charge than the original Z50.
Handling
Beyond the difference in capabilities, the two cameras also differ in terms of controls and handling. The Zfc has dedicated dials for shutter speed, aperture and ISO, along with a P/A/S/M switch. It also has two command dials, so can be used in the same way as the Z50II, if you prefer. We found the Zfc's dedicated controls to be somewhat quirkily implemented – you'll often end up using the command dials to fine-tune the settings and the Auto ISO implementation is downright peculiar – but it looks distinctive and attractive in a way it's hard to argue the Z50II does.
The Z50II has an updated viewinder that, while it shares the same resolution and magnification as the Zfc (and its own predecessor), has a new OLED panel that can reach a peak brightness twice as high as the older cameras. This means there should be a less jarring transition when you start and stop using the viewfinder in bright conditions.
Autofocus
Autofocus is another area in which the Z50II benefits from a newer processor and five years more development.
The most obvious difference is that the Z50II has been trained to recognize nine different subject types (up from three) and gains an 'Auto' subject mode that prompts the camera to check for all the different subjects it can identify. This risks slowing the AF down a fraction in the very fastest-moving circumstances, at which point you can select the type of subject you're trying to capture, but for the most part, you can just leave it set to Auto and know the camera will use its full capabilities when needed.
But perhaps a bigger deal for day-to-day photography is the return of 3D Tracking, which mimics Nikon's quick and easy-to-use tracking system from the DSLR era. This helps bring the Z50II up to the standards of the latest Canon and Sony cameras in terms of speed and ease of use, whereas the Zfc's tracking was a little slower and more fiddly to use. The Z50II's tracking is generally less prone to drifting off its subject than with the Zfc.
All this makes the Z50II a quicker and easier to use camera in a wide range of photographic situations.
Image quality
Given they're based around the same 21MP CMOS sensor, we're not surprised not to have seen any obvious differences in image quality between the two cameras. This is no bad thing, as it's a chip that does a good job of balancing the demands of stills and video, even if it does fall a little behind some of the newer Fujifilm and Canon models in terms of detail capture.
However, while the image quality is directly comparable, the Z50II gains a button giving you direct access to the camera's Picture Control color modes and lets you download alternative color recipes from Nikon's cloud service. This should prompt much more experimentation with color modes than you're likely to remember to with the Zfc.
Finally, the Z50II can output 10-bit HEIF files conforming to the HLG standard, allowing you to take advantage of the greater capabilities of modern high dynamic range displays.
Neither camera would be our first choice for, say, landscape photography or situations that really benefit from additional detail capture, but they're both very capable for most requirements.
Video
The Z50II ends up being a significantly more capable video camera than the Zfc, despite them being based around the same sensor and both being aimed at a stills and video creator audience.
The Z50II gains the ability to capture 10-bit video. This allows it to shoot N-Log video that tries to maintain as much of the camera's captured data, to boost creative flexibility for color grading the footage. It also lets the camera capture Hybrid Log Gamma (HLG) video which is designed to take advantage of the wider range of colors and brightness that high dynamic range displays can offer.
It also gains a waveforms display that is especially useful for setting exposure when shooting Log footage. But the thing that's likely to have the biggest impact for the largest number of video shooters is that the Z50II has a headphone socket for monitoring audio (whether setting levels before recording or listening for distractions during recording), which the Zfc lacks.
Perhaps the most critical difference, though, is that the Z50II's video autofocus is much more reliable.
Lenses
In this article we've assumed you're interesting in buying into the APS-C line of Nikon's Z mount. Obviously there's no difference between the Z50II and Zfc in terms of available lenses, but it's still worth looking at what's available.
Now that Nikon has allowed Sigma to introduce some additional primes and Viltrox has just gone ahead and made some anyway, the baby Nikons are a much more interesting prospect than they were a few years ago. In terms of zooms you're currently stuck with Nikon's rather pedestrian variable aperture options, but there are plenty of primes to pick from.
Other companies offer more own-brand APS-C lens lineups and higher-end models with higher res and image stabilization that Nikon lacks, but we're no longer in the position of Nikon making nice-enough bodies with very limited lens choices.
Conclusion
The decision between the original Z50 and the Zfc primarily came down to a question of how much importance you gave to the style and traditional controls of the Zfc, vs the value of the built-in flash offered by the Z50.
The Z50II makes enough of a leap forward, in terms of speed, autofocus sophistication and video that most people will be better served by the new camera, rather than the Zfc. You have to be really attracted by the styling (and unwilling to wait to see if there's going to be a ZfcII) to opt for the smaller, more retro model, at this point.
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