Verdict

The Lumix S1 II becomes Panasonic’s most capable all-round hybrid camera to date, and my favourite in the series too, packing a faster sensor into their best body with a feature-set that just keeps growing. 

Photographers get clean 24 Megapixel images and very fast 70fps bursts at the full resolution with reduced skewing and steadily improving autofocus. Videographers get uncropped oversampled 4k up to 60p, 4k 120 with a 1.24x crop, and 6k Open Gate, again with less skewing that the unstacked Lumix cameras.

Beyond the headline specs, there’s a lot in the S1 II series you won’t find on many rivals, including external SSD recording, cropless stabilization, a wealth of anamorphic features, and built-in fans. Add these to a solid base spec and you have a supremely capable camera for those who shoot both photo and video.

The S1R II may take higher resolution photos, but I’d personally trade that for the reduced skewing on the S1 II. Sure the partially stacked sensor on the S1 II may not eliminate rolling shutter artefacts, but it certainly reduces them. Either way, that’s the point of the expanded S1 II series, as there’s now three versions for different uses including the more affordable S1 II E, all sharing the same excellent body.

In fact there’s little to complain about, with my biggest bugbear being the lack of slower electronic bursts with the pre-burst option, as at the top speed it’s too easy to fill the buffer and potentially miss moments. This is surely easy to fix with a future firmware update, and I’m pleased to see Panasonic adding the S1 II’s new features to the previous S1R II with an update.

The biggest issues facing the S1 II for new buyers are the Nikon Z6 III, which probably shares the same sensor, and the Canon R6 II, both of which are now discounted due to age. Sure they don’t have the extended feature set of the S1 II, but they’re still compelling options for the money. Depending on your region and discounts, it may also not be that big a stretch to fully stacked models like the Z-8. But if you’d exploit its  features or are already invested in L-mount, the S1 II is a very attractive option. Lest we forget, Sigma makes all its new lenses in L-mount, leaving Canon owners to look on enviously.

Check prices on the Lumix S1 II at B&H, Adorama or WEX UK. Buy used gear from MPB. Sell your used gear to MPB. Alternatively get yourself a copy of my In Camera book, an official Cameralabs T-shirt or mug, or treat me to a coffee! Thanks!