The Panasonic Lumix S1H is a full-frame mirrorless camera aimed at professional videographers and cinematographers and boasting 6K video at 24p. Announced in May 2019, it’s the third full-frame body in the Lumix S series, and like those models, is based around a full-frame sensor and the L-mount. The L-mount alliance is a partnership between Leica, Panasonic and Sigma to develop cameras and lenses based on Leica’s existing L-mount.

Like the Lumix GH5S before it, the Lumix S1H is unashamedly aimed at pro video. It becomes the first full-frame camera capable of recording 6K in 24p (using the full 3:2 aspect ratio of the sensor), 5.9K up to 30p (in the more traditional 16:9 shape), as well as 4K or the slightly wider DCI Cinema 4k in 10 bit up to 60p. A 4:3 Anamorphic mode is also available for use with anamorphic lenses, and the flat V-Log profile is included as standard, allowing over 14 stops of dynamic range. All formats can be recorded internally for unlimited times and Panasonic has beefed-up the body a little to better manage heat.

In April 2020, Panasonic announced the Lumix S1H would gain 5.9k RAW external recording to an Atomos Ninja V which would encode it in the Apple ProRes RAW format. Both the camera and recorder would provide the functionality using free firmware updates, initially expected in May 2020. The RAW update has been delayed, but Panasonic and Atomos provided me with beta firmware to try it out and in the video below I’ll show you how it works and what sort of tonal recovery will be possible.