Panasonic LUMIX S1RII Interview – Everything You Need to Know

by Johnnie BehiriFebruary 25^th, 2025

The Panasonic LUMIX S1RII camera was just announced, bringing to the table 8K video recording, internal 5.8K ProRes RAW, open-gate in 8.1K (with a future firmware update), enhanced autofocus and stabilization functionalities, a dual articulated LCD screen, external SSD recording, new photo style (Picture profile), Dual ISO, Dynamic Range expansion, and more. (For a full list of specs check out our news article here). In this comprehensive 44-minute interview, we sit down with Matt Frazer of Panasonic to learn more about the video capabilities of the new camera. If you still have questions about this product, don’t hesitate to drop a comment in the comment section below. Oh, and in case you’ve been wondering where the much-anticipated S1HII is, well, we guess you will have to listen to Matt’s answer to learn more.

The LUMIX S1RII is here promising to be Panasonic’s hybrid flagship camera, and although in the above interview, we did not deal with the photo side of the new camera, Matt clearly indicated that the S1RII was designed with photographers in mind, too.

So here is a quick rundown of the questions asked in this interview:

00:43 – What took Panasonic so long to announce the new S1RII?

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01:42 – Where is the LUMIX S1HII?

02:11 – Why it took Panasonic so long to introduce an 8K camera?

02:52 – What are the main features of the S1RII?

05:18 – Is the EVF found in this camera the same as in the LUMIX S9? (Joking, as the S9 has NO EVF)…

05:42 – Internal ProRes RAW recording, additional details

05:55 – Is the camera supporting the new CFexpress V4 cards?

06:26 – The sensor is new. What about the processor?

06:45 – Open-Gate recording and the upcoming firmware update

08:09 – Is it a “real open-gate” (or recording a “window” of the sensor)?

08:50 – All about external video recording (resolutions and frame rates)

11:20 – The new Cinelike A2 photo style

12:42 – Dual ISO explained

13:47 – Dynamic Range expansion explained

15: 14 – The enhanced camera stabilization capabilities explained

18:59 – Best in class autofocus?

21:37 – Does the autofocus work in a high frame rate recording?

22:36 – Where is the ARRI LogC3 picture profile?

23:40 – What is hybrid zoom?

25:13 – Camera menu revised. Was it hard to achieve?

27:44 – False color and frame markers explained

29:16 – The new LUMIX flow app explained

33:52 – App availability for iOS and Android and an explanation of how to use it without the S1RII camera

34:43 – Is this app similar to the Blackmagic Camera app?

35:04 – Will the app be available for other LUMIX cameras?

35:28 – Audio: 32-bit float audio recording explained

36:50 – What are the challenges of recording 32-bit float audio internally WITHOUT an XLR adapter?

38:46 – With so many new features, what is Matt’s favorite one?

40:08 – With a $3,300 price tag, what other cameras compete with the S1RII?

40:47 – Will the camera be available right after the announcement?

41:05 – Should we expect additional cameras to arrive this year?

41:45 – Did we forget to ask anything? (A quick talk about the photo capabilities of the camera).

Phew, it is a long set of questions and a very long interview, yet we hope that you guys can find the information you were looking for. What I take from this friendly conversation is that Panasonic will continue to push their envelope, enhance this new camera with future firmware updates, and bring more tools to the market. (It will be interesting to see what’s up their sleeve, as the S1RII is a pretty comprehensive device). With Panasonic promising 14+ stops of dynamic range, we are currently working hard on testing the camera for an upcoming Lab Test, and we will let you know as soon as we have anything to share with you guys.

Is the LUMIX S1RII the camera you have been waiting for? Would you consider buying it for your video needs? Please share your thoughts with us in the comment section below.