The Panasonic LUMIX S1 II is the New Workhorse Camera You Need


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Since its original launch, the Panasonic LUMIX S1R II and S1 IIE have been solid cameras for photographers who are primarily interested in stills photography. From its rugged design to the wealth of photo-centric features set, the LUMIX S1 II is designed to be a workhorse camera for the working professional photographer. During our recent test period, we used the Panasonic LUMIX S1 II to capture an event and slice-of-life moments in New York City; here’s what we learned.

The Big Picture: LUMIX S1 II Review Conclusions

I’m very wary of any product that bills itself as a jack-of-all-trades. Rarely do they do anything exceptionally well, and worse, they charge you for the distinction. The LUMIX S1 II is a welcome exception and has even made me reconsider my stance on hybrid cameras. Panasonic has never been shy about the hybrid photography cameras it makes, but what really stood out with the S1 II was just how well it does this. While it’s not perfect – we experienced issues with single-point AF and the odd placement of the front video record button – it’s still a solid camera.


























Rating: 4 out of 5.

We’re giving the Panasonic LUMIX S1 II four out of five stars because it provides photographers with a trove of photo-specific tools and excellent build quality. You can buy one for yourself for $3197 on Amazon.

  • Pro: Solid construction with weather-sealed body
  • Pro: Lots of physical controls which can easily be programmed to your needs
  • Pro: RAW capture of multiple exposures – one of the only brands still offering this
  • Pro: Great low-light performance, even when photographing people of color
  • Con: Single-point AF leaves a lot to be desired

Experience

For our review, we received the Panasonic LUMIX S1 II and the LUMIX S 24-60 F2.8 on loan from LensRentals.com. The Sigma 20-200mm F3.5-6.3 was on loan from Sigma.

Product image of the Panasonic LUMIX S1II’s top plate with Mode and Drive dials visible.

When the Panasonic S1 II was first announced, the team at ThePhoblographer was excited to hear about it. This camera was an update to the 24-megapixel S1 with a partially stacked image sensor and image processor found in the higher-resolution S1R II. As a camera, the S1 II will find itself right at home in the bag of most photographers – whether they’re shooting events, sports, or portraits. If you’re a control freak, as I can be, then you’ll love the fact that there are tactile buttons and dials all over the camera – nearly all of which are customizable. This is especially great, as I found myself constantly hitting the front movie record button by accident several times while doing this review. It’s good to know that with a little thought and a few menu swipes, I can change this and never worry about it again. During my testing, this was by far the most annoying thing about this camera; outside of that, it was a solid experience.

Lumix S1R camera body with exposed sensor, strap, and a battery on a dark surface.
The LUMIX S1 II features a 24-megapixel partially stacked sensor that brings your images to life.
A Lumix S1 camera with a strap is placed on a wooden surface, viewed from above.
The Panasonic LUMIX S1II is pictured with the LUMIX S 24-70 F2.8

Autofocusing on the LUMIX S1 II was a concern in my testing, but it largely produced more hits than misses. Where I found the most trouble was when shooting in AF-S mode, the camera often struggled to determine the correct subject or focus point. In my recent review of the Sigma 20-200mm F3.5-6.3 Contemporary Lens, I wrote about how there were times when the autofocusing system chose to focus on dirt on a window instead of the cityscape behind that window, but the image below highlights that I was able to reproduce the error on a LUMIX S 24-60 F2.8 as well.

Six people smiling by a birthday cake with candles in a cozy, decorated dining room.A large family gathers around a table with a cake, smiling for a group photo under a chandelier.
The sample image on the left was shot in AF-S while the image on the right was shot in AF-C with the LUMIX S1 II and LUMIX S 24-60 F2.8

The issues almost entirely disappear when shooting in AF-C mode instead. This isn’t necessarily a new finding with LUMIX cameras; we’ve previously reported on issues with AF-S autofocus on LUMIX cameras. Additionally, when working in mixed/dim lighting, you should almost exclusively work in AF-C instead of AF-S autofocus.

A man in a pink shirt takes a mirror selfie with a camera, partially obscured by reflections and plants.
The S1 II makes it easy to try new styles of photography. This sample image was a multiple-exposure image captured in RAW, then cropped and converted in Lightroom.

While testing the S1 II, I got a chance to experiment with photography styles that I typically wouldn’t give much thought to. Between the ability to use LUMIX’s Live Composite shooting option to capture star trails in the city, to the S1II’s under-reported superpower – the ability to shoot multiple exposures in RAW – the biggest complaint I had for these tests was that I ran out of time with the camera. While you could shoot multiple images and then spend hours in post with any camera, the ability to quickly compose in-camera and then export is truly a feature that I enjoyed using. And got me wondering why Canon chose to eliminate RAW capture for multiple exposures on their cameras released after the original EOS R5.

Image Quality

In 2025, there is no excuse for images that simply don’t deliver. We’re at the pinnacle of camera technology, and some cameras, including the S1 II, have no excuse for slacking in terms of image quality. Thankfully, all the images taken with the S1 II are sharp, and when shooting RAW, it offers file flexibility where you can recover most details in any over- or underexposed images.

The following images were taken with the Panasonic LUMIX S1 II and have been edited:

A close-up of a microphone with a pop filter in front, with a blurred background.
Sample image taken with the Panasonic LUMIX S1 II. This image has been edited in Lightroom.
Night sky with faint star trails above a tree and building silhouette; red logo in bottom right corner.
Sample image taken with the Panasonic LUMIX S1 II. This image has been edited in Lightroom.
Silhouette of a church and trees against a dim, clear evening sky with a faint cross visible.
Sample image taken with the Panasonic LUMIX S1 II. This image has been edited in Lightroom.
A bouquet of white flowers with green leaves on a red and white tablecloth, with chairs in the background.
Sample image taken with the Panasonic LUMIX S1 II. This image has been edited in Lightroom.
Woman in a white dress laughing on a boat, with sunlight streaming in and water in the background.
Sample image taken with the Panasonic LUMIX S1 II. This image has been edited in Lightroom.
Man in a white shirt stands on a boat with a city skyline and river in the background.
Sample image taken with the Panasonic LUMIX S1 II. This image has been edited in Lightroom.
Man in glasses gazes out from a boat over a river, with a city skyline in the background.
Sample image taken with the Panasonic LUMIX S1 II. This image has been edited in Lightroom.
Women sit and smile under pink and blue lights at a party, holding drinks and gift bags.
Sample image taken with the Panasonic LUMIX S1 II. This image has been edited in Lightroom.

The following images were taken with the Panasonic LUMIX S1 II and were only converted to JPEG in Lightroom:

Black eyeglasses resting on a photo of a blue bird, with a red circular logo visible in the corner.
Sample image taken with the Panasonic LUMIX S1 II. This image has not been edited.
Five panelists sit on stage discussing in front of a Rokid Glasses display at an indoor event.
Sample image taken with the Panasonic LUMIX S1 II. This image has not been edited.
Woman in yellow suit speaks on panel, holding microphone, with four others seated beside her at tech event.
Sample image taken with the Panasonic LUMIX S1 II. This image has not been edited.
A woman in a yellow suit speaks into a Rokid mic, seated among panelists at a tech event.
Sample image taken with the Panasonic LUMIX S1 II. This image has not been edited.
A woman on stage presents about Rokid Glasses to an audience in a modern, well-lit room.
Sample image taken with the Panasonic LUMIX S1 II. This image has not been edited.
A woman and a man on stage discuss smart glasses at a tech event with a “Future in Sight” banner behind them.
Sample image taken with the Panasonic LUMIX S1 II. This image has not been edited.
Two presenters stand on stage at a tech event with a “Future in Sight” display in the background.
Sample image taken with the Panasonic LUMIX S1 II. This image has not been edited.
Construction workers on scaffolding assemble a metal structure in front of a city building; taxi passes below.
Sample image taken with the Panasonic LUMIX S1 II. This image has not been edited.
A tall skyscraper viewed from below against a blue sky, surrounded by other high-rise buildings.
Sample image taken with the Panasonic LUMIX S1 II. This image has not been edited.
Sample image taken with the Panasonic LUMIX S1 II. This image has not been edited.
A large family gathers around an elderly man and a cake at a dining table, smiling for a group photo.
Sample image taken with the Panasonic LUMIX S1 II. This image has not been edited.
Six people stand around a birthday cake with candles, smiling in a warmly lit living room.
Sample image taken with the Panasonic LUMIX S1 II. This image has not been edited.

During my testing period, I used the S1 II in a variety of situations including reportage and a paid event. As a working photographer, I can’t afford to turn in unusable images and thankfully that was never the case with this camera. The LUMIX S1 II is by no means perfect, but it is a ton of fun to use and gives photographers various tools to make the process of making images easier. These tools help the photographer focus on creativity instead of settings. With features like RAW capture for Multiple Exposures and revamped focus stacking in-camera, photographers flirting with the idea of switching to the L-mount system might be tempted to jump ship. While I’m always hesitant when I hear marketing copy that touts a do-it-all device, I’m happy to say that S1 II is a reliable workhorse camera that is flexible, reliable, and with a large collection of lenses to boot.

Panasonic S1 II Tech Specs

We don’t have this camera in for review yet, but it will come soon. Here are the specs that photographers will care about.

  • New, partially stacked 24MP full-frame sensor with 3.5x faster readout speed
  • Same processor as the S1RII, which is the Leica 2
  • 5760k OLED viewfinder 
  • Weather resistance
  • 3″ 1840K dot LCD screen with tilt and free movement
  • Capture One compatible
  • Copy and move assets
  • Shutter comes down before turning off the camera, as long as that’s enabled
  • Frame IO ready
  • Same battery grip as the S1R II
  • Real Time LUT, multiple exposure mode, and Live Composite all return

Declaration of Journalistic Intent

The Phoblographer is one of the last standing dedicated photography publications that speaks to both art and tech in our articles. We put declarations up front in our reviews to adhere to journalistic standards that several publications abide by. These help you understand a lot more about what we do:

  • At the time of publishing this review, Panasonic ISN’T running direct-sold advertising with the Phoblographer. This doesn’t affect our reviews anyway and it never has in our 15 years of publishing our articles. This article is in no way sponsored.
  • Note that this isn’t necessarily our final review of the unit. It will be updated, and it’s more of an in-progress review than anything. In fact, almost all our reviews are like this.
  • None of the reviews on the Phoblographer are sponsored. That’s against FTC laws and we adhere to them just the same way that newspapers, magazines, and corporate publications do.
  • PANASONIC loaned the unit and accessories to the Phoblographer for review. There was no money exchange between us or their 3rd party partners and the Phoblographer for this to happen. Manufacturers trust the Phoblographer’s reviews, as they are incredibly blunt.
  • PANASONIC knows that it cannot influence the site’s reviews. If we don’t like something or if we have issues with it, we’ll let our readers know.
  • The Phoblographer’s standards for reviewing products have become much stricter. After having the world’s largest database of real-world lens reviews, we choose not to review anything we don’t find innovative or unique, and in many cases, products that lack weather resistance. Unless something is very unique, we probably won’t touch it.
  • At the time of publishing, the Phoblographer is the only photography publication that is a member of Adobe’s Content Authenticity Initiative. We champion human-made art and are frank with our audience. We are also the only photography publication that labels when an image is edited or not.

More can be found on our Disclaimers page.



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