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- This year, Panasonic released
two of the most important

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cameras in its history--

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the full-frame mirrorless
S1 and S1R models.

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I've already checked
out and was impressed

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by the video-centric S1.

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Now I'm taking a look at the
more photography-oriented S1R.

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And what better place to
do that during a heat wave

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than along the banks of
the Seine River in Paris?

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On paper, the S1R is a beast.

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The full-frame L-Mount
borrowed from Leica

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is impressive, as is
the five-axis in-body

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stabilization, big rugged
body, dual card slots,

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and most importantly
for photographers,

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the 47.2 megapixel sensor.

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Panasonic has three
lenses now, with a lot

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more coming in the near future.

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As with the S1R, though, I'm
concerned about the contrast

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detect autofocus system.

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Hard as Panasonic has tried, it
still doesn't stand up to phase

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detect, especially for video.

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That said, the
high resolution S1R

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is aimed more at photographers
than videographers.

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So let's dive in to
see how it holds up.

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[MUSIC PLAYING]

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Apart from the high
resolution sensor,

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the biggest strength of
the S1R is the handling

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and build quality.

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Sure, it's big and heavy,
weighing 350 grams more

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than Sony's new a7R IV,
but many photographers

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prefer the extra heft.

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And as you'll soon see,
it's that size for a reason.

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First of all, the grip
is deep and thick,

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giving me confidence that
I'm never going to drop it,

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even in the rain.

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And there's a lot of room
for dials and buttons,

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so it's really easy to
handle, even by feel.

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It's also got a large
five-axis in-body stabilization

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system that's superior to rival
models from Nikon and Sony.

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It seems to work equally well
whether you're shooting video

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and audio and is
particularly handy if you're

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using unstabilized lenses, like
this 50-millimeter model here.

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The S1R has a huge battery
along with dual card slots

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for both XQD and UHS type II SD.

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It has both microphone
and headphone ports,

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along with a USB-type C
port for both charging

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and data transfers and
a full-sized HDMI port.

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It's got a 5.76 million-dot
OLED EVF that's fast and nearly

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light free, so you
really don't need

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an optical viewfinder anymore.

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Everything is touch
enabled, and it's

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easy to change shooting
modes and settings

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thanks to a menu system that's
far superior to what Sony has.

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One drawback is the
battery life that's

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hampered by that high
resolution electronic viewfinder

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and the high resolution sensor.

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The biggest flaw, though, is the
lack of a flip-around screen.

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That makes no sense
to me considering

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that Panasonic's GH5 has one.

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Even if the camera isn't
really designed for vlogging,

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it's still a pretty
handy feature.

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Images are incredibly
sharp in both JPEG and raw,

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and color is very accurate,
especially for skin tones.

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And since the resolution
is pushing 50 megapixels,

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you've got a lot to work
with for detailed subjects.

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In one way, Panasonic's
decision to stick with contrast

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detect paid off, as
you can push exposures

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more with no traces of banding
seen on Canon, Nikon, and Sony

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cameras.

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Low-light high-ISO performance
is lacking compared

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to Sony's A7R III and the
Nikon Z7, both cameras

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in the same category.

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That said, since the
S1R has more resolution

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than both those
models, you can shrink

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down the noise a bit more.

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However, it also has
lower dynamic range

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than both those
models, so you're

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losing a little bit of detail
in both shadows and highlights.

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The S1R is really not aimed at
videographers like the S1 is.

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Much like Sony's A7R
III and the Nikon Z7,

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it's a photographer's camera
that happens to do video.

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Still, compared to those
models, it's not bad at all.

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Unlike the S1, you don't
get 10-bit HDR video

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either externally or
internally, nor will you

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be able to get that
via a paid upgrade

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like you can now with the S1.

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And where the S1 captures crisp
video, pixel bitting on the S1R

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will result in some
undesirable aliasing.

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Things aren't all bad, though.

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You still get 60 frame
per second 4K and 180

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frame per second
1080p video, which

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beats what Sony has on offer
even with its new A7R IV.

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And it has much
less rolling shutter

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than Sony's A7R III as well.

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Since I reviewed
the S1, Panasonic

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released a firmware
update, and it

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seems to have made a big
difference in auto focus

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for the S1R.

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There's now a lot
less hunting, and I

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can't notice any of the
pulsing in the background

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that I was seeing before.

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So a lot of credit to
Panasonic for that.

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Going into this review,
I expected the S1R

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to deliver great image quality.

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And while it didn't quite
meet my expectations,

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it was still very good.

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And I was impressed by most
other aspects of the camera,

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including the handling, super
sharp EVF, and powerful image

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stabilization system.

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I was concerned about
whether the contrast

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detect system would nail
autofocus consistently.

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I'm happy to say that
it did so, particularly

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while shooting high resolution
photos in low light conditions.

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It even stood up OK for
video thanks in part

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to Panasonic's latest
firmware update.

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So that begs the question--
is the S1R worth $3,700?

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If you had asked me this
even a month or two ago,

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I would have said yes.

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However, Sony's incredible
new 61 megapixel

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A7R IV has put me in a tight
spot here based on the brief

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look we've had.

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For $200 less, you get a lot
more, including much higher

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resolution, phase
detect autofocus

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with incredible
AI-powered eye detection,

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and video features
on par with the S1R.

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Sony isn't giving Panasonic
an inch in performance

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and has a proven track record
with three previous A7R models,

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while Panasonic
is just coming up

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with its first
full-frame cameras.

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It's too bad, because the S1R
is a pretty incredible camera.

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But like Canon and
Nikon, Panasonic

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is simply getting lapped by Sony
in the mirrorless camera race.

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[MUSIC PLAYING]

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