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LUMIX S1R II Review Update: New Discoveries About the Autofocus

Chris Gampat
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Last updated on 10/27/2025
11/04/2025
4 Mins read
A Lumix camera with lenses and accessories on a wooden desk, next to a can and a photo print.
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Just a heads up before the holiday season: we’ve updated our Panasonic LUMIX S1R II review, and we’ve got some good news and some bad news. It involves both the ease of use and the autofocus situation. In fact, I’ve been recently going back and trying several cameras that we’ve used in the past. And more importantly, I’ve been finding that modern autofocus in general really isn’t all that excellent.

Ease of Use Update October 2025

At this point in the review, I’m providing a much more thoughtful update to things. First off, know that I bought the camera this year It’s perhaps one of my favorite cameras of the year, but I also admittedly haven’t had much time to play with it. I purchased the camera because of the good autofocus, high megapixel count (relatively) and the fact that it still does multiple exposures with RAW options. On top of that, there’s Real Time LUT, the weather resistance and so much more.

The big changes here for photographers come with being able to change the autofocus frame color. And trust me, that’s super useful. More findings can be found in the autofocus section of this review.

Here are the changes.

LUMIX S1RII Firmware Version 1.2 Updates

  • Advanced Recording Formats
    • 8.1K / 7.2K (3:2) Open Gate recording and RAW data video can be output via HDMI for external recording.
    • ARRI LogC3 will be available by using DMW-SFU3A Software Upgrade Key (sold separately), enabling the colors to match ARRI’s digital cinema cameras (*1).
    • Supports HEIF recording in 4:2:0 10-bit format.
  • Improved Shooting Assistance Tools
    • Urban Sports recognition will be added to the existing human detection capabilities for eyes, faces, and bodies, accurately capturing dynamic movements like breakdancing, skateboarding, and parkour.
    • The frame aspect ratio options will be expanded from 10 to 17 and enable simultaneous display of up to three frames.
    • Focus stacking function introduces the ability to synthesize images taken at multiple focus positions to produce a single image with deep depth of field and sharpness throughout.
  • Expanded Workflow Capabilities
    • Direct transfers from the CFexpress Type B or SD memory card to an external SSD can be made, giving more workflow options and greater flexibility.
    • Supports recording proxy files to the internal memory card during HDMI RAW video data output.
    • Supports data transfer via Wi-Fi and wired LAN (USB-LAN conversion) with Capture One.
    • Compatible with timecode synchronization via Bluetooth®.
    • Connectivity with UVC/UAC devices is supported.
    • Compatible with Bluetooth® connectivity with DJI’s gimbals (*2)
    • HLG View Assist will be available for accurate gradation and exposure checks on the camera’s monitor or viewfinder, as well as on external monitors that do not support HLG.
  • Enhanced customization
    • The focus ring can be used as a control ring (*3), enabling for assigning key functions. Additionally, the focus rotation direction can be selected in MF mode.
    • The AF frame color can be chosen from 10 colors for better usability.

Focus Update October 2025

Panasonic added Human sports to the LUMIX S1R II. It works very similarly to the other cameras that have this option. And for the most part, I haven’t had much of a problem with this addition. It’s one that I rarely use though. And for the very niche type of situations that this is used for, I’m amazed that it was even made. At the moment, it’s a Panasonic LUMIX exclusive feature.

There’s more to my autofocus update though.

Recently I’ve been using my cameras sort of like how we used to use DSLRs. With that said, I’m often using AF-S mode, a single autofocus point, and I’m turning off scene detection. And when I do this, I’ve found that AF-S mode is really not as great as I’d expect it to be. To be clear here, I tried it with LUMIX, TTArtisan, Sigma, and Leica lenses.

The best way that I can describe it is that shooting with the LUMIX S1R II in the way I just outlined feels like it’s a decade behind in some ways. I make it akin to shooting with the Fujifilm X Pro 1 where often you had to increase the size of the autofocus point to really get something in focus. More than that, you’d often be using the center focus point.

I’ve been seeing this across various camera systems though — with perhaps Canon and Nikon being the only ones being a bit different.

I know the point of mirrorless cameras was that they were supposed to offer up all this new and great tech. But at the same time, they were also supposed to be smaller than DSLRs, and in many cases, they’re not. In this situation though, I wish that Panasonic improved their autofocus performance in AF-S mode and wouldn’t necessarily rely on scene detection.

Make no mistake, if you’re shooting a paid gig, face detection is such a great feature. But when I’m not using it, I feel like I make more intentional decisions about my composition. And more than anything, we need more intentionality instead of making cameras brands and AI make all the decisions for us.

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Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.
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