Panasonic cameras continue to be ideal options for hybrid creators. Not only are they very popular for their video needs, but they also offer an exciting feature: real-time LUTs. For those who have recently purchased Panasonic‘s full-frame mirrorless camera, there is also some good news: The company is announcing a series of firmware updates that will improve the shooting experience and provide better functionality. Here’s what you will get.
Panasonic has announced that LUMIX S1RII, S1II, and S1IIE will each be getting a series of firmware updates. These will be available starting November 25 at 8:00 p.m. EST and can be downloaded via the global customer support website. The company states that user feedback has been instrumental in shaping these updates, which include the addition of M4 Lite, among other improvements. Panasonic has also further refined the workflow experience, which means you get a chance to shoot more without any hindrance.
LUMIX S1RII Firmware Ver. 1.3 / S1II Ver. 1.2 / S1IIE Ver. 1.2 updates
- Improved thermal control algorithm: This enables photographers to shoot videos for a longer duration without any adverse effects on their shoots due to environmental factors.
- Lower-speed option: This addition is ideal for SH burst shooting, including pre-burst shoots
- AF improvement: The new updates will allow the cameras to automatically recognise frames for the main subject while autofocusing. There is also an AF frame display, which enables human eye recognition, and it can be set to rectangular while focusing. Last is the enhanced AF tracking, which has been improved through an algorithm.
- Video features: The cameras will now have a new low-bitrate video format, ‘MP4 (lite).’ It can be set to 3.8K (3840×2560) 29.97p/25.00p 50Mbps
- Improved compatibility: The cameras will now be more compatible with the interchangeable lens S-R100500 and teleconverter (DMW-STC14/STC20).
- Support for LUMIX Smartphone App, LUMIX Flow Ver.1.4: The cameras now also have an external motor function, which allows for applying LUTs to live view, displaying multiple frame markers, and showing focus frames.
Other Improvements:
- An icon indicating that the preview effect is disabled will be displayed on the shooting screen when [Constant Preview] is set to [OFF].
- ISO Auto can be set in the [ISO Displayed Setting] menu in the Custom Menu.
- A bug that caused the live view quality to differ between standby mode and video recording mode when applying false color has been fixed.
- Added a 1.6x display option for the Anamorphic Desqueeze Display.
- The base ISO sensitivity can now be visible on the ISO sensitivity setting screen when Dual Native ISO is set to AUTO.
- The default setting for functions registered to the sub video recorder button has been changed to “No Setting” in both Photo Mode and Playback Mode.
- The processing time for focus stacking has been improved through algorithm enhancements.
- A menu has been added that allows you to display the live view with the same quality during both standby and video recording modes.
LUMIX Smartphone App, LUMIX Flow Ver.1.4:
- Support for LUT view assist is available in the app, allowing LUT live view to be toggled on or off.
- Support for multiple frame marker display – The same frame markers shown on the camera are output to the app as live view.
- Improved AF frame display for various recognition in Automatic Detection
These changes will further help photographers to get better results, reduce additional efforts in their workflow, and also ensure they get the video quality and autofocus performance. However, if you want to know more how tehse changes will affect your device, do keep an eye out for our review.