GH5 S1 vs S1H

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Hello all,

I have a shoot coming up where I'll need great low light performance. I'm thinking of upgrading to the S1 or S1H. I see some reviews saying despite the S1 not having a dual ISO, the low light results are about the same as the S1H?

Besides that, are there any major differences to be aware of?

Can anyone comment on this, the S1H seems like the better video camera obviously but the price difference is significant.

Thanks!
 
David W. Jones said:
My solution would be to spend a couple hundred bucks on renting the camera for your shoot rather than spending hard cash on a camera that may not be what you really need in the long run.
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That's a good suggestion, but I should have mentioned in the original post, this is a 2-4 week assignment abroad. Might still be worth renting though.
 
No manual exposure control on the S1 in HD 150 and 180 fps. (Not sure about 120.)

No 400mbps codec. No 150mbps codec in HD 24fps, I believe. Only 25fps in PAL or 4K 24fps - seems odd, but I think that's the case.

There's an issue reported shooting v-log with strong blue light like blue LEDs where it blows out the blue channel. Doesn't happen with the red or green channel and Doesn't happen in HLG. But it might be a problem with the S1H as well, I'm not sure.

I've had the S1 for a month and I'm so pleased with the low-light performance.
 
Being a modern sensor, I'd suggest both will perform quite well. Havent seen it noted anywhere however Varicam's dual ISO only increases noise by plus 1db when you switch to 5000, so curious if anyone has seen what the plus noise db is on the S1H when you go from 640 - 4000 base.

That aside for the moment the S1 would gain up every ISO step, however the S1H has a base of 4000. What that essentially means is (using the Varicam as the info I have), you'd be around plus 1db difference from 640 to 4000 on the S1H whereas the the S1 might be plus 2db. From what I've seen its not huge. Please note I don't have actuals in front of me and Im talking shooting Vlog.

There is another advantage however with dual ISO. Once you switch to Base 4000 and go down in ISO you are introducing negative gain. So conceivably you will be at 0db noise at ISO2500 down from base ISO4000, essentially the same as Base ISO 640 (again I don't have exact numbers nor can I find them).

The point of this post is, yes I noted you already factored ISO, however I wanted to point out that Dual ISO alone is a big factor.
 
The Price difference is actually small if you consider the following and disregarding IQ:
-The S1H is approved by Netflix sharing that info with a hesitant client is def. useful.
-the S1H is a world camera while the S1 st least in the US only does 60Hrz flavors.
-Time Code - this is a big one when working with sound recordist or in Multicam.
-120 FPS with Sound in10bit.
-Interlaced recordings- 50i and 60i 10 bit intraframe I have a couple of clients still holding onto interlaced...
 
Assuming a 2-4 week assignment will be a serious undertaking and will have a decent budget(? ) - why risk it. The H has other advantages to those already mentioned - V-log is included and an OLPF.
 
I do weddings and indie films.
The pros of the S1H made up my mind, but one of the big ones for me was unlimited 4K60p recording. I never know when I will have to do a speed ramp for weddings, and just grabbing everything in 60p takes care of those issues. This is one of the many reasons I opted for the S1H.
 
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estarkey7 said:
I do weddings and indie films.
The pros of the S1H made up my mind, but one of the big ones for me was unlimited 4K60p recording. I never know when I will have to do a speed ramp for weddings, and just grabbing everything in 60p takes care of those issues. This is one of the many reasons I opted for the S1H.
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You deliver in 60p?
 
estarkey7 said:
I do weddings and indie films.
The pros of the S1H made up my mind, but one of the big ones for me was unlimited 4K60p recording. I never know when I will have to do a speed ramp for weddings, and just grabbing everything in 60p takes care of those issues. This is one of the many reasons I opted for the S1H.
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You deliver in 60p?
 
In addition to what has already been mentioned, here are a few other features the S1H has that differ from the S1:

  • Optical low-pass filter to reduce moire and aliasing
  • Fully articulating tilt/flip screen (S1 screen does not flip out)
  • Dual SD card slots (S1 has one SD slot, one XQD slot)
  • 6K recording options (3:2 full sensor up to 24fps, 5.9K 16:9 aspect ratio up to 30fps)
  • Anamorphic shooting options, including 4:3 aspect ratio video recording modes (and desqueeze monitoring options for 2x, 1.8x, 1.5x, 1.33x, and 1.3x anamorphic)
  • Cinema 4K recording formats (17:9 aspect ratio 4096x2160 up to 60 fps)
  • Unlimited record times in all shooting modes (S1 has 30 minute limit when shooting 4K60)
  • Variable frame rate mode (for off-speed frame rates, over/undercranking)
  • Synchro scan shutter speed options (helps reduce flicker when shooting screens or with some fluorescent lights)
  • Monitoring tools: vector scope, adjustable-size waveform monitor, frame markers for different aspect ratios
  • Top status LCD displays video recording settings; rear LCD has video-centric quick menu
  • Focus transition feature (programmable rack focus)
  • Ability to set exposure in shutter angle and gain (in addition to shutter speed and ISO)
  • 6K RAW output (in a future 2020 firmware update)

It's true that strictly from an image quality standpoint, the difference between the two cameras is probably not that dramatic. But there is a fairly substantial set of additional video-focused features that were included in the S1H. Whether this means that the S1H is worth the price premium over the S1 will probably come down to how many of these additional video features you would use on a regular basis.
 
Tom Roper said:
You deliver in 60p?
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Nearly all the wedding and corporate shooters I know in Oz are now all shooting 50p for that easy slo-mo option and most are delivering 50p MP4's. It's motion cadence looks too much like video interlace to me. That real traditional video look. Any theatrical entertainment with a lot of quick movement I'm now shooting in 50p. It then works fine to go to BD or DVD as 50i and then works smoothly on the web at 50p where PC monitors don't have any of those TV high Hz and smoothing algorithms / options.

Chris Young
 
davedv said:
In addition to what has already been mentioned, here are a few other features the S1H has that differ from the S1:

  • Optical low-pass filter to reduce moire and aliasing
  • Fully articulating tilt/flip screen (S1 screen does not flip out)
  • Dual SD card slots (S1 has one SD slot, one XQD slot)
  • 6K recording options (3:2 full sensor up to 24fps, 5.9K 16:9 aspect ratio up to 30fps)
  • Anamorphic shooting options, including 4:3 aspect ratio video recording modes (and desqueeze monitoring options for 2x, 1.8x, 1.5x, 1.33x, and 1.3x anamorphic)
  • Cinema 4K recording formats (17:9 aspect ratio 4096x2160 up to 60 fps)
  • Unlimited record times in all shooting modes (S1 has 30 minute limit when shooting 4K60)
  • Variable frame rate mode (for off-speed frame rates, over/undercranking)
  • Synchro scan shutter speed options (helps reduce flicker when shooting screens or with some fluorescent lights)
  • Monitoring tools: vector scope, adjustable-size waveform monitor, frame markers for different aspect ratios
  • Top status LCD displays video recording settings; rear LCD has video-centric quick menu
  • Focus transition feature (programmable rack focus)
  • Ability to set exposure in shutter angle and gain (in addition to shutter speed and ISO)
  • 6K RAW output (in a future 2020 firmware update)

It's true that strictly from an image quality standpoint, the difference between the two cameras is probably not that dramatic. But there is a fairly substantial set of additional video-focused features that were included in the S1H. Whether this means that the S1H is worth the price premium over the S1 will probably come down to how many of these additional video features you would use on a regular basis.
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I'm hoping some of these things will get added to the S1 in future firmware updates. Not the major features obviously but simple things the GH5 has like frame markers, shutter angle, syncro scan...Or I'll just have to buy the S1H like Panasonic want you to.
 
I agree it’s lame to have such basic software functions locked off (not just hardware based features), but I wouldn’t hold your breath on them coming to the S1. It would dilute the value and video centric vs photo centric positioning of the S1H.

More likely would be a price cut next year on the S1H (and subsequently, the S1R).
 
It is easy to export 24p or 30p from 60p footage. I do it all of the time. Shoot in 60p and either edit on a 24p timeline or edit in 60p and export to 24p/30p. The shutter speed at 1/60th is a little higher than desired for 24p but not too bad. I think the options are better with capturing at the higher frame rate for events/work with multiple deliveries.
 
I assume you already have a GH5? If you just want better lowlight performance, then why not get the GH5S? (together with a few f0.95 lenses, if you don't already own them)

That would be the budget friendly choice, and the most straight forward and simple solution as well to integrate in with your existing gear.
 
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