Panasonic S9 is L mount’s answer to Sony’s A7c

Panasonic has officially announced the new Panasonic Lumix S9 (buy here) L-mount mirrorless camera. And they appear to have taken a leaf out of Sony’s book. Much like Sony took the guts of the A7 III (buy here) into the compact A7c (buy here), Panasonic seems to have done the same.

The Panasonic S9 is essentially a large chunk of the Panasonic S5 II (buy here) in a smaller body. It sports the same 24.2-megapixel sensor, with phase-detection autofocus and a very similar feature set for both photography and video.

Panasonic S9 – A more compact S5 II for creators

The Panasonic S9, like the Sony A7c II (buy here), is targeted towards content creators. Whether shooting horizontally for YouTube or vertically for social media, Panasonic’s goal is to put a more powerful tool into more mobile hands.

Panasonic says it’s the smallest and lightest full-frame camera in the Lumix S lineup to date. And thanks to the new Lumix Lab app, you’re able to go from hitting the shutter to posting on social media within only 30 seconds. Great for those constantly on the go who need to get images out quickly.

It features the same phase-detection autofocus system as the Panasonic S5 II, meaning that it’s extremely good. It might have taken Panasonic a while to adopt PDAF, but when they did, they did it very well indeed.

You also get 5 stops of in-body image stabilisation (IBIS) as well as Active I.S. (Image Stabilisation). This works to keep your sensor and (if they have it) lenses stabilised up to 6.5 stops.

Panasonic S9 Specs

Sensor	24-megapixel full-frame CMOS
Lens Mount	L Mount
Max resolution	6000 x 4000
ISO	100 to 51,200 (Extended: 50 to 204,800)
File format	JPEG, Raw
Stabilisation	Sensor-Shift, 5-Axis up to 6.5 Stops
6K Video	6K (5952 x 3968) up to 29.97fps
4K Video	4K UHD (3840 x 2160) up to 59.94fps
HD Video	Full HD (1920×1080) at up to 120fps)
Focus type	Auto (PDAF) and manual focus
Viewfinder	None
LCD	1.84m-dot 3″ touchscreen TFT LCD
Storage	Single UHS-II SD
Connectivity	2.4 / 5 GHz Wi-Fi (802.11b/g), Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac), Bluetooth 5.0
Microphone	1 x 1/8″ / 3.5 mm Microphone Input
Headphones	None
Dimensions	126 x 73.9 x 46.7mm
Weight	486g (Body, Shoe Cover, Battery, SD Memory Card) (excluding body cap)
Launch price	$1,499

Who did it first?

While you might think that Panasonic is copying Sony in this approach, Panasonic has actually done this before. The Panasonic GX80/85 was essentially the exact same camera as the Panasonic G80/85 but in a smaller, lighter body.

Yes, a couple of features were disabled in the GX80/85, but that’s the case with the S9 vs the S5 II, too. And, as someone who has several of each of those MFT models I mentioned, swapping them out for full-frame S9 & S5 II bodies seems like a logical step to cover both photography and video.

What exactly do you lose going from the S5 II to the S9? Well, of course, you lose the EVF. You only have the LCD on the back of the camera to compose and view your images. For some, this won’t be an issue, but for others, it can make certain shots difficult or impossible.

And while it largely retains the video features of its big brother, the S9 does cripple them a little bit. It cripples them with some fairly short durations (15 minutes per clip). This helps to save heat in the compact form factor, but Panasonic says that this is also what the camera’s target audience has told them they need.

Price and Availability

The Panasonic S9 is available to pre-order now for $1,499 in four different colours. You’ve got Jet Black, Crimson Red, Dark Olive or Classical Blue to choose from. It’s scheduled to begin shipping in late June.