Panasonic has been making pocket cameras with interchangeable lenses for more than a decade, ever since they pioneered mirrorless camera technology (alongside Olympus) with the Micro Four Thirds standard. Now it has announced the latest in that long legacy of cameras with the all-new Panasonic Lumix S9.
Unlike previous Lumix cameras like the Lumix GM5 or Lumix GX90, this is the first of its kind to feature a full-frame sensor. This continues to build on the success of the Lumix S5II and S5IIX, which Panasonic said are enjoying record sales growth.
Being the first with a full-frame sensor, the Lumix S9 is unsurprisingly the smallest and lightest full-frame mirrorless camera in Panasonic’s line-up, weighing just 403g (14.2oz) and measuring 126 x 73.9 x 46.7mm ( 4.96 x 2.9 x 1.83 inches).
The Lumix S9 also comes in a choice of jazzy colors for the front leather strap including Crimson Red, Dark Olive and Night Blue, as well as the standard Jet Black. This color also extends to the thumb rest on the back of the S9.
Panasonic Lumix S9 in crimson red (Image: Panasonic)
The S9 has a 24.2MP full-frame CMOS image sensor, which is the same size and density as the much-praised sensor in the Lumix S5II (which we gave five stars).
The sensor is also paired with Panasonic’s Phase Detection Autofocus, a major improvement over the company’s latest models, offering faster focusing as well as subject recognition for human faces and eyes, as well as animals, birds, cars and motorcycles.
It’s also supported by Panasonic’s 5.0-stop 5-axis in-body image stabilization or 6.5-stop Dual IS 2 when used with compatible lenses, significantly reducing blur caused by camera shake even when shooting handheld.
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The S9 isn’t the first Lumix camera to have built-in real-time LUTs, but Panasonic is pushing this feature further than ever before, featuring a dedicated LUT button on the camera body for the first time. LUT is short for “look up table”, which is a term for a predetermined set of parameters that affect the overall look of a photo or video by affecting the color balance.
Night blue S9 with Panasonic Lumix S 18-40mm f/4.5-6.3 lens (Image: Panasonic)
LUTs allow sharing-ready photos and videos to be captured in-camera and uploaded directly to social platforms with minimal editing required. You can even apply two LUTs simultaneously.
The Lumix S9 lets you load LUTs onto the camera via the new Lumix Lab app (now available for Android and iOS), which can then be applied to photos and videos with effects visible in real-time. The Lumix Lab app also lets you create your own custom LUTs from scratch or load one of the custom LUTs from other creators.
To make the video load even longer, the Lumix S9 introduces a new video format called MP4 Lite. This creates a smaller file size for faster transfer, but still allows creators to record in Open Gate format 4:2:0 10 bit at 30p/25p for high-quality footage that can be easily cropped to different aspect ratios for different platforms.
The Lumix S9 will be available in late June 2024 and will cost £1,499.99 body only (US and Australian prices to be announced). The Lumix S9 will also be sold as a kit with a Lumix S 20-60mm lens for £1,799 or a Lumix S 28-200mm lens for £2,249.
Looking for a small but powerful camera? Check out our guides to the best compact camera or the best travel camera for more.
