Local retailers have revealed the pricing for the newly announced Lumix S1R II. According to their listings, the upcoming full-frame mirrorless camera from Panasonic will retail at RM16,599 for body only, with pre-orders available now until 31 March 2025 via their respective stores.
To recap, the Panasonic Lumix S1R II boasts a 44.3MP back-side illuminated CMOS sensor, a smaller body, and enhanced video capabilities. Although its resolution is slightly lower than the S1R’s 47.3MP sensor, the S1RII compensates with support for up to 8K video at 30 frames per second and the ability to capture 5.8K Apple ProRes RAW HQ or ProRes RAW internally without an external recorder.
The camera features an improved hybrid autofocus system that merges phase-detect AF with the contrast AF from the original S1R. This upgrade enhances eye and face detection, as well as AI-powered tracking, making it more effective for capturing moving subjects like animals, vehicles, and airplanes. This improvement significantly boosts accuracy and responsiveness for both photography and video recording.
In terms of still photography, the S1R II delivers high-speed performance, allowing full-resolution 12-bit RAW images at up to 40 frames per second with the electronic shutter. The mechanical shutter in “High Speed Plus” mode achieves up to 10 frames per second (or nine for 14-bit RAW). Additionally, a handheld high-resolution mode shifts the sensor to capture multiple exposures, merging them into a 177-megapixel image.
The camera also benefits from upgraded in-body image stabilisation, offering up to eight stops of shake reduction, or seven stops when paired with an optically stabilised telephoto lens. For video, the S1R II provides cropless electronic stabilisation with distortion correction, helping to maintain the original angle of view. Other features include a 5.76-million-dot OLED viewfinder, a 1.84-million-dot articulated touchscreen, dual SD UHS-II and CFexpress Type B slots, external SSD support via a 10Gbps USB-C port, and a full-sized HDMI output.
Only two retailers are offering the new Panasonic Lumix S1R II in Malaysia at the time of writing, namely YL Camera and KengDim. Those interested can now pre-order the camera via the former’s online store, or through the latter’s Shopee page. No word on when it will arrive in-stores, however.
