If we advisable the Sony ZV-E10 II for a lot of newbie creators final week, why wouldn’t we do the identical for the Panasonic S9? At first look, it appears to be like like an incongruous set of opinions. Simply over every week in the past on the PetaPixel YouTube channel, we launched our preliminary take a look at the Sony ZV-E10 II, which I known as “glorious worth for the greenback”. A month earlier, Panasonic dropped the S9, a digicam Chris and I thought of “baffling”, which had various comparable omissions to Sony’s newest. The feedback for the ZV-E10 II evaluate had a typical theme, that I used to be being inconsistent with my views on the 2 competing cameras. So let’s do a fast rundown of the place these two cameras excel and disappoint, the outcomes might properly reveal what’s the higher ‘creator digicam’ for you. The Sony ZV-E10 II is each inexpensive and surprisingly succesful. Wait. “Creator digicam”? I believe the concept of a vlogging digicam is considerably outdated at this level. The traditional format of pointing a digicam at your face whereas strolling round is turning into much less and fewer frequent, however many individuals nonetheless need a digicam for recording YouTube and TikTok movies that supply improved picture high quality and performance in comparison with a smartphone. In case your chief curiosity is vlogging, seize a DJI Pocket 3. Need one thing with extra flexibility? The Sony ZV-E10 II and Panasonic S9 are each attention-grabbing choices. So let’s get to the comparability. The Panasonic S9 brings full-frame high quality and classy attractiveness to the battle.
Interface and Dealing with: I’ve lengthy liked Panasonic cameras for his or her embrace {of professional} video instruments, however the S9 is a little bit of a departure. I’m completely not a fan of the gripless, glossy design regardless of it wanting nice in hand. The non-compulsory SmallRig grip was given to reviewers at launch and I take into account it a crucial accent. The highest dial is good, however the rear dial is extremely fiddly. My main concern concerning the S9 is that it clearly targets novices, however the video interface has been carried over from higher-end Lumix our bodies. So when you have choices I recognize like waveforms, open gate recording and anamorphic de-squeeze, I believe it will likely be very intimidating to this digicam’s core viewers. The Panasonic S9 has simplistic controls and the rear dial is fiddly to make use of. The Sony gives a pleasant deep grip to accommodate the Z-type battery. I discovered it very snug with smaller lenses, however bigger skilled optics don’t give your fingers a lot room to breath. Sony’s interface is clearly designed extra for novices, with a couple of touchscreen artistic controls in auto mode, and simply understood choices like a ‘Background Defocus’ button that may get customers experimenting with depth of area. Sony doesn’t supply the number of help instruments offered on the Panasonic, nevertheless. The Sony ZV-E10 II grip is substantial and now homes the longer-lasting “Z” sort battery. For the meant viewers, I believe Sony has accomplished a greater job of optimizing the digicam so it’s simple for novices to deal with. Actually. Video High quality: This can be a tough one. The Panasonic has a full body sensor, however fairly an outdated one. It offers you extra dynamic vary and improved excessive ISO efficiency, in addition to a few of my favorite profiles, like V-Log and Like-709. Nonetheless, the sluggish readout of this dated sensor means rolling shutter artifacts will usually seem when panning. As properly, 4K/60P is cropped 1.5X to an APS-C sensor area, and now not oversampled, lowering element and low gentle efficiency. The Panasonic S9 interface could be very succesful in relation to video instruments however is perhaps intimidating at first.
Talking of APS-C, the Sony sports activities a considerably smaller, however far more trendy sensor. It might file as much as 4K/30P with out a crop, and 4K/60P remains to be oversampled, however requires a small 1.1X crop. Sony gives the versatile S-Log3 for optimum dynamic vary, and fairly good S-Cinetone for editors trying to reduce grading. The Sony gives a a lot of the ports and there’s a headphone jack however micro-HDMI is a ache. For primarily 60P shooters, I believe the Sony is the best way to go, however for almost all of shooters, the Panasonic will present a nicer picture in additional conditions. Panasonic wins right here. The Panasonic S9 has a mic jack however not a lot else. The dearth of a headphone jack is an unlucky actuality. Audio High quality: Panasonic utterly drops the ball right here. Whereas there’s a mic jack with good pre-amps, the dearth of a headphone for monitoring audio is a evident omission. You’ll be able to’t even use a dongle within the USB-C port, like on many Fujifilm cameras. As properly, the highest shoe has no electrical connections, so that you gained’t have entry to the incredible XLR adapters Panasonic produce, appropriate with most of their different cameras. The Sony ZV-E10 II gives a multi-interface shoe and has glorious built-in mics. Sony gives a mic jack with an excellent pre-amp, the all necessary headphone jack, and a hotshot with help for Sony’s many audio equipment. There’s an excellent, 3 capsule mic inbuilt, that may prioritize a number of instructions, and a dopey wanting however purposeful windscreen included within the field. The one criticism I can supply is that the audio ranges are too small on display when recording, and supply no indicator of when they are going to clip.
The Panasonic S9 solely gives a chilly shoe for mounting equipment and the built-in mics are usually not a classy setup. That’s a small gripe although, Sony cleans up right here. Battery Life: The S9 makes use of Panasonic’s BLK22 battery seen within the newest S and G our bodies. It gives satisfactory battery life, at round little over an hour of file time. The Panasonic S9 battery gives a satisfactory quantity of life at simply over an hour of file time. The Sony makes use of the beloved FZ100 battery, which is now present in nearly all of their up to date digicam our bodies. Battery life is persistently over two hours, which could be very spectacular. Sony simply wins right here. The Sony Z battery is a superb energy supply with over two hours of file time on the ZV-E10 II. Picture High quality: Panasonic has class-leading video stabilization at this level and the S9 has no compromises. The IBIS system works nice for secure pictures, with the oddly named ‘Enhance Mode’ (please name it ‘Static Mode’) or when shifting the digicam. Extra digital stabilization can be utilized with the tradeoff of a crop, however I not often discover it’s crucial.
In the case of picture high quality, Panasonic’s full-frame sensor and glorious lenses are an enormous benefit. Sony ruffled a whole lot of feathers with the unique ZV-E10’s lack of IBIS and so they’re holding sturdy to that call with the followup. Even with stabilized lenses, there’s a whole lot of bounce within the footage till Energetic Steadyshot is enabled. Even then, with normal, slower shutter speeds you’ll get odd blurry frames continually. This make it appear to be the autofocus is struggling, however the entire body is blurry, which is even worse. With quick shutter speeds, the standard is improved, however now your movement appears to be like jumpy. Sony ZV-E10 II picture high quality is sweet however it might’t compete in opposition to the S9 on a stage enjoying area. Merely put, when you plan to stroll with the digicam, the Panasonic mops the ground with Sony’s providing. Lens Lineup The total body L-Mount on the S9 gives house owners entry to a big library of video optimized glass from Panasonic, and a few extremely sharp, however extra photo-optimized lenses from Sigma. There are different small firms becoming a member of L-Mount, however Panasonic and Sigma are far and away the principle gamers. The difficulty right here is that it appears nobody advised Panasonic’s lens designers {that a} compact, funds physique was on the best way. Most choices are massive and costly, and the hardly purposeful 26mm f/8 guide focus, mounted aperture package lens feels slapped collectively to satisfy the S9 launch. The choice, very good 20-60mm lens appears to be like large on the cute S9 physique. Positive, the are small lenses within the system, like Sigma’s beautiful up to date primes, however these aren’t low cost or video optimized. Sony, alternatively, has quietly fleshed out their APS-C lens lineup not too long ago. They’ve various small, sharp extensive angle primes to offset the APS-C crop, and there’s wealth of fantastic third get together choices available for an inexpensive value. I like to recommend the cute Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 C as a place to begin. Merely put, if you’d like a compact inexpensive video bundle, there’s much more to like in Sonyland.
Autofocus The S9 is the most recent Panasonic physique to supply section detect autofocus, which eliminates the distracting ‘pulsing’ impact Panasonic our bodies have been recognized for. With a single topic, the AF performs simply in addition to the upper finish S5 II/X our bodies, which is to say very properly (take a look at our podcast on YouTube the place I exploit the S5 II to see it in motion). That mentioned, it might grow to be simply confused with a number of topics, and may take some time to reacquire when it missteps. The Sony ZV-E10 II makes use of Sony’s newest Bionz XR processor for auto focus, however lacks the ‘AI’ chip present in premium fashions. In my expertise, AF is superb in most conditions, however the digicam can often second guess itself and briefly snap to the background or foreground. It might actually be jarring. That mentioned, the ‘Product Showcase’ mode which is able to deal with the closest face until one thing is held as much as the digicam works very properly, and can be extremely helpful for YouTubers and influencers demonstrating a product. Or showcasing a product. Which is why it’s known as ‘Product Showcase’. I’m giving the Sony a slender win right here. The AF works higher for the audience. Worth The Panasonic S9 rings in at $1,500 physique solely, or $1,800 with the massive however good 20-60mm package lens. Don’t fear concerning the value on the 26mm pancake package, I actually don’t suggest it. The Panasonic S9 is a superb wanting digicam and has maybe extra benefit as a photographer’s avenue digicam fairly than a robust video device. The Sony ZV-E10 II is the winner for its ease of use and glorious microphone setup. Creators will recognize its total design greater than the S9. The Sony ZV-E10 II will set you again $1,000 for the physique and $1,100 with the uninspiring however small and power-zooming 16-50mm package lens. Merely put, it’s so much much less cash to rise up and working with the Sony bundle.
The Winner The Sony has clearly gained extra classes right here, however I believe it’s additionally necessary to notice the competitors at each of those value ranges. There are only a few present choices on the $1000 vary for creators. Competing with the ZV-E10 II are inexpensive but in addition far much less succesful cameras just like the Panasonic G100D and Nikon Z30. Nonetheless, the $1,500 S9 is competing in opposition to the far more succesful S5 II, additionally from Panasonic which is presently solely $1700, in addition to glorious APS-C cameras just like the Fujifilm X-S20 for $1,300 and the Sony FX30 for $1,500 as properly. Merely put, I believe the Sony’s value and options make extra sense for lots extra video shooters than Panasonic’s providing. After this rundown, hopefully you’ll agree.
