Panasonic S1H ProRes RAW has been delayed

The Panasonic S1H raw firmware might have been delayed, but it is still a formidable camera. Image: Panasonic

Panasonic has announced that its highly anticipated ProRes RAW update for the DC-S1H has had to be delayed due to unforeseen technical issues.

The much vaunted, and highly anticipated update that will allow the Panasonic DC-S1H to record ProRes RAW to the Atomos Ninja V monitor/recorder has had to be delayed.

The statement from the company says "Panasonic has announced the change of the LUMIX S1H firmware update schedule due to technical issues yet to be resolved. The firmware version 2.0 will be available at the LUMIX Global Customer Support website on 25 May 2020 with the following updates. The RAW video data output function will be separately provided in the next version of the firmware. The release date of the next version of the firmware will be announced shortly. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause."

Understandably this will disappoint users who were looking forward to being able to take advantage of the new features imminently. Although with most of the production world still on hold due to world events, it probably won't be too painful to hold on just that little bit longer. I'm sure that most users would prefer that the company spends the time needed in order to get things just right.

What the Panasonic DC-S1H V2.0 firmware will feature

In the meantime, as the statement tells us, the version 2.0 firmware will go ahead as planned, except without the RAW functionality. This will include the following features:

• Down converted output over HDMI during [6K]/[5.9K]/[5.4K] video recording is available.
• In Creative Video mode, it is now possible to disable the operation of starting/stopping video recording by pressing a shutter button.
• In Creative Video mode, it is now possible to set [Rec Quality (My List)] from the control panel.
• The value of noise reduction in [V-Log] in Photo Style has been expanded to [-1], designed to suppress ghosting or afterimages that could have previously occurred in some situations.
• It is possible to prevent the enlarged view window of MF Assist to be output over HDMI.
• There were cases where colour banding appeared in 4:2:0/10-bit video recording in some situations. This bug has been minimised.
• There were cases where the REC RUN time code did not count up when the video was not recorded on an SD Memory Card but was recorded on an external device over HDMI. This bug has been fixed.
• It is now possible to set [AF+MF] in AFC mode.
• It is now possible to assign functions to the lens’ Fn buttons when the Panasonic LUMIX S PRO 70-200mm F2.8 O.I.S. (S-E70200) is mounted.
• It is now possible to assign function to the Fn buttons of Sigma L-Mount interchangeable lenses.
• When attaching a lens using the Sigma MC-21 mount converter and [Image Stabilizer] > [Lens] is set to ON , Body I.S. (Image Stabiliser) suppresses roll movement.
• [Backlight Illumination Period] has been added to the menu of Status LCD.  [ON1] prevents the LCD backlight to be turned off.
• It is now possible to select the card slot to save the JPEG images developed by in-camera RAW processing.
• [0.5 SEC] has been added for an option of [Duration Time (photo)] in [Auto Review].
• [Off (Disable Press and Hold)] can be assigned to the Fn button. It disables operation when the button is long-pressed.
• The Fn button can be used for checking aperture effect while the button is pressed.
• To prevent improper operation, touch-control is disabled for [Delete All] operation in playback mode. Only cursor buttons can be used for [Delete All] operation.
• There were rare cases where the camera froze during [Segmented File Recording] or during recording at 400 Mbps under a particular set of conditions including the type of SD Card used. This phenomenon has been improved.
• Aperture and shutter speed can be controlled using front/rear dials when the rear monitor is set to OFF.
• There were cases where F stop value control failed depending on the maximum F stop value when non-Panasonic L-Mount lens is mounted. This bug has been fixed.

Achieving reliable raw recording over HDMI from a mirrorless camera was always going to be trickier proposition than over SDI. Readers will remember that the Nikon Z 6 also took a substantial amount of time from the camera's release until its own ProRes RAW feature set was available to use.

With any luck whatever has been causing the problems can be sorted out very soon. Watch this space. However to whet your appetite, here's some footage shot using a beta of the firmware by DP Lee Brimble.

How will the ability to use ProRes RAW on the S1H affect your productions? Let us know in the comments below!