Lumix S9 is here: help on how to get started

[GastAlf]

Hi folks! Finally my S9 arrived and I tried on Sunday for some initial clicks on interior and outside with a wheelchair (my knee got surgery). Really nothing worth sharing as of now . First impression is that I will need to get better at photo technique to get better results compared to my phone gcam with a quasi perfect HDR management (practically my 23U gcam works like the pana live composite as a standard mode). I also understand that live composite is not available for S9. What a pity!

As I have much time, being almost always in bed, I have tried to read and watch everything that moves on the camera (starting from this forum) but I feel I would need some directions from you guys on how to get started.

Following some of the readings I bought 2 spare batteries/charger and UV and CPL basic filters from K&F Concept, a Sirui handgrip, a Compact Camera Pouch from Kiwifotos (just about right with 18-40) and a nice small waist bag from Cwatcun. I am waiting for a green matte screen protector from Brotect and I would like to take also a basic but functional traveller tripod (here it would be helpful if someone could share direct experience). Finally, on my dream list there is a S-R70300 lens but only if I will ever get good enough to justify it .

Regarding my initial settings to get started, after my hour out to shoot I have been researching LUTs. I would like to test a few but I am not familiar with video grading and I would need some guidance to choose from v-log, log709, etc to use as a catch-all base on which try some more creative LUT on top. The same reasoning I would apply to photos but here it sounds less complicated to understand. Just to throw some content on my side I liked much the work of Rossandhisjpegs.

I think I wrote probably too much already, so I wait for your advise, for which I thank you in advance.

 

[Pete_W]

Hi folks! Finally my S9 arrived and I tried on Sunday for some initial clicks on interior and outside with a wheelchair (my knee got surgery). Really nothing worth sharing as of now . First impression is that I will need to get better at photo technique to get better results compared to my phone gcam with a quasi perfect HDR management (practically my 23U gcam works like the pana live composite as a standard mode). I also understand that live composite is not available for S9. What a pity!

As I have much time, being almost always in bed, I have tried to read and watch everything that moves on the camera (starting from this forum) but I feel I would need some directions from you guys on how to get started.

Congrats on getting your new camera. I hope the knee heals up quickly for you!

Following some of the readings I bought 2 spare batteries/charger and UV and CPL basic filters from K&F Concept, a Sirui handgrip, a Compact Camera Pouch from Kiwifotos (just about right with 18-40) and a nice small waist bag from Cwatcun. I am waiting for a green matte screen protector from Brotect and I would like to take also a basic but functional traveller tripod (here it would be helpful if someone could share direct experience). Finally, on my dream list there is a S-R70300 lens but only if I will ever get good enough to justify it .

I'm not a tripod user so can't help with this. I do everything hand-held.

Regarding my initial settings to get started, after my hour out to shoot I have been researching LUTs. I would like to test a few but I am not familiar with video grading and I would need some guidance to choose from v-log, log709, etc to use as a catch-all base on which try some more creative LUT on top. The same reasoning I would apply to photos but here it sounds less complicated to understand. Just to throw some content on my side I liked much the work of Rossandhisjpegs.

I think I wrote probably too much already, so I wait for your advise, for which I thank you in advance.

I haven't done much with LUTs but each LUT available to download in the LUMIX Lab app specifies the base style that the creator used to build it. So my assumption is that it's probably best to shoot using that base style for that specific LUT rather than standardising on one base style.

 

[GastAlf]

Thank you Pete. Waiting if someone gives further contribution.

In the meantime, I just want to share my difficulty with Lumix App bluetooth connection and since this is the only way to get gps data with photos it is annoying to remember every time to start the app and also to check whether it is successfully connected to the s9 (often requires reopening the app). Lumix sync app seems to be much more reliable for keeping the connection functioning. Could someone share his/her experience on this?

 

[Pete_W]

There was a thread here from last year about geotagging images from the LUMIX Sync app (and LUMIX Lab I think?). I just found the link:

New firmware update S5ii(X)

After seeing this I really cannot wait for a new firmware update for my beloved S5iiX: - We know that Lumix Labs (phone app) compatibility is coming - We expect the hybrid zoom would also be coming - But now I understand the S9 also has better Autofocus (they improved it again, especially for...

l-mount-forum.com

The best suggestion was to change the camera's power-save settings so that it doesn't go to sleep but rather turns off the EVF and LCD, both of which are the biggest drains on the battery anyway. This keeps Bluetooth running on the camera and connected to your phone. A quick tap on any button will turn the EVF and LCD back on so you are ready to shoot and geotag.

I found this worked well, however I often change lenses when out shooting and turn off the camera to do so, which breaks the Bluetooth connection.

 

[GastAlf]

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Hi all, just to share first impression on the S9 after some initial tests with wheelchair at a funeral service. I also put together a youtube summary of my shots and video here . Pls take into account that I had not used a windows video editor since 20 yrs and I am very bad at this. So the editing is very minimal, unrefined and bad but still shows something.

Regarding the video I used the mpeg lite new format at full resolution whereas for the photo I used a couple of presets I prepared using luts from a couple of creators (mainly rossandhisjpegs).

Interim conclusions I can draw:

1. Still photography: the camera seems pretty good although I am not sure I am very much into full lut usage in real time. Main drawback is that once you choose one preset with base photo style and lut applied then the photo have way too much "character". See the bw photo as example. Probably I would prefer a more neutral base on which to decide later or I think one would need to know very well luts in order to use it in real time.
2. Still photography vs GCAM S23U photos. Quality level is not very far in static situations and in strong static HDR GCAM S23U is often even better, but S9 is much more usable and gets the upper hand for all dynamic scenes.
3. For video I got a little puzzled in seeing a not very fluid panning and, in general, I expected a bit more given my basic experience with S23U cellphone video performance. But as said I am not really a video expert. For my editing I used Kdenlive open source for the first time so I would need to learn much on this as this software is not driven towards easy model for transitions and appearances.

I would really appreciate if you can share your feedback on my initial work and advise on how to get better results. Thank you in advance