Panasonic Lumix DC-S9KE-K Full Frame Mirrorless Open Gate Vlogging Camera, 24.2MP, 6K /4K Video, 779 Point PDAF, Image Stabilisation, Free-Angle Screen, 5Ghz WiFi, Black, 20-60mm (x3 Zoom) Lens

Up until using the Lumix S9, using a Panasonic camera was a new experience for me. Being a photographer for 14 years, I've been fortunate to use a range of Nikon, Canon and Sony cameras.Thankfully, using this camera was a new and refreshing experience for me!First off, this camera won't be for everyone. One of the most obvious differences compared to conventional full frames is the lack of a viewfinder.This was a learning curve for me, as I'm always used to instinctively looking through a viewfinder before I click the shutter button! That means the screen is your only means of viewing the frame as you capture what's in front of you. When taking pictures, I'm used to also seeing the exposure straight away before pressing the shutter on my Sony A7iii. Straight out the box, the Lumix S9 does not have that feature(though, you're able to turn this on in the menu, under the constant preview option)The dials can also be a tad cumbersome to change the settings. Unlike most cameras, the Lumix S9 only has one dial on the top of the camera which changes the aperture. The dial on the front of the camera is used to change the shutter speed. In order to change the iso, I've been having to go directly into the menu to change it. I feel like one more dial would've been a lot more efficient. So naturally, this isn't great for event photography and shooting on the fly.Notably, there is also a lack of a grip on the side of the camera, which can also make it difficult to handle. I remedied this by purchasing an external screw-on grip in order to better handle the camera.There are a lot of design features of this camera that would probably stop it from being any working photographers main camera body.Thankfully, I don't think this camera is specifically aimed at the traditional working photographer.Now on to the positives: personally, I love how small and discreet this camera is. I'm easily able to take images and record video in public a lot more discreetly than with my primary full-frame mirrorless. The shutter is fully electronic, meaning it's a lot more silent than traditional full-frame cameras ( though at times, this electronic shutter does create more banding when shooting with indoor lighting)The image quality in general is also superb! sporting 24.2 megapixels, images come out very crisp and can be a joy to shoot in a lot of the scenarios I've tested it with.Face detection and auto focus on this camera is also incredibly intuitive! I've had no issue using intelligent auto mode and have captured some fantastic looking footage using this setting!Shooting up to 6k on such a small camera is also amazing to me! Again, I was able to record some video at a show I was at and was amazed at the qualityOne of the bigger features of this camera seems to be the LUT functionality. I was able to use some of the sample LUTs on the camera and also download a few from the Lumix app and the results were great!I can honestly see this camera being used for the newer breed of photographers more focused on producing content for social media. I was able to easily take a photo from the app and upload it to social media within a matter of seconds. The open gate feature is also great for capturing both horizontal and vertical content! The quality of this feature is also impeccable.For that reason, I'm interested in seeing what else this camera can offer! I'm already looking into a better lens choice that would suit my needs better! ( the 20-60mm kit lens that comes with the camera serves its purpose, but I'm in need of a zoom lens that offers more of a fixed aperture)So all in all, if you're looking for a more discreet choice of camera to help grab bespoke content for social media or content creation, I truly think you could benefit from this camera! I'll definitely continue to experiment with the Panasonic equipment to see what L-mount lenses I can pair with the camera!

The first thing to notice about this camera is there is no viewfinder, it has a fold out screen so gauging the shot is similar to a Phone camera. While that is fine indoors when in bright sunlight the screen, and judging focus, is a tad more difficult.Having said that it is still a remarkably easy camera to use in practice. All the control of a DSLR camera rate present, the only other things missing are a grip to hold it by, and a means of connecting a flash.Using it is a delight though. There is a 20-60mm lens included in the box which is very responsive and a good starting point.It does need an SD card for storage.It takes video and this can be achieved by the flick of a button.There is a downloadable Lab app accessible via a QR code which enables photos and video to be uploaded to a phone where they are editable.I don’t know if it’s a fault of the camera or the app software but I had a number of difficulties making a connection between the two. The first time I paired it to bluetooth and then wifi it worked fine. The next time the wheel turned and turned and then said connection failed. It was nothing to do with my home wifi as that had a very strong signal.Then, when it did connect, it wouldn’t let me transfer more than one picture at a time. There is the option totransfer multiple pictures but in reality it couldn’t. I think it’s something they need to investigate.Apart from these little quirks it is a brilliant camera, with some teething troubles.It has a 24mp camera that is very sharp.With the large lens it’s quite heavy but the strap more than compensates for that.I haven’t used it enough yet to really get used to it but so far it’s a very pleasing camera.For social media use it’s a lot better than a phone, and with the inclusion of video it’s ideal.

First off, I'm in no way a professional photographer, just a keen amateur, so I can't give you a great break down of the specs. I grew up in the age of film cameras, then moved on to some disappointing early digital cameras, then a very good Sony camera, but I'm pleased to see things have moved on.This is a really good, compact camera. It comes with the 20-60mm lens, and 3x zoom. You will need your own SD card for storage, but you can upload footage directly from the camera and edit it online. As other reviewers have mentioned, there isn't a viewfinder. Instead, there is a fold out screen. Personally, I prefer this set up, although the screen can be a bit hard to see in bright sunlight. The camera takes sharp images with its 24.2 mega pixels, but that does seem to rob the picture of some of the warmth and softness you get with fewer pixels. It depends on what you are photographing and whether you want to enlarge or zoom in. For close up photos, sometimes, your phone camera is still the better option!But this camera is also built with video in mind. It has a good battery life, so you can get up to about an hour of video footage and then upload it straight to the LUMIX Lab app for editing. Excellent if you post to social media a lot or like to travel. As I said early on, it's compact, but it's also lightweight at under 500g. With regular filming in mind, the camera would benefit from a grip. But overall, you get a lot here in a small package.On a small extra note, you can also get this camera in red, green, or blue colour ways.