S1 accustomisation - 3 months on

[Richardgb]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

A couple of months ago I gave my initial impressions of the S1 and 24-105 lens as a (now former) M Typ 240 user. Now with a few hundred images under the camera's belt, it's time for an update. My work has involved landscape, studio close-up, and reportage, the latter including rather inclement weather.

Camera
The S1 has always worked when needed, although there were a couple of occasions when I had accidentally nudged the focusing area away from the point of interest which made me wonder why the camera either refused to auto-focus (e.g. trying to focus on an empty patch of sky) or the results were not as sharp as expected.

AWB for most subjects has proved accurate enough including most mixed-lighting ('warm white' LED lights on the Christmas tree under other 'warm' fluorescent lighting needed some compromise in post!). However, especially for close-ups (see below) of items with a dominant colour, AWB tends to over-correct. Fortunately, alternative WB options are available, e.g. electronic flash, and outdoors shadows under 'north light, without having to include a ColourChecker in every shot (although I do so when possible).

Outdoors 'walking around', battery drain is satisfactory, although I've adjusted the sleep time down from the factory preset. In the studio, where there tends to be more checking and thus the image is viewed for longer, an almost-fully-charged battery will last a few hours, so a spare is advisable.

Image stablisation (IBIS and OIS) works well, although this does not mean I could be careless - it is still possible for images to be blurred owing to camera movement. So, perhaps regard IS as a safety net which extends the range of getting a usable result under challenging conditions.

I am still deciding which Auto Review time suits various kinds of work (Auto Review displays the just-taken image for a set time). The first time I covered a live event (fortunately, informally for a friend), the Auto Review was set for 2s and meant I could not use see the scene to prepare for the next picture. I such cases, now, I set Auto Review to 0s. In normal use I keep it low, say 0.5s, which is sufficient for seeing whether the image is generally OK for, say, exposure and framing.

Lens
The 24-105 has proved very versatile, with admirable sharpness at all apertures.

At the widest end of the zoom there is still some residual barrel distortion noticeable on the RAW files, easily corrected in post.

In the studio, close-ups at about 1:3 to 1:4 magnification (which is not not really 'macro' for the purist, only for marketing) and where possible at the longest focal length, do show a slight softness in corners compared the centre, even when the lens is stopped down, but still very usable. I suspect this is curvature of field rather than a specific combination of aberrations (although specular highlights do show the latter if you look closely); this would seem to rule out any critical copying work for flat subjects, though I have yet to do any specific tests.

Flash
On camera, I've been using the Metz 64-AF1, so far in TTL mode, with satisfactory results. The flash adjusts its internal reflector according to the zoom setting as well as the output according to the f-value, so the software links are working as they should; this still leaves overall exposure compensation to be used if required, but essentially the flash is 'fit-and-forget'.

In the studio I sync with a 3mm co-ax cable as both the camera and lights are in fixed positions relative to each other and the subject. Using the co-ax socket means that any shutter speed is available, including those beyond the highest allowed if a full frame is to be exposed (1/250s or 1/320s, depending on the flash).

Overall
As you can probably tell, I'm more than satisfied with the camera. Unsurprisingly, the images do not have the same (largely undefinable) 'look' as those from the M but this does not mean they are unusable - there have been no adverse from agencies through whom I try to sell. I am simply raising this point, not trying to provoke endless and needless discussion and digressions which characterise some threads; in any case the camera has also allowed me to tackle a wider range of subjects so any 'look' differences are immaterial.

[verwackelt]

thank you for the conclusion of your experiences with the S1.
I have some questions:
Did you try some M Lenses on the S1? So the M-look must be easier to achieve than with the 24-105.
How do you find the sensitivity of the trigger.
At my Pana G9 the trigger is really very sensitive and i had a lot of unwanted exposures.
As i played around with a S1R at a dealer i found the trigger had the same "nervousness". 
How do you feel about it?
Is there a exposure preview in the EVF or only  at the display?

[Richardgb]

51 minutes ago, verwackelt said:

thank you for the conclusion of your experiences with the S1.
I have some questions:
Did you try some M Lenses on the S1? So the M-look must be easier to achieve than with the 24-105.
How do you find the sensitivity of the trigger.
At my Pana G9 the trigger is really very sensitive and i had a lot of unwanted exposures.
As i played around with a S1R at a dealer i found the trigger had the same "nervousness". 
How do you feel about it?
Is there a exposure preview in the EVF or only  at the display?

Well, I won't say it's a conclusion... there's still more to learn.

M lenses: No, I sold the M and lenses so have none left

Trigger sensitivity: I've read some reports that it's a little sensitive but I haven't found so in what I do. Maybe I've got a delicate touch, but that's for others to say...

Exposure preview: If you're referring to Constant Preview (On = no difference in the viewfinder / rear screen display if exposure compensation is made, Off = an approximation of the effect), I've just check the camera and the effect is visible in both the EVF and rear screen display.