The eagerly anticipated Panasonic Lumix S1R II will, as expected, be based on the Leica SL3, but has been delayed until early 2025.
That's the latest rumor circulating about the successor to the Panasonic Lumix S1R, which launched in 2019 as the resolution model (hence the "R") of the Lumix S series with its 47.3MP full-frame sensor.
Camera rumors have been circulating for some time that, while the flow of technology usually goes in the opposite direction (with the original S1R being the technological basis for 2021's Leica SL2), the S1R II will receive the same core hardware as this year's SL3.
This means we can expect the same base 60.3MP sensor, likely with the same triple-resolution stills technology (also offering 36.4MP and 18.5MP imaging) and 8K 30p video capture.
Panasonic will implement its own technology and refinements, of course, including its Phase Hybrid AF (which should be a big improvement on Leica's slightly sluggish phase detect autofocus).
However, while the Lumix S1 R II was expected to arrive in the fourth quarter of 2024, the big development is that it now seems to have been pushed back to 2025.
"A trusted source told me that the Lumix S1R successor launch got delayed," reports L-Rumors.
"We now can expect this camera to be on market by early 2025 only. The same source confirmed this camera will be based on the same Leica SL3 tech, featuring the same 60MP sensor made by Sony."
The S1R II will mark a return to a core-oriented, specs-focused full-frame camera for Panasonic, following the release of the highly polarizing Lumix S9 – a stripped-down, creativity-focused camera aimed squarely at creators and influencers.
The launch of a new S1R would also leave the Lumix S1H, the designated video body of the S series, as the only member of the original full-frame Lumix family without a successor.
You might be interested in the best Panasonic cameras, which features some of the best full-frame mirrorless cameras along with the best Micro Four Thirds cameras.
