- Panasonic LUMIX S9 Full-Frame Mirrorless Camera with S 18-40mm F4.5-6.3 Lens, Compact, Lightweight Body, Perfect for Social Media and Travel, Cameras for Photography, DC-S9NK

As a beginner I am overwhelmed by the number of settings in this camera. I have been able to snag some really nice pictures with some luck but I have a lot to learn to consistantly get the results I'm looking for. some considerations, first as many have said the camera is difficult to handle with 1 hand so I would recommend an aftermarket grip be added. the lenses are very expenses so it's best to do research to know if the bundle is actual of value to you. Youtube has been very helpful in learning what settings are best in certain scenarios. if you are looking for a quality point a shoot there are other options that will suite you better. If you want a camera that you can learn and grow into, this is a good option.

Easy to use. Pics look great without editing.

I come from occasionally using an old nikon dslr, and frequently using canon g5x and g16. I have used this lumix camera for three days. So far, i cannot imagine using it without the extra grip piece that i bought. this would almost be unusable for me without that to hold onto. The other thing that is baffling is THERE IS NO WAY TO USE A FLASH WITH THIS CAMERA. be forewarned, it only looks like a hot shoe, but i have now learned that there is such a thing as a cold shoe and this camera has a cold shoe - no electrical connection there. My first photoshoot was in a dim basement, not a great time to discover the shoe was only decorative. (you can attach a battery powered light or microphone there, but no flash). i like the look of the camera. it is a little larger than i imagined, but the lens it came with shrinks up pretty nicely when the camera is off. battery got pretty good life. i tried out the digital zoom on it, but i eneded up turning it off because it isn't clear when the digital zoom was actually doing the digital zoom (maybe it is just always digital zooming?) anyway, for 3 days, i'll keep it - the photos i got were pretty good even with no flash and just holding up a flashlight. i am just baffled how such a spendy camera doesn't have flash capability.

Couldn't be happier with my decision to buy the S9! I chose it over the a6700 and don't regret it at all. The pictures are nice and sharp, dynamic range is solid, and I love the LUT feature and how easy it is to install them. The Lumix lab app is killer... I'm able to edit a photo as much as I'd want to and rarely take them over to my laptop for Lightroom or luminar neo both of which I got for free and use from time to time. I love the feel of the s9 in the hands, sans grip and all. I actually bought a grip but never use it 🤷🏻‍♂️ it's just not necessary. The fact it doesn't have a hotshoe doesn't bother me, nor does the no EVF like it does many. I'm fine using the screen which gets plenty bright for outdoors... I even have an APS-C lens I use with the s9 with great results (Sigma 10-18mm which ends up being a 15-27mm or so with the crop) surprisingly... I didn't see the lens was for APS-C cameras until it was too late so I get use out of it even though I have the 16mm f1.8 from Viltrox which is a GREAT lens. Overall I'd give it a solid 9.5/10 and I didn't even get into video since I don't shoot much video at all.

Connection issues with the app, picture quality is good but very bad at night. You can add a light on top but it takes away from the whole portability aspect.

Great travel camera. Ibis is outstanding lots feature is awesome works well with the phone app. MP4 lite files let me edit video on my phone. Auto focus for video which is what I mainly use it for is great. Price is fair especially now with the discounts.

The footprint and capacity of this camera with the 18-40mm is basically one of a kind. There are some compromises, but for the right use case, nothing really compares to it. If you’re shooting professionally, I doubt you would even consider this camera. If you want a compact travel camera for family videos for those than can appreciate the difference between this and a cell phone camera. Following an update, you can drop record limits. I haven’t been able to make this camera overheat in 4k30 for over an hour. YMMV and probably highly dependent on ambient temperatures. Internal mics are probably better than average for a full frame mirrorless, IBIS is solid, battery is also good. Cell phone integration with the MP4Lite format is solid. Tried many of the competitors, including A7c and ZV-E1. I consider the ZV-E1 an absolute joke. I actually missed some of my kid’s first steps because it overheated after 8 minutes on 4k60, also only 12mp sensor. Compared to the A7cii, this has no evf, slightly less dynamic range, no functional hot shoe, no headphone jack, 33 v 24mp, and worse battery life. For me, still like the image this camera puts out better, I’d probably use a mic with an additional headphone output if I wanted to, and probably wouldn’t carry/use any hot shoe accessories; kind of defeats the purpose of the portability I don’t think any of the Sony lens options really come close to the LUMIX 18-40, especially for video. The hybrid zoom stretching that to 18-61mm, without appreciable degradation in the high setting, for video at least. The most equivalent Sony option would be the kit lens with the ZV-E1, the 28-60, which is a massive compromise. I can see a use case for the A7c ii28-60 v the S9 18-40, but it’s also a $800/2oz weight penalty. If the reason you carry a smaller mirrorless camera is for video, this really can’t be beat. Rolling shutter much better in 4k60, but that comes with a crop