Panasonic Lumix DC-S9

Panasonic doesn't even make an APS-C camera.

They have the S9 for like $1,500.

The R8's $1,500.

You can use Z6 IIs from Nikon for even cheaper.

Maybe like it comes later.

But yeah, there's literally no marker for those lenses.

Other than once again, maybe you shoot your S9 in APS-C mode at 16 megapixel photos.

Yeah, I mean, you could.

And the camera rigs aren't as crazy.

I used my little Lumix S9 for years.

I could get it off the tripod really easy, move it.

Like it's just super easy to do as opposed to bigger the camera, the slower the production, the more planning you need, the more lights you have, the more space you take up.

Yeah.

Yeah, they say, y'all, the Lumix S9 is $1,000 right now.

I'm super tempted.

You hear that, Sean? I got them tempted.

And yes, I'm doing air quotes here, but at nearly $2,000, that is quite a bit more than most people are looking to pay when getting into a system.

So with that in mind, Nikon wisely did what Panasonic did with its Lumix S9 and Fujifilm did with its XM5 and slim things down so people can get into their systems more affordably and still have robust features.

Nikon says that the C in Z5 Mark II C stands for casual, which isn't at all warm and fuzzy, but Whatever, because most people won't ever know what it stands for, nor care.

Capable or competent might have actually been better words.

This body has the same great 24.5 megapixel sensor as in the Z5 Mark II and a number of other Nikon bodies in recent years.

And unlike the Lumix S9, it has an actual mechanical shutter.

And as a result, it has

faster readout speeds and a whole lot less rolling shutter than in the Panasonic.

Mm-hmm.

Which is like star, star, star Panasonic S9 you could buy for cheaper, but it's-

Blue rock

... $1,500 MSRP right now.

Thankfully, the large grip with plenty of custom buttons remain.

making the Z5 IIc much more comfortable to use than many similar cameras like the Panasonic S9.

This camera uses the venerable Nikon EN-EL15C battery, which is used in most of Nikon's full-frame mirrorless cameras.

It offers a respectable life of 350 shots, though I was able to get more than twice that on a single charge in real-world use.

As I found myself constantly magnifying images to confirm they were sharp, for me the extra $450 for the Z5 II is completely justified.

However, many photographers and videographers never use an electronic viewfinder, and for them, the Z5 IIc offers an outstanding value.

The success of the Fujifilm XM5 and Panasonic S9 proves there is a market for similar cameras with only an LCD panel.

If you are one of those users who don't need an electronic viewfinder, the price difference between the Z5 II is enough to buy a more premium standard lens or solid prime lens.

And I'm just like, I would love that as like a little family cam, dad cam, whatever.

But I've actually borrowed a friend of mine's Panasonic S9 for like a week, and I kept putting it up to my eye.

And I'm like, no, it doesn't, no.

And I'm just like, never.

That's a mini Z 5 II for the most part.

This is Nikon's version of the Panasonic S9 in the end, basically.

So here's something insane.

I was searching around Canon's refurbished site, which is a fantastic resource for people who are trying to save money, 'cause they had a bunch of lenses on sale yesterday and I wanted to see how much they were, and I happened upon a refurbished EOS R100 body.