What are the best settings for the LUMIX S9?

For film-look JPEGs: Photo Style set to REAL TIME LUT with your look loaded, Picture Quality on RAW+FINE, Auto ISO capped around 6400, Min. Shutter Speed at 1/125, AFS with subject detection on, and the LUT button left on its default. For video, MOV at 4K 30p keeps the full frame, while 4K 60p crops to APS-C.

Where is the LUT Library on the LUMIX S9?

MENU, then Custom, then Image Quality, then LUT Library. Save the .cube in the root folder of the card, pick a slot, choose Load, and select the file. It is a different place from the Photo Style menu, which is where you then apply the look.

How many LUTs can the LUMIX S9 hold?

Thirty-nine files. Panasonic preloads Vlog_709 and three sample LUTs, and Vlog_709 cannot be renamed, sorted or deleted.

Does the LUMIX S9 shoot 4K 60p?

Yes, in MOV and MP4, but only with an APS-C or pixel-to-pixel crop. Full frame tops out at 30p in 4K. Firmware 2.1, due 13 October 2026, adds 4K 60p to the lighter MP4 (Lite) format as well, at 50 Mbps.

Why does my S9 stop recording video?

By default Video Record Limit is on, which stops a clip at 10 minutes in 6K, 15 minutes in 4K and 20 minutes in Full HD. Turn it off for unlimited clips and the camera records until it gets too hot instead. DPReview overheated an S9 after 13 minutes of recording in 31C sun, while in a cool room it filled a card with 87 minutes of 4K.

Can I apply a LUT to RAW photos on the S9?

No. A LUT is baked into JPEGs only. If you shoot RAW only, the look shows in live view and in playback thumbnails but is not saved. Shoot RAW+FINE to get the graded JPEG and a clean RAW together.

Can the LUMIX S9 be used as a webcam?

Not by plugging it in. The S9 has no UVC webcam mode. Panasonic's LUMIX Webcam Software (Beta) supports it on Windows 10 and 11 and on macOS 12 and 13, but not macOS 14 or later, so on a current Mac you need an HDMI capture device.

Why do my S9 photos have stripes under LED lights?

The S9 has an electronic shutter only, so some artificial light leaves banding. Use Synchro Scan (Photo) to fine tune the shutter speed until the stripes disappear, or Flicker Decrease (Video) and Synchro Scan (Video) when recording.

LUMIX S9 Setup Guide: Every Setting Explained (2026)

First 10 minutes

Do these once, in order, and the camera is ready to shoot.

Format the card in the camera

MENU › Setup › Card/File › Card Format

Set toFormat before first use

Panasonic asks you to format in camera, and to reformat any card that was formatted on a computer. Do it before you copy LUTs across, not after.

Set the clock and time zone

MENU › Setup › Others › Clock Set

Set toYour zone, then the date

File names and the date stamp on every shot come from here. Travelling? Time Zone sits in the same menu.

Check the firmware version

MENU › Setup › Others › Firmware Version

Set toUpdate to the current version

Version 2.0 (June 2026) is the shipping release, and 2.1 is announced for 13 October 2026. The same screen runs the update from a card. Our firmware 2.1 guide has the steps.

Stop the camera sleeping mid-shoot

MENU › Setup › Monitor / Display › Power Save Mode

Set toSleep Mode 2MIN or 5MIN

Sleep Mode and Auto Monitor Off both default to 1 minute, which is brisk when you are waiting for a moment. Lengthen them for a shoot, shorten them again for a long day on one battery.

Power from USB-C while you shoot

MENU › Setup › IN/OUT › USB › USB Power Supply

Set toON

With the battery in and the camera on, a USB-C supply runs the camera while you record. Panasonic specifies 5V 3A (15W) and no hubs, extension cables or adaptors. The battery does not charge while it is supplying power.

Use a card the S9 can keep up with

Card choice, not a menu item

Set toUHS Speed Class 3 or Video Speed Class 30 and up

The 200 Mbps modes need U3 or V30; 72 Mbps and below will run on Class 10 or U1. The slot takes UHS-I and UHS-II up to 512 GB. Our SD card guide names the ones worth buying.

The look: LUT and Photo Style

Where Real Time LUT lives and what it will and will not do.

Photo Style, and where the LUT lives

MENU › Photo / Video › Image Quality › Photo Style

Set toREAL TIME LUT

The list runs Standard, Vivid, Natural, L.ClassicNeo, Flat, Landscape, Portrait, the Monochromes, Cinelike D2 and V2, Like709, V-Log, REAL TIME LUT, the two Like2100 (HLG) entries and ten My Photo Style slots. REAL TIME LUT is the one that bakes a .cube into the file.

The LUT button

Press LUT on the back of the camera

Set toSwitches Photo Style to REAL TIME LUT

Press it, pick a look with left and right, confirm. DISP. opens the full LUT file list, Q cancels Real Time LUT. By default the button is assigned the Fn function REAL TIME LUT.

Load a .cube into the LUT Library

MENU › Custom › Image Quality › LUT Library

Set toPick a slot, then Load

Put the .cube in the root folder of the card, choose an empty slot, Load, pick the file. Choosing a slot that already holds a LUT overwrites it. The same screen sorts, renames and deletes. Full walkthrough in our install guide.

How many LUTs the S9 holds

MENU › Custom › Image Quality › LUT Library

Set to39 files

Panasonic ships Vlog_709 and three sample LUTs in the list, and the camera takes up to 39 files in total. Vlog_709 cannot be renamed, sorted or deleted.

What file types the camera accepts

LUT Library, file requirements

Set toA .cube from 2-point to 33-point, or a .vlt

The .cube support covers 2-point through 33-point 3D LUTs, and Panasonic recommends full range files. On a FAT32 card (SD and SDHC) the name can only be 8 characters before the extension; an exFAT card (SDXC) allows 255. Our looks are 33-point full range .cube files.

Stack two looks

MENU › Photo / Video › Image Quality › Photo Style › MY PHOTO STYLE

Set toLUT1, then LUT2 on top

A My Photo Style slot takes two LUT files: the image with LUT1 applied then has LUT2 applied. The base Photo Style comes from LUT1.

Dial a look back

Photo Style image quality adjustment › LUT Opacity

Set toStart at full, back off if it is too much

Opacity only appears in a My Photo Style slot with a LUT applied, not on the plain REAL TIME LUT style. It is the setting to reach for when a look is right but strong.

LUTs and RAW

Photo › Image Quality › Picture Quality

Set toRAW+FINE keeps both

A LUT cannot be applied to a RAW file. Shoot RAW+FINE and the JPEG carries the look while the RAW stays clean; shoot RAW only and the LUT shows in live view and playback thumbnails but nothing is baked in.

Real Time LUT versus V-Log

Photo Style › V-Log, plus LUT View Assist

Set toPick one: baked or flat

REAL TIME LUT records the look into the file, and takes its base Photo Style from a tag inside the .cube (V-Log is assumed when there is no tag). V-Log plus LUT View Assist is the opposite: the monitor or HDMI output shows the look, the file stays flat. The camera will not do both at once.

Grain and colour noise are stills only

Photo Style image quality adjustment

Set toExpect them in photos, not video

Firmware 2.0 lets a .cube carry grain, colour noise, sharpness and noise reduction values. Grain Effect and Color Noise do not apply while recording video.

i.Dynamic Range with a LUT

MENU › Photo / Video › Image Quality › i.Dynamic Range

Set toNot available with REAL TIME LUT

The camera greys it out with Like709, V-Log, REAL TIME LUT and the Like2100 (HLG) styles, so the look you loaded decides the tone curve. On other styles, leave it OFF if you want the LUT contrast you designed for.

Photo settings

The stills side, from file type to metering.

File type

MENU › Photo › Image Quality › Picture Quality

Set toRAW+FINE

FINE, STD., RAW+FINE, RAW+STD. and RAW. RAW+FINE gives you the finished JPEG with the look baked in and a 12-bit RAW underneath. Deleting one of the pair deletes both.

Aspect ratio and picture size

MENU › Photo › Image Quality › Aspect Ratio / Picture Size

Set to3:2 and L (24M, 6000x4000)

Ratios run 4:3, 3:2, 16:9, 1:1, 65:24 and 2:1. RAW is always recorded at L size in 3:2 whatever you pick, so the ratio crops the JPEG.

Auto ISO ceiling

MENU › Photo › Image Quality › ISO Sensitivity (photo)

Set toUpper limit 6400 to 12800

Auto tops out at 6400 by default. The upper limit can be set from 200 to 51200 and the lower from 100 to 25600. With REAL TIME LUT the usable range follows the base Photo Style of the LUT, and V-Log based looks start at ISO 640.

Minimum shutter speed

MENU › Photo › Image Quality › Min. Shutter Speed

Set to1/125 for people, 1/250 for movement

Only applies when ISO is on AUTO, and sets the point at which the camera raises ISO rather than slowing the shutter further. Options run from AUTO through 1/8000 to 1.

Metering

MENU › Photo / Video › Image Quality › Metering Mode

Set toMulti-metering, or Highlight-weighted in hard light

Multi, Centre-weighted, Spot and Highlight-weighted. Highlight-weighted protects the brightest part of the frame, which suits stage light and hard sun on skin.

Exposure compensation range

Exposure compensation button, then either dial

Set toUp to plus or minus 5 EV

Stills get plus or minus 5 EV in 1/3 steps, video plus or minus 3 EV. Past 3 EV the preview stops getting brighter or darker even though the file does. The value survives a power cycle unless you turn on Exposure Comp. Reset.

White balance

Press WB (right cursor), then either dial

Set toAWB, or a Kelvin value for a mixed room

AWB, AWBc (cuts the warmth of tungsten) and AWBw (keeps it), the four presets, four custom slots and four colour temperature slots from 2500K to 10000K. Press down on the WB screen for the amber, blue, green and magenta fine tune.

Burst rates

Drive mode button (down cursor) › Burst

Set toSH for a moment, H for a sequence

SH and SH PRE run 30 frames a second and buffer 36 frames, including RAW; SH PRE also keeps what happened just before the full press. H is 9 fps with AFS or MF and 8 fps with AFC, then 5 and 2 fps. SH fixes aperture and will not go below 1/30.

Banding in stills

MENU › Photo › Image Quality › Synchro Scan (Photo)

Set toUse it under LED and fluorescent light

The S9 has no mechanical shutter, so artificial light can leave stripes across a frame. Synchro Scan tunes the shutter speed in fine steps until the banding disappears. There is no photo equivalent of Flicker Decrease, so this is the tool.

Autofocus

What the S9 calls its focus modes, and what to set them to.

Focus mode

MENU › Photo / Video › Focus › Focus Mode

Set toAFS for stills, AFC for anything moving

The S9 offers AFS, AFC and MF. There is no AFF on this body. AFC drops back to AFS in Creative Video, S&Q, during recording and in low light.

AF area

AF mode button (left cursor)

Set to1-Area for control, Tracking for movement

Tracking, Full Area AF, Zone (Horizontal/Vertical), Zone, 1-Area+, 1-Area and Pinpoint. Pinpoint is not available with AFC, and the camera forces 1-Area in the 65:24 and 2:1 ratios.

Subject detection

MENU › Photo / Video › Focus › AF Detection Setting and Detecting Subject

Set toON, with the type you shoot

Types are human, animal, car, motorcycle, and since firmware 1.1 also train and aeroplane. Target Parts narrows it further: eye, face and body, or eye and face, for people. Detection works in every AF mode except Pinpoint.

AF behaviour for tracking

MENU › Photo › Focus › AF Custom Setting (Photo)

Set toSet 1 unless you have a reason

Four presets with AF sensitivity and related controls, available when Focus Mode is AFC. DISP. explains each one on screen. The S9 is good on predictable movement and less sure when speed and direction change, so give it the simplest setting that fits the subject.

Focus peaking and manual focus help

MENU › Photo › Focus › Focus Peaking

Set toON for manual lenses

Peaking outlines what is sharp, which matters on a camera with no viewfinder. AF+MF under Custom › Focus/Shutter lets you tweak focus by ring after the camera locks.

Video

File formats, crops, record limits and the heat ceiling.

Pick the file format first

MENU › Video › Image Format › Rec. File Format

Set toMP4 (Lite) for phone edits, MOV for grading

MP4 (Lite) is 10-bit 4:2:0 HEVC built for phone apps, MP4 is for playback on a computer, MOV is the one with 4:2:2 10-bit and the 200 Mbps modes. There is no All-Intra, no ProRes and no internal RAW.

6K open gate

MENU › Video › Image Format › Rec. Quality, in Creative Video mode

Set to5952x3968 3:2 at 30p, 200 Mbps

Open gate, 5.9K and 6K 17:9 are MOV, full frame, and only in Creative Video mode. Shoot open gate when you want one file to cut both wide and vertical.

Where the 4K 60p crop bites

MENU › Video › Image Format › Image Area of Video

Set toFULL at 30p, APS-C at 60p

4K and C4K at 60p, 50p and 48p are APS-C or pixel-to-pixel only; at 30p and below you get the full frame. Plan the lens around it: a 20mm at APS-C frames like a 30mm.

What firmware 2.1 adds

Announced for 13 October 2026

Set toMP4 (Lite) gains 4K 60p and FHD 120p

Today MP4 (Lite) is one quality: 3.8K 10-bit 50 Mbps at 30p. Version 2.1 adds 4K 60p and 50p plus FHD 120p, 100p, 60p and 50p to that format, at 50 Mbps. Panasonic has not said whether the new 4K 60p is cropped.

Why recording stops

MENU › Video › Others (Video) › Video Record Limit

Set toON handheld, OFF on a tripod

With the limit ON a clip stops at 10 minutes in 6K and 5.9K, 15 minutes in 4K, C4K, 3.8K and 3.3K, and 20 minutes in FHD. With it OFF there is no software limit, but the body gets hot: Panasonic warns about low temperature burns handheld, and DPReview overheated it after 13 minutes of recording in 31C sun.

V-Log

MENU › Photo / Video › Image Quality › Photo Style › V-Log

Set toBuilt in, no licence to buy

Panasonic claims 14 or more stops of latitude in V-Log, with 18% grey at 42 IRE. ISO starts at 640 and the dual native points are 640 and 4000. Use it when you intend to grade; use REAL TIME LUT when you do not.

Banding and shutter angle in video

MENU › Video › Image Quality › Flicker Decrease (Video) or Synchro Scan (Video)

Set toFix the shutter speed under artificial light

Same electronic shutter, same stripes. Panasonic's own fix is to lock shutter speed, either with Flicker Decrease or by fine tuning with Synchro Scan in Creative Video or S&Q mode.

Stabilisation for walking shots

MENU › Video › Others (Video) › Image Stabilizer

Set toE-Stabilization STANDARD, HIGH if it still floats

E-Stabilization (Video) adds electronic correction on top of the sensor shift system and narrows the angle of view, more so on HIGH, with some loss of resolution. Boost I.S. (Video) locks the frame for static shots and should be off before you move the camera.

Slow motion

Creative Video › High Frame Rate Video, or S&Q mode

Set toFHD 120p with sound, or S&Q up to 180 fps

High Frame Rate Video records FHD 119.88p or 100p in MOV with audio. S&Q runs 1 to 180 fps at FHD, crops above 150 fps, and records no sound.

Insurance on long takes

MENU › Video › Image Format › Segmented File Recording

Set toON for interviews and events

MOV only. The camera splits the recording every 1, 3, 5 or 10 minutes into a grouped set, so a flat battery or a yanked cable costs you one segment instead of the whole take.

Audio in, and what is missing

MENU › Video › Audio, and the 3.5mm MIC socket

Set toMic input with plug-in power or line in

There is a 3.5mm microphone input and no headphone socket, so you monitor levels on screen. The shoe on top is a cold shoe with no contacts: a mic, a light or a monitor mounts there, a flash does not fire from it.

Buttons and custom modes

Put the things you change often under a thumb.

Reassign any button

MENU › Custom › Operation › Fn Button Set › Setting in REC mode

Set toPut LUT, ISO and WB where your thumb lands

Defaults worth knowing: LUT is REAL TIME LUT, AF ON is AF-ON, Q is Q.MENU, Fn1 Level Gauge, Fn2 Preview, Fn3 Wi-Fi, Fn4 Histogram, Fn5 Boost I.S. (Video), and the cursor keys are ISO, white balance, drive mode and AF mode. Hold any Fn button for two seconds to jump straight to its list.

The lens button and focus ring

MENU › Custom › Lens / Others › Lens Fn Button Setting

Set toAperture or LUT select

Firmware 2.0 added LUT Select to the focus ring options, so you can change look without taking your eye off the frame. Firmware 2.1 expands what the lens Fn button can do.

Save a setup you can come back to

MENU › Setup › Setting › Save to Custom Mode

Set toOne slot for stills, one for video

Set the camera up once, save it, and the mode dial brings the whole state back. Custom Mode Settings controls whether changes stick or reset when you power off.

Back up the whole camera

MENU › Setup › Setting › Save/Restore Camera Setting

Set toSave to card after you finish setting up

Writes your settings to the card so you can restore them after a reset, or copy them to a second body. Worth doing the day you finish a setup like this one.

Phone, transfer and webcam

Getting files and LUTs on and off the camera.

Pair the phone

MENU › Setup › IN/OUT › Bluetooth › Bluetooth Function › ON

Set toPair once, in LUMIX Lab

Pairing is Bluetooth first, then the app brings up Wi-Fi when it needs the bandwidth. Up to 16 phones can be registered, one connected at a time, and LUMIX Lab and LUMIX Sync cannot be connected together.

Which app does what

LUMIX Lab or LUMIX Sync

Set toLab for LUTs and transfers, Sync for remote control

Panasonic splits them: Lab handles the LUT Library and image transfer, Sync handles remote recording and transfer. Firmware 2.0 added a wired USB connection for Lab, selected under Setup › IN/OUT › USB › USB Mode › LUMIX Lab. Our LUMIX Lab guide covers it.

What will not transfer

Bluetooth › Auto Transfer, or Send Image (Smartphone)

Set toKeep clips you want on your phone in MP4

MOV files cannot be sent to the phone at all, and nothing over 4 GB transfers. Auto Transfer only moves stills and MP4 (Lite). Transfer also slows as the camera heats up.

Using the S9 as a webcam

USB, with Panasonic's software

Set toNo plug and play webcam mode

The S9 has no UVC webcam mode: USB Mode offers Select on connection, PC (Storage), PC (Tether) and LUMIX Lab. Panasonic's LUMIX Webcam Software (Beta) supports the S9 on Windows 10 and 11 and macOS 12 and 13, but not macOS 14 or later. On a newer Mac, HDMI out to a capture device is the route.