Jimmy Cheng of RED35 is a London-based photographer whose channel has been built on Micro Four Thirds since its beginning. He shoots street and travel on an OM System OM-3 and films on a Panasonic GH7, and he has used nearly every flagship from both brands. That background is why his statement about the YoloCam S7 matters: for the previous five weeks, every live stream his audience watched came from the S7, which quietly replaced his Olympus E-M1X as his streaming camera. He went further, calling it potentially “the next generation of Micro Four Thirds camera.”
Design: “Reminds Me of Leica”
Jimmy described the S7 as clean, smooth and premium, with a full-metal housing that reminded him of modern Leica cameras. The grip is comfortable, and the solid body has enough weight that a heavier lens does not make it front-heavy. He was clear about what it is not: there is no shutter button and it does not take stills. It is a video camera for live streaming only, though a very capable one.
Why You Need the App
The S7 has no physical controls, so YoloLiv Compose is essential. Jimmy learned this “the hard way”: plugged in without the app, the camera is left to its own defaults, which did not suit his studio. With the app, he found the layout logical and simple, with no learning curve: orientation, resolution, frame rate, contrast and image quality are all within reach, and anyone with basic video knowledge can use it immediately.
The LiDAR Autofocus: “Phenomenal for This Application”
The feature none of his other M43 cameras has is the S7’s LiDAR-based (time-of-flight) autofocus, which he called snappy, accurate and reliable. He speculated that combining it with traditional hybrid autofocus could produce “the world’s best autofocus system.”
He then demonstrated how to configure it for different jobs:
Face detect locks onto the face and ignores anything waved in front of it unless the face is fully blocked. Good for talking-head streams, not for product showcases.
AF-C with a large focus box focuses on whatever is nearest the lens. Stepping back shifted focus to his microphone, and even a hand could disrupt it. Useful for holding products up, but too easily distracted otherwise.
Custom focus box is his recommended mode. He resized and positioned the box around where he sits, so focus stays on his face as he moves, then jumps to a product the moment he raises it into the box and returns when he lowers it. “It works really, really well.”
AF-S allows mouse-click focus on any point in the preview, like touch focus on a modern camera. Manual focus exists but he would never use it.
His default: face mode or AF-C with a custom box, depending on whether he is showing products.
The YoloLiv 18mm f/1.4 Lens
Mounted on a desktop tripod in his studio, the new YoloLiv 18mm f/1.4 impressed him as “very sharp, very punchy, very colorful,” and extremely fast to focus throughout his streams. His main request, repeated several times, was for YoloLiv to make the lens fully compatible with other Micro Four Thirds bodies via firmware. The M43 community has “been crying out for third-party AF lenses,” 18mm is a very useful focal length, and f/1.4 at an affordable price could sell “a ton.” He would buy one himself for stills if it worked on his OM-3. He noted the lens is not weather sealed, being designed for indoor use.
He made the reverse request too: if the S7 could use the full range of M43 lenses, multi-camera setups could put a zoom on it for scenarios like bird watching.
The Bigger Idea: A YoloLiv Stills Camera
Jimmy’s closing thought was a wish rather than a review point. If YoloLiv added a battery and a shutter button to the S7 platform, with its autofocus and new lens line, he believes the company could “carve out a big chunk of market share” among new Micro Four Thirds users.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the YoloCam S7 take photos?
No. Jimmy stressed it is a live streaming video camera with no shutter button.
Which focus mode is best for showing products on the YoloCam S7?
He recommends AF-C with a custom focus box sized around where you sit.
Does the YoloLiv 18mm f/1.4 work on other Micro Four Thirds cameras?
At the time of his video, only on the S7. He hopes a firmware update changes that.
Is the YoloCam S7 good enough to replace a mirrorless camera for streaming?
It replaced his Olympus E-M1X for five weeks of live podcasts.
Does the YoloCam S7 work without the app?
It works, but with defaults only; he strongly recommends using Compose.
This article is based on an independent review published by Jimmy Cheng (RED35). Watch the full video for the focus-mode demonstrations.
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Sharon, a member of YoloLiv, has a great interest in the live streaming industry and is learning to write articles related to live streaming.
