4 Months with Panasonic S5 II - FW Update, Lenses, Comparisons & More 

My pleasure, thank you for watching!

Same!

Hey man, I am also looking forward to 24-105. Can you give a feedback for this lens with s52?

@@vaib.shfilms great lens! It's bit awkward holding when fully extended. My only gripe is I paid $800 used and they got as cheap as $650 new in the past year. The dual IS works really well. I use it for handheld high resolution mode a lot and for casual macro I've been pretty happy. The next lens I want is the sigma 65f2 because it is a bit more portable and the look of it looks really nice. I don't need it per se, but it would be fun for a specific project

Thank you!

Thank you!

Thank you!

Thank you!

I hope a g9ii with pdaf is around the corner

My pleasure, I also hope that Panasonic will make S1R successor... one day.

Me too, although, I think that the S5IIx will complement it very nicely; due to its size and hybrid features. The rendering of the S1R sensor is especially beautiful.

@@fellowcitizen I'm not a fan of S1R sensor, the DR and SnR is far behind Sony high-res sensors. I hope that the S1R II will have a Sony sensor, ideally 61 MP.

Thank you, I appreciate your subscription!

I have that lens, it’s decent. Annoying for video because of the variable aperture but for photos and versatility it’s a great kit lens!

Thank you! All samples are 4K, I don't shoot 1080p video at all.

You're welcome! Only Sigma.

I have used it on S1H, but I haven't made a review, so I don't much about it to be honest.

Thank you! I don’t know I haven’t tested it yet and I don’t whether I will be able to do so in the future.

@@TheHybridShooter No worries. Just would be a great comparison though. Have a great day 😊

Probably never.

They have almost identical megapixels on the sensors, so the detail / sharpness will mostly come down to the lenses. You will experience a huge boost in low light and general noise performance as well as dynamic range by going from MFT to FF. The GH5 when it launched was years ahead of any other camera in its class. With the S5ii, this isn’t quite the case as far as image quality and options as other brands have caught up. The AF will be a huge improvement though.

Yeah, that is unfortunate for Panasonic.

yes, 20-60mm

No, it is not a substitute for a gimbal.

I generally like the skin tones a lot. I haven't use previous Lumix S cameras for a while, so I can't compare it. I wouldn't pay much attention to complaints in this regard. Some people find Sony too green, Panasonic may seem too magenta to others... you can simply adjust it in camera if needed.

It’s my understanding that Fuji has stopped improving cameras via firmware like they used to. Saddens me as an xh2s owner.

@@jasonnowwhat5041 didn't they just release firmware v4.0 for xh2s?

@@lumilikha sure. No new features or AF improvements, just bug fixes from what I’ve seen.

I obviously wouldn't be making 15+ minutes long reviews and comparisons if it was that simple...

Im switching from fuji to the s5ii. Fuji is great if you dont have to use high iso. If you ever need to use iso higher than 4000 for clients work dont pick up the fuji. The s5ii has great colours and a nicer user experience than any other full frame

I don't have any M43 camera, I left system 3 years ago.

What did you decide. Im a fuji user for the last 6 years but switching to the s5ii because of the low light cababilities. I think its the camera closest to the fuji in terms of colour rendition and build quality

Yes.

That's the least the I can do, I appreciate your subscription!

I’m in the same boat!

X-S20 will be a completely different type of camera, for different type of use, so I would recommend setting your requirements and deciding according to that.

@@TheHybridShooter already done that. X-S20 will the best option for my requirements if the specs are okay. I'll vote for smaller body and lens. In the apsc market there are no cameras for my criterias, so I have to look at the fullframe market, even though the camera and lens sizes are not pleasing my eye. Thanks again for your work.

So do I, I though that the S5 II X will destroy the base version in terms of sales, but a lot people have have bought the base one. S5 II is a completely different league than the GH6.

@@TheHybridShooter. I agree with you. I do love the GH cameras though. Love your videos by the way. :)

Thank you!

Every in-camera preamp has some noise. "scratching" internal mic definitely isn't a correct way to test it.

@@TheHybridShooter its not just a white noise, it ruins my interwiev in silent room and I must to get audio from wireless system. I don`t know is it only my S5ii problem or common software issue?

That is impossible to tell base on that description, there might be something wrong with settings.

Not really, I am mostly using S5 II X which had those feature basically since the release.

@@TheHybridShooter more so i meant the improved vlog they said

Thank you! I am not aware of any updates.

I don't understand your comment.

​@@TheHybridShooterMy bad. I was searching for the add to playlist and on desktop is not showing the button but on my phone yes...

​@@TheHybridShooterGreat video btw 🥂

Yes, it would.

@@TheHybridShooterI also have a G9, was considering upgrading to S5II, but if I go to full frame, I’m also looking at Sony A7IV, but now the G9II is coming out. I probably can’t go wrong with any of the 3 options. Any thoughts? (I’ve been a long time subscriber, watching your videos since the G7 days.). Thanks for all your help!

To be honest, I don't see the point of baking the LUT into the footage in camera. It takes away the flexibility and it only take a couple of seconds to apply it in post.

@@TheHybridShooter for people who shooting lots of events and weddings every second counts and time is money. For me personally I like to do everything in-camera then just add a bit of contrast after. You can also add your own color grade for your own “brand”. Rather have the feature than not to be honest

I just tried it, dropping the LUT on the footage took me about 6 seconds for the whole project including the selection on the timeline... I think that it is even possible to have it applied automatically upon importing in some video editors. Losing the flexibility in exchange for 6 seconds of your time per project is IMO a terrible deal.

@@TheHybridShooter Also if you are able to retain the raw photo while using real-time lut, I believe you’re able to retain the vlog image for backup/flexibility. Being able to use it for photos is like the Fuji film sims 👍🏽

@@YanFries Yes, it makes sense for stills, thanks to the RAWs, but not for video (IMO).

RAW photo files can’t be opened in premiere. You need to export them to JPEGs first.

@@TheHybridShooter Thanks for your response. This is the only thing that I find disappointing so far with the camera. Hopefully Panasonic can fix this soon with firmware. Meanwhile I'm looking at some workarounds suggested in blogs.

It has nothing to do with the camera. Premiere can’t open any RAW file regardless of camera. Premiere Pro is not a RAW developer.

@@TheHybridShooter I'm upgrading from Nikon so everything over here is a learning process if you have any recommendations on a software I can use to be able to open the RAW photo files in Adobe Premiere) Lightroom I'd really appreciate the assistance.Thank you 🙌

I have never experienced anything like that.

@@TheHybridShooter Interesting. When "Constant Preview" is ON, if you half pressed the shutter button, the exposure will change. It will not the match the exact exposure. Here's an example ru-vid.comgD263YZmWjg?feature=share&t=5239. The video is in Japanese but you can confirm the behavior.

@@photogphotog2512 Well, that is the point of the constant preview feature. It let's you choose whether you want to see actual exposure or exposure according to the metering. It has nothing to do with AF-C.

@@TheHybridShooter Not exactly cause it doesn't happen with AF-S and it doesn't happen if you use the touch screen.

It happens when you turn constant preview on or off regardless of AF mode.

That may not happen, at least not anytime soon.

@@TheHybridShooter well I'm not so sure about that tbh... S5ii was hinted by lumix on 29th of December 2022 and presented on 4th of January 2023... Also the Roadmap suggested another camera being announced in June /July 2023 to be released at the end of 2023... So yeah.. I'm confident panasonic will hit the throttle after seeing the huge success the s5ii is having.

I have been using the S5 II since 4th December 2022, so I am pretty sure :)

Depends on whether you need wide angle slow-mo as your main part of workflow. Advantage of X-H2S is the no crop up to 4k60p, whereas on the S5ii, you will need to adapt wide angle EF lenses (e.g. Tokina 11-20mm f/2.8) as there are no APS-C lenses on L-mount. You could use a full frame 14-24mm f/2.8 zoom but those don't take filters so you'll have to see if you can get away without ND filters. However, the downside is currently Fujifilm doesn't have a 16-35mm equivalent fast zoom. Tamron 11-20mm will come to X-mount soon though. Fujifilm also seems to have a lot of firmware issues to fix, mostly in the user experience. You can look at Cine Dailies video. If you can live with those drawbacks, I would say they're similar but target different people. S5ii feels like a camera for someone doing 60% video 40% photo but X-H2S is kinda the opposite. Rent both of them to try for a week at least.

It has the same AF in 4K 60p, only 120p modes are CDAF.

@@TheHybridShooter ohh really, thanks for clarifying. I read in other peoples comments that the phase detect only applied in 24/30fps modes. Good to know!

Good point. Waiting for Black Friday.

Left side doesn't matter, the grip side is important.

@@TheHybridShooter Sure, but still, why not flatten both sides. Maybe because of the drive mode dial takes up the room in which case they made the right choice.

I have talked about the rolling shutter in the full comparison, there is a link in the description.

Yes, but there are stills some nuances such as ALL-I recording which is an advantage of A7 IV for video or high-res mode which is an advantage of S5 II for stills. As you wrote, it depends on personal requirements.

For me it mainly comes down to the philosophy behind Panny over Sony. When you purchase a camera you are signing up for a walled garden. While sony continues to push the boundaries and is generally on the cutting edge, they also release far too many cameras, barely support their current line ups, have major issues with overheating for years and still refuse to even just make the bodies of their cameras slightly larger for better cooling, generally have horrible screens on the backs of their cameras and so on. That being said my biggest issue with Sony and what lead me to Panasonic was the overheating issues. I bought in to Panny with the GH5 and for the budget I had at the time, I was tossing up between the GH5 and A6500 and i kept coming back to the fact that the GH5 could record forever and never overheat (was also freeze proof as well...) where as the A6500 was notorious for overheating. In my head I couldnt justify a tool that may unreliably shut off on me when a client is paying for my time. Panasonic's thermal control on many of their cameras is stellar and to this day I have never seen the camera's heat warning, dont even know if it has one or what it looks like on any of my panasonic cameras, including the original S5 and I live in Australia, where the summers can get pretty hot and have recorded wedding ceremonies outside with no issues.Thats not to say Sony makes bad cameras, far from it, their thermal control has gotten much much better, I still hear of the A7iv overheating however and it's just after you've used a brand of camera that feels less utilitarian and has more love and passion behind it, its hard to want to go back. They're tools at the end of the day, though and you get the one that fulfils your needs, as you said you can argue that all these cameras will fill the vast majority of peoples needs no issues.

@@jockslifeatliftvideoproduc8528 Sony offers A7S III and FX3 designed for long filming sessions. Those have no overheating issues even when recording 4K 120p. Times of A6500 are long gone, A7 III was as overheating resistant as the S5. A7 IV will keep going if you set to high-temperature mode, but it will get pretty warm. "Love and passion" argument is a very slippery slope. From my experience, staying with rational arguments when talking about cameras is a much better option.

@@TheHybridShooter The A7s3 and Fx3 arent Hybrid cameras. I don't care if people want to say 12mp is enough for stills, its not. At least its not for serious photography work and I would consider it wrong to charge clients for 12mp still photos. The only Lumix cameras that compete in the same field as the A7siii and Fx3 would be the S1H, GH5s, GH6 and the B series cameras, and all of those also dont have overheating issues as well. The A7iii was very much NOT as heat resistant as the S5. I know this because while I've owned a S5 my friend has owned and used multiple A73s. I have not once seen an overheating warning, and thats while filming in hot Australian sun, where as my friend has seen overheating warnings and shut offs while filming in the same climate. Im sorry, but you do live and mostly work in a country that is significantly colder for more of the year than where I do and I'm telling you what I have personally seen. Let's not forget the A7iii is also only shooting 8bit footage at only a max of 100mbps, compared to the S5 shooting 10bit up to 200mbps, that will generate much more heat. The A7iv has had heat issues, even in high temp, I havent seen it personally, but I have seen reports and videos detailing overheating issues and shut offs by the A7iv at irregular intervals. To be fair I have heard similar things about the S5, but I've never seen or experienced it and I've shot in 40^C. As for go with a company that you agree with, which is what I meant about passion and love. Not all of us are in situations where we can afford to change camera systems at a whim, or own multiple camera systems, so when buying into a camera you are likely getting locked into their eco system. Pick a system that you agree with. If you go into cameras trying to be completely objective, you'll never land on an answer as they all have pros and cons and it extends further than just the camera and lens line up, it also extends to the manufacturer and how they support their cameras.

@@jockslifeatliftvideoproduc8528 Nobody said that A7S III or FX3 are hybrid cameras, so I'm not sure what is the point of the first half of you comment. You wrote that "[Sony] have major issues with overheating". No, if you choose a Sony camera actually designed for long video recording , you won't have issues with overheating. Where I live is not relevant, I have used the A7 III in south-eastern Asia a lot with no overheating issues. More relevant is that my temperature measurements were very similar to S5 in side-by-side tests. Let's not forget the A7III is almost 3 years older than the S5. I don't see how the A7 III is relevant to this video or why did you bring that up at all. I still believe that trying to be as objective as possible whilst leaving any kind of "love and passion" completely out of the equation is always the best approach when choosing a camera. There is no reason not to lend on an answer as long as your requirements are clear.

Same here

Which country

Thank you! There always has to be a compromise between warping and the strength of the IBIS. As far as I know, there is still no way around that.

​@@TheHybridShootersilly question but have you checked that you that given the camera the focus distance you were using to get the correct amount of stabilization? I've also found on M43 that warping tended to be worse in very wide outdoors areas. Pretty much never had that problem indoors, where there isn't that much distance to cover

@@RestlessStoriesProductions Unfortunately, I don't understand you question.

That is not a substitute for foto / video modes, that is something very different.

@@TheHybridShooter with one dial you go from video 180 angle and V-log to shutter speed and Natural color profile and your shutter button takes only photo or video.... whats the difference in dedicated button from photo to video?

​ @mike dhmhtriou Custom modes are completely different feature intended for storing specific settings. Panasonic actually offers an option to set priority for still / video in creative video mode, but that is a much inferior way of separating setting for still and video. First of all, you can use PSAM modes on the mode dial for video with Sony / Fuji solution. You can also choose whether any of settings will be carried over between modes or not.

@@TheHybridShooter well in my workflow being a hybrid shooter in events the custom modes works great when i take 10 stills then get a video for 3 mins and then back stills ....not really sure what this button would give me in order to work faster but probably its a personal preference mate

@@sardanapalos It is not a button, it is a switch. It is explained above, it is not about personal preferences, Sony and Fuji cameras offer custom modes as well, but that is a different feature altogether. It is generally a better solution than having PSAM dial for stills and than having to use one of the modes on the dial for video or being forced to use C1, C2... buttons to replace properly separated stills / video mode.

I much prefer having switch for stills and video which still lets you use PSAM dial for video, like on A7 IV or Fuji X-T series, that is what I meant.

I can't, there are no cooperative animals around.

So did I (+ S1H) and I don’t agree with that. It probably wasn’t as bad as some comments suggested, but asking for Sony level of performance is completely legitimate. I don’t think that it was overdramatized at all. A7S III and S5 are cameras from completely different categories.

@@TheHybridShooter I would not say so, shot sport event recently and Panasonics perform very well. I'm not arguing that Sony autofocus was better, but now it changed. In general I don't mind to buy Sony or whatever, but that stupid lens mount wars, changing system needs change all lenses that is way far expensive and pain if need to sell old, buy new.... Anyway, now Panasonic beat up Sony on every points. (except 4k120, which is now critical)

@@rendermanpro That is exactly why "mount wars" are anything but stupid. Choosing the right system is the most important photo / video gear decision. That is why it is very important to understand both strengths and weaknesses of each system. Panasonic definitely doesn't "beat up Sony on very point" Sony still has many advantages over Panasonic as I have explained in this video and A7 IV vs S5 II comparison. Both are very relevant and pretty equally matched options.

I’m not sure whether we will ever see those. More likely not. Most people didn’t like the size of those.

@@TheHybridShooter really? You think Panasonic won’t follow up a Netflix approved camera like the S1h? I doubt it. I am very confident there’s a successor coming.

It already has followed up, the S5 II X is the successor. Not direct, but it is what the market demands. The whole Netflix thing is just a cheap marketing.

@@TheHybridShooter disagree. 4k 60 and 120 full frame are a thing. 8k has already been around for a while. Panasonic will absolutely make another “h” camera. Not sure why you think their entry level full frame mirrorless has replaced it

@Jason Now What I'm not allowed to tell you why I think so :) I guess that should answer your question. Vast majority of people will choose S5 II X sized camera over S1H. S5 II X surpasses the specs of S1H, so it definitely is a replacement. I hope that there will be 8K and full sensor 4K60p camera from Panasonic available as soon as possible, but it is much more likely that it will be S5 III X rather than S1H II. It could theoretically be called S1H II, but use S5 II body. That is pretty unlikely though.

It is much easier to offer it on APS-C, so the word "even" is redundant.

@@TheHybridShooter Yes, but Sony is gonna start offering it on all of its new higher priced models, as u can see on ZV-E1. Kinda wierd from panasonic not to offer it on the brand new model, while sony has the A7V around the corner in a year or so.

@@Omgiamsotriggered It is also much easier to offer 4K120p in a 12 MP camera. 4K120p in ZV-E1 definitely doesn't mean that it will be in all new Sony "higher priced" cameras. Nobody knows when will be the A7 V released, but no crop 4K 60p is the best that we can hope for.

Names of ISO scales.

@@TheHybridShooter HYBRID Shooter..WHAT'S The Latest Firmware Version for This S5II ? Also Thank You for Great Review and Your Quick Reply,,

That is physically impossible, warping cannot be worse on longer focal lengths. You will see larger impacts, but less warping. The whole situation around digital stabilisation is complicated, I have made a video about that. The digital part of the stabilisation is actually better with Sony, mostly counterproductive with the S5 II.

@@TheHybridShooter you can check the latest video on our channel if you're curious. I definitely see more warping on 28mm

@@cinematools9621 It can be difficult to distinguish impacts and warping. Warping definitely decreases with longer focal lengths, impact are more visible. You can see an example of extreme warping at 14mm in this video.

If you do replace your Sony, what is the reason?

It needs to weigh that much because of the cooling system, if it was 200g lighter, people would complain that it overheats...

@@TheHybridShooter then its battery life shooting video should at least match its heft. But it is very average at the moment. With x iteration, it can only be worse

Much like with the weight, it is a compromise. Sony has better battery life, but they larger achieve that by using inferior display.

@@TheHybridShooter I found Panasonic's compromises are not hitting the mainstream users pain point as hard as Sony and Canon's. But YMMV

My experiences are exactly opposite, if you set it more towards slow and lock-on on will wait a long time before it will refocus. As far as I know, PDAF is not available only in 120p mode.

you watching too many Sony fanboy videos, time to get your hands on the S5ii its a game-changer.

read the manual and set the focus in your needs ...if you do so it sticks on the face&eye....why people buy so expenssive cameras but are bored to experiment and read about them .... but to be honest , stick with sony .... or with iphone ...your needs are probably that