Lumix S5ii Review After Months Of Use! | A Letter To Panasonic 

Thanks for the honest review. I appreciate reviews like yours - where you are sharing your experiences from out in the field - much more than reviews that just list specs. Thanks, and I am now subscribing to your channel.

The footage you got off the S5ii looks so damn good. I gotta get it. Thanks for making this review!

These are the type of reviews I like. You know when someone uses the camera for more than 1 or two weeks and actually gets a sense of the true strengths and weaknesses. I appreciate your candor. Right now, I have an FX30 that I really like. However, the added low light performance and better IBIS of the S5II are appealing, but the focus issues you mention, tell me if I want to go the Panasonic route, it would be wiser to rent it first. I rely heavily on AF. Anyway, this is good stuff. Thanks!

wow I like this honesty. We miss this kind of mindset now which was the original value of RU-vid. Keep up the great job. I will watch your video about phantom LUTs

Just got mine and I love it ❤

Really great point about the Autofocus 🤔🤔 Waiting for my S5IIX test it out, so thanks for sharing 👍🏾

100% agree!! I’ve had this camera for about the same amount of time and the multiple subjects in frame gives the camera some issues. Doesn’t want to select or confirm the subject you select like the old S5. The tracking is definitely in need of help as well, like you said, you should be able to just touch and track what you wanted, regardless of tracking mode. But again, like you said, these are annoyances that should be able to be ironed out with firmware updates. Looking forward to that for sure!! Thanks again for a great video 🙌🏼

Thank you for this vídeo, that really helps me to decide before buying my next camera!

Changing the Panasonic to eye detection rather than human detection works perfectly for me. Human detection is where I got it focusing on my hands a lot. Eye or face only is the way to go.

Good channel, good info. Subbed. Keep up the good work. Future s5iix user.

One real life review, finally! :) Thanks for sharing all these practical issues that you have encountered. Else there's no way to find out about these things before you buy the camera, and then you realize if you've made a mistake or not :D

U covered all the prespectives of deficiencies of Panasonic PDAF. Good job!!! And thank U for sharing this.

thank you very much for making this vid and for talking about its autofocus problem. Good autofocus and IBIS are very important features for hybrid cameras to focus on (pun intended)😁

hey, great video. Regarding the AF issue you were facing at 6:50 , where the camera shifted the AF to the other people in the frame. You have to make sure you click on the screen again after you have chosen the person to focus on. The yellow box around the selected person will then change to have 4 crosshairs around the box. That locks in the AF to that person only. Now even if other people enter the frame the crosshair yellow box won't change focus

Completely agree with everything you’ve said! The af is very fast (which is great) but in real world use I find myself having to use the joystick and manually move the af box to keep it where I want it. While the speed improvement is a massive step forward I actually think the implementation of the af system took a step back from the s5, especially when it comes to groups of people. Hopefully they’ll listen and make these fixes soon. Even as-is I’m still really enjoying shooting with it though.

The look of this footage is 🔥

Good thing is that most of these things can be fixed via firmware and Pana is know for lots of firmware updates. But man, you have the awesome ability to create a big comparison video between the Komodo, C70 and S5! And I wouldn’t be surprised if the S5 would be a very close competitor.

WOW. This was a very great review. I too hope P. fix those issues on their next firmware update. Or hopefully, the S5IIx will come out already corrected. Thank you.

Liked and comment for the Algo. Also thanks for your honest oppinion!

Thx for the info. I will buy S5iIX anyway. Mostly for open gate anamorphic shooting and IBIS, both normal and anamorphic modes.

Love it bro! Sounds like they have come a long way but still have a way to go. I really don’t understand why a face only AF is so hard 🤷‍♂️

I rented it recently and I totally agree

Great to see this experience shared Anthony, and yes it's totally OK to love a camera and still be aware of where it's limits are. Amazing bit of kit for the price. One more issue I've had with the AF is performance when shooting 60fps for S&Q. The cropping is disappointing at 60fps, but more importantly the AF looks like it reverts back to DFD. I get humming and it frequently drifts off my subject during a take. When there's too many subjects in the frame, it just panics - it doesn't pick one person and hold. Even worse when I'm lining up a shot and grab focus before rolling video, using the half shutter, when I hit the shutter to begin recording THAT is the moment the AF suddenly jumps off base. Not only do I miss the critical moment I was aiming for, but once recording at 60fps the AF is super slow to realise it's missed. I get five seconds of bokeh instead of the subject. Only an issue at the higher frame rates, but that's where I do a lot of my stuff.

Thanks for the useful honest info , subscribed . 👍

Thanks again. How does the autofocus do in just talking head situations like this video? Is it flawless?

Great video. I just preordered the s5ii as my new bcam specifically for using in certain interview situations where I'm operating another camera and need decent AF. Your findings are interesting but don't scare me away, I guess that for simple talking heads the AF is good enough

everything you said is true and correct, I hope that panasonic will do a software update in the future

I agree with your assessment too and bought the camera with a lot of excitement and enthusiasm and sold all my Lumix m43 gear to buy into the full frame environment mostly for still photography. But I have a hard time controlling where the autofocus locks in groups of people like others who have commented. I use the joystick to have the yellow box select the right subject in full screen human detect continuous autofocus mode and it quickly moves off to other subjects. I'm not sure if single point is the way to go in those instances. It's frustrating and much more complicated than I think it should be. I'm taking more time thinking about which autofocus mode to use than focusing on the subject and composition. I'm hoping firmware can fix these issues. Thanks for your honest assessment.

As a owner of the S5II, I agree absolutely with you.

Thank you for a really useful review.

Super helpful video. Thanks. Thinking of buying the S5II x specifically for anamorphic, but was going to use the SIRUI 1.6x, but I’m worried about not having a 1.6x anamorphic stabilisation mode. Have you tried this combination?

I shot a wedding recently and experienced EVERY SINGLE ONE of these problems...man I wish Panny got it together, quality amazing tho...

Very helpful. Thanks!

Great video! I have the S5II and totally agree. Still an incredible camera for the price and I don’t regret buying it. But would love to see some firmware updates to the auto focus. My main issue is it will just randomly jump to the back of someone’s head even if I have a face clearly in the shot that was in focus. Even if I put a single area box around the head it still jumps sometimes which makes no sense.

It almost sounds like you’re describing the auto focus in the original S5. This is exactly why I’m happy I didn’t upgrade. :-) I hardly ever use auto focus anyway, but I have these exact same issues in the S5. And I actually think the auto focus is pretty good in the S5, even without phase detect auto focus. Sounds to me like they made it more powerful, but just didn’t implement everything properly yet, I’m sure it will improve. Great video, thanks so much for sharing.

Agreed with the touch tracking. Used it all the time on sony. I dont even bother using it anymore on the s5ii. Hope lumix updates this in a firmware update

As an S5II hybrid shooter, I agree with your assessment. These issues also extend to photo which is quite annoying, but I’m putting up with it because it is a vast improvement over the original S5, and because Panasonic will address these issues via firmware. The image quality is on par with the A7IV in video, but the photo quality and the easiness of editing raw photos is great. The A7IV would start to break apart at ISO 1,600 and I have to push the S5II to ISO 3,200 to get the same results grain-wise, but it somehow still looks cleaner. The S5II will be coming out next month, so I expect that there will be a massive firmware update to put the S5II on par with the S5IIX (AF-Wise, of course).

Thank you for the video and the amazing quality. I love how the Panasonic s5ii stands right next to the c70 and I don't see a huge difference in image quality. I was dead set on getting the s5ii this week but this video has planted a seed of doubt in my mind as I'm planning on also shooting a lot of weddings with this camera.. Currently debating this over the Fuji XH2s.. Thank you for the video and the food for thought, would value your opinion!

Nice to see a RU-vidr confirm my frustrations. I had so many issues with it across a few shoots I just returned it and stuck with my Sony stuff. I can see they’re close, hoping they get there with firmware

Completely agree. Really hope #panasonic can fix or at least improve this soon!

Thanks for all the Informations!! One question: Which Picture Profile do you recommend? Thx😊

Thanks for this video! I'm currently filming on a 5dmkii :D and have been debating where I go next... canon, sony, panasonic. With my current setup as a comparison I think the s5ii is an easy choice now! Cheers.

Nice review and appreciating your sincerity. I still think I'm holding out for S5iix based on all indications. I've been living with panny m43 for years, so this is a step forward.

The AF issues sound like something that can be fixed with firmware updates. I'm not an early adopter, so I wait at least a year before a camera is out to get into the system (also leads to better deals on the market, tbh). Thanks for the feedback though! The S5II X seems like where I'll be going, especially with that Kondor Blue SSD handle

GH5 have open gate 6K in h.265 and 200 bits. My favourite profile to use. Dropping HLG on top of it and you are ready to proceed top video projects.

Thanks for the update. The a7iv looks great because of the autofocus, but this camera has so much to offer. If I turned off the autofocus, do you think I could use this camera to shoot skits with multiple people moving in and out of frame and waving things around? I'd be in the shot, so I wouldn't be able to control the camera. I'd set it for a wide aperture for deep depth of field, I guess. Would that work?

Thank You!

Nice review man.

Random question - When you're using this camera with an external monitor, are you able to change the Output resolution(ex sending a 1080p or 4K signal when you're shooting in 5.9K)? For some reason when I plug a monitor in that feature gets greyed out and @Lumix USA does not respond to their support emails apparently...

Remember it is new to Panasonic. Im sure they will have firmware updates like they did in previous cameras. enjoy

It's only through being objectively critical that things can improve. Explaining away faults doesn't benefit anyone. It's in Panasonic's court now to fix the AF.

I have other weird problem. When recording at 1080p the autofocus i so much slower and worse than in 4K. I don't know what causing it but i get very annoyed when in 4k af is fast and reliable but in 1080 it thinks and it is not very fast. Also when taking pictures, many of them have missed focus, even though I tested many modes and practically nothing improved.

Thinking about getting it for content creation instead of the ZV-1 after the overheating news, but dont have much knowledge on the L mount lenses and what's best to pick? as I said its for content creation (talking heads) and live streaming so regarding this camera (and its cropping) what's best glass to get?

pretty much what we discussed after filming the fx30 comparison haha

Question: With the autofocus issue you've addressed could you accommodate this with a follow focus attached to the lens? I guess my question mainly refers to, can you turn off autofocus on the camera and use the follow focus as the needed accessory. I'm also asking mainly for narrative filmmaking which is what I do. I guess this could be an important answer as I'm liking all the other qualities of this camera, but I would like your further thoughts in regards to this. Thank you

Interesting video - I think that's where Sony and Canon still have the edge - the use of AI processing to make human like decisions in autofocus. The brand new Sony autofocus system is smart enough to focus on someone's eye and then as they turn away from camera switch to their shoulder then back to their eye when it's visible to the camera again and it's pretty seamless.

I think it could be helpful if you mention the lenses or lens system you are using. I remember CVP or ProAV (If I'm not mistaken) find that using EF lenses with MC1 adapter resulted into more success when comes to PDAF than using native L mount lenses. If you have access to both lens mounts please share your findings to this. Also, I tend to be a bit forgiving for Panasonic as we all know how bad first generation PDAF of other companies were before they managed to nail them. So, as much as AF goes, I still believe the only way for Pana is to get better. It might take a while but I believe the S5II is already good take when considering that it's their first generation. Thank you and great content. Automatically subbed.

I haven't tried this on the S5 ii but on old Panasonic bodys if you click the stick in it will put these perpendicular lines that will force a true confirmation of the person you want just something to try there's a video made by @Luca Bono I would say if you can try this out when filming people again I've never used the mark ii so I have no idea if it helps it or not

Question I noticed vlog is a little noisy in shadows and I’m coming from the c70 clog2 and never had this problem. Do you expose vlog slightly higher ? And do you change the noise reduction function in camera at all?

Angry button mashing arrrggg. lol. Honesty it's a great point about the AF. Canon Nikon and Sony have had a few generations of phase AF to finetune their algos. I'm sure Lumix will make adjustments in their firmware as they go. I use tap to track on my Canons all the time. It's great that when you tap the screen it overrides whatever subject the camera is set to track. I bet next year this time Lumix will have that feature too.

I think we've got to the point where cameras have all become so powerful and mostly comparable to each other, that other things such as features, assist tools and lenses are what people are staring to look at when buying a camera or choosing a system. I feel like Sony, while they make amazing and capable cameras, they have really dropped the ball in regards to things like assist tools and certain features. Instead of updating their cameras to include things such as open gate, waveforms, shutter angle. etc, it seems like they just want you to buy a new camera all together. I think if cameras like the FX3 or FX30 have "Cinema Line" in their names, they should include basic features of a cinema camera. I feel like both Panasonic and even Fuji to a lesser extent have really been kicking things up a notch in regards to features. The S5ii in particular looks like such a beast and the price is tempting me more and more!

What lens adapter do you use from EF to L?

Be interesting to see if the new firmware just announced (oct 2023) does anything to help this

I love the human selection and I'm surprised more cameras dont have that. I'm looking for to this as I just ordered my S5ii. Too bad it doesnt stay on the subject you choose. I like my A7IV but this camera truely has some advantages over it and the sony just has a couple of advantages such as lens selection.

Good news it the AF is still focusing automatically… just on the wrong thing. So it’s not the core tech, it’s the back end face/object identification and prioritization. Canon for example has had “face only” since at LEAST the C200. Adding some prioritization options in the AF menu alone would solve most of these issues.

I found the same things in my tests as you. The autofocus works mostly, but it has the quirks you mentioned. I haven’t done a video about it because I don’t want to deal with the hate 🤣🤣

After this new assessment, where would you place this camera on your recommendation list for people regardless of skill level?

I might be misunderstanding something, but it sounds like you were saying the S1H was the only mirrorless feature to have open gate? I'm confused, because the GH5 and GH6 have open gate as well, which are cheaper than the Lumix S5ii.

How is the moire on the S52 for video? I have the original S5 and shoot Braw to the video assist because it practically eliminates rainbows on highly detailed shots because of the 6K. Are you using diffusion for this reason? Love the new autofocus options, but want to see if they do an S1H refresh with an OLPF before making any upgrades. And I asked in a Lumix live Q&A recently and they confirmed there will definitely be no OLPF for the S5 line. Great video, thanks for sharing!

Im waiting for the s5llx i hope they fix the auto focus problem ,

Hey there... GREAT VIDEO!!! I am a hybrid wedding shooter and I can't find this specific answer anywhere and hoping someone here can help. What happens when you are in photo mode but hit the RED record button? Will it record using the CURRENT settings in Photo Mode or will it switch to the last VIDEO settings from Video Mode? I hope it pulls from the video settings and even uses the Log format and LUT preview too, despite being in Photo mode and then jump back to the Photo settings when I end the video clip. Thanks for any help on this.

What firmware were you on when having these AF issues? There were some updates with Firmware 1.1 which came out at the end of March.

This camera looks awesome im all about that ibis

These are the same complaints (and pros) i have with the regular S5. That's both interesting and frustrating. After you tell it to track, do you still have to double confirm that that's the thing?

hey could you make a video or have you made a video on the lens selection for this particular camera?

What AF area mode are you using? I found that the Full area is not very useful for the reasons you mentioned. I switch to using Zone and now I don’t have any of the quirks. This is regardless of sensitivity/speed settings.

Thanks! Very good one! Does the camera AF works well with EF lenses? Also what happens if you use a EF lens with IS and turn it on? On the GH5 if I adapt a EF with IS you can only have either body or lens IS. They don't work both at the same time.

I’m trying to take the leap into full-frame cameras and I’m strictly a photographer. This camera piqued my interest with all of its features but all of the reviews I see are about its videography abilities. I know it’s advertised as a hybrid camera but is this camera more for videography vs. standard photography?

Hey Anthony. There's also no PDAF in 1080p 50/60 and 100/120fps modes - old contrast-detect AF only.

Thinking of purchasing. We’re any of these issues ever corrected?? Great video btw 🦾

what was wrong with R5C , I'm trying to get it . they have updated it . let me know what you think ?

You wrote about the S5ii dropping focus when you have your hands near the camera and in front of you when you are talking to the camera. I have a Lumix G80 (G85 in North America) and programmed it (took a picture of myself) with me as a profile. Now when it is in human detect it looks for and locks on me. Cannot recall when it did not lock on me and there is none of this hand distracting the focus. More than five yr old camera getting it right so surely you could do something similar on the S5ii?

Have you tried the Auto focus using a Panasonic lens? You are using a Sigma, may be Sigma's need a firmware to make it even better? Vishay Bhatia (Just bellow this) mentiones the double click on the screen to lock the main person)

Hey, I'm really confused if you can help me out. Your video bdw really is helpful. I'm in clash between sony a7iv and lumix s5iix. My work is of making BRolls and Ad Videography. Which one i should go with ?

are there any problems with autofocus in 1080p, from what i heard it s not good

The AF is definitely a big step up, but it's first gen. That's why I gave it a pass owning the OG s5. I might jump on the next iteration for my main camera. The AF should gain more maturity

Has the auto-focus improved since the latest firmware update?

Does some anoying points has been fixed ?

do you know if its hard to color match this camera with the bm 6k pro?

Hello Anthony❤, Is there a way to authenticate lumix camera(because I am buying a new S5ii off Facebook Marketplace), is there such thing as fake cameras? Anything like serial number that I can check. Please share thoughts 🙏🏻

At least it can choose the person you want to focus on unlike some other expensive brands

I'm going to invest in my first full frame and I'm completely undecided between the Sony A7SIII and the Lumix S5IIX. Sony seems very reliable to me, but I have doubts mainly due to the lack of updates and also because it is an older camera. On the other hand, I have an amazing recent camera with a great price, but which raises questions about Rolling Shutter and 60 fps cropping. What would I recommend? I've been in this cruel doubt for months! 😅

What camera did you use to shoot this video?

good points. thank you. your B roll is strange, the clips are unrelated to what you're talking about. your info is excellent. you mentioned some things about the focus tracking. can you demonstrate it?

No issue with the AF for me, biggest issue is the overprocessing : sharpness and details filtering with most picture profiles. Aside V-Log, pictures profiles look bad, in 6K they look oversharpened, and in 4K they have weird details filtering in low light.

@Lumix USA - When are we getting a firmware update?

Would you recommend the S5ii or the FX30?

I’m still happy with my s1h-Bs1h-gh6 workflow. Pdaf in panny isn’t exciting to me. I shot Sony and switching to panny taught me how to MF and well, I think I’m good lol thanks for being honest!

Wow this video is amazing, what lens do you use?

did they update the autofocus issues at 6:50 with update ?