Love the short straight point review, so refreshing. The issue with all these cameras is I feel the Japanese companies collude to offer cameras with slightly different features and intentional limitations. Like selling one car that has AC but no heat and another car has heat but no AC. The companies don't want cameras to directly compete with one another or with different models they sell. So if the camera aligns with the specific niche they slotted it for you be ok. I have the A74 while it has better AF and lens selection the camera over heats after 40 minutes, where as the S5ii has a fan.
I've had mine for a little over a year. Great camera. I use it for run n gun travel videos. Stabilization is perfect. I shoot everything exclusively handheld, I don't carry any stabilizers or a tripod with me. I combined my S5IIx into a rig with Blackmagic VideoAssist and SmallRig V-mount batteries. A real small cinema camera. BRAW is wonderful to work with in DaVinci.
Been shooting with Lumix cameras since 2016. Recently been shooting with the Lumix S5II and I love it. Agree that the camera is a bit slow and that can get frustrating at times. Great review!
Good review! I dont think lenses are expensive though, I mean you can get f1.8 pana primes for under 600us or the pro series for under 1500, RF lenses are way expensive. I own an S5 so I would love to upgrade to the s5iix. Keep the good work!
Yah that’s fair! I honestly think there’s better pricing in the US haha. I can pick up the 16 through to 85mm canon primes for less than the Panasonic here. And also obviously if you dip into the Leica L-mount glass you’re paying a fortune. But Lumix does seem to price things aggressively and always has sales on. Thanks for watching!!
I keep my camera on for the most part, while working atleast. I never have battery issues.. I also have a ton, keep like 2 in my pocket, I never worry about battery... so I never worry about the camera being OFF, never really experience lag or miss a shot. I can see how everybody is different and runs their setups differently tho, so I feel you. Thanks for sharing your vid. Question, if you did leave...what camera you want, opposed to the S5ii/X ?!
Excellent review and very much appreciate keeping it at 5 minutes and focusing more on photography than many others have. I've been deciding for months now between the S5IIX and the XH2S and was hoping to get your take on it. I'm stuck between the two because I am looking to find the best hybrid camera for my needs. I produce short films but usually have someone else shooting with nicer gear, so for video it would be more for talking head videos on RU-vid or some super small scale shorts for the platform, so reliable autofocus in video would be nice. My bigger priority would be photography as I do that much more recreationally but aiming to do more professionally by end of year. I currently shoot lots of street photography and small scale local concerts with my Fuji X-S20 and have built a small collection of X mount lenses. I'm aiming to get more into concert photography for bigger scale artists, but worry that the APS-C sensor of the XH2S may not cut it in super low light situations compared to full frame like this camera. I've seen both cameras also have updates on their autofocus, and still trying to see which would perform best in those types of situations as I've seen some flaws with both and neither are still as good as Sony. As for ecosystems, despite having a handful of lenses for X Mount, I'm open to getting into L mount as Panasonic has some good deals bundling the 50mm prime and their kit lens with the camera, and eventually getting the Sigma 24-70. I am a little bummed that despite the XH2S being an older camera, it's still $500 more and never seems to go on sale or have any deals online. I'm somewhat open to the Sony A7 IV but I really love how well both Fuji and Panasonic have JPEG's that look great straight out of camera (between Fuji 'recipes' and Panasonic 'Real Time LUTS' for photos). Anyway, sorry for the long comment, but hoping to get your take on the two cameras for someone who will lean more on photo than video for a hybrid camera, but autofocus performance in low light photos for concerts is a big priority.
Hmmm… I think the lowlight on the x-h2S will be sufficient for sure, and I wouldn’t say the s5iix is like, light years ahead in that department but it is definitely better, no doubt. As for video, I see no reason why the s5iix is any better for your situation unless you want the improved IBIS and recording to SSD. I’m not sure there’s much difference otherwise. AF feels solid in both, the x-h2s might edge out the Lumix a little bit though. I imagine the X-H2S will probably have a small sale coming up around the time of the next x-summit on May 16th, but Lumix is like, ALWAYS on sale, so that’s a huge plus. Not sure if I helped or made it more confusing haha!
@@Christellezphoto The latest firmware for the XH2s completely wrecked autofocus while the latest S5IIx firmware is a massive improvement. Sold my XH2s, bought the S5iix along with the sigma 2.8 zooms.
I have Sony A7iv and S5iix .. and to be honest for handheld video I am taking amazing shots using the Lumix S5iix .. vlog and the skin tones are looking way better than Sony. So am I keeping Lumix… absolutely
I did buy one very recently. Only comment I have is that lenses are likely to be a far longer lived investment than any camera body so maybe shouldn't be a deciding factor. They seem super expensive for every camera.
Been a fan of Lumix (GH5) and using the S5iix since its initial release up to now and happy with it. But to be honest, seeing Sony being hyped up all over youtube constantly makes me think of buying a Sony or switching to even just an a6700. The key factor thats making me stay with Lumix besides the stabilization is open gate. Question is, will sony introduce open gate to their next release (e.g. A7V)? Because if they do, that might finally make me jump ship.
Thank you! And yep, I used the S5iiX. Settings wise, this probably would have been in the Natural profile with my Real Time Lut applied. From there I may have tweaked contrast a little but that’s about it! If you want, I have a free download of the LUT on my website! Check out my video about Real Time Luts and the link is in there 👌🏽
Ok I’m convinced… will not be buying this camera. I don’t shoot video (anymore) and was tempted to sell my SL2 for this. I love my SL2 but 47MP !! Maybe I’ll upgrade to the SL3 and shoot at 18MP or 36MP and when needed 60MP. Glad I found your channel…. I’m also from Ontario..
I was so close to getting this when B&H was selling the base body for 17 hundo usd with a free panny 85mm f/1.8. Ultimately, I decided to wait because I'd really like my next camera to have a better viewfinder. We should see a predecessor to the S1/S1H/S1R soon. I would expect that to have the same 5.76m dot LVF and a new processor, hopefully eliminating lag and allowing more internal recording options. How is the S5ii lacking as a stills camera?
Honestly I think it’s stills capability is incredibly good. No issue there as far as I’m concerned. Easy files to work with and I really like how it operates. Only issues I have are the viewfinder isn’t the best, it’s a little slow to turn on/off and image preview… but I would pair this is the next version of the S1R and you’d have a dream combo. That honestly might be what I do if I decide to stay with the system, and invest a ton of money haha. Currently have the Nikon Z8 on loan from Nikon Canada. Used it to shoot an event and will be taking it to Italy to shoot for some brands there, so I’m excited to see how that goes!
They're offering 3 primes with it on bundle right now. Click 'build bundle' from the base camera page. I'm deciding between waiting or jumping on here.
@@Healthy_Toki viewfinder on the S5iix is definitely a letdown. But that prime trio sounds enticing. Canada never gets the good deals haha. If I stick with Lumix in the long term I feel like I will likely pick up the S1Rii whenever it’s announced. The S9 sounds fun if it turns out to be what people are saying it is… but still I think the S5iix especially with the bundles is an insane deal. My only reason for the S1Rii personally would be for my portrait work, as it’s overkill for weddings and events. Fun to dream though haha!
Thanks dude! With shipping and exchange and customs it doesn’t work well with B&H but I may or may not have a Panasonic hookup 👀 I’ve got the Nikon Z8 in for testing right now thanks to the Nikon Canada folks so we will see where I end up!
@@Christellezphoto haha nice! Yeah I work with Lumix a ton on many various projects, and was on the Shutter Showdown they did. Plus a few other things too 😉
I would say… Sony A7iv for ecosystem and lens selection Canon R6ii for Ergonomics and image quality (which is totally subjective) Fujifilm X-h2S for best overall balance. But genuinely, I think this camera, the S5iix is the best camera in its class right now.
When doing just photography I know my Panasonic GH2 you can set it so it displays the image after you take it for one second. Olympus does this better by letting you setup the display time my Olympus E-M1ii only shows the image for 0.3 seconds. I like this because its a safety net so I don't make a mistake at a wedding. How is the LUMIX S5ii setup for displaying the image right after you take it?
Custom menu-monitor/display (photo)- auto review- duration time Page 585 in the manual :) Sorry it’s hard to explain over comments but that should get you there!
Couple questions you said for photos you would not be your number one pick I actually love the files and the color which I feel is easy to edit but also see it’s a bit slow I have an R5 as well. What auto focus setting do you recommend for shooting photos and which do you recommend for Video?
For photos I love the files, I just find them usually a bit contrasty, but an easy fix! If I was ONLY photo I would probably go with a medium format or higher res camera just because of what I happen to shoot, mainly portraiture. I’ve had good luck with large area zone focus and full face/body. That’s been the most reliable for me across the board, but especially for video as I can shift it across the focus points quickly and it seems to make smart choices overall
I admittedly was baffled by the contrast thing too. The files are beautiful and can be toned down. I do a lot of pet and people photography and find the 50 f1.8 to do skin , hair and fur exceptionally well especially when you bring in real time LUT and some Fuji recipes.
Im hoping on the dji lidar focus pro W leica L to revive my GH6 for autofocus . I know its a grand but a new body is too! Suppose to be here fri. Now set for delays.i do like the s5iix except the wheel that changes my SS or angle. I bump it all the time. Have you figured out if you can rec video w the red button and take pics w the shutterbutton at the same time in movie mode or do you have to switch to A,S,AI or pic mode?
You can be in photo mode and take video clips but from what I can tell, not the other way around :( As for knocking the shutter angle, super annoying and happened to me a lot. I switched the shutter angle to the front dial and that mostly solved the problem, would be nice if you could exclusively lock the dials, but I guess you could disable all that and do everything via touch screen. Still not a great option though!
So I think my perfect scenario would be to have a workhorse camera as well as a few other cameras that I enjoy due to their style and sensor rendering, which would be older dslrs. I would probably go with the Canon R6ii for my workhorse, as I think the ergonomics, UI and image quality is awesome. Then I’d probably find myself with the canon 5D,5Dii, 6D, and Nikon D600 for the DSLRs. Love the rendering of each of those. Finally, and most realistically as a photo and especially portrait centric camera, I’m considering the gfx 50r and adapted vintage glass for my studio portrait work. TLDR: canon R6ii or if I could afford it Nikon Z8 (Nikon is lending me one for testing right now, and it’s pretty awesome)
@@Christellezphoto Nikon Z8 could be your perfect hybrid camera. I think we're so sensitive to the prices of these cameras because Panasonic set such a low price for the S5ii and we can't ignore it. The Z8 should be up there with the higher end Sony. Happy testing!
I think I may have been wrong about this. I don’t have the camera with me so I can’t double check. I don’t use open gate a ton so I’m a little murky on the details. It’s for sure 10 bit, but it might be 4:2:0 for the open gate settings.
@@Christellezphoto oooh k .. but i can shoot prores HQ over ssd at full 24fps right, and cropped 1.5x at 60 ft fps ... And 1080 full frame 50fps inbody prores 422 Btw whats sd card do you suggest for it . Ssd i know sandisk is the best one out there.
I use the Samsung SSD because I find the Sandisk ones often disconnect due to the shape of them. As for SD cards, I usually go with the Lexar v60 cards. They are a good price and I’ve had no issues. V90 SD cards are so expensive, it’s frustrating. I haven’t felt limited by buffer speeds for the work I do, but I’m mostly shooting in the C4K or 4K LongGop. As for codecs, you’ve got SO many to choose from… it’s overwhelming haha. I’d like to experiment more with the 1080p and 3.3K footage. I’ll add that to the list!
@@Christellezphoto i know the codecs and its of a bit of confusion too 😂, i am getting all the details because m getting a good offer here in India for s5iix body compared to z6iii ...i don't wana go down with nikon as their z mount don't have good sigma lens
Not really! Though I’m not sure I’ve been in a situation where I’ve had to deal with too much of that. But nothing has been noticeable on portrait work so far
Hmmm. That’s interesting! That hasn’t been my experience but I do notice that it is faster if it was just turned off rather than if it’s been off for a while
Yes and no. The camera needed to be returned to Panasonic no matter what, so I guess the question was more like “do I actually buy it now that I’ve tried it for a month”… hard to fit on a thumbnail haha. But yeah, I’ve decided to go with it!!
If the old lenses would work with the new af system I would sell you them at a great price… but sadly I don’t think they integrate well… I do have a 42.5mm Leica/panasonic nocticron you can play with.
I’ll add that to the tally 😅 I gotta say, of all the cameras I’ve tested through working at a camera store, buying and selling used gear, getting loans from brands, etc… this camera is very high on my list
Pls reevaluate 80 % for autofocus....if I have a good day I don't give more than 50...canon eos m6 mark ii has got better following autofocus then camera which cost 3 times more sorry....it is not auto focus it is almost always Out of focus
Instead of always chasing the latest and greatest specs and always looking first for what a particular device cannot do, everyone would be well advised to maximize what they already have and not just lust after the latest and greatest. Remember the equipment that was the hot stuff 10 years ago, how outdated it may seem today, and the amazing work people have done with this outdated junk. Think.
That’s why I still regularly shoot on the 5D mark ii, and other older cameras. I think if you watch through my videos you’ll see that I often talk about favouring older gear and budget options! Also, not sure why you’re watching a review of a newer camera if you don’t want to know more about the pros and cons? Is it just so you can leave a negative comment?
