Amazing review, really unbiased. I’m really split between selling my Fuji lenses and going to Lumix S5 II ( drowned my XS-10) or buying the X-H2. The only lens stopping me is the XF 70-300 which is light, compact, with great image quality used for my travels in national parks. Doesn’t seem to have an alternative for L-mount for the range it has.
Unless you are dealing with loads of low light situations I'd stick with Fuji. I only sold my Fuji gear as I deal with a lot of low light action photography and can notice the difference.
Although my suggestion counters being lightweight and does not use native glass, if you are wanting more telephoto options for L-mount you could consider the Sigma 100-400. Another option is the Sigma MC-21 which adapts Canon's EF range of lenses to L-mount too which is full of tele options and retains AF, though bulkier option. If you value portability vs low-light IQ, then perhaps staying within the X-system would be more sound as going full-frame really adds to your bulk with full frame lenses.
The couloir science on Fuji is more pleasant and the film simulator's on Fuji is fun to use. I own both and end up selling Lunmix and keeping the Fuji.
Having shot professionally with L mount and X mount the last 5 years, I think I prefer Lumix colours. Just sort of brighter and nicer for weddings. The Fuji filters are always less fun than I want them to be and no real use at a wedding. Still, both great.
I sold my original S5 to purchase an XT-4 because of the better "all around" capabilities of the Fuji. And because I couldn't get past the AF issues of the Panasonic. After over a year of shooting with the XT-4, the S5II was announced and immediately placed an order. The Fuji was a stellar camera in near every regard, but I didn't realize how important a lot of the video assist functions were to me until I didn't have them. I'm curious if the X-H2 has a comparable suite of video assist functions to the S5II, because that's now become a major consideration when I look at a hybrid camera. It easy to compare things like megapixels and focus points, but the smaller functions(Luminance spot meter, synchro scan, etc) can make the difference in a close comparison such as this one. Great video as always. Thanks for your every pragmatic perspective on cameras.
Thank you! That is why the title says Hybrid Comparison, I generally don't do in-depth reviews for filmmaking on this channel. I only use video assist features provided by larger external monitor, which makes more sense IMO. I don't know about synchro scanning, I have never has any issues with flickering as long as the camera is set to correct region frequency. Spot metering is available of course.
My X-H2S has a flicker free shutter speed setting. It lets you change the shutter speed in very small increments. I don’t know if the X-H2 shares this function.
Thank you for this! So many reviews between the S5 II vs GH6. While the GH6 is awesome (and as I still have a ton of M43 lenses would love to snag one if it ever gets a G9 type price slashing), no one really has been comparing these two, which I think is the real battle at the 2k USD price point.
Really great comparison! This video is what I was waiting for! Making a decision between these 2 camera's is near impossible without using them. You can't go wrong with neither of these camera's, it's a preference! I don't own a camera yet, it's choosing a system. Do I want to go for a L-Mount Panasonic system or a x-mount fuji system. Every system has its advantages and disadvantages, the question is how much are you willing to adapt to the system you choose. Is it limiting me in the the way I see and want to capture the world around me?
Thank you for the excellent video! Can you please comment on the difference in rolling shutters? Did you notice any major difference, particularly at 4k/60?
After a few weeks research i narrowed it down to these 2 cameras and the Sony A7 IV. I prefer full frame (not because better iso in low light but the look of the lenses with the original debt of field) but the X-H2 is the only crop camera i would buy in 2023.Panasonic has awesome rebates right now on lenses if we bundle with a new body, S5II + S 24mm 1.8, S 35mm 1.8 , S 85mm 1.8 all for $3,000 is unbeatable value.Sony would cost about $1500 more for same setup.Tough decisions.
I was torn between these 2 cameras because both were on sale. That 40mp and 8k sounded great especially for under $2000. I chose the S5ii since I had a flash for Panasonic and uhs ii SD cards.The Fujii was $200 more plus I would need a flash and cf express card. Plus Panasonic sale prices I got the S5ii with the 20-60 and 590 1.8 for 2147. That is less than the normal price of the s5ii kit
My favorite thing about the XH2’s resolution is the digital teleconverter/zoom. Works in both videos and stills. It makes my sharp, bright primes into flexible zoom lenses. Edit: My XH2 did overhear significantly sooner than my XH2S. Now the cooling fan lives on the XH2 and I’ve not had any problems.
Excellent comparison! Did you notice moire patterns on the s5ii due to the lack of AA filter to the sensor?And if so is it going to be a problem on professional work?
Really good comparison man. I just don't think the S5ii offered enough over my S1 other than the phase AF. I just got the XH2, my first Fuji. The 8k RAW, internal Prores, 15fps mechanical is what sold me on it. Keep up the great content!
Thank you! Unfortunately, that question would require a couple of 20 min. long videos to answer. I don't have R6 II, but there is a comparison between the A7 IV and X-H2 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-HG2hJOx397s.html
Hi. This Video was great, thanks a lot for your work! I'm using the Fuji xt3 since 3 Years, now the time to upgrade has come. My lenses all are based on xf versions 18-55, 10-24 and 70-300. And.....I can't take a decision. Omg, it's so f****ng hard. I'm not sad with aps-c but something in me is looking for a FF.... Please help. I'm watching and reading such a lot and it seems that every sentence in a text or second in a reviev makes it more difficult for me. I like to shoot Vids in 4/60 10bit 422 that's enough for me. But I'm an absolute Picture fetishist, especially Architecture, Nature and Vehicles. My Budget is around 3k €. What do you think, what I should do?
Sorry I came here looking the the same thing as you. Except to say, you can always spot a French speaker when they say they are using a Fujifilm XT3 since 3 years (j'utilise un fuji xt3 depuis trois ans..) The English is actually (I've been using qqc for 3 years now) 😊
Awesome review, thanks! I’m thinking about selling my canon r10 and buying lumix s5ii. The frame crop in Fuji is not a problem but the crop on the aperture stops me of buying it.
Would have loved to see some low-light comparisons. It's an aspect that Fuji always has handled incredibly well with basically no chroma noise even at highest ISOs, only showing a rather pleasing luminance noise. An experience leading me to request this: While not directly comparable as both use different sensors than the two cameras in the videos, and are a generation apart, we recently shot on an X-H2s with a speedbooster and an old S5. At the same ISO in the same shot, the brightness was comparable, however, the Lumix had incredible amounts of chroma noise where the Fuji didn't even have barely any luma noise yet. Of course, we had both camera's in-body noise reduction set to the lowest amount. This experience really made me appreciate Fuji's approach to handling noise which is often compared to how Arri handles noise. Going forward, we'll shoot everything above ISO 2500 with the Fuji.
There is an ISO comparison segment in this video. There is nothing special about the low-light performance of Fuji cameras, as you can see in that comparison. It performs like any other APS-C camera with BSI sensor, therefore it can't match full frame cameras.
Great review. I felt like early reviews of the xh2 were fairly unenthusiastic. Otherwise, I might have taken a much closer look at it. Overall, looks like both of these cameras are really good value for the money and really a tough call. About the lens selection though - like you said, the lineup isn't as complete for the xh2 when you consider some lenses aren't going to fully resolve all 40mp to its potential. Personally, I went with the s5ii and don't have a pc that could even handle 8k video but I think I'd be perfectly fine with a xh2 had I decided the other way.
Thank you! I haven't really said that. Resolving 40 MP is not ON / OFF thing, I have tested some below average lenses with 40 MP sensor and the results are quite interesting.
Got 2 X-H2s because they were faulty both had error message to remove battery to reset (this was during Jul & Aug) .. moved from Xh-1 and use to love the system. Then I exited to another brand but still miss Fuji sometimes
Very Nice & Really Good Comparison William :) Please kindly, where did you find out that the Lumix S5 Mk II sensor is BSI type? Panasonic officially lists everywhere CMOS only... And if is 100% BSI, is produced by Sony? - - - ..btw, better direct rival - in Specs case - for S5 II - esp. for S5 II X from 26th May 23 (I Can't Wait! :) - is/will be X-H2S ;)
Thank you! I can’t tell you that. The performance of this sensor is identical to other FF BSI sensors, so it is 100% BSI. I can only tell you that that there is a very high probability that it is made by Sony. X-H2S is not a more direct competitor. That is a camera with stacked sensor mainly intended for fast action.
@@TheHybridShooter ..not only for fast action in 'stills', better esp. brighter per pixel and faster in reading 26,16Mpx Stacked BSI sensor should be beneficial for video too ...or not? :) About 'BSI' sensor of S5 II I have same opinion. I don't believe any commercial FF FSI can be the same in low light and noise. For more I asked Panasonic CZ helpline by mail - hope we will SEE in their reply ;)
That is why I wrote mainly. Nevertheless, stacked sensor is the main feature of the X-H2S and that puts it into a difference category. Brightness per pixel doesn't matter. It helps with rolling shutter, but you loose 8K and 8K to 4K downsampling. Panasonic CZ most definitely won't answer that :)
Panasonic definitely need to update the Firmware because stills AF speed is poor. The S1R is much, much faster, as is every DFD camera I have used. I am unsure of what is holding the S5II up, but that fixed would make the S5II a lot more fun to use.
@@damianpiwecki1257 Yes, I have used both cameras back to back in AF-C and AF-S with the same settings using the 50 1,8. At the moment, the S1R is FAR faster to respond than the S5II in stills AF-S, but generally worse in AF-C.
I know that price point is an issue here but you seem to not point out that you can use Leica Lenses with the S5II? was this intentional? They are after all a member of the L-Mount alliance?
Fun? Believe me, as a visual effects artist on 35+ feature films I can tell you the S5ii with its 6K open gate feature would be more than just fun. You can easily shoot feature films with it.
@@AllThingsFilm1 my definition of "fun" doesn't mean it's any less than my workhorse. Of course it's capable of high quality work. I say it as something different to my usual gear. You bet that I wish Sony brought open gate recording to their cameras.
Especially since the X-H2S is the only one that has got the AF firmware update yet. Would make more sense to make videos about the X-T5 and X-H2 once the firmware is out for those too.
I’m torn between selling my X-T3 and getting the OG Panasonic S5. The S5 kit is currently 62% the price of the X-T4 kit, or 55% the price of a X-T5 kit… anyone moved from Fuji to Panasonic here?
@@TheHybridShooter Unfortunately in my country the prices vary a lot more. S5 kit is US$1,550 while the S5ii is US$2,790. The X-T4 kit (18-55mm) is $2,470, & X-T5 kit US$2,760. Im ideally looking for improved photo IQ while retaining decent video specs . Accurate single point AF and ideally accurate face detection photo AF. What sort of issues did you find with the original S5?
I mean... 10 mins in before he mentions full frame :))) Yes, it does matter, yes that's why it's gonna be slower to read the sensor... Good review though, thanks for the info.
There were a couple of times during the video that you mention the Fuji looks sharper/more detail. On my iPhone, it appears the opposite is true. Especially the scene where you zoom in on the filter - the Fuji image looks very smudgy.
@@TheHybridShooter he you are right. Somehow I missed that. Well maybe in 3 years I try the Fuji system again for fun. For now happy with the Panasonic
Just a disclaimer to anyone interested in the S5ii. The AF goes back to contrast detect in 48FPS, 60FPS and 120FPS in 1080P which is a little disappointing. 1080P is the only resolution mode where you can get high frame rates and full frame together. No one was expecting full frame 4K high frame rates at this price point but I would have expected the phase detect autofocus would still work with 1080p high frame rates. Panasonic really should unlock this in a firmware update.
Thanks, can you confirm it’s possible to record audio in 1080/120 fps? I know the slow and quick mode doesn’t capture audio but if I read the online manual it looks like 120p can be recorded normally with audio……
To be honest, I was really expecting this comparison. Both cameras are awesome, but Fuji was one of the brands that were a good choice if you don't want to be a Sony or Canon user. But, since Lumix got a phase detect autofocus, I think the scales will tip in favour of Panasonic. Unfortunately for Fuji, they still refuse to give their users good video tools, and Panasonic has a lot of them since day one. And now they complete the package with good AF. Nice :)
@@TheHybridShooter i’m not talking about resolutions and bitrates. I’m talking about scopes, 180 angle instead of speed, and a lot more other features that are really helpful for shooting video.
It would be nice, but those who are serious about those features will probably want to use larger external display which provides those features anyway... 180 angle shouldn't be too difficult to calculate :)
@@TheHybridShooter that’s true, yes, but those two things are only small differences that are maybe not so important. Something like Anamorphic is even bigger difference between the video capabilities of the two cameras
Anamorphic stabilisation is a great feature, but I generally wouldn't say that the absence of assist features on the X-H2 is a reason not to buy it for filmmaking, it ofers a lot of compensation for that, including that 8K ProRes at 3500Mbps.
My eyes are on the Panasonic S5ii. As someone who worked in movie theaters for several years, and a visual effects artist on 35+ feature films I can tell you that 8K is overkill and not likely to show up for many years to come. To retrofit movie theaters to accommodate 8K films - from 4K - would be extremely expensive. There is literally no such thing as "future proofing" when it comes to 8K video. If you plan on shooting a lot of visual effects, the S5ii has a 6K open gate feature, which should suffice for such situations.
@@TheHybridShooter You can take photos without any problems with dfd autofocus (DFD is currently the worst autofocus in the industry). The video is critical because of the pumping - and as you can see Fuji has it even with a specific lens (no smooth transition from object to object in the video - 2 steps with a micro-stop).
Keep in mind that my reviews mostly show extreme situations. Whilst the smoothness in those situations is not great, it is fine in more reasonable situations.
@John Spirou Those are basically the only two issues left + some lenses still have loud AF motor, but most are quiet. That is not enough to say that is a "problematic system for video" especially when it offers plenty of compensation, including internal ProRes, 8K, 8K to 4K downsampling and s on...
So disapointing that no suport in 4K60 in 2023 (crop is not count) look at Nikon Z9 with 8K60. soon the Z6 mark 3 will be introduce with 4k60 no crop. Panasonic S5 II has HDR with ISO 400 as a minimum while my ZVE10 use HLG3 with ISO 125 or so with crazy dynamic range. it also look big for travel
Crop is yes count. Nikon Z9 costs more than both cameras in the test combined. If you have that kind of money to spend and you are willing to carry a camera of that size, there is plenty of options with no crop 4K60p, including Fujifilm X-H2S. HDR is a lot more compicated than your description suggests, you might want to do more research in that area.
@@TheHybridShooter HDR is super simple to use. My workflow is like that 1. set PP10 HLG3 on my zve10 2. premiere pro understands its an HDR and creates the sequence automatically so you need to do nothing 3. I use lumetri color "Auto Correction" which work as magic 4. create export preset only need to change the profile to HIGH 10 and the color space to rec. 2100 HLG. its software encoding only 5. export the clip 6. i have Asus OLED laptop with HDR display so on windows 11 setting i just swich to "USE HDR" 7. sit tight as you never seen such a revolution in video for a long time Note: HLG setting is not so sensitive to exposure so i use EV +2/3. i also just back from phuket thiland shooting with my sony 15mm 1.4 making travel video with HDR setting
What I meant is that you definitely can't can conclude that ZV-E10 is a better camera for HDR than the S5 II just because it has lower base ISO in HLG picture profile. There are much more advanced ways of creating HDR video and the S5 II is actually one of the best mainstream cameras for doing that.
If you mean shooting HLG for SDR exporting, that is simply a bad idea. There are much better and more convenient options on Sony including Cine4 gamma with a simple LUT.
Yep, the Panasonic probably is a better camera in a few areas but there's no way I'd use a Panasonic I would not be sent dead with a Lumix camera it's just not cool and you might think what am I on about well I really cool camera you will pick up and take photos with if you like the look of your camera and the way it looks in your hands in the feel of it. You will take more photos.... The Lumix looks like a Nikon Z camera and I think those cameras are ugly as well. You look at the Fuji film and it makes you want to pick it up and take photos and I don't think that's ever mentioned enough by RU-vid people reviewing cameras the look and feel in your hands is probably as important as the componentry in the camera.
Well, the reason why it is not mentioned "enough" is that it is just your opinion...others may or may not (more likely not) agree, since Panasonic user experience is generally well highly regarded.
I teach photography mate, and I'm also really good photographer myself and if a camera does not feel good in your hands and you don't like the look of it. You will not use it and I don't care what you say to be quite honest if a camera doesn't appeal to your eye and hands, you will not use it as much as you should. That is human nature. If a camera is ugly like the Lumix, there is no way I would use it. I don't care how good it is....... Because that is human nature and that you cannot argue with..... Do you eat foods that you don't like the taste of. No, you don't..... Do you wear clothes that you don't like the look of. No you don't...... Will you use a camera that you don't like the look of? I guarantee you, you won't. Like I said, I'm a pretty experienced photographer and I know what Im talking about.
@@TheHybridShooter I’m extremely open-minded, but there are also things that are just basic things that RU-vidrs do not even look at and I’m staggered, but you do not look at. How a camera looks and how it feels in the hand…It is incredibly important if you are using a tool. What is transcends 2 is using the camera on a more regular basis. The more you like the look of a camera the more you will use it. You seem to have a struggle with that. Anyway that’s great. Thanks for replying to my message. I do enjoy your videos by the way and I have subscribed so I don’t hold grudges or anything like that. I’m just questioning Lumix cameras because they are ugly looking cameras. Have a great day
@@nevvanclarke9225 dude, what if someone you're teaching photography has a Lumix? Are you going to discount their photography if it comes out of that camera? Do people come for lessons to learn tips about photography or your takes on gear?
Sensor size isn't everything. Think about it, in video the Canon C70 and Fuji XH2S has more dynamic range than the Canon R5(C). The ARRI Alexa 35 has 3 more stops of dynamic range than the FX3/FX6. The Canon RP has the same photo dynamic range as a GH5. One of the worst full frame sensors ever created. Sensor quality is the deciding factor. Sensor architecture makes more difference than just size alone.