I love the phone comparisons btw! My only camera experience prior to purchasing the Z30 was with my phone. I searched tons of RU-vid videos comparing said camera to smartphones. Otherwise, I was so blown away by what cameras are capable of. That Sony camera is in a league of it's own. Unfortunately Japan only sells them in Japanese, but I still wanna get one in the future. Great video :)
I have both of these cameras as well. The Sony retains AF better in very low light. However. When I shoot the S5 mk2 in 5.9k 16:9 it simply looks better at the higher ISO’s than the Sony. It has a tendency to look brighter at equivalent ISO’s than the Sony, and the detail is better since I can adjust the internal noise reduction of the S5 mk 2. In Resolve, when I clean the images up to remove any noise, the LUMIX is quite a bit more detailed in the end than the Sony. They are both amazing in low light though. And the fact that we can shoot at these levels of darkness is amazing.
Question, on your S5ii... Do you usually operate your cam at the base ISO or will you use it at 200 400 also if you don't need to be that high, at 640...?
@@TopshelfJunior I operate it at the base iso for Vlog, and try and stick to 2nd native of 4000 if i need more light. However, I will say the noise on any of the higher ISO's is really easy to clean up. And I find that where I would need 8000 ISO for a certain brightness/exposure of a scene with my Lumix. I would need 10000 or 12800 for the exact same exposure on my A74. The Lumix ISO runs simply brighter for any given value.
@@RockyColaFizz Copy that !!! My S5ii arrives tomorrow, and I'm actually going to be using it first try in a home, for a doc shoot.. Gonna just use the VLOG at 640 indoors and see how it goes. On the GH5 and GH6, even in V-Log I would always try to use the lowest possible but, this will be my first try at using the V-LOG W/ base. I'll report back.
@@TopshelfJunior I also use Cinelike D2. Its awesome for Straight out of camera. It has great dynamic Range, and you can just add a touch of contrast and saturation to touch in you want.
Good video! If you have the Panasonic 24-105 macro to test with the S5 ii, it would be great to see how the camera's performance is with an optical stabilized lens! Ty for the videos
I’d say in the normal usable range, they are close to the same. The Sony does better at the extreme ISO and also holds focus better at these extreme ISO. Having said that, with the LUMIX, I try to stay ISO 4000 or lower in low light and maximize exposure with fast lenses. Im sure this is the same with most users. I agree that shooting 6k on the Panasonic is really nice since the noise is finer.
@@MarkBennettCameraCrisis Perhaps a new location would help people like it more. The information you get from the video would be the same but might just add a new aspect for you.
Mark will you choose Lumix GH5 this one with 4k 60fps over ZV e10? recording purpose walking in city .Jusst what rambalac is doing .You can easly find his channel.
Great video Mark! I just missed the classic ZV-E10 comparison, because the S5ii, imo, looks noticeably worse than the A7IV, but it should look better than the ZVE10 in low light, right?
Clearly whenever a Panasonic camera sees defocused Christmas lights or similar, it starts shaking with excitement, PDAF or not. By the way, isn't "extended ISO" basically identical to rising/lowering exposure in post?
I think one of the things that doesn't get mentioned much is, the "noise" in Panasonic cameras, is kind of cool... In the sense where it almost looks like grain.. It has a film-like presence almost. I dunno, just my opinion from owning a GH4 + GH5 + GH6.
you just have to get softer light (bigger softboxes for your lights). once it’s shot, you can try to turn down your highlights, but if there are hot spots, it will be tricky to get them down.
Any chance you can get your hands on a Fujifilm X-H2s? I would love to see a low light test on the Lumix vs Fuji. I know would be comparing a full frame to a cropped sensor but it is a super fast stacked sensor and one that is supposed to have great dynamic range! I'm super torn if I should one camera or the other!
I would love to get it in - not sure if I can anytime soon. but I will say the autofocus isn’t on par with these two. but it is a powerhouse of a machine otherwise
@@MarkBennettCameraCrisis its the pain of changing systems since I already have my set of fuji lenses! I have a X-T3 as my main camera and the autofocus is good enough, moving to the X-H2S would be an upgrade already. But the S5II is calling for me 😅
I've seen so many reviews and comparisons and my guess is that the most common mistake in these comparisons is not using the 6K 10bit on the S5II which has a higher bit rate than its 4K (200 vs 150 mbps ) and better sharpness than all the other competing brands that are limited to 4k only.
I have tested 6K in my last Panasonic video on autofocus, I also tested it in the lowlight tests but I didn’t include it because the results are the same. I find the 6K produces a small amount more sharpness, but that is all. the 4K is already downsampled from 6K in the Panasonic. the extra bit rate of 200 to 150 won’t be noticed in any scenario that I could test.- if you compare all intra codecs like on the gh6 or the upcoming s605iix or the A7iv that have 400mbps to long gop codecs that have say 150mbps, you will really only see the dfferece when filming things like waterfalls or perhaps nascar racing. You would need to have a huge amount of detail moving fast through the frame to notice.
What options are there to provide your location with light during a recording? A light on the camera, with or without a defuser? A light on a tripod powered by batteries No expensive setups, but more for occasional use where the colors are beautifully preserved and you don't have to empty your account!
Both will be great - The a7c ii will have better autofocus but the S5II will be a bit more stable. I'm a Sony shooter myself because of all the great lenses.
So much handsomeness… Since there’s no setting to ensure the Sony is not using Noise Reduction, it would have been interesting to see a sample of V-LOG with turning up the in-camera NR.
I can definitely say your hair looks better on the Sony (ya know… that long swoop allowed to hang free… your smile seems to acknowledge this verisimilitude)
Sony did do better, with having a deeper native iso range, and autofocus. but the Panasonic still looked pretty decent. Either camera would do a decent job in low light.
I have both camera but also the S5 and I had the S1. Look from 5:55 and crop, the difference in detail rendering is huge between the Sony and the Panasonic with standard profiles (standard, natural etc). Panasonic uses a lot of sharpening and chroma noise reduction since the S5II, even in 6K. Some details on face are missing like on the skin and other are overhsharpened like hairs or eyelashes (almost like smartphone video). This is not only because the Sony use 7K but because there are very bad processing on these profiles with the S5II, and my S5 retains more details in low light than my S5II and still it doesn't look oversharpened. Even bokeh looks rougher now. Sure, you can use V-log to get ride of these processing but this is not the best profile for low light especially at low ISO if you want a very clean picture (noise free and with a lot of details). I should have kept my S1.
Please consider making a patreon or a second channel where you post stuff(videos that might not get a lot of views) that won't impact the performance/viewership/aglorithm of your main tech channel. Maybe you can do popular comment requests (ex "Lens A" vs "Lens B" in Daylight/Lowlight) or maybe more cinematic low light videos(the one with you and your wife at the distillery district with the voice over was *chefs kiss*) with cameras that punch above their weight aka ZV-E10/Canon R50. Not sure if this is a good idea or not, but I'd pay for your coffee to see what these cameras can do in the right hands/environment/accessories and/or if Lens A is better than Lens B optically.
Hello !. At the minute 8:26, it is clear that the Panasonic monitor is brighter than the Sony monitor, you can see how it shines in the eyes, and no matter how hard it lights up your face the Lumix monitor, the walls are still grainy. If you do not set the brightness from the menu, the Sony screen is dimly lit. Nice job anyway, you confirmed what I already knew, sony is better, can be seen at 10:00. I'm glad I chose a7IV, Thank you.
@@MarkBennettCameraCrisis gotcha 👍🏾, I'm trying to hold out for a s2 because i think it'll be a newer sensor than the s5ii but i don't think I van wait that long and will probably have to go with the s5iix
I think this test goes to show you that you don’t always need perfect white balance to achieve the the most pleasing colors. Objectively the Sony kept the whites white and the Panasonic made them seem warmer but at the cost that the entire scene looked green on the Sony which just looked off to my eye. That said the Sony produced the best image over all and a custom white balance would fix any problems that the clinically perfect auto white balance caused
Is it me or the grain on the Sony is totally softened, even in log ?! The high density grain on the Panasonic at high ISO in log is totally usable on denoising software, the Sony's probably not, seems like those blobs that start to appear at low bit high compression rates... I did like the Sony's auto white balance better though, if you don't want to bother doing it manually, which can be cumbersome all the time.
@@MarkBennettCameraCrisishave you tested the a7c? I realize that 24mp cameras have the ability to render ultra clean images at high iso, but especially the S5 is the best in this regard. I've heard that the a7c also performs well, not like S5ii and S5 but is good.
I'm about to enter one of the systems. I need a really hybrid camera. Sony is the best option, except for the horrible LCD! So, I'm still waiting a few months to see if there will be a launch of the A7IVa. If not, S5ii for sure.
The LCD on the A7IV is much better than the old ones. If you have't tried it out for yourself, I would look at it because it is very usable The Panasonic Isn't much better
@@MarkBennettCameraCrisis Please do a video about usability - comparison S5II vs A7IV - for photos. Focus speed, startup speed, day-to-day experience... no one has made a video like this!
Definitely no longer a slam dunk for Sony cams in lowlight. Hopefully this new release from Panasonic will result in even better Sony cameras. Rumor has it they are releasing another new camera in March or May (it started with an "m"). For me, I hope it's a new $1000 range aps-c with ibis. Lil' Dougie v.2?
As a Panasonic Shooter (And I have a Sony ZV-1 Dougy) to my eyes the Sony A7IV is better in the lower ISOs while the Panasonic is better at the extreme. The Sony’s AF is better (yeah, water is wet) As I have a Panasonic Lumix S5 I and a few lenses my next camera body (I need a second) will be a Full Frame Panasonic for many reasons. If I had Sony Lenses my major concern will be Sony build quality. I heard people had some bad experiences. How do you find your Sony cameras Mark?
@@MarkBennettCameraCrisis I watched a gazillion reviews and in one of them some reviewer mentioned shutters breaking and buttons failing on Sony cameras with screenshots from forums. That is why I asked you the question because I assume you both use your cameras heavily and you take care of them. So your opinion is valuable.
Best review on RU-vid 👌 Real AF work ad low light. 5S II cool camera, and it's 1/4 cheaper than a7 IV, but a7 IV little bit better in low light and AF low light. Also, the lens price on Sony E is better.
I shoot a lot of video, love your channel. Can you or anyone tell me how to stop the damn camera from trying to focus all the time causing blurry video??? I just want to shoot clear and crisp on 1 setting without the camera always trying to focus.
Ask yourself if you shoot in these super dark scenarios. I don’t. 12,800 tops in which case both cameras worked. Also, the A7 Iv in camera NR is why the noise is less. The cost is loss of detail. Do NR in post instead. Disclaimer- I have both cameras.
@@MarkBennettCameraCrisis I get it. Clicks and subs. You do such a good job by the way. We are in a golden age of cameras. So many good options now and people should just shoot instead of obsess about gear. /rant
@@chriss2295 yeah - I’m not a fan of these tests, really - I think demonstrating the lowlight in real shooting scenarios is better and I’ll shoot more of those.
Ok: Panasonic clearly wins (in my opinion) as shown 1:49 onwards. (I hope I don’t offend as I also love my Sony Camcorder). I enjoy your modes operendi testing camerasa (a lot of work I am sure) , quite entertaining 1. From the first test S5ii is sharper on your eye brows, your hat, the jacket-fur (fibers and hair are good indicators for testing Lenses, sensor and digital compression). This was a great test. 2. Also, Sony always has that cooler, slightly duller image in comparison to Panasonic’s vivacious "Canon" vibrancy , therefore, the S52 makes your face seems more defined, (highlighted?) which can be brought down in edit much easier than having to boost a cooler, bluer image up to a higher impact. 3. The Sony AF is slightly better, but not noticeable in practice, and Sony’s slight AF benefit is counteracted by so many of the Panasonic features, most importantly the S5ii Cooling fan, better Ibis, compression, rolling shutter, Waveform, baked-in Luts, waveform and that 96 Mpixel sharp pixel shift. 4. and Panasonic’s left side ( drive mode for interval, self timer, bracket it’s all there), I love having all of that. .. Give me one of each 😊
I was one of the people who want to see the output of the camera in extreme low light. But for me as zve10 user, I don't really go beyond ISO 6400. The clip is really useless if I push to higher ISO. If someone really want to shoot in the dark and they don't need to shoot some creative clips, having a LED light is the cheapest solution 😂
Mark since Galaxy S23 ultra has been realased such cameras owner like you are surprized with quality colors and low light .There is comparision between Sony camera for 5k€ vs Galaxy s23 and reuslts are surprizing .
Low light is good when you never do the ISO higher then 800 and it still has no noise. Either I have a useable video or not. And a noisy video is a unusable video. I am not gonna say to a couple after a wedding video shooting "here is your noisy purchased video of your wedding"
I think both the S5ii and A7iv are fantastic cameras. Interesting in that the S5ii has natural skin tones in VLog while the A7iv leans towards red in SLog. But, in the Standard profile it's flipped, and the A7iv has better skin tones and the S5ii leans to red. Weird. Personally, I would avoid filming in any ISO over 3200 (or 4000 with the S5ii). I've shot in ISO 2500 with my FX30 and it looks great. I don't expect quality going into very high ISO's as I don't consider it a wise choice to do so. Nor would I expect good quality since from the get go I am told what the ISO range of the sensor is. Dual base or not. Stick to the established range of the sensor and you can't go wrong. The Sony FX3, FX6 and A7Siii all are designed with a dual base ISO of 800 and 12,800. So, they're designed to capture high quality imagery in very low light situations. Great comparison video. And the east wing of your mansion looks quite nice. P.S. When not shooting in SLog3 with my FX30, I use Cine4 with custom settings. Cine4 is great at capturing great skin tones without the red color cast in the skin.
LOL, except who really cares about ISO 51,200. Most people even try to stay less than ISO 6400. If you look at other reviews, there are some that show the S5II is better in low light up to 12,800. Even over the A7SIII. Look at Conspiracy Camera’s review by Casey and Potato Jet’s. There’s a few others too. In this review, the ISO outside log images up to 10,000 all have a brighter image on the S5II. If you were to bring the Sony up to match, the noise tests would be different.
So... i made it till the end and watcher your georgios fairy like face again...but then it was the same end... so i watched it 3 more times... :P I bought the A7m4 last weekend but too stupid to use it. Wouldn´t it be nice to make a video: how2use A7m-4-dummys? yes ist would :D
@@tryyga2667 well, the thing is in lowlight, once your fstop is as low as it can go, you will have to rely on bumping the ISO. But i do plan to do some night time footage with the cameras in situations where I actually am trying to get good shots by keeping the ISO's at their base. Both cameras are very good in lowlight.
Don't be so hard on yourself, I thought it was small and amusing mishap. I love all your videos and your handsome face, especially at night in backyard. 😂
@@MarkBennettCameraCrisis I saw a couple of examples from other reviews, but yeah, it definitely is exacerbated by the low light environment. But that said, the Sony pretty much stayed focused even in the dark. Choices, choices...eheheh
Had to re-watch the video because the first time i was distracted by beauty. I prefer the sony skintones and autofocus on the outdoor tests. The auto iso/white balance test sony won hands down. Only at the indoor lighting scene the panasonic produced a bit more pleasant skintone. The iphone felt a bit out of place in this test, i would prefer to see the ZV-E10 instead. But good job, these videos take tine to make and i'm gateful.
