Panasonic Lumix S5 II First Impressions: A Worthy Competitor?

Panasonic already has some great full-frame mirrorless cameras on the market, but the new Lumix S5 II finally adds a very important feature that everyone has been waiting for – a hybrid autofocus system. In this article, we will share our first impressions of the Panasonic Lumix S5 II.

Panasonic sent us the Lumix S5 II with a lens kit that includes a 20-60mm lens and camera body. in the box you get the lens, lens hood, charging adapter, USB Type-C charging cable, shoulder strap, user manual, battery and the Lumix S5 II itself.

Panasonic is taking on full-frame equivalents from Sony, Nikon and Canon with the launch of the Lumix S5 II, a mirrorless camera that costs Rs. 1,94,990 in India, for the body only. The Lumix S5 II kit with Lumix 20-60mm lens costs Rs. 2,24,990, and the two-lens kit (Lumix 20-60mm and Lumix S 50mm F1.8) costs Rs. 2,44,990.

The camera features a matte metal chassis and is definitely built like a tank. It creates a very confident impression thanks to the extended grip, which also contributes to better ergonomics. A dial, along with the shutter button, sits at the top of the camera, followed by the mode dial, which has the power switch right next to it. There are separate buttons for white balance, ISO, exposure and video recording.

The Panasonic LUMIX S5 II features various controls and buttons for easy access

The back of the camera has a menu button, a selection dial, a focus mode dial, a joystick, a back button, a display button, and a custom button that can be assigned to perform a specific task. The viewfinder sticks out a bit, especially due to the vents located on the side to facilitate longer shooting and keep the camera cool. It is also equipped with a hot shoe mount on the top.

On one side, the Panasonic Lumix S5 II features a microphone input jack, a headphone jack, an HDMI port and a USB Type-C port, while the other side has two SD card slots. The body is weatherproof and all the buttons on this mirrorless camera are ergonomically positioned, making it quite easy to use.

The camera features a 3-inch free-angle touchscreen display. The display is bright enough to use outdoors during the day, and the menu layout is clear enough that I don’t have to dig deep into the settings to access most features. It features a 24.2-megapixel Full-Frame CMOS sensor with 779 phase-detection autofocus points. It has a maximum burst rate of 30 frames per second. The camera also has 5-axis in-body stabilization.

The Panasonic Lumix S5 II is equipped with a touchscreen display

For stills, the Panasonic Lumix S5 II has an ISO range of 100 – 51200, expandable to 50 – 204800. The few initial samples I was able to shoot were really detailed and had good colors straight out of the camera. The autofocus system of this camera is also quite fast and accurate.

Camera samples from the Panasonic Lumix S5 II

As for video, the Panasonic Lumix S5 II can record at up to 6K 30fps with a bitrate of up to 200 Mbps. I’ve shot a few videos with this camera and my initial assessment is that the in-body stabilization works great, dynamic range is good, detail is crisp, and focus shifting is smooth and accurate even in close-up shots.

The Panasonic Lumix S5 II is a solid new offering with an ergonomic design and a great feature set, but will it be enough to compete with equally stellar options from other mirrorless camera makers? Let us know what you think of the Panasonic Lumix S5 II in the comments.