Is the S5ii a worthwhile upgrade from the S5 for stills?

[pdk42]

I like to run two camera bodies in a system. I do short trips specifically to take photos and I wouldn't want to have a body going down on me when I'd spent time and money going somewhere. At present I run an S5 and an S1R. I'm not sure the S1R will last the course - it's a fantastic camera in many ways, but its size & weight can be a challenge when travelling. So, I'm musing with letting it go and getting another S5 - but is it worth me going for the S5ii? It would be good to hear thoughts from those who have upgraded from one to the other, especially if you are principally a stills photographer. I know the S5ii offers a lot more for video shooters than the original model, but I don't do video at all so these would be wasted on me.

Thanks!

 

[Jayneboo]

Not sure I can help your decision making much on this one Paul but I have had an S1R and an S5 previously.

Both were sold, the former because of size and the S5 because for my use I did not find autofocus good enough, tracking etc, I was tempted back by the improvements, PDAF coming to L mount in the S5II. I'm no video shooter either, and TBH although there is an obvious improvement in autofocus for action photography I think video shooters will be those noticing the improvements most. For me (and I accept it could be improved going forward with firmware updates), S5II still doesn't totally satisfy my needs and I still turn to my Canon kit.

If like you I was principally into landscapes, I wouldn't see a reason for the S5II over the S5, whereas the greater MP's of the S1R still would make sense, even though it's a lump.

 

[pdk42]

Thank you Jayne. That’s helpful advice. About the only thing which I think the S5ii would offer me over the S5 is the better EVF - but tbh, the one on the S5 isn’t really that bad. Maybe I’ll stick with the S1R for the time being - I really like its handling and image quality, but it’s a bulky beast.

 

[dirk]

Hi Paul,

I upgraded from Lumix S5 to Lumix S5MKii although I had no real reason for it. It was just GAS (gear acquisition syndrom), because I wanted to see how the AF differed and I was afraid that if I do not preorder immediately, I will have to wait a long time. I mean, how embarassing is it to run a L-Mount forum and not having the first Lumix body with PDAF in your own hands?

At least that is what I told my wife...

Video

Unfortunately I have not had much time to use it. I never had problems with DFD focus on my original S5. I tried videos and the PDAF is really better. I can do face-videos and move a little bit and there is no wabbling/pulsing anymore with the Lumix S5Mkii. It keeps the focus.

Unfortunately, there seems to be still a crop in 4k 30p with the S5 MKii.

Sport

My younger son is playing field hockey. I am planning to try the Lumix S5 Mkii with the Lumnix 70-300 and see how that goes. Very difficult sport for the AF, because there is no way to predict how the boys are moving. But to be honest, with a little experience in that sport, I was also able to get good shots with the original S5.

I think the S5 Mkii has faster frame rates in continuous shooting. I sold already the original S5, have too look at the data sheets on the net. FPS is more important for me in sports, to be able to catch the right moments when they shoot a goal or pass the ball to someone else. To find the right second when face, body, stick and ball are in the right composition you need high fps without a blackout of the viewfinder. Still a negative thing with mirrorless cameras.

Still photography

For still photography, I do not think (at the moment), that you will see or feel a difference. I was planning to do more video work, so that made the decision easy for me.
I am still missing a dedicatd button/wheel to switch between spot metering etc., similar to the S/C/MF knob of both S5. IMHO this would have been important. Of course you can program this to another button. But why? 2100.-€ is not a piece of cake. If all brands increase every year the prices for new models, my expectations what has to be included and what that camera has to be able to do are increasing too

I do not know how the differences between S5 and S5ii is for high resolution shots. Maybe there is for you an important difference?

Haptics/Feeling

Viewfinder. Finally on the level of a Nikon Z6 et alii. The viewfinder of the original S5 was already very good for the small MP, but this is now significantly better. But still no MP like an S1R or S1. I would have loved to see a 5.7MP viewfinder in the S5 Mkii, but I guess they need something to differentiate for the successors of S1R and S1.

The S5 Mkii is bigger than the S5. Only a little bit, but I am notorious with body sizes and I felt this immediately. This would be an important point for me. Some say the grip would be better with the S5Mkii. I like both grips.

The AF joystick is a little bit better on the S5 MKii. You can easier change the AF point while looking through the VF. But there is still room for improvements compared to other brands.

This is all so far. Again I have not used it much yet. But I will update in this thread, if I find more differences which are worth to mention.

In my view, if you do not need PDAF and the better viewfinder, I would go with the original S5 as a second body. They are available very cheap now and I hope that 2023 will be the year in which all brands will push the market with more than one new camera model. Also Panasonic.

 

[pdk42]

Thanks Dirk.

@Richard Wong, invhis video review of the S5ii, held out some hope that highlight recovery is better in the new camera. He didn’t at the time have access to a compatible converter in Lightroom so he was not confident in this conclusion. Richard - have you been able to try this test again now that Lightroom supports the S5ii files?

 

[John Vickers]

Thanks Dirk.

@Richard Wong, in his video review of the S5ii, held out some hope that highlight recovery is better in the new camera. He didn’t at the time have access to a compatible converter in Lightroom so he was not confident in this conclusion. Richard - have you been able to try this test again now that Lightroom supports the S5ii files?

Iliah Borg covered that one in the DPR thread. Panasonic could move the autoexposure baseline, but that would not fundamentally change the capability of the camera.

OTOH, S1[R] and S5 have some weird RAW processing in the deep shadows, which increases the noise floor. I have an S5ii x on back order, so I guess I'll find out in a couple of months if they've fixed anything there. It has Panasonic's new SoC that was introduced with the GH6.

 

[Lsake]

you can probably trade in the S1R for a deal on an S5ii. The PDAF in the mk2 is something I really want, but I’m holding out to see if they announce an S1Rii, same PDAF but more megapixels. The dfd in the S5 lets me down a bit in video but I’ve got workarounds, so i can stand to hold out a bit longer… then even if we end up not getting another S1R i will probably get a great winter cash-back deal on an S5ii.

I’m very rarely disappointed with the S5 stills AF. I actually find the animal detection has worked pretty well for me.

 

[Richard Wong]

Thanks Dirk.

@Richard Wong, invhis video review of the S5ii, held out some hope that highlight recovery is better in the new camera. He didn’t at the time have access to a compatible converter in Lightroom so he was not confident in this conclusion. Richard - have you been able to try this test again now that Lightroom supports the S5ii files?

Not yet!! It's on my to-do list. But I'm a bit behind for my other reviews/videos so never get around to do that.
However, reading what other people said and the other reviews, i do feel maybe there is no difference at all.
If i do the comparison, i will definitely share it on this forum with you guys

 

[Pete_W]

I like to run two camera bodies in a system. I do short trips specifically to take photos and I wouldn't want to have a body going down on me when I'd spent time and money going somewhere. At present I run an S5 and an S1R. I'm not sure the S1R will last the course - it's a fantastic camera in many ways, but its size & weight can be a challenge when travelling. So, I'm musing with letting it go and getting another S5 - but is it worth me going for the S5ii? It would be good to hear thoughts from those who have upgraded from one to the other, especially if you are principally a stills photographer. I know the S5ii offers a lot more for video shooters than the original model, but I don't do video at all so these would be wasted on me.

I've not had any issues with the S5 autofocus for my stills shooting so putting PDAF aside as a reason to upgrade, the other new feature that I think makes the S5-II compelling is the improved IBIS. By all accounts it is excellent which is great for hand-held shooting.

 

[pdk42]

I've not had any issues with the S5 autofocus for my stills shooting so putting PDAF aside as a reason to upgrade, the other new feature that I think makes the S5-II compelling is the improved IBIS in the S5-II. By all accounts it is excellent which is great for hand-held shooting.

Ah, I hadn't realised the IBIS was improved. I know it's better for video, but thought for stills it's much the same.

 

[Pete_W]

Ah, I hadn't realised the IBIS was improved. I know it's better for video, but thought for stills it's much the same.

Oh, I think you are right Paul! The new IBIS is mostly about video. Apologies!

 

[jomppak]

My story is very similar to Dirk's one. To be honest, S5 was enough for me and I haven't shoot with S5ii very much yet. EVF is clearly better at least in overlay texts/graphics. MKii feels a little bit nicer (better grip and EVF location). AF-C works now correctly without constantly changing the focus ("ticking sound" or background problems). AF-S is still the same, I haven't noticed any changes there. I haven't yet used my Sigma 105, which focused relatively slow with S5 and AF-C was very noisy.

So, very minor changes for stills. One thing is the new high speed continous shooting replacing old 6k/4k mode. I'm looking forward to test this in next summer as video based 6k never worked for me.

LR and DxO supports now S5ii so there should be no problems for raw shooters.