Thinking of upgrading S5 --> S5 II

[Pete_W]

The EOFY sales where I live are coming to a close in the next 24 hours and there is a great deal on the S5-II that has me seriously thinking about upgrading. The price is AUD $2,279 body only.

I mainly shoot stills, just the occasional video and have always found the CDAF/DFD works reasonably well for me for stills in AF-C (mostly for moving trains). However I would love a better EVF and PDAF with all those additional focus points would be really nice too.

From what I can see on eBay, I should be able to sell my S5 (about a year old) for around AUD $1,200 so it seems like a reasonable upgrade.

Reason for posting: looking for opinions of others who have upgraded from S5 --> S5-II, i.e. have they found it worthwhile mainly for stills.

 

[Pete_W]

One additional benefit I see for me is to be able to leave the camera in AF-C even for static shots and not experience the pulsing in the EVF/LCD. Has anyone found that beneficial?

 

[dirk]

We have July now. At this pont in the year, I would rather wait. The upgrade would mean that you spent 1079 AUD for a body which is only marginally better.

I would rather wait and see what will happen later this year for christmas sales, black fridays and above all for new products.

This 1079 difference will not make your photography better and does not give you more features to be able to do something that you are now not able to do with your current S5.

A new LMount body from Pamasonic S1mk2 or S1R mk2 or a new Sigma fp later this year or in 2024 might have features which make more differences. And you will then miss these 1079 AUD in your pocket for sure.

 

[Pete_W]

Thanks Dirk.

I think the S1 upgrades will be out of my price range and probably too large for my tastes.

Did you upgrade from S5 to S5 Mark 2?

 

[dirk]

I think the S1 upgrades will be out of my price range and probably too large for my tastes.

But an S1 mk2 will put price pressure on the S5 mk2 in my view. And we do not know yet, what Sigma might offer in the future or whether Panasonic will launch a rangefinder style body. (o.k, I am dreaming....)

Did you upgrade from S5 to S5 Mark 2?

yes, I upgraded on the day it was announced (I pre-ordered). Only because of 2 reasons:

a) that was a time when I still got a good price on my S5. Now it is around 300€ less on the second hand market
b) I wanted to have the improvements in video, in case I would start with YouTube videos for the photo communities.

If b) would not have been an option I have in mind (long term), I would probably not have bought the S5 mk2.

If there will come a rangefinder style body, there is a risk that I would sell again the S5 mk2 and buy that rangefinder instead. I have no interest in an S1 mk2 or S1R mk2. Maybe there will be one day a Sigma fp mk2?

 

[Pete_W]

yes, I upgraded on the day it was announced (I pre-ordered). Only because of 2 reasons:

a) that was a time when I still got a good price on my S5. Now it is around 300€ less on the second hand market
b) I wanted to have the improvements in video, in case I would start with YouTube videos for the photo communities.

Thanks Dirk.

And have you felt any benefits when taking stills from these improvements:

1. PDAF
2. Additional focus points
3. Higher res EVF
4. 8-way joystick

Or have these really not made much of a difference to you?

 

[dirk]

Unfortunately, I was way too busy with setting up the rescue forum for dpreview (DPRforum.com), so I had not really time to use it often.

Yes, I like the better viewfinder and this alone could be a reason to buy it, if nothing better appears over the next 6 months.

PDF for photography did not make a difference for my kind of shooting. Additional focus points neither. Regarding 8-way joystick. It is more comfortable and faster. Easier to go diagonal. Somehow my Panasonic MFT bodies do this still better in my memory. But I could be wrong. Have to compare them side by side.

 

[Richard Wong]

One additional benefit I see for me is to be able to leave the camera in AF-C even for static shots and not experience the pulsing in the EVF/LCD. Has anyone found that beneficial?

Yes, I could just shoot in AFC mode without the annoying pulsing.
Is it worth the money? It's hard to answer. But to me, it's really hard to go back to a S5 after shooting with a S5II, it's just a better overall camera.
I think S5II brings more benefits for videographers, but even for 100% photographers there are still quite a few:

High res EVF
More reliable AFC mode with no pulsing
both cards are UHS-II
Larger buffer
8 way joystick
Faster burst speed (esp electronic shutter)
Real time LUT

and i probably forgot some. Of course, you could wait for the next S camera, but who knows how long you have to wait. And most likely the upgrade cost would be way higher.
( Most of the rumours are completely made up by people who want you to click on their site/video )

 

[pdk42]

I think it’s a marginal upgrade for photographers (as opposed to videographers), unless you’re into wildlife or other action genres where the PDAF will help. The only thing that would potentially interest me is the better EVF - but even then, having run an S1R with its 5Mp EVF, it’s something that is quickly forgotten about. Composition is not compromised by the lower res EVF on the S5, and that what really matters.

My advice would be to sit tight and enjoy your S5.

 

[Pete_W]

Thanks @Richard Wong and @pdk42. I really appreciate your input.

I checked another camera store close to where I live and found they also had the S5-II for sale at AUD $2,279 body only or $2,626 with the 20-60mm kit lens. So I gave them a call at lunchtime today and asked if they would trade in my S5 and also my G95 which I'd purchased from them in 2019 and which has been sitting unused on my shelf for the past 13 months since I got the S5.

They said yes, bring them over for an evaluation so I left work early and went home to grab the gear.

They were impressed that I'd kept the boxes including all the packaging and the cameras were in excellent condition. They offered me $1,200 for the S5 with 20-60mm and $700 for the G95 with the PL15mm (a silver PL15 which I'd purchased cheaply back in 2017).

So the net cost to upgrade to the S5-II with a new 20-60mm lens was AUD $726. I was happy with that offer so the deal was done. They only had a demo copy of the S5-II on the shelf so I have to go back on Thursday or Friday to pick up the new camera and kit lens when they arrive from the warehouse.

@pdk42 - Paul, I did question myself quite a bit about whether to stay with the S5 which I love, but ultimately the PDAF will improve my hit rate with moving trains and in lower light, and I often struggle with the 4-way joystick on the S5 and find the pulsing EVF in AF-C annoying, especially with the Sigma 35mm f/2 where it seems worse.

@Richard Wong - Richard, it was a post from you on DPR from a few months back that I saw again today that finally convinced me to upgrade. It said much the same as your post above here - in addition to PDAF, these other improvements will make a difference and the S5M2 will be more enjoyable to use. Thanks!

 

[robin0112358]

The one feature I'd want from the Mark II is the better EVF.

Have fun with your new kit!

 

[Jonathan-Mac]

The other upgrade feature I'm aware of is that the S5 II will store the focal length of an adapted lens in EXIF data, very useful for those of us who use old film lenses.

I still wouldn't pay that for the minor upgrade to the mark II though, not after only around 15 months of use. I'd much rather put that money towards a nice new lens

 

[Pete_W]

The other upgrade feature I'm aware of is that the S5 II will store the focal length of an adapted lens in EXIF data, very useful for those of us who use old film lenses.

I still wouldn't pay that for the minor upgrade to the mark II though, not after only around 15 months of use. I'd much rather put that money towards a nice new lens

Fair enough, I guess it's a different situation for everyone!

I've never upgraded a camera so soon in the past. For me it's been between 3-5 years. The benefits of PDAF will be worth it alone. The other improvements will just make the overall experience more enjoyable. I am happy with the amount I paid for the upgrade and pleased to have sold off an M4/3 camera and lens that were no longer used.

At this stage there are no L-mount lenses that I need. There are perhaps a few that I'd like, but I am resisting the temptation because I did that in M4/3 (bought more than I needed) and ended up with a lot of lenses that I rarely used.

 

[AZ1]

The elephant in the room is 6K Open Gate. Once you start shooting in 6K and realize you can pan around the image in post and maintain 4K, it's a real eye opener. Also, I'm shooting 6K 3:2 Open Gate with Sirui 50 mm T2.9 1.6X which renders to a gorgeous 2.4:1 CinemaScope. It's just outstanding!

 

[Pete_W]

I picked up my S5M2 this afternoon.

It was late in the day so all I've been able to do so far is unbox it and start on some setting configurations. But I mounted the Sigma 35mm f/2 and switched the camera into AF-C, and the image in the EVF and viewscreen remained rock sold when I half-pressed the shutter button. No DFD pulsing.

Fantastic!

Can't wait to find the time to go out shooting.