Panasonic Lumix S5IIX Review

[SECTION]INTRODUCTION[/SECTION]

Operating very much like a DSLR, the Panasonic Lumix hybrid mirrorless cameras are absolutely photographers’ cameras. The ergonomics will be instantly familiar to those who have moved from the DSLR form factor, with a plentiful supply of buttons, dials and switches that make a smoothly efficient hands-on experience, rather than having to delve continuously into various menus. The S5 was a great camera, the S5 II made many improvements and the S5 II X continues this path, with a hybrid that also extends the video capabilities. The S5 II has already been reviewed and is Highly Recommended and the Lumix S 20-60mm f/3.5-5.6 lens is an Editor’s Choice, so let’s see how the S5 II X plus the same lens continue with this already well-established path of excellence.

Panasonic Lumix S5IIX Features

Weighing in at a solid 740g with card and battery, the S5 II X is a well-made, 24MP mirrorless hybrid camera that inspires confidence in its manufacturing quality. It is fairly bulky, mainly due to the extended EVF housing that dominates the top of the camera. Dimensions are 134.3 x 102.3 x 90.1mm. The magnesium alloy chassis is dust and splash resistant, plus freezeproof down to -10C.

Looking down at the top plate, there are dials and buttons for every occasion. On the left, the drive dial selects such items as the self-timer and the drive speeds. This is also where the High-Resolution Mode is selected, although the settings for this are in the camera menu. On the right, the mode dial dominates, with its firm but slick click stops. There is no central locking button, but the dial is secure anyway. The on/off switch is around the mode dial, not as convenient as being round the shutter release button but, I would argue, better than being on the left. There are two control wheels, the front one surrounding the shutter release button and the rear one on the very corner at the back of the top plate. Three buttons line up behind the shutter release – WB, ISO and exposure compensation. That’s convenient, and if it isn’t then there are alternative paths to these functions. Finally, a red anodised aluminium button is the video start/stop.

The rear of the camera houses buttons for playback, LVF selection, AF, single, continuous AF or MF, AF on/off, Q menu, back button and display button. A joystick controls the AF position. A four-way controller provides navigation through menus, has a menu switch in the centre that doubles as a set (OK) button and a rotating rim that duplicates the changing of some parameters once they are selected. The Q menu is another way to gain quick access to parameters such as Photo Style, White Balance and ISO. There is no shortage of alternative ways to operate the camera, so it should suit a wide variety of photographers’ needs.

The 3” vari-angle monitor is crisp and clear and is also touch-sensitive. The OLED EVF is superb, with plenty of detail provided by its 3,680K dot resolution.

Moving to the left side of the camera we have two rubber doors, which are hinged, not just loose, but it would be better still if these were hard plastic. The larger door reveals a full-size HDMI Type A socket and a USB-C charge point. The smaller door reveals sockets for mics and headphones.

On the right side of the camera is the large, solid plastic door that reveals the two SD card slots, both UHS-II compliant. The base houses the battery compartment and the grip connector plus of course the usual tripod socket. This socket is placed unusually close to the front edge of the camera base, meaning that much of the mounting plate will be unsupported. This is not the most stable of arrangements and potentially puts more strain on the front edge of the baseplate. Battery life is quoted at 1250 images or 90 minutes of 4K 60p video. More of the video features later, but the X version, although perfectly usable as a stills camera, also has enhanced video capability compared to the basic S5 II, already reviewed.

Panasonic Lumix S5IIX Key Features

• 24.2MP Full-Frame CMOS sensor
• L Mount
• 96MP JPEG and RAW High-Res Mode
• Dual Native ISO
• ISO 100-51200 (Standard)
• ISO 50-204800 (Extended)
• Dual SD card slots, UHS-II
• 5-axis, 5-stop IBIS with Active IS, 6.5 stops
• 4:2:0 Internal 10-bit 6K 30p/ 4K 60p video
• 120fps and 180fps S&Q
• Apple ProRes RAW to SSD via HDMI/USB
• Apple ProRes RAW video output to Atomos
• BlackMagic RAW
• Supports Atomos Ninja V and Shogun Connect
• 14+ stop V-Log/V-Gamut
• Real-Time LUT
• Wired and wireless IP streaming
• USB tethering
• Hybrid Phase Detection AF, 779 points
• 30fps Electronic burst shooting
• 9fps Mechanical shutter
• Shutter 60s to 1/8000s
• Flash Synch 1/250s
• 1,840k Vari-angle touchscreen LCD
• 3,680k 0.78x OLED EVF
• Dust and splash resistant/freezeproof to -10C
• Battery life 1250 images/90mins 4K 60p video
• 134.3mm x 102.3mm x 90.1mm
• 740g with card and battery, 657g body only
• HDMI Type A connection
• USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 connection
• WiFi 2.4GHZ and 5GHz
• Bluetooth v5.0 (BLE)

Panasonic Lumix S5IIX Handling

Handling of the S5 II X is virtually identical to the S5 II and everything written in that review equally well applies here. The ergonomics of the camera are about as good as it gets, and DSLR users migrating to mirrorless will find the S5 II X totally gels. There is a good, solid grip, the buttons provided give quick access to the most commonly needed features and the placement of both the shutter release and the video start/stop buttons are spot on.

Thinking particularly of video, as this is where the S5 II X differs from its S5 II sibling, the IS keeps movies rock solid and the placement of the start/stop button is such that there is no tendency to shake the camera at the start and finish of shooting a video segment. This means that handheld video is smoother, although audiences everywhere will no doubt appreciate the use of a tripod for most shooting. Video that wavers constantly can be very wearing to watch, and the S5 II X is very successful at minimising this.

The start-up time is slightly sluggish compared to many cameras, perhaps taking a good 2-3 seconds before we are ready for action, but once up and running everything is crisp and efficient and the controls are responsive and have a high-quality feel to them.

The user experience, be it for stills or for video, is excellent.

[SECTION]PERFORMANCE[/SECTION]

Panasonic Lumix S5IIX Performance

The performance section is where we look at the image quality performance of the camera. Additional sample photos and product shots are available in the Equipment Database, where you can add your own review, photos and product ratings.

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Panasonic Lumix S5IIX Sample Photos

Lens Performance – The provided Panasonic Lumix S 20-60mm f/3.5-5.6 has been previously reviewed at the same time as the S5 II and found to be an exceptional ultra-wide to standard zoom, at a quality level far exceeding the expectations of its price level.

At 20mm, central sharpness is excellent from f/3.5 to f/16 and very good at f/22. The edges are very good from f/3.5 to f/16 and fair at f/22.

At 24mm, central sharpness is excellent from f/3.8 to f/16 and very good at f/22. The edges are very good at f/3.8 and f/4, excellent at f/5.6 and f/8, very good at f/11 and f/16 and fair at f/22.

At 35mm, central sharpness is excellent from f/4.5 to f/16 and very good at f/22. The edges are very good at f/4.5, excellent at f/5.6 and f/8, very good at f/11 and f/16 and good at f/22.

At 60mm, central sharpness is excellent from f/5.6 to f/11 and very good at f/16 and f/22. The edges are very good at f/5.6, excellent at f/8 and f/11 and very good at f/16 and f/22.

This is a splendid performance in terms of sharpness, and sure enough, the images are crisp throughout the zoom range. Very impressive.

CA (Chromatic Aberration) is measured with any in-camera corrections switched off, as far as we can know anyway. Central figures are very close to zero but do stray at the edges where CA can exceed 1 pixel at some apertures. We are so used to seeing ultra-low figures for CA now, thanks no doubt to input from the camera as well as the lens, that it can easily be forgotten that for a zoom lens of this range, this is a pretty good result. Further correction in software could be used if necessary, but for most purposes, it is unlikely to be a problem.

Distortion is almost banished as the whole lens is approaching being perfectly rectilinear. This is helped by the camera no doubt. A very small amount of distortion can be measured, being barrel all the way with -1.05% at 20mm, -0.04% at 24mm, -0.04% at 35mm and -0.10% at 60mm.

Bokeh is good for such a small aperture lens, not spectacular perhaps, but comfortable in appearance even with busy backgrounds.

Flare is not a problem as it is virtually impossible to generate any artefacts even with the harshest of backlighting.

Vignetting is extremely modest and corner darkening is not apparent at most focal lengths. A slight amount at 60mm can only enhance portraits and may be considered an advantage.

Panasonic Lumix S5IIX ISO test images

ISO Noise Performance – The ISO performance is really superb, and the image is clean up to and including ISO 3200. A trace of noise is visible at ISO 6400 and ISO 12800, a little more at ISO 25600 and definitely at ISO 51200. ISO 102400 and ISO 204800 are quite noisy, but even here the result is remarkable in that the integrity of the edges on the test chart boxes is still maintained well, even in the black squares.

Panasonic Lumix S5IIX White-balance test images

White Balance – There is a good selection of white balance presets – Auto White Balance, AWB (Cool), AWB (Warm), Daylight, Cloudy, Shade, Incandescent, Flash, White Set Capture 1-4 and K Set 1-4. These all work as expected. AWB works well, and having the option to have a cool or warm version is useful. Generally, viewers tend to prefer warmer images. Shade is particularly useful when shooting in the shadow areas of woodland, where the light can be excessively purple in hue.

Panasonic Lumix S5IIX Digital filters

Digital Filters – Digital filters on the S5 II X are described as Photo Styles, and each and every one of them can be adjusted further to taste. This is a powerful selection of options, from warming up a cold and miserable day by using Vivid or perhaps by using Monochrome and exploring the world just as previous generations of monochrome photographers have always done.

Photo Styles available include Standard, Vivid, Natural, L.Classic Neo, Flat, Landscape, Portrait, Monochrome, L.Monochrome, L.Monochrome D, L.Monochrome S, Cinelike D2, Cinelike V2, Like 709, V-Log, Real-Time LUT, My Photo Style 1-4.

Source: Photography News
Panasonic Lumix S5IIX Review
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