Mirrorless Panasonic Lumix S5 II

£1,999/$1,997 (body only)

Will phase hybrid detection AF make this a creator’s dream?

www.panasonic.co.uk

1 Thanks to its boxy aesthetic and deep, texturised grip, the S5 II looks and feels tough.

2 A new cooling system in the viewfinder hump removes limits to most video recording times.

3 At the heart of the S5 II is a 24.2MP full-frame CMOS sensor and image processor.

Specifications

Sensor: 24.2MP full-frame CMOS, w/o LPF

Lens mount: Leica L

Image processor: Co-developed with L2 Technology

AF points: 779-point Phase Hybrid AF

ISO range: 100 to 51,200

Max image size: 6,000 x 4,000

Metering modes: 1,728-zone multi-pattern sensing system, centre-weighted, spot

Video: 6K (full-sensor readout)/29.97/25/24/23.98p, 5.9K/29.97/25/24/23.98p, C4K/60/50/30/24p

Viewfinder: EVF, 3.68m dots

Memory card: 2 xSD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS II)

LCD: 3-inch vari-angle touchscreen, 1.84m dots

Max burst: 30fps (electronic shutter), 7fps with AF-C (mechanical shutter)

Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth

Size: 134.3 x 102.3 x 90.1mm

Weight: 740g (body, hot shoe cover, battery, 1x memory card)

As someone who’s used the Lumix S1 since its launch in 2018 and the original Lumix S5 since 2020, I’ve watched Lumix full-frame steadily grow into a system that has every right to be revered among photographers and videographers. The one thing holding it back from capturing the attention of the masses was the contrast-based Depth-from-Defocus autofocusing system that Panasonic developed and championed for years, despite much of the competition adopting phasedetection-based AF setups.

Uncharacteristically late to the innovation party, Panasonic is aiming the phase hybrid AF-powered Lumix S5 II squarely at “creators” – that annoying tribe of people who make content for a living or a pastime, in the hope of someday turning it into a career. People like me.