Panasonic Lumix S5 II First Impressions: A Worthy Contender?

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

Panasonic sent us the Lumix S5 II with a kit lens combo, which includes the 20-60mm lens and the 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 competing with 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 just the body. The Lumix S5 II Kit with the Lumix 20-60mm lens costs Rs. 2,24,990, and the kit with two lenses (Lumix 20-60mm and Lumix S 50mm F1.8) costs Rs. 2,44,990.

The camera features a matte-finished metal chassis and is definitely built like a tank. It gives off a very confident impression due to the extended grip, which also aids in better ergonomics. One dial, along with the shutter button, is located on the top of the camera, followed by the mode dial, which has the power switch immediately next to it. There are separate buttons for white balance, ISO, exposure, and video recording. 

Panasonic LUMIX S5 II has a variety of controls and buttons for ease of access

The back of the camera has a menu button, selector dial, focus mode dial, joystick, back button, display button, and a customisable button that may be assigned to execute a specific task. The viewfinder protrudes out a little, especially because of the air vents located on the sides to aid in longer shooting times and keep the camera cool. It also comes equipped with a hot-shoe mount on the top. 

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

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

Panasonic Lumix S5 II comes equipped with a touchscreen display

For still photos, the Panasonic Lumix S5 II has an ISO range of 100 - 51,200, which can be expanded to 50 - 204,800. The few initial samples I was able to capture were really detailed and had good colours straight out of the camera. The autofocus system on this camera is also quite fast and accurate.

Camera samples from the Panasonic Lumix S5 II 

On the video front, the Panasonic Lumix S5 II can record at up to 6K 30fps with a bitrate of up to 200 Mbps. I shot a few videos with this camera and from my initial assessment, the in-body stabilisation works great, dynamic range is good, details are crisp, and the focus shift is smooth and accurate even with close-up shots. 

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