Camera Review, Lens ReviewMorten ByskovAugust 01, 2023Panasonic Lumix S 20-60mm f/3.5-5.6 review, Lumix 20-60mm review, Panasonic S 20-60mm review, Panasonic 20-60mm review, Voigtländer Nokton 55mm f/1.2 SL IIs sample images, Voigtlander Nokton 55mm f/1.2 sample images, Panasonic Lumix S5 II review, Lumix S5 II review, Panasonic S5 II review, S5 II review, Panasonic Lumix S5 II For Photography, Panasonic Lumix S5 II Specs, Panasonic Lumix S5 II Specs Pixel Shift Mode, Panasonic Lumix S5 II Specs Focus Stacking, Panasonic Lumix S5 II Specs Image QualityComment

Panasonic Lumix S5 II Review

Panasonic Lumix S5 II with the Panasonic Lumix S 20-60mm f/3.5-5.6 - Lumix S5 II Review — The Panasonic Lumix S5 II with the Panasonic Lumix S 20-60mm f/3.5-5.6

Panasonic Lumix S5 II For Photography

About three months ago I had a short but pretty serious fling with the idea of getting a Leica SL2-S as I currently do not have a full-frame camera in my arsenal. For various, and mostly monetary reasons, this idea did not pan out.

Entering this Panasonic Lumix S5 II review I was mainly curious to see if the S5 would offer a legitimate alternative to the SL2-S, and see how I would get along with it as a potential full-frame option.

In video circles, the Lumix S5 II is regarded as a solid option but as a still shooter only, video specs are less important and I wanted to test drive the S5 for photography and namely see how it would work when used with adapted lenses.

The Panasonic Lumix S5 II with a Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 AI-S and G&F Concept adapter

Thanks to Panasonic Canada for kindly lending me the Panasonic Lumix S5 II over a couple of weeks in late July.

I used the S5 II, like I use my Fujifilm APS-C and GFX cameras, for general travel style and street photography in and around Vancouver.

The lenses used for this review were the Panasonic Lumix S 20-60mm f/3.5-5.6, Nikon Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 AI-S, Voigtländer Nokton 55mm f/1.2 SL IIs, and Voigtländer Ultron 75mm f/1.9 MC. Thanks to Julian and Kyle for lending me the proper adapters.

A yellow cab in downtown Vancouver, Canada. Sample image from a Panasonic Lumix S5 II and Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 AI-S. — Downtown, Vancouver, Panasonic Lumix S5 II, Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 AI-S

Introduction

The Panasonic Lumix S5 II was introduced in early 2023 and is available also as an S5 IIx version which further enhances video options.

The big splash from Panasonic with the S5 II is the introduction of distance-aware phase detection autofocus and AI-trained subject recognition.

Importantly also, the S5 II gets a 3.68m-Dot 0.78x-Magnification OLED EVF, a significant upgrade from the Mark I version and the camera is now in line with cameras such as the Sony A7 IV, and Canon EOS R6 II.

At the time this article was written the Panasonic Lumix S5 II retailed for $1,997.99 and bundled with the Panasonic Lumix S 20-60mm f/3.5-5.6, $2,297.99.

The Panasonic Lumix S5 II with the Panasonic Lumix S 20-60mm f/3.5-5.6

Panasonic Lumix S5 II Specs

24.2MP full-frame CMOS sensor
5-axis sensor-shift image stabilization
779-point phase-detection AF system
Video: 6K30p 4:2:0 10-Bit, 4K60p 4:2:2 10-bit mode
96MP pixel shift multi-shot
Dual UHS-II SD slots
3.68m-Dot 0.78x-magnification OLED LVF
3.0" 1.84m-Dot tilt/free-angle touch-LCD
1.45 lb / 658 g (body only)
1.64 lb / 744 g (with recording media)

Dark clouds at sunset at English Bay in Vancouver. Sample image from a Panasonic Lumix S5 II and Panasonic Lumix S 20-60mm f/3.5-5.6. — English Bay, Vancouver, Panasonic Lumix S5 II, Panasonic Lumix S 20-60mm f/3.5-5.6 f/7.1, ISO 100, 1/1600s, 60mm

Handling the Panasonic Lumix S5 II

Buttons, dials, grip, card slot, and battery door all feel quite refined and operate with ease of a good quality feel. The grip has room for three fingers with a nice indent and the rubber has an assuring soft but not too soft feel which gives you an excellent grip on the camera.

I was worried that the 3.68M-Dot EVF would disappoint as the Sony A7 IV did but found it to be significantly better than the A7 IV. It may not rival the EVF of the Leica SL2-S or Fujifilm X-H2 but is certainly good, and good enough for manually focusing my adapted lenses.

The eyepiece is nicely recessed from the body and the rubber ring around is solidly built with good firmness. I find this to be a good implementation and it reminds me of the Leica SL2-S and gives some space between the eye cup and the rear LCD eliminating nose rub on the LCD.

The Panasonic Lumix S5 II shown with an adapted Voigtländer Ultron 75mm f/1.9 MC. — The Panasonic Lumix S5 II shown with an adapted Voigtländer Ultron 75mm f/1.9 MC

This also means you can keep touchscreen functionality on without accidentally making changes.

The shutter sound is quick, determined, and reassuring at the same time. A quiet mode is also available.

Menus are intuitive, easy to read, and remember where you were the last time you made changes. This is such a relief compared to Fujifilm. I was surprised how quickly I adapted to this menu system and had only minor speedbumps in getting the camera set up to my liking.

The Panasonic Lumix S 20-60mm f/3.5-5.6 (kit zoom) is very light at 12.35 oz / 350 g and has a bit of an airy feel to it. However, when mounted to the camera it has nicer quality feel to it with a firm and accurate zoom ring that won’t travel by mistake.

Lifeguards at English Bay Beach in Vancouver. Sample image from a Panasonic Lumix S5 II and Voigtländer Nokton 55mm f/1.2 SL IIs. — English Bay Beach, Vancouver, Panasonic Lumix S5 II, Voigtländer Nokton 55mm f/1.2 SL IIs

In Action

The new phase detection autofocus feels okay. I like how it will place a larger box around bodies at a distance and then a square around a face when you move in close. I used the HUMAN mode. I have not tried the Mark I version of the S5 so cannot comment on direct comparisons.

My style of shooting is not very taxing on autofocus systems but it is good to know Panasonic has made strides in the right direction.

I used the AF select button (by the S C MF dial) to punch in for manual focusing. My friend Kyle, who knows Panasonic cameras, showed me a couple of tricks in regard to customization.

Top view of the Panasonic S5 II with button and command dial layout — Top view of the Panasonic Lumix S5 II with button and command dial layout

You can use the front and rear command dials to zoom in and enlarge the manually zoomed-in window in the viewfinder. This is a clever implementation. In most cases, however, punching in was sufficient and did the trick for manually focusing.

Pixel Shift Mode

A pixel shift mode is available on the Panasonic Lumix S5 II and the best part is the fact that images are processed in-camera. Simply turn the left command dial to the pixel shift mode, mount your camera on a tripod, and press the shutter.

After a two-second timer, the camera fires off a succession of shots and compiles a 96-megapixel RAW file ready to download to your PC for further processing in your favorite editing software.

Note that pixel shift mode is mainly suited for static images without any moving parts as these will show in your images as blur or repetitions. In the example below I used the pixel shift mode on a calm morning and liked the result, even if it did create some smoothing of the water.

In this particular scenario, it actually worked to my advantage and reminds me of the effect you would get from using an ND filter and a longer exposure time.

The Pixel Shift Mode made a big difference in this image and is especially noticeable with the heron sitting on the rocks. The 96-megapixel image is 12800 x 8000 pixels in size vs. 6000 x 4000 pixels for a normal full-size file.

Focus Stacking

Another feature I wanted to try was focus stacking. You could argue that it would be quite easy to do this yourself by simply focusing on various important elements throughout your frame but the automated function certainly speeds up the process.

The image below is compiled in Photoshop of eleven images captured on the Lumix S5 II using the Lumix S 20-60mm f/3.5-5.6 lens at f/8.

Again, this works best for static images but as a blessing in disguise a runner entered my frame in the image below (top left) and unintentionally I ended up with this image which I find to be quite cool in comparison to a static frame. Please click to view a larger image.

A runner heads out on summer morning on the Stanley Park Seawall by English Bay in Vancouver. A focused stacked sample image from a Panasonic Lumix S5 II and Panasonic Lumix S 20-60mm f/3.5-5.6. — A focus stacked image from English Bay in Vancouver aligned and stacked in Photoshop from eleven photos captured with the Panasonic Lumix S5 II

Image Quality

Compared to the Sony A7 IV images I made during a test earlier this year I tend to favor the colors from the Panasonic Lumix S5 II. All photos in this review are from RAW files and processed in Lightroom. I have used stock simulations for some images but mostly adjusted only white balance and curves.

In order to slightly soften an otherwise digital look in the files I decreased the contrast to about -10 and sharpening to around 10.

While the Panasonic Lumix S 20-60mm f/3.5-5.6 is a fun lens to use with a versatile zoom range it perhaps isn’t the best at showing the true potential and what the S5 II is capable of producing image-wise.

Sharpness and vibrant colors really started to show when adapting the prime lenses used in this review and I can only imagine it would be great from some of the better lenses in L-Mount Alliance from either Leica or Sigma.

Please click the sample images to view up to 2500 pixels wide.

The Voigtländer Nokton 55mm f/1.2 SL IIs mounted on a Panasonic Lumix S5 II using a K&F Concept adapter — The Voigtländer Nokton 55mm f/1.2 SL IIs adapted to the Panasonic Lumix S5 II with a K&F Concept adapter

Conclusion

The Panasonic Lumix S5 II may not match the elegant design of the Leica SL2-S but from a feature standpoint, it excels in areas such as autofocus, and lighter weight. It also has a fully articulating screen, and it only costs about 38% of the SL2-S.

Both cameras feature a 24-megapixel sensor and without having done a side-by-side test the samples from the S5 II look rather promising.

I still wouldn’t mind the Leica but from a cost perspective, the S5 II is hard to frown upon.

Given the choice between the Sony A7 IV and Lumix S5 II, I think I would pick the S5 II but if Sony could find a better EVF for the A7 IV the choice between the two would be harder. This is mainly due to the 34-megapixel sensor in the A7 IV which I may prefer as a still shooter.

Personally, I am firmly planted in the Fujifilm ecosystem but if I had to choose between the Fujifilm X-H2 and Lumix S5 II, it would be much harder to pick a winner. I found the experience of shooting these two cameras quite similar and they are similarly priced.

The X-H2 has a 40-megapixel sensor and a gorgeous 5.76M-Dot EVF in a system I am familiar with whereas the S5 II would give me a full-frame sensor and open the door to the L-Mount Alliance lens library and allow for a perhaps better way to adapt my full-frame manual focus vintage and new Voigtländer lenses.

I was positively surprised by the Panasonic Lumix S5 II and if you are in the market for a hybrid full-frame camera I suggest you rent it or swing by your local dealer to check it out before making a final buying decision.

Please see the sample images below.

Price / Availability

Thank you for reading my review. I hope you found it helpful. If you are planning a purchase and would like to support our site you can do so, at no additional cost, by using the affiliate links below.

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Panasonic Lumix S5 IIx - B&H Photo

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