Panasonic Lumix DC-S5II Body

The Lumix S5 Mark II is arguably the best value new full-frame camera around at the time of making this review, packing a wealth of features while comfortably undercutting key rivals on price. The long-awaited inclusion of phase-detect autofocus transforms both photo and video, eliminating the distracting pulsing which haunted earlier Lumix cameras. While the core features and specs are roughly similar to its rivals, drilling-down reveals unique benefits to each: Canon’s R6 II enjoyed the best subject detection in my tests, allows uncropped 4k up to 60p, in-camera focus stacking, multiple exposures, a bulb timer, pre-capture mode, 1080 180p slow motion, and the fastest mechanical burst speed of 12fps. Sony’s A7 IV has the highest resolution on a single frame, support for a faster memory card and access to a wealth of lenses including Tamron’s which aren’t yet available for L or RF mount. Meanwhile the S5 II boasts a high-res pixel shift mode, focus bracketing with a mechanical shutter that allows flash, open-gate 6k video, waveform and vector displays, anamorphic modes, real-time LUT previews, and potentially longer recording times under hotter conditions thanks to a built-in fan. And don’t forget Sigma’s growing series of excellent DG DN lenses is available for both e and L-mounts, giving Sony and Panasonic access to affordable third-party lenses that Canon owners can currently only dream of. Oh, and there’s that $500 or pound saving over the R6 II and A7 IV. In fact it still undercuts their body prices when sold in a twin lens kit with the 20-60 and 50 1.8. Of course both Canon and Sony still sell their previous versions at prices closer to the S5 II, but their feature-sets aren’t as complete. If you’re mostly shooting action or wildlife I’d say it’s worth spending the extra on the R6 II, but as an all-round hybrid camera for a general mix of photo and video, the Lumix S5 II is simply hard to beat at the price and comes Highly Recommended.