Lumix S5

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Adamcski

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Hi folks, I hope all is well.

Just wondered if anyone here has or has used in the past the Lumix S5?

I'm contemplating a FF camera and trying to gather as much information and opinions prior to making a decision.

I currently have a little M50 mk ii with some EFM lenses, which I know are not compatible with the R cameras. I only have two lenses that may be worth using on the R system, my nifty fifty and my sigma 105 macro. I also only own one flash EX430 iii RT.

I was considering a grey R6 with adapter but went to WEX earlier who threw me a few ideas and the main one was the Lumix S5.

I've watched a few YouTube videos and read some reviews, but wondered if someone here has actually used it?

Price on WEX is good, £1599 after a £300 discount with an additional battery and grip (that I won't use).

I'm only an novice and won't be making money from photography, just enjoying it as a hobby, so I don't require £4/£5k cameras.
 
It's probably worth asking what aspects are more important to you, and why you might be drawn to the Lumix?

I did notice an offer recently, but couldn't see an advantage in that system over what I have, and the lens range is always going to be small and relatively expensive.
 
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Might be ideal - how good is the AF for things moving around in the out and about photography? Does it have good portrait and macro lenses?
 
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I recently bought the S1 and the S5 kit had them both for under a month. i just couldn't get along with the focusing system, probably the worst I have come across, although the image quality was very good, Also the range of lens was another reason, not a lot out there and the Native lens are expesnive
 
Adamcski said:
Price on WEX is good, £1599 after a £300 discount with an additional battery and grip (that I won't use).
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Reason I'm asking is that this is the same price as a Sony A7rIIIa from e-infinity, which has an excellent AF system, vast choice of lenses and likely long support. The Lumix might be a better camera for you, but you should be sure before buying into the system.
 
Adamcski said:
Yes, I'm slowly going back to my R6 idea
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I think thats a good idea. Along with Sony and Canon I use Pentax which, like the L mount has a very small user base. Image quality is very good on my Pentax gear but autofocus is not great (much like the S5) and lens selection is frankly terrible. Personally I would stick with Canon, Sony or Nikon these days.
 
Mike.P said:
I think thats a good idea. Along with Sony and Canon I use Pentax which, like the L mount has a very small user base. Image quality is very good on my Pentax gear but autofocus is not great (much like the S5) and lens selection is frankly terrible. Personally I would stick with Canon, Sony or Nikon these days.
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I agree, but it's pretty sad really as the Panasonic full frame mirrorless line up could have been and should have been great, the build quality, the menu system and support is brilliant, just sadly let down by the focusing system and lens line up
 
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Adamcski said:
Well I only take portraits / family and out and about photos and some macro stuff (flowers bugs).
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For portrait and macros a high Res sensor is useful.
I'm probably in the minority that likes Panasonic or L-mount stuff. Thier 24-105mm f4 is a great walkabout lens with capability of shooting 0.5x magnification which is semi macro.
The new sigma 105mm DN takes 2x TC on L-mount making it a 210mm macro with 2x magnification. Would also double up as a decent portrait lens.

Thier AF isn't great but if you don't really shoot action do you really care?
 
Yes, it has been a big thinking day to be honest but the £300 cash back deal ended or ends this weekend and I didn't want to be rushed into a purchase for the sake of £300. I am still on the fence, but I think the R6 will be enough for what I need also.
 
ukaskew said:
Finally, my moment has arrived!

Here is the owners thread...

https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/threads/l-mount-alliance-owners-thread.729396/

I will update the thread with my experience of my first wedding since moving to the S5 on Monday when I'm back from holiday (and Goodwood Members' Meeting). Spoiler: it smashed it out of the park :)

Here is my thread from Goodwood 78MM...

https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/threads/goodwood-78mm.730785/
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Some really nice shots there.

I really do like the look and feel of the S5
 
Adamcski said:
Yes, it has been a big thinking day to be honest but the £300 cash back deal ended or ends this weekend and I didn't want to be rushed into a purchase for the sake of £300. I am still on the fence, but I think the R6 will be enough for what I need also.
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Looks to be great camera for shooting action.
I am a wee bit put off by the 20mp personally. But if that's not an issue for you by all means go for it (y)
(Also a lot of thier lenses are really expensive but I'm less put off by that since I don't own many lenses)
 
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I wouldn't worry about a deal ending, another will be along soon. I got £400 cashback with the 20-60mm kit, free tripod grip and extra original battery, and the 50mm 1.8 for £99 extra.

Such a good deal I bought two! The 20-60 is the best kit lens I've ever owned, and the first one I've not sold after a few weeks!

£1598 for all that, bought two, sold a 20-60, 50mm and grip and got a decent chunk of change back.

I came from Nikon Z and found the lens system to be much better with the L mount simply because Sigma support it. Plenty of Sigma glass on the used market and the Panasonic f1.8 lenses are superb and not overly expensive.
 
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Like I said, it has been a really hard decision and I am still not 100%.

I think the canon may be better, but looking at those RF lenses it will be some time before I can buy one lol.

The S5 is £1,599 with the spare battery and grip and the lenses (although fewer) do have options from Panasonic and Sigma and are about half the price. So realistically, I could have more lens variety moving forwards. I am never going to buy a £1,000 plus lens.
 
You know what’s hilarious about this thread? I was going to come on here and write a thread asking on opinions of the S5, then today I stumbled across this and genuinely thought I’d had some sort of fever dream and wrote this unconscious and didn’t remember doing it!
 
Spent all night reading and watching reviews (who knew cameras were this addictive).

It appears a lot of the negative comments are related to the S5 autofocus in video mode, not the stills mode. I won't shoot video, it will be purely a still camera.

So the pros for me are:

1) Price
2) Sufficient lens choice and not RF prices I only need a 50 mm and a macro. It has some nice looking at the sigma options also.
3) 3 year warranty.
4) 24 mp Vs 20 mp.
5) comes with additional battery so saves me another £100 odd as I only get one with the R6.


Downsides:
1) my limited existing gear can't be used on it.
2) it may not be as good as the Eos R6.
3) could be a costly mistake purchase.
4) I've always used Canon
5) very few people seem to use it (although some online John Lewis reviews and others are all positive).

Deal ends today but now it has a mic and a memory card also lol. So need to think hard whilst I take some pictures at the butterfly farm later.

If choosing is hard for a novice like moi, you professionals must have so many other things to consider and take into account when selecting gear
 
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I was nervous about the AF (as a wedding and motorsport shooter, in fact very few things I shoot don't move!) but it's been absolutely fine and hasn't caused me any issues whatsoever.

Accuracy is rock solid, and I'm using Sigma DN glass which apparently isn't quite as good with Panasonic DFD AF as the Panasonic S lenses.

My keeper rate at Goodwood was no better or worse than previously, and for the wedding I did last weekend I had 2 annoying out of focus shots (so miles ahead of my DSLR days!) out of 1800, everything such as walking down the aisle was absolutely fine.

In terms of used gear, whilst there is a lot less of it I've found like for like lenses cheaper than Sony FE, i.e. Sigma 35mm 1.2, 85mm 1.4 and 100-400 several hundreds cheaper than typical used Sony fit prices. You just need to wait a few weeks for it to come up for sale sometimes (I've added some tips for finding it in the owners thread linked earlier).
 
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Panasonic's CDAF is annoying for stills too.

Adamcski said:
If choosing is hard for a novice like moi, you professionals must have so many other things to consider and take into account when selecting gear
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Actually choosing should be easier with a clean slate.
You should just pick whatever suits your needs best. You seems only need a couple of lenses i.e. a macro and 50mm (to start with anyway). Have a look at which system has the best ones for what you can afford.

Then for both portraits and especially macro I'd suggest a higher megapixel body. High megapixels will capture more details (which is exactly what you are wanting to do for macro), allows to crop in more and considering macro lenses are some of the sharpest lenses they can actually make good use of a high Res sensor.

Based on all that see which system you can afford. Who cares if it's Panasonic or canon or Nikon or Sony.
 
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nandbytes said:
Panasonic's CDAF is annoying for stills too.



Actually choosing should be easier with a clean slate.
You should just pick whatever suits your needs best. You seems only need a couple of lenses i.e. a macro and 50mm (to start with anyway). Have a look at which system has the best ones for what you can afford.

Then for both portraits and especially macro I'd suggest a higher megapixel body. High megapixels will capture more details (which is exactly what you are wanting to do for macro), allows to crop in more and considering macro lenses are some of the sharpest lenses they can actually make good use of a high Res sensor.

Based on all that see which system you can afford. Who cares if it's Panasonic or canon or Nikon or Sony.
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Now you're talking :) Get a Sony a7Riv all the pixels you need @ 61mp and its full frame

Les
 
nandbytes said:
Panasonic's CDAF is annoying for stills too.
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I think there is a bit of a disconnect between what reviewers look for and what the majority actually need or will even notice.

If you're shooting dogs running towards you for a living sure, the latest Canon or Sony mirrorless bodies are probably the first ones that can do that flawlessly and consistently since the last pro DSLRs, the Panasonic S5 wouldn't be remotely near your shopping list.

I've shot extensively with the Sony a7III, Nikon Z5 and now the S5 and for kids running about, weddings, motorsport etc, really not a great deal in it. I will say in terms of user experience, configurability, menus etc, I'd take the Panasonic, it's a lovely thing to use.
 
Not sure if A7RIV is within his budget....
Actually @Adamcski what is your overall budget and the lenses you want within that budget?

Instead of debating over brands and bodies which is likely to confuse you forever we can give you "full kit" ideas within your total budget
 
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ukaskew said:
I think there is a bit of a disconnect between what reviewers look for and what the majority actually need or will even notice.

If you're shooting dogs running towards you for a living sure, the latest Canon or Sony mirrorless bodies are probably the first ones that can do that flawlessly and consistently since the last pro DSLRs, the Panasonic S5 wouldn't be remotely near your shopping list.

I've shot extensively with the Sony a7III, Nikon Z5 and now the S5 and for kids running about, weddings, motorsport etc, really not a great deal in it. I will say in terms of user experience, configurability, menus etc, I'd take the Panasonic, it's a lovely thing to use.
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I don't shoot anything for a living but I do photograph birds, wildlife and active kids. I personally wouldn't go to panasonic because of that. But I have already said OP may not really need to care too much about it for his purposes.

I had Panasonic m43 bodies and I base my experience off those. I think S5 is supposedly better than previous S1 series and also their m43 but the whole pulsing is annoying (however minimal it may be in the latest generation)

While I have used most brands I have only mostly owned Panasonic and Sony bodies. I like them both and they have thier strengths and weaknesses. AF wasn't one of Panasonic's strength IME
 
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As a non user of Panasonic but I feel the problem with the auto focus needs to be put into context. When people talk about the AF being bad, it should be seen as poor for tracking and jittery for video. For still shots the AF is fine and accurate. So when purchasing into the system will this match your needs.
 
I don't have a budget really, I could go up to £4k but I just don't see the point based on what I require. So, as a hobby and novice, less expense is better as I can use the money saved for other things.

All I shoot really are the family, days out, pets and macro - but my M50 mk ii does that okay currently.

I was drawn to the Lumix based on what the guys at WEX were saying that for the price it is very hard to beat and that if they sorted the video focus out, it would be the best camera in that price range. So I came away to research and noticed it was £300 off currently (deal has expired now).

I am in no rush to buy new stuff, but would like a FF and larger camera as I am 6 foot 4 and the M50 mk ii will be my travel kit. I am not overly bothered about the brand either. I like the look of the R6 but its just that 20 mp that I worry about for macro stuff.

Just got to wait and see what deals are on closer to Christmas - as the deal WEX have now comes with a mic and memory card, and I don't need either of them and would have preferred the £300 off.
 
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If a few hundred quid either way is not an issue I'd say bang for buck the Sony a7III is the best all round camera on the market at the moment. I genuinely think you'd need to be pushing both cameras pretty hard to notice the differences though. There wasn't a moment shooting a mid October wedding when I felt like it was missing out by not having something else.

For me, once deals etc had been taken into account (and needing two bodies) the difference was essentially the cost of getting the Sigma 35mm 1.2 as well, and after 10,000 plus shots with the S5 I wouldn't change that decision.
 
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Yes I read the A7iii was good but I really like my fully adjustable screen on the M50 mk ii but I can get it with the kit lens from WEX for £1699 or John Lewis (£200 cashback and £100 gift voucher). Or...the Sony a7r iii a body only for £1899?

​

 
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The S5 screen is great, certainly makes creative angles a lot easier now I'm approaching 40, and given I'm often throwing cameras in my bag having the screen turned back into the body when carrying it is a nice bonus.

The a7RIII is essentially another tier up, personally 24MP is a sweet spot for me so it's never crossed my mind, but it's one hell of a piece of kit, just make sure you've got the processing power to manage those files!
 
S5 also has some useful features for macro photography like focus bracketing which Sony doesn't have. This is really the weakness of Sonys, they lack useful features and tools for photographers.
 
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