Most of the time, choosing a camera actually means choosing what you’re willing to compromise. Do you want great video or great stills? Resolution or burst shooting? Price or performance?
Much as taking a photograph means balancing the exposure triangle, choosing a camera means balancing features – and whether it’s low light shooting, sensor size, autofocus or affordability, something’s got to give.
Well, that used to be the case. But Panasonic has gone and done something incredible – it has designed a camera that ticks all the boxes. Meet the Panasonic Lumix S5 II, a camera that shoots anything, anywhere.
You want it? It's got it
You want raw power? How about a full frame 24.2MP image sensor that can capture images at an enormous 96MP resolution. Raw speed? How about a lightning-fast sensor readout that enables you to fire frames at 30fps.
Great, it can take a mean photograph – but what about video? How about crystal clear 6K open gate recording, so you can output files for any purpose. Or 4:2:2 10-bit 4K 60p video with no recording limits, or LongGOP video in an H.265 codec.
You want to maintain pristine picture quality in all lighting environments? How about Dual Native ISO of 640 and 4000, to ensure that your footage is clean even when pushed to the limit. And did somebody say dynamic range? How about 14 stops, for incredible editing latitude.
The Panasonic Lumix S5 II can literally handle anything you throw at it – including the elements, thanks to its weather sealing that keeps you shooting when other cameras make you stop.
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Cutting-edge technology
A photographic powerhouse, its brand-new image sensor and image processor combo produce high-fidelity files that are rich in detail and packed with information, giving you all the scope you could ask for when it comes to post-processing.
The S5 II also boasts Panasonic’s finest ever autofocus, in the form of a powerful phase-detection hybrid AF system that’s loaded with 779 focus points. It sticks to your subjects like crazy glue, tracking them around the frame and making sure that you never miss a shot – whether it’s a sprinter crossing the finish line, a big cat running on the savannah, or the twinkle in your subject’s eye when taking a portrait.
That autofocus comes into its own with video, too, giving solo shooters the ability to create content that doesn’t skip a beat. Combined with the addition of Real-Time LUTs, you can cut down your post-production by capturing your video just how you want it, while you’re shooting it.
For both stills and video shooting, you can be sure that your shots are steadier than ever before thanks to Panasonic’s awe-inspiring in-body image stabilization – which offers up to 6.5 stops of shake compensation.
That’s not all, though; the new Active IS technology employs algorithms that can actually anticipate motion. With these features combined, you can shoot handheld video that’s virtually as smooth as using a gimbal. And when shooting photographs, you can rely on rocksteady stability even when using long lenses in low light conditions.
One tool, any task
The mere fact that one camera can do all this is astonishing enough. Any single one of these features alone was a pipe dream for most shooters, as little as a year ago. So for a camera to do all this and not just be affordable, but competitively priced as well? That might be Panasonic’s greatest achievement of all.
Reasonable price no longer means missing features. Great video no longer means middling photos. And one camera no longer means making compromises. Whether you want to turn a picture into a passion, or your passion into your profession, the Panasonic Lumix S5 II can do anything you ask it to.
