GEAR
PANASONIC LUMIX S5 II
READY FOR ACTION Add a variable ND and an Atomos monitor/ recorder and the S5
II is a formidable filmmaking tool
MORE TO PLAY WITH The addition of lots of AF features, dual native ISO and shutter angle shows the camera is serious for movies
“Panasonic’s in-body, five-axis system works with the brand’s own OIS lenses to provide really smooth footage”
However, the lack of a stacked sensor does make a difference when shooting action stills at 30fps, since there is a slight delay in the viewfinder. It’s not a sports and wildlife dream for stills afficionados, but for anyone else it’s a very good camera. The real test for filmmaking comes in its actual performance – and the S5 II delivers a huge amount. For starters, image stabilisation is phenomenal. Panasonic’s in-body, five-axis system works with the brand’s own OIS lenses to provide really smooth footage. It’s among the best we’ve used in a full-frame camera. There’s also a Boost IS for video, which makes it feel almost like the camera’s on a tripod. This isn’t for panning or moving the camera at all, as it has the typical IS jerk. Use it handheld and keep the camera still, then prepare to be amazed. More important is the brand-new phase detection autofocus system,
which finally includes all the face, body and head tracking, plus multi- zones and multi-adjustable speeds. It’s far better than the old system on the S5 or pretty much any of the S series cameras. Face detection works very well, and the human and animal detection is very good, too. It can get confused when objects come in front of a very obvious subject, and sometimes simply fails to see a very obvious target. The system takes some getting used to, but works well once you get to grips with it. However, it still feels like it’s one firmware upgrade away from being on par with Sony and Canon. The camera we used was a prototype, so it could well be tweaked on the production versions. As a first attempt, it’s very good and makes the S5 II the first Panasonic Lumix where you can trust AF in most circumstances. As our test camera was not a final production version, it can
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