Big test
PERFORMANCE: HIGH-RESMODE The Lumix S5 has a high-resolution tripod mode suitable for static (or almost static) scenes, giving 48-megapixel JPEGs and Raws or 96-megapixel
minimises any motion in the scene in-camera. The shots here were out-of-camera JPEGs taken with the S 50mm f/1.4 lens on the Lumix S5 with the pair fixed to a Benro Rhino FRHN34C tripod with VX30 ball head. The scene was lit by two LED lights and the exposure was 1/5sec at f/11 and ISO 100. Examined closely on-screen with the subject the same size (400% for the normal shot, 280% for LL 48-megapixel and 200% for the XL 96-megapixel frame), the benefit of the extra crispness of fine detail was clear. That said, the 20-megapixel shot looked good, too, especially with some unsharp mask added, but if you want the ultimate quality from the Lumix S5 with suitable subjects and scenes, the high-res mode is worth using.
Raws instead of the default 20-megapixel resolution files. For each high-res shot, the S5 takes eight shots in succession, with the camera moving the sensor between each shot and then merging the individual shots in-camera. The processing takes around ten seconds. In the menu, you can select to save a merged file in JPEG or Raw, or both. To ensure your tripod/subject has completely settled, there is a time delay up to 30secs. The ISO range is 50 up to 3200 and the longest shutter speed is 8secs. To deal with any slight movement within the scene, there are modes. Mode 1 records any motion blur as an after-image and mode 2
ABOVE The Lumix S5 has a high-resolution mode where the camera takes eight shots and merges them in-camera for even better resolution. In the XL setting, you get the equivalent of 96 megapixels and a file size of 12,800x8000 pixels
LL48MB, 280%
XL96MB, 200%
Normal Raw, 400%
of six patterns that can be moved around the entire 225 area. In zone mode, you can choose one, three, five and seven rows that can be moved across or up and down the frame to suit the subject’s shape and position within the frame. Having the AF selector button prominently placed next to the viewfinder eyepiece is a good thing given how often you might be altering the AF pattern. In use, I thought the camera’s DFD autofocus system performed very well. I didn’t have a Lumix S1/S1R on hand to do a side-by-side comparison (a firmware update for those models has just been announced) but I found the Lumix S5 positive, fast and it behaved less like a contrast detect system. For this test, I had two leading S Pro lenses, the 50mm f/1.4 and the 70-200mm f/2.8 OIS, as well as the 20-60mm f/3.5-5.6. Generally, it seemed to me that the Lumix S5 latched smartly on
to scenes of low contrast where I thought it might struggle, and its body/face detect AF skills were good, too, but perhaps not as sensitive or as tenacious as some rivals. Nevertheless, you can see the AF box pick up on the body as the subject approaches the camera, switching to the face when they get closer and keeping track as they traverse across the lens’s view. Like other Panasonic models, the Lumix S5 has a post-focus feature, here available in 6K or 4K, delivering 18-megapixel or 8-megapixel JPEG resolution stills. This mode uses the camera’s video ability to shoot pictures that you can later merge in-camera to manage howmuch depth-of-field you want. If you want more control and Raw quality, focus bracketing is available for merging out of camera. For continuous stills shooting, the Lumix S5 has a top rate of 7fps and, using a Lexar 2000x SD card, I got that speed for 30 Raw shots and the buffer
took a little over ten seconds to clear. With JPEGs, the camera didn’t falter at all. If shooting speed is important, the S5 has 6K Photo mode, where you get 18-megapixel 5184x3456 at 30fps, but you can get 60fps if you drop to 4K 3504x2336 8-megapixel. The Lumix S5’s full-frame sensor provides 14 plus stops of dynamic range and has a native sensitivity range that tops out at ISO 51,200. For more on the S5’s ISO and Raw performance, see the accompanying panels. For the ultimate in stills image quality, the Lumix S5 features a sensor- shift high-resolutionmode that helps you squeeze every last drop of detail out of stationary scenes – again, see the accompanying panel for more on this feature. The Lumix S5’s five-axis in-body image stabiliser provides huge benefits for still and video shooting. By analysing data from the image sensor, an accelerometer sensor and the body IS’s gyro sensor, the camera can precisely and quickly determine how much shake compensation is needed. The body IS system on its own gives a benefit of up to 5EV, and that is even with L-Mount lenses that do not have any form of integral image stabiliser. With the body’s system and the two- axis optical image stabiliser (OIS) in
FOR THE ULTIMATE INSTILLS IMAGE QUALITY, THE LUMIX S5 FEATURES A SENSOR-SHIFT HIGH-RESOLUTIONMODE
ABOVE Not too much to gripe about regarding the Lumix S5’s control layout, and overall its handling rates highly. Personally, I prefer on/off switches that are quickly usable one-handed and the Lumix S5’s switch slips up on that one
52 Photography News | Issue 83
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