Both the Panasonic Lumix S5II as well as Panasonic Lumix S5IIX have been announced on January 4th 2023 at CES. Both cameras share many features, but the S5IIX offers a few more that could appeal to videographers. It’s not expected to be available until mid-May, 2023. The S5II was released in January, 2023. We’ll compare the main features of both cameras to see their differences.
Sensor
- Panasonic Lumix S5II: 24.2MP full-frame (35.6×23.8mm) CMOS sensor
- Panasonic Lumix S5IIX: 24.2MP full-frame (35.6×23.8mm) CMOS sensor
The S5IIX and S5II are both equipped with the same full-frame 24.2MP sensor and processing engine. This means that the image quality, given all other factors being equal, should be the same.
While the sensor is not a new one, it has been further improved to include phase-detection pixel as part of a hybrid focusing system. The S5IIX and S5IIX are the first Panasonic Lumix camera models to feature phase detection focusing.
Video
- Panasonic Lumix S5II – Full-sensor, internal 10bit 4:2 0:0 6K (3:2) footage and 5.9K (16.9) footage up to 30fps. 4:2 0:2 C4K or 4K at 60fps
- Panasonic Lumix S5IIX – Full-sensor, internal 10bit 4:2 0:0 6K (3:2) footage and 5.9K (16.9) footage up to 30fps. 4:2 0:2 C4K or 4K at 60fps
Both cameras offer identical video specifications. They can record 4:2;2 C4K or 4K up to 60fps and 6K (10-bit) at 30fps. Only the Lumix S5IIX can record directly 5.8K Apple ProRes footage via HDMI, USB or Atmos devices. It also supports ALL-Intra (C4K (USB SSD), 4K (USB), or 3.3K (600Mbps, 400Mbps)). Panasonic announced recently that the S5IIX will be able to record Blackmagic Raw footage (BRaw), to a Blackmagic Video Assist Recorder.
The S5IIX, unlike the S5II provides both wireless and wired IP streaming as well as USB tethering.
The S5XII has additional features in Slow & Fast mode compared to S5II. It can record C4K video 4:2;2 or 10 bit 4:2;0 at up to 60 fps and 4K 10 bit 4:2 :2. The S5II is limited to C4K 4:2:0 at similar rates.
The S5II can only capture 4:2;0 at 1-180 fps, while the S5IIX is capable of 4:2;2 10 bit colour at the same frame rate.
Panasonic plans to release a firmware upgrade for the S5II that will allow users to buy an upgrade to raw video output. This upgrade is only for Raw recording to Atomos and Blackmagic devices. It does not unlock any other exclusive features to the S5IIX such as ProRes, All-Intra, USB-SSD, wireless IP streaming or USB Tethering.