Customers enjoy the excellent video and picture quality produced by the LUMIX S5II, praising its crisp visuals and amazing autofocus capabilities. The camera's ease of use and impressive low-light performance are also frequently highlighted as positive aspects. Overall, user feedback points to a highly capable and user-friendly camera.
This summary was generated by AI based on customer reviews.
The vast majority of our reviews come from verified purchases. Reviews from customers may include My Best Buy members, employees, and Tech Insider Network members (as tagged). Select reviewers may receive discounted products, promotional considerations or entries into drawings for honest, helpful reviews.
Page 1 Showing 1-20 of 60 reviews
Pros mentioned:
Autofocus, Video quality
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
S5 II long term review along with the 2.0 Update
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Posted . Owned for 5 months when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I bought this at Best Buy at the time it came out and then also bought a 16-35mm lens from B&H as well. Having the 20-60mm is nice to have a back up semi-wide angle lens that also gives me a little more reach.
Camera's I Owned or extensively tested:
Sony DSC-RX10 II
Panasonic GH4
Panasonic GH5
Panasonic S5
Sony A7 IV with 16-35 f2.8
Sony A7s III with 16-35 f2.8
Panasonic GH6
& Now the Panasonic S5ii
I use this for video for work but also want to shoot some good photo's here and there for work and for pleasure.
Let me just say this Panasonic S5ii is the best camera I've ever owned for these reasons.
1. Autofocus- On par with the Sony A7 IV I owned briefly but had to sell due to overheating. The older Panasonic models just couldn't keep up. I really wanted to love the GH6 and it's an amazing camera but the Autofocus was the deal breaker. I miss some aspects of the GH6 like 4k 60pfs and 120fps with no crop but that is about it.
2. No Overheating Ever! This fan is soo cool. I often shoot 6K Open Gate/3:2 for 3-4 hrs at a time. I shoot a 20-30 minute vid, take a break for a few min and shoot another 20-30 min vid over and over for 3-4hrs. The Sony A7 IV could only shoot the first one and then it would overheat on the second. Instead of taking 3-4 hrs to shoot my vids it would take 5-6 trying to cool down the Sony. Even worse is it shuts down mid sentence so it really throws you off your game when you turn it back on.
3. 180 degree shutter! This is so key. I never screw up a shot because the shutter angle is always perfect.
4. Picture Quality- I could never easily grade my Sony but it is soo easy to color grade the S5II. Especially after the 2.0 Firmware update. The image quality is exceptional based on what I'm used to and after the 2.0 Update the Real Time Lut with VLog requires very little editing in post. Shooting in 3:2 6K Open Gate gives me soo much room to zoom in as well as shoot for social media. I could do that pretty well with the GH6 but not with this much image quality.
5. This is a great picture camera. Maybe not as good as my old A7iv but it's really great for being such a video beast. There are soo many cool features like the 96mp stills feature, astrophotography feature and many others that just make this more camera than most at this price point.
6. Sound Quality is amazing. Panasonic just does better sound than anyone else at this price point. It just sounds soo good with external mics vs. Sony. Its a pain to reduce the 4 channels of audio to 1 like most clips in Premiere Pro but It's worth it to have this kind of audio.
7. Camera Build is top notch. Panasonic makes a camera the just feels durable. Most other cameras I have tried from Sony just don't feel as sturdy. I trust this a lot more.
Some drawbacks:
1. Less Lens Options than most. Panasonic and Sigma offer a lot of lenses but with Sony and Panasonic M43 the choices are almost limitless. I never feel like I can find my perfect lens.
2. Using an external monitor takes the display info from the on camera monitor. I have to use 2 monitors instead of one so I can see the display info on the front and back monitors. I often shoot by myself and film myself so I need to see what's happening. I wish Panasonic would fix this so it displays on the in camera monitor and the external monitor.
Other than that I don't really have any serious complaints. I've never had a camera that came so close to doing everything I need. I hope that in the years to come Panasonic and Sigma offer a ton more lenses and the next firmware update gives me dual display read out and life will be perfect. This really is a once in a decade kind of camera. I've never seen anything like it.
I would recommend this to a friend
Brand response from Panasonic Team
Posted .
Thank you for your 5-star rating! -M
Pros mentioned:
Autofocus, Low light performance, Video quality
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Wow amazing
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Posted .
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Allow me to share with you my approach to photography.
In the past, I owned a Leica SL, which was an incredible camera that I miss dearly.
However, it had a major drawback in that it was too bulky and heavy to carry around comfortably.
Subsequently, I owned a Panasonic S1R, which was also a large camera, with too much megapixels for me.
It performed admirably with manual lenses and slow-motion footage, but I found its autofocus capabilities to be lacking.
Recently, I acquired a Panasonic S5 II, which feels significantly smaller and lighter in the hand,
making it much easier to carry around. The 24MP image sensor is perfect for me, and the camera produces vibrant images with great contrast
that approach the quality of the Leica SL.
My slow shooting typically involves using Contax Carl Zeiss manual lenses, along with a few of Leica M lenses.
I take my time and use the focus peek assist to zoom in on the subject and capture a great shot.
The EVF on the S5 II is excellent and the focus assist works flawlessly.
The option to edit and add manual lens information is also an incredible feature that saves me the trouble of having to remember or guess which lens I used.
The camera performs exceptionally well in low light conditions and images shot at ISO 6400 look impressive.
As the father of four active boys, I have often been disappointed with the autofocus performance of previous cameras.
Thankfully, the Panasonic S5 II has an excellent phase detect focus system, allowing me to start using L-mount lenses and capture perfect moments of my boys running and playing.
Although I haven't tried the video options yet, according to reviews on YouTube they seem to be outstanding.
The flip screen adds a lot of value for self-blogging.
Overall, I am thoroughly impressed with the Panasonic S5 II performance, particularly considering its reasonable price point.
Panasonic has created a perfect system, and I am pleased to have it in my photographic arsenal.
I would recommend this to a friend
Brand response from Panasonic Team
Posted .
We deeply appreciate you took the time to provide us with your feedback! We are happy to hear the product meets your expectations. -M
Pros mentioned:
Autofocus, Video quality
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Perfect 1st full frame camera
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Posted . Owned for 3 weeks when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Amazing camera so far only had it for about three weeks or so but I can say that the picture quality is amazing as a beginning photographer try and understand full frame cameras. This has been the perfect camera to start with . Amazing video, the auto focus is very, very nice. Next time when I buy a camera I’m definitely going to buy it from Best Buy again because the customer service was amazing and also help me understand what camera is right for me and this is the perfect beginners camera. I bought a few lenses with it already got a bunch of accessories . I would highly recommend this camera.
I would recommend this to a friend
Brand response from Panasonic Team
Posted .
We're so happy that you enjoyed our product! Thank you for the positive feedback, it means a lot to us. -C
Pros mentioned:
Video quality
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Pleasantly surprised
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Posted . Owned for 3 weeks when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Sony shooter for a long time and recently switched over to Lumix. This 1000% replaced my Sony a74 for video work. The video features packed into this camera for the price is realllllly hard to beat. The VLog color profile + ability to shoot prores raw has been the easiest color grading I've ever encountered. I'm not a colorist by any means and this platform made it easy to get work done. The Pictures are also very nice and on par with Sony/Canon in a similar price range. Overall This is my go to video camera for client work before I reach for my Sony.
I would recommend this to a friend
Brand response from Panasonic Team
Posted .
Thank you for the wonderful review and for taking the time to share your feedback with us. Our priority is customer service and we are ecstatic that we met that mark! -M
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Great camera
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Posted . Owned for 2 weeks when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
If you’ve done your research, then you know that there’s pretty much no other camera at this price point that will give you this much features.
The only other camera that can compete is its upgrade, which is the S5iix. The only reason that I am personally switching this camera for that one as because I need recording to SSD as well as the raw features if you don’t need that and this is indeed the perfect camera at this price point.
I would recommend this to a friend
Brand response from Panasonic Team
Posted .
Thank you for your 5-star rating! We are happy to hear you are pleased with the product. -M
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Yeah, rill rill nice
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Posted . Owned for 4 months when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I haven’t been disappointed even once since buying this camera. It’s an incredible full frame camera with all of the premium features at a budget price. Yeah, it’s built out of plastic but it’s still super durable. So the feel isn’t totally 100% premium but it still feels really good in hand. AND its weather sealed.
I would recommend this to a friend
Brand response from Panasonic Team
Posted .
Hello, Aaron! This is such a nice feedback and we are always trying our best to make the experience of our customers memorable. Thank you so much for taking the time to send this! -C
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
LOVE
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Posted . Owned for 1 month when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Live this camera. It was my first camera and theres nothing like it! It take nice clean crisp pictures! 10/10
I would recommend this to a friend
Brand response from Panasonic Team
Posted .
Hello Ruby! We’re so happy to hear your first camera holds such a special place in your heart! Capturing clean, crisp moments is exactly what we aim for, and your 10/10 means the world to us. Here’s to many more amazing memories through your lens! - F
Pros mentioned:
Autofocus, Low light performance
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Absolutely loved this product
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Posted . Owned for 1 month when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Three things I loved about this camera, 1. Dynamic Range 2. Auto Focus 3. Low light performance
I would recommend this to a friend
Brand response from Panasonic Team
Posted .
Thank you for your 5-star review, we deeply appreciate it! -M
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Best camera ever
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Posted . Owned for 2 weeks when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Best camera ever literally purchased it next day landed five gigs free marketing right here
I would recommend this to a friend
Brand response from Panasonic Team
Posted .
Hello Josh! Thank you for choosing us! We appreciate the 5-star review. We're thrilled to hear you’re loving the camera and that it’s already helping you land gigs. We truly appreciate your support, and we’re excited to see where your journey with the camera takes you. - S
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Best camera for the price.
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Posted . Owned for 4 months when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
The best camera for the price, in other brands the same specifications you will pay much more.
I would recommend this to a friend
Brand response from Panasonic Team
Posted .
Hi there, William! Thank you for the fantastic 5-star review. We’re thrilled to hear that the DC-S5M2 is the best camera for the price and that it offers excellent value compared to other brands. Your feedback means a lot to us, and we’re so glad it’s meeting your expectations! -C
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
I love this camera
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Posted . Owned for 3 months when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I absolutely love this camera, I love the color profile, I love everything about this camera
I would recommend this to a friend
Brand response from Panasonic Team
Posted .
Thank you for your excellent feedback, it is much appreciated! -C
Pros mentioned:
Video quality
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
S5ii Beast
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Posted . Owned for 1 month when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Best camera ever! Great pictures and videos are super!
I would recommend this to a friend
Brand response from Panasonic Team
Posted .
Thank you for sharing your positive experience! -M
Pros mentioned:
Autofocus, Video quality
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Affordable / Professional grade camera
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Posted . Owned for 1 week when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I’ve owned this camera for a little under two weeks now, and I can safely say that this is hands down.. the best / most technologically advanced camera I have ever owned. My first dslr was a Nikon D40, and my last camera was a Fuji X-T2. Which I still own. Anyway, this is my first full frame camera. I’ve always wanted one and I finally made the leap. I’m glad I waited this long for one. This camera remains pretty small, considering. The included kit lens is decent for most day to day photography and videos. The kit lens struggles ever so slightly in low light, but it is still pretty reliable. The autofocus on this camera is pretty amazing. It accurately tracks my nephews while they’re running around. I went ahead and got the Panasonic 50mm F1.8 lens also and I would recommend it if you want a nice fast prime lens to pair it with also. You can record video apsc mode or full frame mode in everything from 1080P 60 fps up to 6K 30 fps. I shoot in 4K / 30fps and the video quality is crisp! Neither of the lenses that I own for this camera have OIS, but the built in IBIS of the camera is great for handheld photos and videos. I love it. I never used any of my older cameras for video because they were always so shaky and the autofocus was never reliable. The autofocus on the LUMIX S5II is very reliable. I also love the colors straight out of the camera. After two weeks of use, I am still finding new things in the settings menu. It’s pretty wild. Battery life is decent, it charges via usb C, so you can give it a quick littl top off with a standard usb c cable or battery pack when you’re not using it. I thought it was a little heavy initially but I’ve become accustomed to its size and weight and honestly I don’t have many complaints or any regrets on spending my money on this camera kit. I am confident that I will be able to take tons of great photos and videos with this kit for many years to come. I forgot to mention that this camera will literately record video until either your battery dies or you run out of memory I’m your sd card. It’s awesome. No overheating, no recording limits. My only complaint about this camera is that once in a while it takes a couple seconds longer to power on. Not sure why, maybe it goes into a deep sleep / power off when your turn it off and leave it off for a long time. All in all, I highly recommend this camera to anyone who wants a professional grade camera for videos and photos. I am fully invested into the Fujifilm camera system and I have no regrets buying this camera kit. I’m not going to sell off all my other stuff, but I think this will be my main camera going forward.
I would recommend this to a friend
Brand response from Panasonic Team
Posted .
Thank you for your rating! We sincerely appreciate you took the time to provide us with your feedback! -M
Pros mentioned:
Autofocus, Video quality
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Great camera and upgrade for me.
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Posted . Owned for 3 weeks when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
So far so good the s5II has been everything I needed it to be since upgrading from my GH5.
I am a novice video/photo user just learning and trying to get as much information that I can... I really like using the GH5 but trying to the auto focus was not very good of every 10 shots both video and photography 8 had some kind of blurriness to them it was really disheartening and I watched a ton of videos about using manual focus on the GH5 but when times you need to just get up and shoot the GH5 was slow to focus.
So far with the S5ii not one video or photo has been out of focus honestly so far not one frame but I have notice some issues that maybe can be fixed with a firmware update as this is a new camera like when focusing on a person that is hugging someone like at a wedding the focus will sometimes not track or lock on to the face but maybe to the persons arm that is hugging the person if I explained that correctly so hopefully when the S5iiX drops so will a new firmware as Panasonic has not had several months of the S5ii being used.
The 20-60 lens so far has been great to use and is very quick in my opinion. Battery life is about the same as my GH5 although I think the S5ii battery is bigger I believe there is more processing power needed by the camera best to pick up a spare battery although I do get about 2 hours of continuous battery shooting both video and photos.
I like to shoot both video and photos and so far the photos have been excellent and with the new AF I have not had a blurry photo in the bunch. And videos are the same but just with some issues like I mentioned above.
I did not have a lot of money invested in the GH5 with accessories and lenses so making the jump to full frame was a bit easier for me. Being a full frame camera I found the S5ii to be a bit heavier, but not much, and the full frame lenses are a bit bigger as well.
Like I stated I am a novice so don't beat me up with comments I just wanted a good camera that learn how to use and could grow into and for ME I think I have made the right choice.
I would recommend this to a friend
Brand response from Panasonic Team
Posted .
Thank you for your excellent feedback, it is much appreciated! -C
Pros mentioned:
Video quality
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Perfection
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Posted . Owned for less than 1 week when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
This new camera is an excellent run-and-gun camera for content creators, vloggers, and filmmakers of any level. Whether you’re shooting a commercial, YouTube video, or Instagram Reel, the S5II has you covered. This is one of those cameras that you can use however you want to. You can let the camera do the work and focus, or you can get your hands dirty and master the manual modes for more serious production work.
The unlimited recording and high dynamic range will make this perfect for long-form interviews, live streaming, and live music performances. Knowing the camera will not overheat is also a definite advantage over other systems on the market.
The S5 has some of the best image quality I have ever seen mixed with the best IBIS system I’ve used in a Full Frame Camera. No overheating and unlimited recording set this apart from most of the competition.
Lastly, if you’ve been applying the same LUT file in editing to VLOG for years, you can now bake it in as you record. This is going to be a huge time-saver for a lot of content creators and videographers.
I would recommend this to a friend
Brand response from Panasonic Team
Posted .
We are so happy to read that you appreciated our product. Thank you for the nice feedback! -C
Pros mentioned:
Autofocus, Video quality
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Best Hybrid Camera On The Market
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Posted . Owned for less than 1 week when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Awesome cinema camera on a budget! This is a high quality video camera with very good autofocus, unlike previous lumix cameras, this camera is the first of its kind with very strong autofocus technology. This camera also snaps high quality images, I can't get enough of this camera.
I would recommend this to a friend
Brand response from Panasonic Team
Posted .
Thank you for the wonderful review and for taking the time to share your feedback with us. Our priority is customer service and we are ecstatic that we met that mark! -M
Pros mentioned:
Low light performance
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Nice!
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Posted . Owned for 1 week when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Excellent camera, insane low light performance and IBIS
I would recommend this to a friend
Brand response from Panasonic Team
Posted .
We appreciate your 5-star rating! Thank you for sharing your positive experience with us. -C
Pros mentioned:
Video quality
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
High Quality Live Streaming Camera
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Posted . Owned for 2 weeks when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I bought this camera to use for live streaming. It's absolutely amazing! I've gotten so many compliments from my viewers on how much better my camera looks, and that I almost look "3D." HIGHLY RECOMMEND! I'm saving up to buy another one of these for a different angle!
I would recommend this to a friend
Brand response from Panasonic Team
Posted .
Thank you for the wonderful review and your recommendation! We're thrilled to hear you love the product. - S
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Loving the S5II
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Love my S5II. First Full Frame Digital
Getting back into photography and after much research I decided to move to Lumix as this camera had many great features for the money. Video and photography with this gem is wonderful! The 20-60mm kit lens is actually very good. I will be getting an adapter to use my Canon 17-40L
I would recommend this to a friend
Brand response from Panasonic Team
Posted .
Hi there! Thank you for the fantastic feedback, and welcome to the Lumix family! We're honored that you chose the S5II as your first full-frame digital camera, especially after doing your research. It's great to hear that both the photo and video performance are impressing you, and that the 20–60mm kit lens is delivering solid results. Happy shooting! - S
Pros mentioned:
Autofocus
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Must Buy!
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Posted . Owned for 1 month when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
The S5II is well worth it and the specs to price can't be beat!
I recently upgraded to the full frame S5II from a Lumix G95 (MFT) and on top of the obvious newer technology and full frame sensor, the Lumix S5II is just all around amazing!
I've always loved Lumix color science and camera design/useability but the obvious downside has always been their autofocus.
UNTIL NOW!
The phase detect autofocus makes this purchase a 10/10 in my opinion!
I would recommend this to a friend
Brand response from Panasonic Team
Posted .
Thank you for the wonderful review and for taking the time to share your feedback with us. Our priority is customer service and we are ecstatic that we met that mark! -M