Panasonic LUMIX S5: The power of cinema, in your travel bag [Sponsored]

The Panasonic LUMIX S5 gives you creative potential that is only limited by your imagination.                                                    

The Panasonic S5, the cinema camera in your travel bag. Image: Panasonic.

Nobody likes to compromise. Photographers and video professionals in particular don’t like to compromise. And that’s because the image is king. If you take restrictive gear into environments where adaptability is essential you could end up missing the shot. You want the absolute best image quality possible, but you want a device that is easy to carry.

If you want to stay mobile you need gear that fits that need. You want something that is lightweight and compact, that fits into the hand easily. You want to be able to use it for long periods of time without fatigue. But at the same time it needs to be robust and to be able to stand up to everything that both you, and the environment can throw at it.

You need to nail focus each and every time and you want controls to be so perfectly to hand that they feel like an extension of your own body. And you want it to be like this whether you are taking stills or video. With many imaging professionals now being asked to do both, it is often essential that their camera can also perform both duties to an exceptional level.

Enter the Panasonic LUMIX S5

Image: Panasonic.

The Panasonic LUMIX S series has already built a high reputation for quality and dependability, no matter what the circumstances are. Both the DC-S1 and S1H have become dependable companions to professionals the world over, providing almost military style robustness and class leading image quality. Now there is a brand new member to the family, the LUMIX DC-S5.

The S5 builds on the existing S series reputation by bringing the adaptability and dependability users expect from it into a package that is more compact, light weight, and more affordable.

The S5 takes its DNA from the highly successful Micro Four Thirds LUMIX GH5, a camera that has won plaudits around the globe. The S5 takes basic DNA of the GH5 and brings it into a full-frame world. By combining some of the best aspects of the existing S1 and S1H with the compact portability of the GH5, the S5 is equipped to excel at any visual task you care to give it.

The S5’s 24MP dual native ISO sensor can capture stills in stunning detail even in the lowest of light conditions. Furthermore with 10-bit 4:2:2 4K in-camera video capture the S5 can be used for the most demanding video productions. With a forthcoming update 5.9K raw output over HDMI will be made possible, giving you the absolute ultimate in video quality.

Raw video gives you the power to use every last bit of dynamic range that the camera’s sensor is capable of providing. For years stills photographers have been reaping the benefits of working with raw images. Raw gives you the power to edit the image with utmost flexibility as well as providing the highest quality master possible. Raw is in effect a digital negative, and it brings with it similar advantages not only in terms of editing flexibility but also in terms of future proofing the images that you capture.

The Panasonic S5 with Atomos Ninja V.

You might be forgiven for thinking that with such powerful video capability that stills would be compromised. However nothing could be further from the truth. The LUMIX S5 is not only capable of great stills, it excels at them.

With Panasonic’s Dual I.S. 2 providing both in-body stabilisation (IBIS) and lens based stabilisation, the S5 can provide up to 6.5 stops of movement compensation. It means that even in situations where the light is fading you can take handheld stills at lower ISOs with perfect sharpness where many others will be struggling.

Autofocus on the S5 has been improved, providing highly accurate contrast detection focus in combination with Panasonic’s ultrafast DFD system. The S5 can automatically recognise both human and animal subjects and lock focus onto them even at a distance or when they are looking away from the camera. The S5 can provide a burst rate of up to 5fps when using continuous autofocus.

If you find that 24MP isn’t enough the S5 features a High Resolution mode that utilises the camera’s IBIS system to microscopically shift the sensor over multiple images. The result is images that are an incredible 96MP in resolution, bringing breathtaking depth and detail to your compositions.

The best image quality that you can take with you, anywhere

The Panasonic LUMIX S5 demonstrates that it is possible to have the very best image quality for both video and stills in a camera body that is both lightweight and compact. It’s a camera that you use as easily on a professional photoshoot as you can take it on your travels. It’s a camera that lets you take both stills and moving images without compromise.

It’s a camera that gives you the power of cinema in your camera bag.