Who is the New King of Autofocus? Panasonic Lumix S5II vs Sony A7IV vs Canon R6II
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- Опубліковано 3 чер 2024
- Panasonic Lumix S5 II is the first Lumix Mirrorless camera that has a phase detection autofocus system. But can the Lumix S5II's autofocus performance be anywhere close to the King of the Autofocus, Sony and Canon? I tested them side by side and the results may not be what you expected.
Disclaimer: Panasonic has paid for my trip to Japan to attend the Lumix summit in Dec 2022 when they showed us the S5II privately. They have also provided me a long-term loan S5II camera and a few lenses for me to work on the S5II review and other content.
Camera gear I used to shoot this video:
Panasonic Lumix S5II | Lumix S 50mm f/1.8
Panasonic Lumix S5 | Lumix S 50mm f/1.8
Canon R6II | Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L
Sony A7IV | Sony FE 50mm f/1.2 GM
Instagram: / photo_by_richard
My Miniature Photography Instagram: / toycapturer
Facebook: / photobyrichard
0:00 Introduction
1:22 Important Autofocus Setting (for human detection)
5:22 Daytime Autofocus test - Panasonic Lumix S5 vs Panasonic Lumix S5II
7:50 Daytime Autofocus test - Panasonic Lumix S5II vs Sony A7IV
9:14 Daytime Autofocus test - Panasonic Lumix S5II vs Canon R6II
11:01 Low light Autofocus Test - Panasonic Lumix S5II vs Sony A7IV
12:24 Low light Autofocus Test - Panasonic Lumix S5II vs Canon R6II
14:11 Vlogging test - Daytime
16:08 Vlogging test - Low Light
19:43 Autofocus Test with Sigma MC21 and Canon EF lens
21:11 Run & Gun Style Autofocus Test
21:52 "What youtubers always do" Autofocus Test
22:26 Final Thoughts - Наука та технологія
This man just ran the equivalent of a marathon for our sake, that’s dedication right there! Jokes aside, thank you very much Richard, I think your side by side comparison with the R6II and A7IV is proof that Panasonic can finally compete and doesn’t lack behind at all in terms of AF. The rest was miles ahead anyway so I think this is truly the best hybrid camera for the money out there right now.
Serkan haha i actually did run a lot!! Yes i definitely think the S5II is at very similar level as the latest Sony/Canon. Maybe some area can fine tune but nothing major
R6 II definitely wins here... and it's not crippled in high speed modes like the S5 II (cropped 4K60, cropped HD120, limited AF in HD120, no AF in 180p). Caleb over at DSLR Videoshooter showed the S5 II still has a lot of bad pulsing in its autofocus and sometimes just completely misses.
Too many cripples and still unreliable autofocus.
@@77dris you must have watched a different video to me. From what I saw the A7IV and S5ii made the R6ii look pretty lacklustre. It's better than the S5i, but definitely behind the A7IV and the S5ii in terms of AF.
@@77dris chikki I have tried all 3 cameras & I choose the Panasonic S5 II its the best
@@77dris R6 II IS DEFINITELY THE WORST..
Thanks. This is actually more useful than most other reviews on the s5ii I've seen so far. I really appreciate your "Show, don't tell" approach. Please hold on to that insightful style of reviews.
Great to hear! It is a hard thing to make the balance between sharing too much or too little of my thoughts. Some viewers really like me to tell them exactly what to do, or what is good/bad. But personally I like to show you my results and facts, and only share a small amount of my thoughts, but i still want you guys to make your own decision and influenced more by the results you see rather than what a UA-camr (like me) say.
Best review of the autofocus capabilities of the S5 MKII that came out today. DP review has a different take on the autofocus to my surprise, the Hybrid shooter seems to have got it right by concluding that this is a huge step up. Your review makes things objective in stead of a subjective opinion of a photographer. Keep up the good work!
DP Review are paid shills, can't be trusted, just like the rest of the big media. Did you see their 'review' of OM-1? They run a comparison with R3 ffs, 3x more expensive Canon flagship vs David. And ofc with old lens on OM-1 and wrong settings.
Thank you Patrick!
Even though there are lots of mistakes in the tests, the results would be the same im sure. Next time when shooting in 24,25 fps… either set your shutter speed to 1/50 or set 180 degree angle. For the low light dont use auto iso while doing comparisons because it gives a clear advantage to that camera
The best of the reviews for the S5II in terms of actual performance of the AF and comparisons to canon/Sony so far. Much more useful than a simple and general resuscitation of specs and basic overview of changes. Thanks for clearly explaining the difference between human and face/eye AF settings. And that sigma EF converter test was clutch! Fantastic review Richard! 🙏
Thank you for watching. Glad you like it
It was so nice meeting you in Tokyo Richard! You’ve gone above and beyond with your reviews, great work 😄
Thanks Julia! Let's see if we have a chance to meetup again and go for another BBQ!! :D
Great review, you just went through all the tests needed in a real test environment that most of us would incur during our shoots. Fantastic work!
Glad it was helpful! :)
The dedication on this test... I'm from France and honestly you've become one of my favorite tech reviewers on this platform... Thank you Richard 👌🏾🙏🏾
Oh thank you so much! Thanks for watching!
I spent years with Lumix, luckily I didn't quit L-mount. Thanks, Richard! Very glad to see you!
Same here
Hey Liam, it's.a great time to be a Lumix user
Hey Richard! Wonderful tests and great video as usual! Was so lovely to meet you in person finally! - Emily 📸
Hey Emily It was REALLY great to meet you in person! I just regretted that i forgot to take a selfie with you.. and guys remember to check out Emily's channel for her excellent S5II review, it's quite different to my one. A lot more fun and happier i have to say !
Thanks Richard. This is the most comprehensive AF test I ever seen. You are very genuine and very good at what you are doing. Next time I will definitely refer to you when buying a new camera. I used to rely on dpreview but not anymore.
Wow great tests. This new cam is performing really well.
The best Richard Run test ever! Seeing that focus lock in so accurately was very satisfying 😄🙌
I feel like I really need to up my running to increase the difficulty level for Panasonic now.
@@TheRealRichardWong ha you should find a guest athlete to appear as a test sprint subject 😄
Your videos rock! This was fascinating. This new camera is a mind blower.
thank you Cameron!
Thanks for this work Richard. I am ecstatic that I chose L mount for my long-term FF system with the S1 and S1R. It was already good enough for me, but the future now looks incredible!
the new phase of Lumix!
Exactly what I was looking for. Very good video
Thank you Richard! Great comparison as always!
Glad you liked it @apple-dad. ! Thank you!
Thnx so much for the real BEST ever review of autofocus! Great job, great photo/videographers YTC!
Great video! Thank you for your tests.
Thanks for watching :)
Wonderful test of an awesome Lumix camera! Thanks Richard!
Thank you very much!
Great video and very usefull. Amazing results!!
Thanks for the vlogging tests 🙏 14:14. It’s exciting to see this with Panasonic!
Yes indeed.
Never knew you was a fan of this UA-cam channel.
I have watched your channel for a couple of years now. Keep up the great work
Thank you for watching Karl! Yes it is SUPER exciting for any Panasonic camera users!!
I've seen you,Karl running around chandi chowk looking to buy a lens for his G85. Great to see Panasonic users assemble looking forward to the s5ii.
Amazing to see you are also sleepless deciding which one to go for Panasonic Sony or Canon. I would bet on Panasonic as it has built in LUT grading, better video modes and built in time lapse. Perfect for video and photos.
Great video. Excellent review.
I found this video great. Loved the examples to see how the cameras respond.
Awesome, thank you!
Thanks for running around in your backyard. What an AF improvement!
And it even works well with MC21 😱
Thanks to Panasonic keeping me healthy!
and yes i was super surprised with the MC21 performance
Great as always Richard! Thank you for your review of this beautiful camera from Panasonic. Cheers
Thank you for watching!
My next camera! thank you for all the test.
Good in depth auto focus review. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Best S5II video thus far! Thanks Richard! Comparison to A7IV and R6II were key.
Thanks!
Thanks for the best AF tests on youtube!
Thank you Vladimir for your always support
That is a very thorough detailed review Richard! Thanks and well done!! And well done to Panasonic - exceptional camera - especially for the price!
Glad it was helpful!
Great. Thanks for the tests. I'm convinced Panasonic have made the AF useable at last, even with Sigma adapter and EF lenses. That's impressive.
Yo Richard you the Man! Your dedication for these comparison tests are unequalled to any other channel! And even though I don't need another camera already owning the Canon R, A7S3, GH5 and OM1, I'm excited to get my hands on a Panasonic that finally has an AF system that works all the time!
I appreciate that! But Daisy, since you already have so many cameras, why not just add one more? Just kidding of course. Yes I'm really excited about what the S5II bring us even for someone not getting the S5II.
This is great, thanks Richard!
Very good tests. Thanks for your efforts. 🙂
Thank you Heathcliff!
These are exactly the kind of tests I was looking for, thanks so much for all the effort that went into them.
There's one more test I would be interested in seeing for those of us who are stills shooters, and that's how the AF performs in burst mode - both the 9fps with mechanical shutter, and the 30fps with electronic shutter. And also how much rolling shutter distortion there is with e-shutter. If the readout speed is reasonably fast, that 30fps burst mode could be a killer feature, something that for example the Sony A7IV can't compete with.
We've all been telling Lumix for years that PDAF was the one thing they were missing, and now finally they've listened, and instantly their AF has gone from worst to among the best. Combined with Lumix's excellent accurate colour, outstanding video features, fantastic ergonomics, and an ever-growing lens catalogue, this could be the camera I've been waiting for.
This video is amazing!
Liked and Subscribed!
From Bulgaria 🇧🇬
Will watch your other videos on the S5 II
Thanks! :)
@@TheRealRichardWong I have the S5 Mark I and I am learning how to operate it at the moment.
Your comparison between the S5 I and S5 II was very useful for me.
As I am a beginner photographer and videographer I am happy I will learn on the S5 I because I will need to work around Auto Focus limitations and maybe learn to Manual Focus.
And on Black Friday 2023 I plan on getting the S5 II X as I am an Apple user and it records in ProRes
The S5 II X comes of mid June in Europe and I am hoping for a small discount or lens bundle by Black Friday 2023
You did this very well.nthsnk you for this video!🍀
Thank you Castiel! 😃
Best camera reviewer, thank you for your content.
Thank you so much!
that was helpful! Thank you
Hi Richard, wow what a result! Looks really great, kind of a surprise advantage in responsiveness compared to the R6 II, although it looked like the Canon focus was nice and sticky once it decided to lock on. Also the Sony increasing exposure when it realized you were backlit was interesting-it started off dimmer than the S5 shot. Despite that, seemed like a dead heat between those two.
This was the first one I clicked on, but definitely going to check out your other vids next. Thanks for doing them, as always! -Chris
Thank you so much Chris!!! Hope you found my other videos also interesting as well
With my experiences, Canon in general has poor AF in video; far behind Sony, equal to Fuji. Nikon with the Z9 has been insanely good!
Oh man! Great video, Bravo!
Thank you!!
Grazie per questo video test!
Love your vids … best reviews par none!!🎊
Thank you very much Roger
Nice review.
Nicely done, Richard!
Oh thank you so much Hugh! Thanks for visiting my channel :)
Awesome AF break down! 👏👏👏
Glad you liked it Jamie!
Thank you very very much for this perfect video
Thank you, the best review on new LUMIX S5ii
thank you so much
Great video!
This is absolutely help me to decision move to s5ii .thank you so much.
Nice video review
Thank you! Cheers!
A very sound autofocus test Richard! Very useful! Very good side by side comparisons. It enables the viewer to evaluate and compare very easily. Well done! Amazing to see that it holds up well to the SONY A7IV. I started with the Pana GH5s (which is still a great camera) but I moved to a SONY FX3 for my main A cam for its AF and ease of use for run and gun style videography. I'm very pleased with the SONY FX3, but still have the GH5s as a B-Cam. Would be great to see a GH6 M 4/3 camera with this phase detection system! Thanks again for your hard work!
I can't wait to see the next high end Panasonic m43 with PDAF
Real dedication getting all that running in for the tests!
This is clearly leaps and bounds better than the previous S5 - I'm not a huge AF user and have even found Sony / Canon AF to be problematic at times - I probably wouldn't rely upon it for professional jobs - but I'm really interested to see whether this cam can win people over to Panasonic now they've addressed the AF issues.
There seems to be a fair bit of divided opinion on the day 1 YT reviews over whether this is better than Canon / Sony - but I guess not worth drawing any conclusions from UA-cam from pre-production models - so I'm interested to see how that conversation develops over the next few months and hopefully any improvements required can be quickly rolled out via firmware.
Thanks for the in depth testing!
yes definitely a bit of different opinion. But i think if we sum up and average all the different (opposite) opinion, the S5II is very close to the performance of the more expensive R6II and A7IV. And this is just the first release of Panasonic's PDAF hybrid system, it will only get better. Just compare the original GH5 FW1.0 with the latest GH5.. there were some huge improvements!
@@TheRealRichardWong yes I'm sure any improvement can be sent over firmware! Exciting times!
This is what we've been waiting for!
yes!!!
Richard, what a great professional test on the new auto focus from Panasonic. I'm sold on it, even through I don't use auto focus that much. Panasonic continues to make reasonably priced products that excel in the marketplace. This new S5II camera will satisfy many people who need auto focus to do their productions. I love my GH4, GH5, GX85 and my S5. I think I'll save my penny's and pick up the S5II X for only 2 hundred dollars more in May. Thank you, PANASONIC!!
Thanks for watching and glad you enjoyed the video
It's wonderful that you put classical music in your videos, your are the only one I think. Regards from Berlin and the Berliner Philharmonie :)
Glad you like the music :)
Great Job !!!
Thanks you very much Richard !!
Thanks again :)
Looking forward to this camera! I am in L-mount so this is amazing!
Hey Richard, you did amazing job on new Panasonic S5ii Autofocus Test !!! Panasonic should hire you 😁👍
Your videos are always so detailed and so valuable!!!! Thank-you 🤝
haha if Panasonic hire me, then i won't be able to create independent video like this :)
@@TheRealRichardWong You right 😁🙌
Thanks again for such a great and valuable content!!!🤝
thank you for your effort.. you did a great job :)
So nice of you :)
Well made video. 👍
Thank you! 👍
Very nice comparasion. Really good job. I just wish if there could be some still comparasion done, also with some presets and colors comparasion. Almost nobody does that, which is shame if it's all hybrid cameras comparasions, not only videocameras :)
i did some stills comparison in my full review :)
Great tests, looks like a huge improvement - would love to see photo af in high fps mode at long distances (birding)
I had some photo AF examples in my full review. Overall i found photo mode AF works OK. but definitely still room to improve.
The best real world AF testing hands down. Great Job!
Thank you so much
I would love to see a handheld IBIS test between the Panasonic S5II and the Canon / Sony cameras. Test with a 50mm lens and a moderate telephoto. Thanks Richard. This new camera looks like it has caught up with the competition.
what about this? ua-cam.com/video/P8bZkR_6Tf8/v-deo.html
Thanks for the video. The most important focus mode for me on the Sony A7iv (I also own the S5j is the tracking AF where I bring my target under my focus area in the middle and half press the shutter and the Sony will stay on that target no matter what, even with people crossing the frame. Does the Mark ii have a similar mode?
Great testing! I'm an S5 user and have already pre-ordered the II.
Fun note: I spaced out (no offense) during minute 10 of the video, and my eyes defocused as they would when looking at one of those 3D images. The spacing between the two cameras gave me full stereo view! It was cool to watch you running back and forth in 3D for a bit 🙂
oh haha interesting!!! and thanks so much for watching
Not only the AF, but the Panasonic colors are great!!
simple and clear comparaison
Thank you 😊
Great test...The S5II stands up very well!
As I shoot music videos, I'd love to see something that simulated similar circumstances to filming a band..For example, a person moving through an environment, with objects briefly passing in front of the person(to see if focus sticks to them, rather than grabbing on to the other objects in shot), or a person moving erratically within the shot (for some of the more energetic performers)...this is a great video that shows some great examples! Thank you
Thank you!
hi
I have a question.
In the official video, we can see the warbling when you grab the af.
Doesn't warbling seem like a serious factor when tested?
This camera is going to be a home run for Panasonic. The new PDAF looks to be working great!
I agree.
Great test, thanks a lot. Including the Fujifilm X-H2 would be perfect.
I will see if i have chance to do that in the future :)
Xh2s vs s5ii ❤️
A very comprehensive review. Thanks for sharing!
When did the MC-21 start doing auto focus continuously??
It depends on Sigma, Panasonic and L Mount alliance. I doubt it'll be compatible with third party lenses, such as Canon.
Maybe Sigma lenses?
But I think after such investment and research Panasonic will be interested in selling its own lenses. So probably PDAF will be obtainable only with original lenses.
@@TheMash84 Check out Kai's review. He shows the S5II with Canon EF lenses on sigma MC-21. Works very well!
yes! Kai showed it in his review! I also showed it near the end of this video too :)
Hey, great review. I love that you showed in-depth autofocus tests. Can I ask what settings did you use for the AF in terms of AF sensitivity and AF speed?
All default settings
Hello, how do you exposed for the night shoots, did you had fixed settings? I dont own a camera and i dont understand how to expose when walking and the light around might change, i see that you are at F1.8 aperture, the shutter speed must be double the frame rate, then you set auto ISO or.....? Thanks.😊
Good Comparison. The stabilzation so smoooooooooooth.
Thank U for comparison with a7 IV and R6 II. It was eye opening for you coming into a frame, S5 II focuses on you faster than R6 II.
Thanks for watching! I still wonder why the Canon is noticeably slower. Maybe can do a re-match one day!
@@TheRealRichardWong If so, with a retail version at the end of January. 😀
I waited 11 years for this!! 🙏
Is it worth the wait ?
@@TheRealRichardWong I'm certain 👍
Excellent video, I think the most organic video I have watched about new PDAF Lumix S5II system. I have a question. What settings (speed and sensitivity) did you use in all cameras? I checked you said default. Did you use 0-0 in new S5II settings?
Hi Danny, for the Lumix S5 II, it is default with "custom AF setting" set to OFF. For Sony and Canon, sorry i have returned all the cameras so i can't check but i did a full reset of all the cameras, so whatever the default for those cameras are.
can't wait for the s5iix got mine pre ordered! XD
Thank you, I appreach you Work.
The best review ever - Great job Richard - anyway read my post about 2 great defects all Lumix has and not many talks about: from what I understand from many tutorials about the Lumix S5 II - there may still be a very serious defect that not many people talk about or consider, and it is that the wheel at the top right, which is used to change exposure times, well it is very easy to move it inadvertently with the palm of the hand, because I repeat it is a defect that is pre-existing on all Lumix cameras because I repeat the time wheel is too close to the palm of the hand, and it is too sensitive to move and that inadvertently changes the exposure times and you realize it only after you've taken the photo. I believe that this wheel should have a manual analog fixing so to unlock or lock the exposure times you have to voluntarily intervene more forcefully on the wheel that changes them. and another defect that no one talks about is that even if we have the manual and external wheel to change from AFS to AFC, however, we still have to go inside the menu to make it truly active and so what is the point of having these two settings to get the result of to have a speed between AFS to AFC when it would be more than enough to have only the external wheel that quickly lets us switch from AFS to AFC. Panasonic SHOULD FIX IT.
Hi Tony, good point about the two things you brought up. I wouldn't call those "defects" though as it does exactly what they were designed to do, i would call them design flaws instead.
However I personally don't have issues with the control wheel but what you said is definitely a good valid point!
Re the AFS/AFC for video, i was originally going to mention it as part of the few things i want Panasonic to improve, but it's one of the dozens of things got cut out because my main review is way too long already. I definitely agree AFC/AFS should work differently in video mode, rather than relying on user to change it in the menu system. It's something a lot of new Lumix user don't understand. i should bring it up and discuss with Panasonic next time I have a chance to talk to them
Quick solution to the inadvertent move of the control wheel. You can lock/unlock all control while shooting, by allocating that button next to the lens on the front. Locks all controls with the press of that buttong and shows a red message on the display. Cool trick.
@@TheRealRichardWong When you talk with them about this big Panasonic issue tell them to resolve it with a new firmware and for all the Pansonic cameras also the older one. AFS and AFC must be controlled only by the external wheel and not controlled by or from the internal menù otherwise, it goes on to be AFC also if we choose to make it work as AFS from the external wheel. I don't understand why the engineers go on make this way that for me (and I'm a prophessional videomaker and photographer for the actor here in Italy) well it is a very big issue or mistake by them from Panasonic. They must be aware of it and resolve it - Lately, I have been interviewing an actor and I wanted AFS, I forgot to make it AFS also from the inside menu as AFS and my Panasonic goes on to work as AFC I did not want in that circumstance.
Good job, you can see this was lots of hard work! Looks to me like the Panny AF is really good now, but still needs some tweaking for metering/Auto ISO in low light, at least compared to Sony?
yes i think there are still a few things it can tweak but it is very comparable to the Sony/Canon overall.
Autofocus is now soo much better.
Really good comparison.
Hi, I'm currently have several Nikon lenses and I'm interested with this Lumix. Can we adapt Nikon F mount lenses to L mount Lumix body using adapter and still get the autofocus?
It’s good. I still use a Panasonic gx9 and I appreciate the UI. This S5II is an excellent camera. If I wasn’t invested so much into the Nikon Z system I’d probably consider it as a very strong alternative. Thanks for the review.
Thanks for watching Alessandro
amazing Richard thank you for the video can i ask how it is on the s5ii with the igma 24-70 2.8 as this is my main lens
Thanks Ryan, sorry I haven't try that lens with the s5ii so can't answer that question
Very detail testing on the auto focus. S5II AF seems to be comparable with A7IV and out perform R6II. The WB is is cooler on S5II and the face exposure is darker compare to other cameras. It was fun to see you running around to do the AF test, however it would be even better if you hire a pretty model to carry out the AF test. 😂
Your channel deserve 100k+ subs in 2023.
Let's make it happen! My son would REALLY love to see me have a Play Button plate
Thanks for your awesome test! Is the AF Performance with Sigma Lenses as good as with the native ones?
Unfortunately I only had limited time testing with the Sigma L-mount lens so i can't really comment.
but since the performance with the Sigma MC21 + Canon EF lens is really not bad, i can only expect the Sigma L-mount lens would be easily at least as good as that.
Thank you for this vid. The side by side really helped. I didn’t realize how good the Panasonic autofocus was with this cam. I originally wanted to get the s5ii. Then saw some bad reviews on the auto focus compared to other cameras. So I was debating between the Sony a7iv and the r6 mark ii… then I saw this video. Lol thank you! Leaving canon for lumix. Thank you again.
Thanks! It's not perfect, there are things can be fine tune and improved. But overall I think it's up there in top 3 now
@@TheRealRichardWong I do like the price of the s5ii, and I do like the price of the lens they have available compared to canon RF lens mount system. Any tips on a wide to mid zoom lens?
Lol no need to reply… I looked at your channel and saw your lens reviews. I just subscribed nice videos.
Thanks for the sub
Thanks for taking the time to do this test. Was wondering whether if Panasonic would create something that'd compete with Sony. Now Sony have a serious competitor ☺
It definitely is a serious competitor now, especially the price is quite a bit lower than the A7IV.
The colors on the S5 to the S5 ii look different as well, going to test this for myself today and share the results if anyone is interested.
Very interesting. I’d also like to see a test of sports shooting such as basketball or volleyball or other indoor sport to see if AFC is as good when shooting stills. This video seems to indicate that the AF for video is as good or better than the comparison cameras. Very impressive. Thank you.
I haven't got a chance to shoot any sports but did shoot some action photos in my full review. You can check that out.
Oh a very good Video! I think that Panasonic did a great job and you too!
Thanks a lot!
How many nits is the rear monitor on the S5II? During those daylight comparison tests in the backyard, it appeared like it was significantly brighter than the other cameras' rear screens in those (sunlit) conditions. If so, that might be another significant selling point that Panasonic might want to utilize.
Great video to test the video auto focus. A7IV has the quickest speed and the poorest colour, while R6ii is on the contrary. S5ii indeed surprised me because it has caught up and its performance of auto focus is rather rather close to A7iv.
great review, thumbs up!
How come that we see a differnce in color, do you have used the same WB settings?
Have you tested the AF with third party lenses such as Sigma 24-70 2.8. Does it work that good as well?
no sorry havent test that lens