Panasonic Lumix S5IIX officially released

Panasonic has officially released the Panasonic Lumix S5IIX, a more video-specialist version of the Lumix S5II full-frame mirrorless camera that went on sale earlier this year. Externally, the two cameras use the same body design, but the S5IIX has an all-black finish with no visible branding. Likewise, there’s no white labelling on any of the controls, with the top dials being engraved, and the buttons subtly marked in grey. The rationale behind this is to make the camera as discreet as possible when filming.

The S5IIX’s top-plate dials are engraved, while the buttons are labelled in grey

Compared to the S5II, the new model has near-identical specifications, particularly for stills shooting. However, it offers higher-quality video recording in various ways, including support for both BlackMagic and ProRes raw.

Firstly, slow and quick recording is in 4:2:2 10-bit colour, rather than 4:2:0 on the S5II (with both models offering 4K up to 60fps, or FullHD up to 180fps). Secondly, the S5IIX is capable of All-I recording at 400Mbps, 600Mbps or 800Mbps in C4K, 4K or 3.3K resolutions, and 200Mbps in Full HD, with the fastest bit-rate requiring a USB-C SSD. It offers both Blackmagic Raw (BRAW) output, and ProRes RAW output in 5.8K, C4K or 4K to an SSD.

The camera also supports both wired and wireless live streaming, along with tethering to a smartphone via USB.

Like the S5II, the S5IIX benefits from an optimised interface in movie mode. Image credit: Andy Westlake

The Panasonic Lumix S5IIX will be available in May 2023 for $2,199 / £2,299 body-only.

Lumix S5II firmware version 2.0 coming

Panasonic has also revealed a major firmware update for the S5II, with version 2.0 due to be released on June 13, 2023. The camera will gain the firm’s Live View Composite mode, which enables users to capture long exposure stills in the daytime, without the need for ND filters. It’ll also enable both Blackmagic and ProRes raw data output over HDMI.

Read our review of the Panasonic Lumix S5II. Image credit: Andy Westlake

Lumix lens price drops in Europe

Last but by no means least, Panasonic has also unveiled significant price cuts for several of its most popular Lumix S full-frame lenses in Europe. Specifically, the Lumix S Pro 24-70mm F2.8 drops from £2,199 to £1,799, while the Lumix S Pro 70-200mm F2.8 OIS reduces in price from £2,599 to £2,099. It’s not just the top-end lenses, either, with the Lumix S 70-300mm F4.5-5.6 Macro OIS down to £899 from £1,259.