Alongside the new 18-40mm f/4.5-6.3 lens and a big Lumix S9 firmware update, Panasonic also unveiled a refreshed version of the old Lumix S5 full-frame mirrorless camera, albeit one that won’t arrive in the United States.
Unlike the lightly upgraded Panasonic G100D Panasonic brought to the United States in January, the ever-so-slightly improved Lumix S5D is so far only announced in Europe. American customers aren’t necessarily missing out on too much, though, as the S5D only brings minor improvements.
Perhaps the most significant change is that the Lumix S5D is compatible with DJI’s LiDAR autofocus system, and its RS 3 Pro gimbal, which adds autofocus to manual focus lenses using LiDAR-driven focus motors and intelligent distance measurement technology. Panasonic and DJI announced deeper integration last year, and numerous Panasonic cameras work with the DJI RS 3 Pro’s autofocus technology, including the GH5 Mark II, GH6, S1H, S5II(X), BS1H, and G9 Mark II. The original S5, however, remained incompatible, a situation the new S5D corrects.
Beyond this improvement, the S5D promises an improved OLED viewfinder, per Asobinet. However, it is unclear what about the viewfinder is new, as both the S5 and S5D have an OLED EVF with 2.36 million dots and 0.74x magnification.
Otherwise, the Lumix S5D is identical to the original S5. The new version sports the same 24.2-megapixel full-frame image sensor with Dual Native ISO technology, the same 4K/60p video recording features, an identical in-body image stabilization system, and everything else, including the older contrast-detection autofocus system that has been replaced by phase-detect AF in the new S5II and S5IIX models.
However, the S5D, which only comes in kits, has another trick up its sleeve: it has pushed the price of the older S5 to new lows. At Wex Photo Video, one of the largest camera retailers in the United Kingdom, the S5 is now half off, costing just £999 in a kit with the 20-60mm zoom lens. It’s unclear if this price-dampening effect will carry over to markets without the S5D.
Meanwhile, the S5D is £1,399 for a kit with the brand-new 18-40mm f/4.5-6.3 lens or £1,799 with the 28-200mm f/4-7.1 Macro OIS lens.
Image credits: Panasonic