I might be mad and it may be a pattern of madness.
I bought a Pana S5 literally the day before the S5II was released and the secret was largely out that it had better AF etc. I did not care. The S5 was a far better video camera than I had, it was a bargain (still cheap at the price 15 months later) and it added a little full frame power for stills if I needed it. At the time I could afford it, the S5II was out of my range.
The reality is, second hand, ex-demo and run-out cameras are the best value you can get. New and release date inflated cameras rarely make their money back. I bought a G9II as soon as I could and accepted the hit, because that camera was such an upgrade on the older model in video specs and to be honest, I just needed to make a choice. Earlier I made a smart move getting the S5 on post S5II release pricing.
Just one year later, it has the whiff of old news, but why?
The EVF is not as good as the S5II*.
To be honest I had no complaints about the S5’s finder. I can see what I need and it is accurate, but apparently it is a pet hate of some others. I have worse and get by.
The AF sucks. It is great for static grabs, decent for static video (Vlogging), but relatively poor for tracking subjects for stills or video*.
I use manual focus for most full frame video, M43 for sport stills because that is where my best cameras and lenses are and I have found the S5 actually good enough even in single shot mode for some sport. AF with video is of limited use to me, but I have it when needed*.
Sport, S5, all good, but I knew that from the G9 mk1..
The stabiliser is good, but by Panasonic standards a generation behind*.
No in-camera stabe is perfect and perfect is relative**. The S5 with a heavy cine lens and good technique could probably be decent without any stabe. It is still better than many dearer competitors.
A hefty lump, well balanced, solid and tight. Even without the more than decent S5’s stabe it feels controlled. Put an unbalanced or plastic-fantastic lens on and it is not as confident, but this just works. Truth be told, I like the tension a little movement brings. I actually dislike the gimbal look, so if I use a camera that is too stable, I would likely turn some off anyway (looking at you G9II). If you want steady, use a tripod.
There are ways.
Some video codecs are cropped, some are time limited*.
This is one of those “if I were to make a movie……” moments, that dissolve as soon as I ponder my real world needs, that are good quality 1080/25-50p/10 bit/422***, a combination which is not cropped or time limited on the S5. If I were to make top flight work, I would out-feed the video as 12 bit RAW anyway.
Looking at in a more practical sense, the storage and computer power needed for a long continuous stream of 4k/10 bit footage is beyond my needs or means. If I had it (I do*), I would likely never use it. For under 30 min clips it has full capabilities and only crops at high frame rates.
Battery life is…….. actually better than the S5II.
One of the biggest deterrents to high bit rate, high resolution video is the tole it takes. Proportionately sized files extend battery life, save space and allow for average computers to process long clips. One of the things that drew me to the S5 was its reputation of producing high quality work without needing super fast cards or out of proportion settings.
Rolling shutter is also better*.
Rolling shutter is apparently better in the S5 (two authoritative sources) and improves more in APS-C “Super 35” mode, while image quality does not decrease, so I may often choose to crop anyway.
ISO performance, dynamic range, visual quality (at the same settings) are all effectively the same.
The S5II has a sharper looking video image, which is not as popular (The S1H actually has an anti-aliasing filter specifically to soften files for video) and according to some reviewers, produces a less sharp stills image. ISO performance is similar, but different and DR is the same.
The same excellent layout and handling Panasonic all cameras have. There is a strong thread of Panasonic love out there, even when other factors were falling short. Could be cleaner I guess.
The HDMI port is tiny*.
I have dealt with this a few ways, not the least of which is to drift away from using screens when run-n-gunning or for slow static work. For hardware, the Smallrig cable clamp 3637, a right angle cable connector, Smallrig dongle, a cage built up around the left side with a handle, only using a screen in a controlled space and having two cams that I can interchange should have this fixed. I hate cables anyway, so less is more.
If I had not read there as an issue with the small HDMI port, I would not have given it a second thought, but now of course, I have probably over compensated. Funny how it is about the same size as the C-Type and sound jacks, which get no angst.
To sum up;
The reality is I have a pair of matching high quality full frame video and stills cameras with some workable limitations, another decent kit lens and enough saved from not buying the “better” camera to pay for a Ninja V or most of a 12g BM Video Assist.
Ed. Fate stepped in and the backorder with no ETA status of the S5 kit overlapped with an even better deal on the S5II, so I jumped. Still believe everything above, but at the price, I would have been mad. The S5II is going to be the Lumix lens AF camera (stills hybrid), the S5 for true video, which may seem odd, but as above, the S5 is all I need, the S5II just adds options for the future, sitting basically perfectly between the S5 and G9II.
*The key is the G9II. The reality is I can only use one hand held camera at a time and the G9II is the best choice always and offers all the top tier features I would need, if I need them. For static shots (hand held or tripod) or when using heavy video glass, these concerns evaporate naturally.
** I like a little controlled movement, or none at all (i.e. a tripod).
***To me colour and bit depth is far more important than resolution. Few if any clients actually ask for a minimum of 4k and if they do, they are often only covering their bets and using terms they trust in an unfamiliar space. Upscaled 1080, if it is good enough to start with, is also fine. Massive files and slow computers hold little appeal.