Nikon D610 vs Panasonic Lumix DC-S5

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Nikon D610 and the Panasonic Lumix DC-S5, highlighting the advantages of each over the other, discussing their pros and cons, shared strengths and weaknesses, and providing a rating based on their available features and specifications to assist you in choosing the one that best suits your needs.

Nikon D610 was introduced in October 2013 and Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 was introduced in August 2020. Let us first list highlights of the models.

Now that we've looked at the most essential specifications and gained a basic understanding of these cameras, we can delve into more details and see the differences between them.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Nikon D610 over Panasonic Lumix DC-S5.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 over Nikon D610.

We already listed pros and cons of each model. However, you may also find useful to look at their common strengths and weaknesses shown side-by-side.

Screen

Nikon D610 has a 3.2" Fixed screen with 921k dot resolution and Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 has a 3.0" Fully Articulated screen with 1,840k dot resolution. Fully articulated screen makes Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 selfie and vlogger friendly and generally very useful for video shooting. Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 also features touchscreen which has advantages such as easy menu navigation, intuitive controls, quick setting adjustment and most importantly a Touch-to-Focus functionality (available only on Panasonic Lumix DC-S5) allowing users to select a specific point on the screen where they want the camera to focus. This feature can be helpful for achieving precise focus in both photo and video recording.

Viewfinder

Nikon D610 has a built-in Optical (pentaprism) viewfinderPanasonic Lumix DC-S5 has a built-in Electronic (OLED) viewfinder with 2,360k dot resolution. They both have 100% coverage.

Nikon D610 features a 24.3 megapixel Full Frame CMOS sensor with dimensions of 35.9 x 24.0 mm and a total area of 861.6 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 6,400 and expands to 100 - 25,600 in boosted mode. Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 features a 24.2 megapixel Full Frame CMOS sensor with dimensions of 35.6 x 23.8 mm and a total area of 566.4 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 51,200 and expands to 50 - 204,800 in boosted mode.

Here is a sensor size comparison chart where you can see how different sensors compare with each other:

Sensor size chart

	Sensor	Dimensions	Area	Aspect Ratio	Crop Factor
	Medium Format	44 x 33 mm	1452 mm2	4:3	0.79x
	Full Frame	36 x 24 mm	864 mm2	3:2	1x
	APS-H	27 x 18 mm	486 mm2	3:2	1.3x
	APS-C	23.6 x 15.6 mm	368.2 mm2	3:2	1.5x
	APS-C (Canon)	22.3 x 14.9 mm	332.3 mm2	3:2	1.6x
	Micro Four Thirds	17.4 x 13 mm	226.2 mm2	4:3	2x
	1-inch	13.2 x 8.8 mm	116.2 mm2	3:2	2.7x
	1/1.7-inch	7.44 x 5.58 mm	41.5 mm2	4:3	4.7x
	1/2.3-inch	6.17 x 4.55 mm	28.1 mm2	4:3	5.6x

Nikon D610 is equipped with EXPEED 3 processor and can take pictures up to 6016 x 4016 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 4512 x 3008, 3936 x 2624, 3008 x 2008, 3008 x 1688, 2944 x 1968 with 3:2 aspect ratios. Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 is equipped with Venus Engine processor and can take pictures up to 6000 x 4000 resolution.

Lens Mount

Nikon D610 has Nikon F lens mount and Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 has Leica L lens mount. Due to their Full Frame sensor their crop factor (also called lens multiplier) is equal to 1x. This means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length.

No Low-Pass Filter on Panasonic Lumix DC-S5

There is no optical low-pass filter (OLPF), also known as an anti-aliasing filter, in front of the sensor on Panasonic Lumix DC-S5. This results in a slightly sharper image but may also introduce moiré patterns and aliasing artifacts when photographing subjects with fine, repetitive patterns or details.

In-Body Image Stabilization on Panasonic Lumix DC-S5

Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 has a built-in 5-Axis Sensor Shift in-body image stabilization (IBIS) with 6.5 stops of compensation. This means that you are still getting vibration reduction when camera is paired with non-image stabilizied lenses. It also works with lenses with optical image stabilization and in combination can achieve even better compensation.

Built-in Wi-Fi on Panasonic Lumix DC-S5

Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 has a built-in Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi 5, 802.11ac/b/g/n, 2.4/5 GHz) which allows to easily transfer photos and videos from the camera to other Wi-Fi-enabled devices, such as smartphones, tablets, printers, or computers. This eliminates the need for cables and allows for quick and convenient media sharing and social media integration. It gives you the ability to control your camera remotely using a smartphone or tablet. This is particularly useful for taking self-portraits, group shots, or capturing images in challenging conditions without having to touch the camera. Firmware updates can also be downloaded and installed wirelessly.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in WiFi.

Bluetooth on Panasonic Lumix DC-S5

Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 has a built-in Bluetooth which lets you to connect the camera to a smartphone or a dedicated remote control device. This allows you to remotely trigger the camera, adjust settings and controls remotely through a paired mobile app. While Wi-Fi is generally faster for transferring larger files, Bluetooth can be used for small, selective transfers, it can provide real-time information about your camera's battery status, memory card capacity, and other key settings directly on your paired smartphone or smartwatch.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in Bluetooth.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB inputs for data transfer. Nikon D610 has a Mini Type C HDMI and Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 has a Micro HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Nikon D610 comes with EN-EL15 battery pack with battery life of 900 shots and Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 comes with DMW-BLJ31 battery pack with battery life of 440 shots.

External Storage Slots

Nikon D610 has Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I) card slots. Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 has two card slots - one for SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II) and one for SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I).

Shutter

Nikon D610 has Electronic shutter. Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 has Electronic shutter and Mechanical Focal Plane shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/4000 sec on Nikon D610, and up to 1/8000 sec on Panasonic Lumix DC-S5. Nikon D610 can shoot continuously up to 6.0 fps. Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 can shoot continuously up to 7.0 fps.

Focusing

Nikon D610 has 39 (9 cross-type) focusing points and Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 has 225 focusing points. Nikon D610 has detection range from -1 to +19 EV and Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 has detection range from -6 to +20 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Nikon D610 and Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 range from 0 to +20 EV and 0 to +18 EV respectively and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range on Nikon D610 and ±5 EV range on Panasonic Lumix DC-S5. You can also do exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Nikon D610 and exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Panasonic Lumix DC-S5.

Flash

Nikon D610 has a built-in flash with maximum range of 12.00 m at ISO 100 and also accepts external flash which can be connected via Hot Shoe or Wireless connection. Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 has no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected via Hot Shoe. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/200 sec on Nikon D610 and 1/250 sec on Panasonic Lumix DC-S5.

Nikon D610 body has dimensions of 141 x 113 x 82 mm (5.55 x 4.45 x 3.23") and Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 body has dimensions of 133 x 97 x 82 mm (5.24 x 3.82 x 3.23"). Nikon D610 weighs 850 g (1.87 lb / 29.98 oz) and Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 weighs 714 g (1.57 lb / 25.19 oz).

Nikon D610

Panasonic Lumix DC-S5

141 mm

113 mm

133 mm

97 mm

113 mm

97 mm

82 mm

82 mm