Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5S vs Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 II

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5S and the Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 II, 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.

Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5S was introduced in January 2018 and Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 II was introduced in July 2021. 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 Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5S over Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 II.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 II over Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5S.

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

Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5S has a 3.2" screen with 1,620k dot resolution and Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 II has a 3.0" screen with 1,840k dot resolution. Both have Fully Articulated screens. Fully articulated screen makes cameras selfie and vlogger friendly and generally very useful for video shooting. Both models feature touchscreen which has advantages such as easy menu navigation, intuitive controls, quick setting adjustment and most importantly a Touch-to-Focus functionality 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

Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5S has a built-in Electronic viewfinder with 3,680k dot resolution and Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 II has a built-in Electronic (OLED) viewfinder with 3,680k dot resolution. They both have 100% coverage and 1.52x (0.76x 35mm equivalent) magnification.

Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5S features a 10.28 megapixel Micro Four Thirds CMOS sensor with dimensions of 17.3 x 13 mm and a total area of 224.9 mm². Its native ISO range is 160 - 51,200 and expands to 80 - 204,800 in boosted mode. Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 II features a 20.33 megapixel Micro Four Thirds CMOS sensor with dimensions of 17.3 x 13 mm and a total area of 169 mm². Its native ISO range is 200 - 25,600 and expands to 100 - 25,600 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

Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5S is equipped with Venus Engine 10 processor and can take pictures up to 3680 x 2760 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 3:2 (3840 x 2560), 16:9 (4016 x 2256), 1:1 (2752 x 2752) with 1:1, 4:3, 3:2, 16:9 aspect ratios. Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 II is equipped with Venus Engine processor and can take pictures up to 5184 x 3888 resolution.

Lens Mount

Cameras have Micro Four Thirds lens mount. Due to their Micro Four Thirds sensor their crop factor (also called lens multiplier) is equal to 2x. This means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length times 2.

No Low-Pass Filter

There is no optical low-pass filter (OLPF), also known as an anti-aliasing filter, in front of the sensor on either of the cameras. 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-GH5 II

Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 II 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

Cameras have built-in Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n 2.4 GHz on Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5S, Wi-Fi 5 802.11ac/b/g/n 2.4/5 GHz on Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 II) 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

Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5S and Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 II have built-in Bluetooth (version 4.2 LE) 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 3.2 Gen 1x1 (5 GBit/sec) Type-C inputs for data transfer and battery charging. Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5S has a Full Size HDMI and Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 II has a Full Size HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5S comes with DMW-BLF19 battery pack with battery life of 440 shots and Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 II comes with DMW-BLK22 battery pack with battery life of 400 shots.

External Storage Slots

Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5S has Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II) card slots. Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 II has Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II) [V90 or Faster Recommended] card slots.

Shutter

Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5S and Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 II have Electronic shutter and Mechanical Focal Plane. shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/16000 sec with electronic shutter and up to 1/8000 sec with mechanical shutter on both models. Cameras can shoot continuously up to 12.0 fps.

Focusing

Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5S has 225 focusing points and Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 II has 225 focusing points. Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5S has detection range from -5 to +18 EV and Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 II has detection range from -4 to +18 EV.

Exposure

Both cameras' exposure metering ranges from 0 to +18 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range. You can also do exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5S and exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 II.

Flash

Cameras have no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected to both of them via Hot Shoe or PC Terminal. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/250 sec on both cameras.

Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5S and Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 II bodies have the same dimensions of 139 x 98 x 87 mm (5.47 x 3.86 x 3.43"). Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5S weighs 660 g (1.46 lb / 23.28 oz) and Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 II weighs 727 g (1.60 lb / 25.64 oz).

Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5S

Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 II

139 mm

98 mm

139 mm

98 mm

98 mm

98 mm

87 mm

87 mm