Panasonic Lumix DC-S1 vs Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II X

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Panasonic Lumix DC-S1 and the Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II X, 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-S1 was introduced in February 2019 and Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II X was introduced in January 2023. 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-S1 over Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II X.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II X over Panasonic Lumix DC-S1.

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-S1 has a 3.2" Tilting screen with 2,100k dot resolution and Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II X has a 3.0" Fully Articulated screen with 1,840k dot resolution. Tilting screen makes Panasonic Lumix DC-S1 very useful for photography purposes but not so useful for video shooting. Fully articulated screen makes Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II X 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-S1 has a built-in Electronic viewfinder with 5,760k dot resolution and Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II X has a built-in Electronic (OLED) viewfinder with 3,680k dot resolution. They both have 100% coverage and 0.78x magnification.

Both models feature a 24.2 megapixel Full Frame CMOS sensor with dimensions of 35.6 x 23.8 mm and a total area of 847.3 mm². Their 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

Cameras are equipped with Venus Engine processor and can take pictures up to 6000 x 4000 resolution.

Lens Mount

Cameras have 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

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

The cameras have a built-in 5-Axis Sensor Shift in-body image stabilization (IBIS) (6 stops of compensation in Panasonic Lumix DC-S1 and 5.5 stops of compensation in Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II X). This means that you are still getting vibration reduction when cameras are 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 (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

Panasonic Lumix DC-S1 and Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II X have 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 Type-C inputs for data transfer and battery charging. Panasonic Lumix DC-S1 has a Full Size HDMI and Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II X has a Full Size HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Panasonic Lumix DC-S1 and Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II X come with DMW-BLJ31 battery pack with battery life of 380 shots on Panasonic Lumix DC-S1 and with battery life of 370 shots on Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II X.

External Storage Slots

Panasonic Lumix DC-S1 has two card slots - one for SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II) and one for CFexpress Type B / XQD. Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II X has Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II) card slots.

Shutter

Panasonic Lumix DC-S1 has Mechanical Focal Plane shutter and Electronic shutter. Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II X has Electronic shutter and Mechanical Focal Plane shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/8000 sec on Panasonic Lumix DC-S1, and up to 1/8000 sec on Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II X. Panasonic Lumix DC-S1 can shoot continuously up to 9.0 fps. Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II X can shoot continuously up to 30.0 fps with electronic shutter and up to 9.0 fps with mechanical shutter.

Focusing

Panasonic Lumix DC-S1 has 225 focusing points and Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II X has 779 focusing points. They both have detection range from -6 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 both models.

Flash

Cameras have no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected to both of them via Hot Shoe or PC Terminal to Panasonic Lumix DC-S1 and via Hot Shoe to Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II X. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/320 sec on Panasonic Lumix DC-S1 and 1/250 sec on Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II X.

Panasonic Lumix DC-S1 body has dimensions of 149 x 110 x 97 mm (5.87 x 4.33 x 3.82") and Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II X body has dimensions of 134 x 102 x 90 mm (5.29 x 4.03 x 3.55"). Panasonic Lumix DC-S1 weighs 899 g (1.98 lb / 31.71 oz) and Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II X weighs 740 g (1.63 lb / 26.10 oz).

Panasonic Lumix DC-S1

Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II X

149 mm

110 mm

134 mm

102 mm

110 mm

102 mm

97 mm

90 mm