Panasonic Lumix DMC-S2 vs Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Panasonic Lumix DMC-S2 and the Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 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 DMC-S2 was introduced in January 2012 and Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II 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 DMC-S2 over Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II over Panasonic Lumix DMC-S2.

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 DMC-S2 has a 2.70" Fixed screen with 230k dot resolution and Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II has a 3.0" Fully Articulated screen with 1,840k dot resolution. Fully articulated screen makes Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II selfie and vlogger friendly and generally very useful for video shooting. Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II 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 II) 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.

Electronic (OLED) Viewfinder on Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II

Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II has a built-in Electronic (OLED) viewfinder with 3,680k dot resolution. It has a 100% coverage and 0.78x magnification. There is no built-in or optional viewfinder available on Panasonic Lumix DMC-S2.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-S2 features a 14.1 megapixel 1/2.33-inch CCD sensor with dimensions of 6.08 x 4.56 mm and a total area of 27.7 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 6,400. Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II 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.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-S2 can take pictures up to 4320 x 3240 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 4320 x 2880, 4320 x 2432, 3648 x 2736, 2560 x 1920, 2048 x 1536, 640 x 480 with 4:3, 16:9 aspect ratios. Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II is equipped with Venus Engine processor and can take pictures up to 6000 x 4000 resolution.

No Low-Pass Filter on Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II

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 II. 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.

Image Stabilization

The cameras have a built-in image stabilization (5.5 stops of compensation in Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II). On Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II it means that you are still getting vibration reduction when it 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 II

Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II 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 II

Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II 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. connector for video signal output.

Battery

Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II comes with DMW-BLJ31 battery pack with battery life of 370 shots.

External Storage Slots

Panasonic Lumix DMC-S2 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC card slot. Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II has Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II) card slots.

Shutter

Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II has Electronic shutter and Mechanical Focal Plane shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/1600 sec on Panasonic Lumix DMC-S2, and up to 1/8000 sec on Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II. Panasonic Lumix DMC-S2 can shoot continuously up to 1.5 fps. Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II can shoot continuously up to 30.0 fps with electronic shutter and up to 9.0 fps with mechanical shutter.

Focusing

Panasonic Lumix DMC-S2 has 23 focusing points and Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II has 779 focusing points. Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II has detection range from -6 to +18 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II ranges from 0 to +18 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±2 range on Panasonic Lumix DMC-S2 and ±5 EV range on Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II. You can also do exposure bracketing on Panasonic Lumix DMC-S2 and exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II.

Flash

Panasonic Lumix DMC-S2 has a built-in flash with maximum range of 3.30 m. Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II has no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected via Hot Shoe. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/250 sec on Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-S2 body has dimensions of 98 x 57 x 21 mm (3.86 x 2.24 x 0.83") and Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II body has dimensions of 134 x 102 x 90 mm (5.29 x 4.03 x 3.55"). Panasonic Lumix DMC-S2 weighs 112 g (0.25 lb / 3.95 oz) and Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II weighs 740 g (1.63 lb / 26.10 oz).

Panasonic Lumix DMC-S2

Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II

98 mm

57 mm

134 mm

102 mm

57 mm

102 mm

21 mm

90 mm