Sony Alpha 9 II vs Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II X

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Sony Alpha 9 II 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.

Sony Alpha 9 II was introduced in October 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 Sony Alpha 9 II 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 Sony Alpha 9 II.

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

Sony Alpha 9 II and Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II X have 3.0" screens with 1,440k dot and 1,840k dot resolutions respectively. Sony Alpha 9 II has a Tilting screen which makes it very useful for photography purposes but not so useful for video shooting. Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II X has a Fully Articulated screen which makes it 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

Sony Alpha 9 II has a built-in 0.5" Electronic (OLED) viewfinder with 3,686k 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.

Sony Alpha 9 II features a 24.2 megapixel Full Frame Stacked CMOS sensor with dimensions of 35.6 x 23.8 mm and a total area of 847.3 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 51,200 and expands to 50 - 204,800 in boosted mode. Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II X 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.

Sony Alpha 9 II has Stacked CMOS sensor. The key feature of such sensor is its three-dimensional structure, which consists of multiple layers of semiconductor material and circuitry stacked on top of each other. This allows the sensor to have dedicated layers for image capture and signal processing. This separation allows for faster data readout, reducing rolling shutter effects and enabling high-speed shooting and video recording. It is also more power-efficient.

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

Sony Alpha 9 II is equipped with BIONZ X processor and can take pictures up to 6000 x 4000 resolution. Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II X is equipped with Venus Engine processor and can take pictures up to 6000 x 4000 resolution.

Lens Mount

Sony Alpha 9 II has Sony E lens mount and Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II X 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 II X

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 X. 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) with 5.5 stops of compensation. 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

Sony Alpha 9 II 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.

NFC on Sony Alpha 9 II

Sony Alpha 9 II has Near Field Communication (NFC) technology which simplifies the process of pairing it with other NFC-enabled devices like smartphones or tablets. It allows to quickly transfer photos and videos or remotely control the camera from compatible device. NFC can also be used for authentication and security purposes. It can verify your identity before accessing certain features or transferring sensitive data. It can be used with NFC-enabled accessories as well, such as lenses, flashes and GPS devices.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB Type-C inputs for data transfer and battery charging. Sony Alpha 9 II has a Micro HDMI and Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II X has a Full Size HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Sony Alpha 9 II comes with NP-FZ100 battery pack with battery life of 690 shots and Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II X comes with DMW-BLJ31 battery pack with battery life of 370 shots.

External Storage Slots

Cameras have Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II) card slots.

Shutter

Sony Alpha 9 II and Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II X have Electronic shutter and Mechanical Focal Plane. shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/32000 sec with electronic shutter and up to 1/8000 sec with mechanical shutter on Sony Alpha 9 II, and up to 1/8000 sec on Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II X. Sony Alpha 9 II can shoot continuously up to 20.0 fps with electronic shutter and up to 10.0 fps with mechanical shutter. 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

Sony Alpha 9 II has Fast Hybrid AF (Phase-detection / Contrast-detection) system with 693 focusing points and Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II X has 779 focusing points. Sony Alpha 9 II has detection range from -3 to +20 EV and Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II X has detection range from -6 to +18 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Sony Alpha 9 II and Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II X range from -3 to +20 EV and 0 to +18 EV respectively and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range on Sony Alpha 9 II and ±5 EV range on Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II X. You can also do exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Sony Alpha 9 II and exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II X.

Flash

Cameras have no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected to both of them via Intelligent Hot Shoe or PC Terminal to Sony Alpha 9 II and via Hot Shoe to Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II X. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/250 sec on both cameras.

Sony Alpha 9 II body has dimensions of 129 x 96 x 76 mm (5.08 x 3.78 x 2.99") 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"). Sony Alpha 9 II weighs 678 g (1.49 lb / 23.92 oz) and Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II X weighs 740 g (1.63 lb / 26.10 oz).

Sony Alpha 9 II

Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 II X

129 mm

96 mm

134 mm

102 mm

96 mm

102 mm

76 mm

90 mm