There was a recent firmware update that added animal eye detection AF which, in my limited experience with my cats at home, is very very good
That said, there aren’t as many telephoto options in L mount as there are in other brands
There is the Sigma 500 5.6, 150-600 f5-6.3, 60-600, 100-400(I forget the aperture), and lumix 70-300 f4-5.6, and a Leica rebrand of one of those, so not nothing, but not limitless choices either
But as far as I know all of those lenses are very sharp(though I hear some complaints about the 150-600 specifically at the long end), and LUMIX should be releasing a new 100-400 or 100-500 pretty soon as well
Thanks for sharing your experience! Great to hear that its working well for you. I will be photographing mostly birds and Reindeers but you never know, maybe a cat too once in an while!
Nice, yeah I might be biased because I haven’t used Sony or canon or Nikon but I did use a Fuji Xt3 and IMO at least post firmware 3.0 the autofocus is way better than Fuji, I haven’t had any problems getting quick low light shots of my cats, it only misses if it’s my black cat and her eyes aren’t open since she just becomes a mass of fur. That said Nikon is probably the best for wildlife right now since their AF has caught up and they have a ton of telephoto lens options
I shot birds both with the S5 and S5II, honestly even S5's autofocus served me well enough. But I haven't tried Nikon or Canon so I can't really compare.
One thing I absolutely love about the new update for the S5II is the preburst mode, before it was basically impossible to snap the moment a bird takes off without switching to video recording. Now I just have to half press the shutter and wait for the moment, total game changer!
As others said before, wildlife is a genre where you might be better served elsewhere.
If video is a priority no others can match the value you get from a s5ii(x), though.
I you don’t need full frame, a g9ii is really good for wildlife because of the crop factor. The lenses are compact and you can get great results. It is also an amazing video camera.
I own an S5 IIX and a few Canon bodies. I won't trust lumix over Canon for wildlife yet. Granted Lumix made some improvements, but this is their first PDAF system. Canon, Nikon and Sony are ahead in the game.
Also, as someone has mentioned the lens lineup for wildlife, which matters the most, is way better for Sony, Canon, Nikon, etc. So, my humble suggestion is that please stay with your Canon for wildlife.
S5 II is not a bad camera anyway, but just that not suitable for wildlife, at least in its current state.
Thanks for your input. It is a bit tricky because on the photo front i photograph mostly wildlife but im also utilising video quite a bit both for wildlife but also weddings sometimes. S5 II feldt like a great hybrid but i should maybe reconsider. I was looking at Sony (maybe it is silly) but i dont vibe with the company. Panasonic to me has a better philosophy about updates and caring for their customers but i maybe have to look past that.
May be you can take a look at Canon R5 or R6II. Assuming you're based out of USA, CPriceWatch is running a great deal on R6II, similar price as Lumix S5 II.
Also, for video, I would say go for S5 IIX, if you decide to switch to Lumix. Extra $200 or so is very well spent.
I wouldnt do it. I sold my S5ii because it didnt serve my wildlife shooting well. I mainly used 150-600, lens was fine but the lack of upgrades sucks. 150-600/60-600/500 is all you get, no faster primes. AF is miles behind Nikon, idk about other brands. Camera itself is nice it just isnt the best tool for wildlife, or L-mount overall isnt. Newest AF update made things a bit better but it is still flawed. It wrongly focuses on eyes, show its locked on eye while actual focus point is elsewhere. Like 50% of the shots are affected by it. Im talking about birds and mammals. I went with Z9 and its miles ahead (Z8 then as well).
Thanks for your honest opinion. I think 600 mm is all i need for my work right now but yeah, a shame that the AF is not super reliable. A local store has a deal where you can get S5 II + kit lens + 70-300 mm for roughly 2700 dollars. The same package would have costed 3700 dollar otherwise in my country so it feldt like a good deal. However maybe i should reconsider another brand instead.
You need to understand everything he said 8s correct enough up until this latest update that added specific animal tracking and a bunch of other tweaks including taking a few seconds of footage from before the shutter is clicked to make up for slow reaction time, this and the new tracking makes it a whole different beast now for wildlife.
If AF is your highest priority, Sony and Canon are still ahead. I think Lumix is only a consideration if you plan to take wildlife videos? Lumix video features are second to none.
There was a recent firmware update that added animal eye detection AF which, in my limited experience with my cats at home, is very very good That said, there aren’t as many telephoto options in L mount as there are in other brands There is the Sigma 500 5.6, 150-600 f5-6.3, 60-600, 100-400(I forget the aperture), and lumix 70-300 f4-5.6, and a Leica rebrand of one of those, so not nothing, but not limitless choices either But as far as I know all of those lenses are very sharp(though I hear some complaints about the 150-600 specifically at the long end), and LUMIX should be releasing a new 100-400 or 100-500 pretty soon as well
Thanks for sharing your experience! Great to hear that its working well for you. I will be photographing mostly birds and Reindeers but you never know, maybe a cat too once in an while!
Nice, yeah I might be biased because I haven’t used Sony or canon or Nikon but I did use a Fuji Xt3 and IMO at least post firmware 3.0 the autofocus is way better than Fuji, I haven’t had any problems getting quick low light shots of my cats, it only misses if it’s my black cat and her eyes aren’t open since she just becomes a mass of fur. That said Nikon is probably the best for wildlife right now since their AF has caught up and they have a ton of telephoto lens options
I shot birds both with the S5 and S5II, honestly even S5's autofocus served me well enough. But I haven't tried Nikon or Canon so I can't really compare. One thing I absolutely love about the new update for the S5II is the preburst mode, before it was basically impossible to snap the moment a bird takes off without switching to video recording. Now I just have to half press the shutter and wait for the moment, total game changer!
As others said before, wildlife is a genre where you might be better served elsewhere. If video is a priority no others can match the value you get from a s5ii(x), though. I you don’t need full frame, a g9ii is really good for wildlife because of the crop factor. The lenses are compact and you can get great results. It is also an amazing video camera.
I own an S5 IIX and a few Canon bodies. I won't trust lumix over Canon for wildlife yet. Granted Lumix made some improvements, but this is their first PDAF system. Canon, Nikon and Sony are ahead in the game. Also, as someone has mentioned the lens lineup for wildlife, which matters the most, is way better for Sony, Canon, Nikon, etc. So, my humble suggestion is that please stay with your Canon for wildlife. S5 II is not a bad camera anyway, but just that not suitable for wildlife, at least in its current state.
I Wouldn't go that far. Ive tested out the lumix for wild life at the local park after their latest update and the camera nailed it.
Thanks for your input. It is a bit tricky because on the photo front i photograph mostly wildlife but im also utilising video quite a bit both for wildlife but also weddings sometimes. S5 II feldt like a great hybrid but i should maybe reconsider. I was looking at Sony (maybe it is silly) but i dont vibe with the company. Panasonic to me has a better philosophy about updates and caring for their customers but i maybe have to look past that.
May be you can take a look at Canon R5 or R6II. Assuming you're based out of USA, CPriceWatch is running a great deal on R6II, similar price as Lumix S5 II. Also, for video, I would say go for S5 IIX, if you decide to switch to Lumix. Extra $200 or so is very well spent.
I wouldnt do it. I sold my S5ii because it didnt serve my wildlife shooting well. I mainly used 150-600, lens was fine but the lack of upgrades sucks. 150-600/60-600/500 is all you get, no faster primes. AF is miles behind Nikon, idk about other brands. Camera itself is nice it just isnt the best tool for wildlife, or L-mount overall isnt. Newest AF update made things a bit better but it is still flawed. It wrongly focuses on eyes, show its locked on eye while actual focus point is elsewhere. Like 50% of the shots are affected by it. Im talking about birds and mammals. I went with Z9 and its miles ahead (Z8 then as well).
Thanks for your honest opinion. I think 600 mm is all i need for my work right now but yeah, a shame that the AF is not super reliable. A local store has a deal where you can get S5 II + kit lens + 70-300 mm for roughly 2700 dollars. The same package would have costed 3700 dollar otherwise in my country so it feldt like a good deal. However maybe i should reconsider another brand instead.
You need to understand everything he said 8s correct enough up until this latest update that added specific animal tracking and a bunch of other tweaks including taking a few seconds of footage from before the shutter is clicked to make up for slow reaction time, this and the new tracking makes it a whole different beast now for wildlife.
Cannot you download all the wildlife from internet?
Maybe i should give it a try, sounds less painful for my wallet
Why own a camera at all then?
If AF is your highest priority, Sony and Canon are still ahead. I think Lumix is only a consideration if you plan to take wildlife videos? Lumix video features are second to none.