Key Take-Aways:

The S5 is a full-frame L-Mount mirrorless camera that Panasonic presents as one of the embodiments of its commitment to meeting the passionate demands of all creators. Three reviews (TechRadar, Digital Camera World, Cameralabs) praise the compact body, the video features and the image quality, and fault the micro HDMI port and the autofocus; two (TechRadar, Cameralabs) fault the modest burst speed.

From Panasonic:

Panasonic is committed to meeting the passionate demands of all creators through its LUMIX brand, and the new LUMIX S5 is one of the embodiments of this commitment.

Official Website

Panasonic’s consumer product pages block automated reads and its pro-AV site does not list the S5, so the maker page above is Panasonic USA’s newsroom announcement of the online launch event (19 Aug 2020); it is a teaser and no fuller launch release was reachable, hence the one-sentence quote. The specs come from Panasonic USA’s DC-S5 specification page and Panasonic Japan’s DC-S5 spec table.

Weight of 714 g is with battery and one SD card (Panasonic USA page and Panasonic Japan spec table agree). The price of USD 1,999 is the reported US launch price for the body only, as DPReview’s review states it (USD 2,299 with the 20-60 mm kit) and its specification page lists it; Fstoppers’ launch report of 2 Sep 2020 gave USD 1,997.99, and no Panasonic page reachable for automated reads gives a price. Teased on 19 Aug 2020, launched on 2 Sep 2020 and on sale in Sep 2020.

Panasonic’s specification tables list no open-gate video mode (only 6K PHOTO and 4K PHOTO stills modes), so open gate is None. The S&Q mode records Full HD at up to 180 fps (4K up to 60 fps), hence FHD 180p; 4K 60p is recorded with an APS-C crop and 4K 30p across the full sensor width. The viewfinder is a 2,360k-dot OLED, and the lowest standard ISO is 100 (Dual Native ISO; ISO 50 is an extended setting). Panasonic gives 7 fps for both mechanical and electronic shutter with single AF (AFS) and 5 fps with continuous AF (AFC); the table uses the AFS figure. The hot shoe is listed on Panasonic Japan’s spec table. Panasonic lists only memory cards as recording media, so internal storage is 0; slot 1 takes SD cards up to UHS-II and slot 2 takes UHS-I. Weather sealing is Panasonic’s splash-resistant claim for the body. Panasonic names the DC-S5 among the cameras supported by its LUMIX Webcam Software. The battery is the DMW-BLK22 that Panasonic Japan’s product page lists among the compatible accessories; the spec table gives its 7.2 V, 2200 mAh ratings. Battery life is the CIPA rear-monitor figure with an SD card, 440 shots (Panasonic Japan spec table; 470 with the viewfinder). Pre-burst is left out because neither Panasonic Japan’s spec table nor Panasonic USA’s specification page names a pre-capture burst mode for the S5 (the owner’s manual was not reachable for automated reads; reviews describe a 6K/4K PHOTO Pre-Burst mode but are not the basis). The SKU is left out because no US body-only SKU is published on a page reachable for automated reads.

Discontinued: Panasonic has published no end-of-production notice; the S5 was reported as discontinued in 2026 by Asobinet, 14 Mar 2026 (Japanese camera retailers list the DC-S5 as production-complete: Map Camera as discontinued but in stock, Yodobashi with low stock, while Kitamura and Bic Camera were still selling it; it names the DC-S5M2 as successor) and by Digital Camera World, 1 Apr 2026 (Kim Bunermann: major Japanese retailers marked the S5 as discontinued, UK and US searches show no availability, and the S5D and S5II remain in Panasonic’s line-up).

Reviews and videos were a light pass because the body is discontinued. DPReview published a full review, listed first under Reviews; it could not be read, so it is not used for the Key Take-Aways, which draw on the three other reviews. TechRadar’s review was published in Sep 2020, the date below, and its page was last updated in Aug 2022; Digital Camera World’s was published in Sep 2020 and last updated in Aug 2022. Cameralabs’ review was published on the launch day, 2 Sep 2020, on a preview unit running firmware 1.0 that the author calls effectively final production. Imaging Resource’s page is a launch preview, so it is not used. Product image: Panasonic press render from DPReview’s product page.

Reviews:

• DPReview: Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 review, Dale Baskin, Carey Rose and Jeff Keller, Mar 2021
• TechRadar: Panasonic Lumix S5 review, Amy Davies, Sep 2020
• Digital Camera World: Panasonic Lumix S5 review, Jon Devo, Sep 2020
• Cameralabs: Panasonic Lumix S5 review, Gordon Laing, Sep 2020

YouTube:

• Micro Four Nerds: Lumix S5 Long Term Review // from a micro four thirds user, Apr 2022
• Geeky Nerdy Techy: Panasonic Lumix S5 Review - Seriously Underrated!, Aug 2022
• Ed Prosser: LUMIX S5 | Two year review & sample footage, Sep 2022