Category: Gadgets

(Pocket-lint) – We were seriously impressed with the Lumix S5 when it launched back in 2020, and now Panasonic is back with a new and improved version.

To be clear, the S5II isn’t replacing the S5, but will instead be available alongside it as a more premium option.

As much as we love the brand’s cameras, there’s been one ever-present issue with Panasonic’s offerings: the lacklustre autofocus performance.

That all changes with the S5II, and the introduction of its new phase hybrid autofocus system.

So, has Panasonic hit the nail on the head and created one of the best cameras to buy today? On paper, it certainly seems like it.

We got the chance to take the new camera on a stroll around the picturesque streets of Valencia, and here’s what we found out.

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Design

• Dimensions: 134.3 x 102.3 x 90.1 mm
• Weight: 740g
• New 8-direction joystick

The S5II has a very similar look and feel to its predecessor. The button layout remains unchanged, as do the materials and colours used on the camera’s body.

The spec sheet tells us that it’s actually slightly larger in all dimensions, as well as being about 26 grams heavier, but if you aren’t holding them side by side, you’d never be able to tell. The only obvious change is the S5II badge on the front of the camera.

Most of the changes are performance-oriented and found on the inside of the camera, with the exception of a new 8-direction joystick. This is found in the same position as the 4-direction joystick on the original S5.

We tend to use the touchscreen more frequently than the joystick, but if you spend a lot of time looking through the EVF, you’ll no doubt be pleased with this improvement. We believe it can also be assigned to eight function buttons, but this wasn’t something that we had time to try during our quick session with the camera.

Connectivity and displays

• Full-size HDMI, USB-C, Headphone and Mic sockets
• Dual SD card slots, 1x UHS-II and 1x UHS-I
• 3,680k OLED LVF and 1,840k flip-out LCD

Starting with connectivity, things remain functionally very similar, as well. Thankfully, though, this model ditches the micro HDMI in favour of a full-sized HDMI port – very welcome news for those who use an external monitor. 

There’s a USB-C port which has been upgraded to USB 3.2, and separate 3.5mm headphone and mic sockets. When the screen is flipped out, neither of the 3.5mm jacks or USB-C get in the way of the articulation – however, the HDMI will get blocked, which is no big deal in the majority of cases. 

Around the other side, we find dual SD card slots, just like the S5. These have been upgraded, too, both are now UHS-II compatible, whereas the S5 only features a single UHS-II slot.

The other big news is a new and improved OLED EVF. This looks great, it’s very sharp and smooth, and it made it very easy to dial in our settings and frame our shots. We weren’t able to test it side-by-side with the S5, so it’s hard to say exactly how much it has improved, but from memory, this is certainly a step up.

The flip-out LCD appears to be the same as its predecessor, but no complaints there, it’s very responsive and is easy to see in a variety of lighting conditions.

Photo performance

• New 24.2MP sensor with IBIS and Active I.S.
• Phase hybrid AF, 779-point
• Up to 30fps burst shooting with 200 frame buffer

We were really pleased with the photos we were able to capture on the Lumix S5II. The images are sharp and detailed, while the colours are natural and lifelike. The RAW files hold up to some serious colour grading, and the JPEGs don’t fare too poorly, either.

Shooting on the S5II is a breeze, the new autofocus is fast and reliable and the subject tracking works excellently, even in challenging conditions like a busy city street. We had a little less luck with animal eye detection and some pigeons, but they weren’t staying still for very long at all – human detection was near-flawless.

We should note that we were testing a pre-release firmware, too, so there’s every chance that the autofocus system will be tweaked and improved prior to the retail launch. We’ll be sure to do some more thorough testing once we can get our mitts on a production sample.

Being long-time users of cameras like the GH5, we found the menu system and button layout to be familiar and intuitive. One of Panasonic’s strongest features is the degree to which you can configure and remap buttons to suit your specific needs, and we’re massive fans of this. Though, for those less familiar with the system, we can imagine the sheer breadth of options being a little overwhelming.

We were extremely impressed with the upgraded image stabilisation system, and though it may be of the most benefit to video shooters, it’s excellent for photography, too. We were able to take up to one-second long exposure shots, handheld, with tack-sharp results. Impressive stuff.

Most of our shooting was during the daytime, or with well-lit interiors, so we didn’t get to push the ISO too far, but early signs are looking good. Shots at ISO 3200 are still very clean and usable, with only a slight increase in graininess.

A key feature of the S5II is its ability to shoot at up to 30fps bursts with the electronic shutter. This is a massive improvement over the meagre 7fps offered by the S5, but it was another thing that we didn’t have much opportunity to play with. After all, photos of architecture don’t really require such bursts. We’re looking forward to playing with this more on the final sample.

Video performance

• 6K recording at up to 30fps in 4:2:0 10-bit
• 4K recording at up to 60fps in 4:2:2 10-bit
• Unlimited recording time and onboard LUTs

During the few hours we spent with the camera, we didn’t dive too deeply into the video functionality, but the small amount of footage that we captured looks excellent.

The stabilisation is great, the autofocus is brilliant, especially when it comes to tracking faces, and there’s a wealth of resolutions, bit rates and codecs to choose from.

You don’t get Apple ProRes options on the S5II, but there’s another version, the S5IIX, launching around June 2023 that will have these included. It’ll cost a bit extra but otherwise seems to be an almost identical camera.

We were a little disappointed that there are no high-frame rate 4K options (except for 60fps) but if you want slow motion, you can drop down to 1080p and shoot at up to 180fps. 

The resolutions and frame rates that support 4:2:2 10-bit colour have been expanded significantly on this model, and that includes Cinema 4K at 60fps.

There are no recording limitations whatsoever, and the cooling has apparently been tested at 40 degrees Celsius, which is far too warm for our British bodies. So, hopefully, we won’t be seeing any temperature warnings that so often plague high-spec mirrorless shooters.

The S5II’s internal audio recording now supports up to 96kHz / 24-bit LPCM and can record four-track audio, when used with Panasonic’s XLR adapter.

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Writing by Luke Baker.

(Pocket-lint) – We love Panasonic’s mirrorless cameras, they’re some of the most feature-rich and configurable cameras on the market.

However, there’s always been one thing that lets the system down, and that’s the brand’s reliance on contrast-based autofocus.

That’s all about to change, as Panasonic has announced its latest full-frame mirrorless bodies, and they feature phase hybrid autofocus for the first time.

The Lumix S5II is the successor to 2020’s Lumix S5, but it won’t replace it entirely, it will instead run alongside as a more premium option.

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The S5IIX is launching later this year and is aimed at video professionals, it adds Apple ProRes codecs to the mix along with live streaming features – but is otherwise essentially the same camera.

Both boast a brand-new 24-megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor and imaging engine while remaining compatible with the existing range of Lumix S lenses.

The new engine allows for internal 6K 4:2:0 10-bit recording and 4K 4:2:2 10-bit at up to 60fps.

A new heat management system allows for unlimited recording times, without significantly increasing the size of the camera.

There’s high-speed recording, at up to 180fps, but this is limited to 1080p.

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A 14+ stop V-Log profile is included as standard on both models, and a new real-time LUT function enables you to directly apply your grade in-camera.

For photographers, you can now shoot at up to 30fps burst with the electronic shutter, a vast improvement over the original S5.

Meanwhile, upgraded active image stabilisation benefits in both photo and video shooting – compensating as much as 200 per cent compared to conventional stabilisation.

Another small but important upgrade is the switch to a full-size HDMI port, monitor users rejoice.

The Lumix S5II will be available later this month at the competitive price of $1999 / £1999 / €2199.

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The Lumix S5IIX is launching in the Spring and will go for $2199 / £2299 / €2499.

Writing by Luke Baker.

(Pocket-lint) – French company Pixii has announced that its latest digital rangefinder camera is the world’s first to sport a 64-bit processor.

The new camera, simply designated as the 2023 model and carrying the model number A2572, starts at around $2800 / €2,699.00 and is already sold out until late January 2023. But Pixii says that the new 64-bit processor and other smarts mean that this model is the first to be able to take “true” monochrome DNG images.

The chip involved here is apparently a quad-core ARM Cortex-A55 affair with a dual-core GPU. This all means processing power of up to 7GPixels/s thanks to dedicated NPU and VPU cores. Pixii has also paired all of that with the same 26-megapixel APS-C sensor that it has been using for a few years at this point.

Alongside the new processor, Pixii also says that “storage speed gets a huge boost” with photos captured “at the speed of a click”. Support for Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) has also been added to this new version.

In the grand scheme of things, this all amounts to a camera that Pixii reckons can process images up to 10 times faster than older models while transfer speeds have also been given a bump – they’re now claimed to be up to three times faster than before.

If all that sounds good, it should! But the initial allocation of cameras is long gone, and one that will ship in the middle of January of next year is sold out as well. That means that you can put your money down now if you like, but you won’t see anything in return until the end of January 2023, unfortunately.

Writing by Oliver Haslam.

(Pocket-lint) – Canon has unveiled what it claims to be its “fastest advanced full-frame mirrorless camera”, the EOS R6 Mark II.

Boasting a newly-formed 24.2-megapixel CMOS sensor and the same DIGIC X processor tech found in the EOS-1D X Mark III, the camera also supports the brand’s Dual Pixel CMOS AF II autofocus engine.

This enables it to track subjects as they move through a scene in real time. It can also, through AI, recognise people, vehicles (including aircraft and trains), and animals – ensuring that they are kept in focus respectively.

The Canon EOS R6 Mark II can shoot continuously at up to 40 frames-per-second. A RAW burst mode is also capable of shooting at up to 30fps for up to 191 frames.

Video can be recorded at up to 4K 60p, with the camera oversampling the sensor’s 6K output to ensure crisp images. Over 40 minutes of 4K 60p footage can be recorded without overloading the camera. That can be increased to 6 hours for 4K 30p video – all depending on your memory card, battery life, and ambient temperature.

Slow motion video is also possible, at up to 179.82fps at Full HD (1080p).

Bluetooth 5.0 and 5GHz Wi-Fi connectivity is on-board, which enables the camera to connect to a smartphone or other wireless sharing system. It can also be tethered through high-speed USB-C. And, it can even be used as a webcam on a PC or Mac (which would be a bit overkill, but each to their own).

Available soon, the Canon EOS R6 Mark II can be pre-ordered and will be priced at $2,499 / £2,779.99 / €3,149.99 for the body only, £3,129.99 / €3,549.99 with an RF 24-105 F4-7.1 IS STM lens, or £3,999.99 / €4,549.99 with an RF 24-105 F4L IS USM lens.

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Writing by Rik Henderson.

(Pocket-lint) – Sony’s camera launches have become increasingly more targeted and niche over the past few years as it seeks to offer cameras to cater to all manner of specific use cases and customers. Among those is the ZV range, which is its smallest video-centric camera line. 

Its latest model in that range is the most budget-friendly: the ZV-1F. Its aim is to bridge the gap between a smartphone and ‘proper’ camera, giving you better quality and more functionality than your phone, but making it as easy as possible to make that transition. Has it worked though? 

Design 

• 105.5 x 60.0 x 46.4mm – 226g 
• Flip-out touchscreen 
• Dedicated background blur button

One of the things we appreciate most about the ZV-1F is the design. And when we say that, we don’t just mean the way it looks. It’s about more than just aesthetics, because there’s nothing especially eye-catching about the Sony ZV-1F. This camera is designed to be practical, user-friendly and unobtrusive. 

A big part of that is the size and the weight. At 226 grams, it’s barely heavier than a smartphone. In fact, it’s lighter than an iPhone 14 Pro Max and only 20 grams heavier than an iPhone 14 Pro.

What’s more, it’s equipped with all you need to get started. First of all, the prime lens on the front is fixed. So no having to mess around with removing and reattaching lenses to the front. Plus, that lens is surrounded by a really sturdy-feeling metal ring that protrudes further than the actual lens, to ensure it’s as well protected as it can be against knocks and drops. 

For some, the lack of interchangeable lenses will be a bit of a downside. However, Sony does offer the ZV-E10 which is a little more expensive but features the Sony E-mount to support a wide range of lenses. It also has a larger APS-C sensor inside. 

The ZV-1F is all about bringing a more affordable, ready-to-go camera to market without the need for extra expense beyond buying a memory card, which – these days – isn’t much of an expense at all. On that note, it supports SD cards and Sony Memory Stick, with a slot that fits both near the battery, and with the door on the underside of the camera. 

Sony’s focus on making a very compact and lightweight camera has led to some compromises. For instance, there’s not much in the way of a grip. Where a larger camera might give you a big grippy protrusion on the front, the ZV-1F doesn’t have much. There’s a small, cylindrical area in the corner, but it’s so small, we’re unsure whether it really makes any difference. Saying that our right-hand fingers instinctively curl around it while our thumb automatically found the small grip on the back, so it clearly serves some kind of purpose. 

What’s impressive, however, is how well Sony has used very little space. For instance, the flip-out touchscreen that lives on the back takes up most of the space on the back of the camera. Plus, it flips out and rotates, so you can have it facing forwards, or rotate it to face up or down, or rotate it to face inwards to protect it while it’s stowed away. 

The user interface on this touchscreen has also been designed to make the camera easy to use. With its colour-coded menu system, it’s easy enough to find and change the settings you want – whether that’s the video quality or focus mode. Plus, right from the main view you can switch and adjust different convenient settings like exposure control, zoom, and enable or disable the product showcase mode (more on that later). 

Otherwise, there are plenty of buttons to press too. All – due to constraints – are quite small, but they’re still easy enough to find. The small shutter button on the top has a zoom lever and sits on the top, alongside the red-accented movie button for recording video, the button for switching between video, photo and slow/fast recording and – lastly – the background blur button. 

This last one’s actually quite cool, and lets you quickly enable a bokeh for the background, giving you a depth effect when you don’t want the background distracting from you. Or – when you do want to show your background – switch it off. 

Unlike larger cameras, you don’t get dedicated physical dials for exposure, aperture or shutter speed. It’s very much designed for point-and-shoot, or recording everything in automatic modes, like a phone. But that doesn’t mean you can’t change those settings, it’s just not quite as convenient to do so. 

Other buttons are all placed on the back and include the usual menu button, the rotating dial for navigating menus and the gallery, display and delete buttons. 

Features

• Plug and play webcam
• Just connect to your Mac/PC and it works

As well as being a handy little vlogging camera with some tremendous automatic tools, the ZV-1F also doubles as a very good webcam. And unlike some other dedicated cameras, you don’t need to download any software or drivers in order for it to work. There’s no complicated set-up process either. 

The standard 1/4-inch screw mount on the bottom means you can mount the camera – as usual – to any standard tripod, and you can get those small enough to sit on your desk for very little money. Then, just plug in the USB-C cable into the camera and your desktop or laptop, and it’s ready to go. 

While it’s plugged in it will use power from your computer to charge. So all you need to do after plugging it in is switch it on, then ensure whatever app you’re using to video conference or live stream from has the Sony ZV-1F camera selected as the video source. 

While you’re using it as a webcam, you’ll see it using its ability to keep your face as well exposed as possible. It knows that needs to be the focus, and so adjusts to keep your face lit. Or – at least – that’s the theory. 

In most instances, it works really well, but it can struggle sometimes. On our video calls, we’re generally sitting with a big bay window to our left, so that can get quite bright. We found if we were sitting a little too far from the camera, it would not adjust the exposure to our face properly, instead adjusting the exposure to make the window dimmer, dropping the exposure on our face and making it darker. 

With that said, it was still better than most webcams in that situation. We weren’t turned into a silhouette, and you could still see our facial features, it was just darker than if we leant a little further forward towards the camera.  

Despite its size, you still get enough physical ports. There’s a USB-C port for data transfer and charging, a micro HDMI for video output and a 3.5 port for microphone input. There’s even a cold shoe on the top, right on the left side, for mounting additional accessories you might need. Although, if you’re shooting outdoors, it’s probably best to use that for the included fluffy windshield if you’re relying on the camera’s built-in microphone for audio. 

Video capture 

• 20.1MP – 1.0-type Exmor RS sensor 
• 4K up to 30fps – 1080p at 60fps
• 425 contrast-detection AF points
• Up to 4x zoom

Sony’s vlogging cameras are, of course, all about video capture. And it’s not just about resolution, frame rates and bitrates. Sony has built a lot of smarts behind its cameras. With the ZV range in particular that means keeping your face well exposed even when light conditions around you change. 

For the most part – as with the webcam usage – this works well when recording. We found that when we moved between bright backlighting to being in shadow, the camera smoothly adjusted the exposure on our face to ensure you could see us clearly. All in real-time too, so we don’t have to mess around in the edit. The gyroscope-powered stabilisation also ensures the footage is nice and smooth. 

There are other neat features too, like the product showcase mode. When enabled, it can quickly and automatically focus on a product that you hold up to the centre of the camera. It works generally quite well, even when holding things close to the camera. In this mode, however, we did find that when we’re in the frame without a product it seemed to do a lot of focus hunting, resulting in that jarring motion where you can tell the camera is looking for something to focus on. 

However, with the tap-to-track feature – where you can tap on an object on the screen and it stays locked onto it – the focus was very effective. We shot some close-up video in regular mode and slow-motion of some small berries being blown in the wind, and the camera was very good at keeping that fast swaying object in focus. 

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What we like about Sony’s approach to colours, contrast, detail and light is that it’s all designed to look realistic, so you don’t find many exaggerated colours and saturation, and you won’t see the contrast cranked up too high either. The end result is something that’s attractive, but still natural.

The wide angle of the prime lens means it’s primed (sorry) and ready for wide shots, and that makes it ideal for capturing yourself at arm’s length. That is more than enough distance for this lens to capture the top half of your torso and head, while also getting in a good amount of background. Plus, with the fluffy windshield over the microphone, it offers decent enough capture of voice and sound. 

With that said, there’s no denying you’d still get better sound if you used a dedicated microphone. The overall tone is a little tinny and doesn’t sound especially natural or crisp but it is clear and it does seem to do a good job of elevating the voice above background noise and elevating it. If you want improved sound tt’s easy enough to fix a dedicated system to the ZV-1F too, thanks to that cold shoe and the 3.5mm input for microphones or wireless receivers. 

With still photos you get great detail from the 20.1-megapixel sensor, and a sense of realism that’s missing from a lot of smartphone cameras. You also get a much nicer and more natural-looking background blur from the Sony camera than you get from pretty much any phone. Plus, with the sensor crop-based zoom, you can get a nice 2x-4x zoom without really losing any detail or image quality. 

Battery life is just about okay, you can probably get away with just over an hour’s worth of shooting with the display switched on before the battery gets low. The convenience of it charging via USB-C can’t be overlooked, and the small battery can charge relatively quickly.  You’ll probably want to carry around a battery pack for charging if you’re out and about, away from a wall outlet. 

To recap

The ZV-1F is that is a camera built for aspiring content creators. Whether you have your eye on TikTok or Youtube, or you want to try your hand at live-streaming from a desktop gaming PC, the ZV-1F is a gateway into those worlds, without needing to invest in lots of different kit. 

Writing by Cam Bunton. Editing by Verity Burns.