By Yadira B. Arnold 
Earlier this year, Panasonic launched the S5 II and S5 IIX full-frame cameras and finally introduced phase detection autofocus, which puts them on a par with the competition. I have already tested the S5 II and discovered that it is one of the company’s best cameras for content creators to date. Now let’s see what I think is the most interesting model, the S5 IIX.
It has an identical design and many of the same features as its brother, such as the new autofocus system and the very effective stabilization in the body. However, it adds a key feature: the ability to record high-quality, easy-to-edit ProRes videos internally on SSDs via the USB-C port. With a little rigging, you can record hours of 4K or even 6K video on a relatively inexpensive drive.
What is surprising is that the S5 IIX costs only 200 more than the S5 II. ProRes RAW is also included for free, while the S5 II is a 200 upgrade. To see if it was worth it, I took photos and videos in Paris, Brittany and elsewhere in France.
Construction and handling
I’ve already looked at the matter and controls of the S5 II, and the S5 IIX has an identical layout – but it’s worth thinking about it briefly — especially in the context of video and content creation.
A major difference is the overall appearance. The S5 IIX has a distinctive dark design with a black logo and subtle gray graphics on the controls. The only touch of color that can be found is the red record catch. A good number of viewers whined and whined about the black-on-black look.
Like the S5 II, the Model X is a nice handling camera. The handle is large and uses relatively tactile materials and has a burr on the ring finger to prevent it from slipping out of your hands. The controls are perfect, with the record catch in an easy-to-find place at the top. Still, it would have been nice to have another one like the GH6 on the front. The menus are also among the best among the camera companies (and are almost identical to the GH6), with most of the settings being easy to find.
It weighs 714 grams, a little more than the Sony A7 IV and the Canon EOS R6 II.an external SSD can also add 100 grams or more, which makes it a bit heavy if you stretch it with your arm while you’re vlogging.
The screen is fully mobile for self-striking and has a net display of 1.84 thousand points. It has an electronic viewfinder with 3.69 thousand points and a resolution comparable to that of the competition, light enough to check the focus when striking on a clear day. It has a Full-size HDMI port, which is important for a camera with RAW video output, and USB-C for recording internal videos.
The S5 IIX also has two UHS-II SD card slots, headphone and microphone ports, as well as the same battery as the S5, GH6 and other original models. You can get about 370 hits on a CIPA pit load, less than most of its competitors. For the video, you can record in 4K 60p for about 45 minutes, again a little less than the competitors.
If you are thinking of upgrading the S5 IIX to use SSDs, many people use the SmallRig universal set up with a hot shoe set up, although any clamping device will work (I use a JOBY Smartphone tripod set up). If you need to use a directional tube microphone with the SSD, you may need to set up it somewhere else on the camera or use a crate. For SSDs, Panasonic lists the models from Samsung and SanDisk compatible with the GH6 (which has the same USB-C function), and these should also work for the S5 IIX. Other high-speed models should also work.
Video
Yes, the S5 IIX is a hybrid camera, but the video is the main attraction. With high-quality ProRes recording on an SSD as well as RAW video via the HDMI port, it offers a ton of possibilities for the price.
First, let’s look at the capture via the USB-C port. It supports 10-bit internal ProRes capture on supported SSDs, which is very beneficial for videographers. The medium is relatively inexpensive and there is no need to transcode or even transfer sequences – you can simply connect an external player to a PC or Mac and start editing.
There is a strange mix of recording formats in USB-C ProRes mode. It captures 5.8K 17:9 30p sequences in ProRes HQ (1.6 Gbit/s) or normal ProRes (1.1Gbit/s), but not in 16:9. It can only capture 17:9 C4K at 60p with a cutout or a 30p upsampling video WITHOUT a CUTOUT. But again, not 16: 9 Ultra HD. The 17:9 part is not a big problem because you can trim the edges, but it’s strange considering that most vloggers record 16:9 UltraHD. Perhaps Panasonic will be able to solve this problem in a future update.
Fortunately, you can record 16:9 5.9K 25p and 4K 60p and 30P recordings at 16:9 im.MOV format. The latter supports All-I with data rates of up to 800 Kbps when recording to USB-C, which is almost as good in quality as ProRes, although a little slower for editing.
In addition, you can record 12-bit ProRes RAW or Blackmagic RAW folders on Atomos or Blackmagic recorders via HDMI. It supports recording up to 5.9K 30p at 16:9 rather than 17:9 or the rather strange 4.1K 4 128 x 2 176 17:9 format. Again, this is not a big problem because you can crop the pages, but also a little weird.