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I totally agree, I just upgraded my Panasonic S5ii to the latest firmware, and in IBIS "tripod mode" with the 24-105/4 OIS I was able to handhold a 2-hour theatre production for the zoom close-ups and it is as steady as my wide tripod shots. I'm going to shoot my first live event (carnival, moving around) with my S5ii and 24-105/4. I've shot it for every year on just about every Panasonic and Olympus camera since the summer the GX80 came out. I'm curious how the S5ii will compare. The best so far was my E-M1ii with the Olympus 12-100/4 OIS. That was an amazingly stable setup. I only switched to the S5ii as I needed better low-light for theatre photography and use the Sigma 14-70/2.8. Actually high iso might not matter much anymore even for photography as the AI noise reduction in Lightroom is amazing.

Yeah, I have made a few cheet sheets to at least have all the cameras set to the same, especially for a fixed generic 3300k WB, ISO/aperture, picture profile so no matter what theatre lighting they use I'm not going to get blowouts. I usually ask them to set the lighting as per the brightest scene, but they usually don't get it right, or set the spots higher than when I take my waveform readings. The great thing about Panasonic is the custom settings, and also I've found that the "lock" settings on the S5ii is great for not having things change. I've also switched the rec start/stop off the shutter button as it is too sensitive and stops/starts by accident. The red box around the screen when record is on is another lifesaver. I also just keep the camera recording to not forget to turn it back on. Another feature that is nice is to change the setting where the camera doesn't reset focus after turning back on. That caught me out once... The face/person detection still bothers me, I wish there was a better way to tell the camera to only focus on a certain person and not to jump around when it feels like. If anyone knows if this is possible, I'd love to know.

OK, I shot a bit of theatre with the new firmware, and have found the most reliable to be C-AF 1-Area+ Human Eye/Face/Body with the smaller area setting. I have AF Speed set to 0, and AF Sensitivity on -2 (set more to "Locked") which made the camera want to say more on an individual person. The camera did still have a problem with multiple people in a shot to "stick" or say on the original person when they were in the frame. If someone had a clearer face than the person you were selecting it would jump over. Also the camera seems to prefer people/bodies without hats. I'm not sure if there are any better ways to improve the stickiness of the AF. I've not tried tracking, but I've heard it is poor on the Panasonic cameras still. I would try manual focus, but it is vary difficult in a faster-moving play. Maybe there is a way to use manual focus override or quickly switch between manual/s-AF and c-af?

Does anyone have experience with camera settings to avoid banding waves from a mix of 50Hz lighting and 60Hz computer projectors? I've been filming theatre that uses a mix of Halogen and LED lighting at 50Hz and am shooting 25p, 50fps shutter speed. The problem is more and more theatre is adding digital projection which seems to run by default at 60Hz and sometimes causes annoying pulsing waves on the projected material, or worse, interacting with the general lighting. I'm also not sure if it is possible to fix any of this in post. I use FCPX and have access to Digital Anarchy's Flicker Free, that I guess I will try after the edit. Thanks in advance...

I'm an idiot, I do have the S5ii, and got it at a great deal with the 12-105/4 last November. Sorry, I need to update the firmware and see how it goes.

I'm an idiot, I do have the S5ii, and got it at a great deal with the 12-105/4 last November. Sorry, I need to update the firmware and see how it goes.

Thanks for the replies, but I'm a complete idiot. I actually have the S5ii with PDAF. I will update the firmware ASAP and see how it goes. Any suggestions on best Sii autofocus settings would be appreciated. I need to check out some online tutorials and do some testing.

Hi there, I recently switched from the Olympus EM-1ii to the Panasonic S5, mostly for lower-light photography which I also needed to do for some work. I'm having trouble getting the autofocus to "stick" on people once it finds them and focuses on them. If they move or there are other people in the frame it often jumps or just "forgets" about the person and tries to focus on something else. I've tried different settings, and I think the best is area+1 or oval, but I'm not sure if people have something that is tried and true? I saw that Panasonic just released another firmware for the S5ii that improves focus and IBIS, but I'm not really able to afford to upgrade right now. Thanks in advance...

Looks like the S5ii is about £1300 with rebates and the S5iix £1800. Also it is quite hard to find the Sigma 28-70 f2.8 in L-mount in the UK and for some reason the L-mount is more expensive than the Sony... Is there much value of the newer X version over the original Sii to be worth £500? I also hate buying stuff before Black Friday, not sure if Panasonic will have better offers by then. Sadly the next show I have to shoot is almost in production.

Yep, sold on the S5ii looks good enough for low-light photos and handheld video (close up shots). Thank you all ever so much for your time and advise. I spent a lot of time on my E-M1ii test photos and realised I needed a proper solution ASAP!

Sorry about spreading this across various threads, I didn't know where the best discussion was and was trying to find out more about the G9ii, (potentially Sony) and learned about the Panasonic S5ii that I hadn't really even thought of as I didn't know it existed. I think I'm going to go with the Panasonic S5ii with Sigma 2.8 zoom and Panasonic 24-105 to use as my main camera going forward. Will sell my E-M1ii, O40-150/2.8 and O12-100/4. As for the difference in low-light interior stills, it is night and day. I can see some of the previous photographers' work with their presumably high-end Canon or Nikon lenses, and the m43, even with primes just doesn't have the same look or sharpness. I spent a couple hours getting my test shots to look OK with AI denoise and other clarity/sharpening techniques but any shots with motion I had to delete. For video I'll stay with using my GH5 with dumb battery and PL25/1.4 on one side of the theatre for a wide continuous shot and my GX80 with PL15/1.7 near me (to restart every 30min). Will use the Panasonic s5ii for handheld close shots with the 24-105/4 and the Sigma 2.8 for photos (replace the olympus). If it wasn't for the photos I would have just kept my setup as is until the G9ii dropped in price. I'll make up for the cost of switching by selling my olympus stuff and for the extra work I'll be getting. Thanks for your advise everyone!

That's awsome. Thanks for sharing your experiences. I have heard that the IBIS + OIS is good on the S5ii and the low light sounds good too. I could use the sigma f2.8 with the higher ISO to get better shutter speeds for the theatre photography too, I hope. I'm not as concerned about video, because frankly the EM-1ii and GH5 are good enough for theatre video.

Read some reviews on that lens. Likely I'll go with the S5ii, the P24-105/4 and the Sigma 24-70/2.8. That should cover what I do with my Olympus E-M1ii+12-100+40-150/2.8. Also I hope that the colours more easily match my GH5 and GX80s.

Thanks so much for that. Will look at S5ii / S1H and the sigma zoom. I'm not worried about the shutter as usually the photos are done during rehearsals andI video the actual performances. Just curious how stability with run-and-gun will go, but can always eventually get the G9ii for that when it drops in price for next year outdoor events.

Thank you, just considering the Panasonic s5ii to replace the em1ii. Just not convinced m4/3 can do decent indoor photography with movement. I need a zoom so thinking of g9ii with p10-25/1.7 and p35-100/2.8 or keep o40-150/2.8. not sure I can be switching primes as can’t miss live action and can’t easily move around. The s5ii with something like 24-100/f4 could be handy but then would lose the goodies like ibis and good AF on the em1ii.

Wow, this is great. I'm thinking of switching my EM-1ii which I mostly use for outside run-and-gun to something that I can shoot indoor theatre photography and video with. My m4/3 is great for video indoors, but for photography, not so much. Was looking at replacing my E-M1ii an 12-100/4 with either a G9ii or a S5ii. Just not sure the S5ii would be up for the outdoor run-and-gun with AF and stabilisation which are excellent on the E-M1ii. How is the S5ii for low-light photograpy and what would be a great utility zoom? I'm not looking for filmic stuff (your film is great!) just utility.

What does the E-M1ii hack give you? I love the E-M1ii that I got used for peanuts. With the 12-100/4 and dual IBIS it is a dream run-and-gun for outdoor events. Problem is I now have some indoor theatre work, and my m4/3 setup works great for video (E-M1ii handheld and GH5/GX80 on tripods with primes), I have been asked to shoot photos too for promotional print/online and the low-light + 2.8 zooms don't cut it with high-iso and motion blur. I already sold my 75mm and 45mm 1.8 a long time ago. I'm really debating getting the G9ii and Panasonic 12-60/2.8-4 and 10-25/1.7 to replace my EM1-ii + 12-100. Or switching to Sony FF. Hard as I've been in m43 since the original EM-5 in 2010.

Hi there, I've been doing mostly outdoor event video shooting as well as some indoor event streaming so have been happy with a basic kit of Olympus EM-1ii with 12-100 f/4 (which I use handheld), a GH5, and a couple of GX80 which I use with fixed prime lenses (P25 f/1.4 and P15 f/1.7) for multicam. I also have the Olympus 40-150 f/2.8. The Olympus IBIS, colours, AF, size and images are great. I've recently been asked to do indoor theatre video (which this m4/3 system works good enough for) but now they want me to do some photography too. I've done some test shots, but between the low-light grain (I can fix with AI denoise) and movement blur, I just can't do the photography with what I have. I love the m4/3 dual-stabilisation for events, so I'm thinking if it would be better to get the Panasonic G9ii to replace the Olympus and get the 12-60/2.8-4 to replace the o12-100/f4 and maybe a used Panasonic 10-25/f1.7 zoom. Or would it be better to switch to the Sony system with a A7siii (or similar, recommendations welcome!) with some decent 24-105/4 zoom. I know I will gain on the low-light but will likely lose the run-and-gun stabilisation that I get in the Olympus system. Also, I would not like to do heavy colour correction, as I'd prefer right out of camera. Thank you so much in advance for any suggestions as it has been a few years since I've been looking at camera gear.

Having shot some Olympic snowboarding from the stands with a GH5+PL100-400 and some sailing from shore with the same camera and also the Olympus E-m5iii + 12-100 the results are actually quite good hand-held with their dual IS systems. It's just a shame they never got together to have dual IS compatible across systems. The Panasonic digital teleconverter (true crop) seems better than the Olympus implementation which seems like some resampling. On the other hand, the Olympus PDAF autofocus makes stable shooting and focusing at 800mm+ FF equivalent much easier.

I second what Fuzzy says. I sold my GH5 + PL12-60 combo for a E-M5iii+O12-100/f4. The Olympus colours are great out of the box, the IS with that lens is gimbal-like, and the C4k is lovely. The camera is not as rugged as the E-M1 series, but I can attest the to weather proofing as have filmed for hours in the pouring rain. Just miss zebras as the histogram is not really accurate (although good enough not to clip highlights, and I think that my LCD needs the exposure lowering as it is always brighter than the scene. @fuzzynormal what colour profile do you generally use and does anyone have experience with the best C-AF settings especially for face-detect focusing? As Fuzzy says, the E-M10iii is a steal and the C4k images is the same as the other more expensive Olympus cameras. I've seen them for less than £200 on e-bay. I'm considering selling my two GH5 for a pair of E-M10iii to use as B-cam and timelapse cams.

Thanks for that, they were sold out on Amazon, but I managed to find them on Ali Express: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32918185600.html

Yeah, I loved my GX80s, and I still have them (use them as small timelapse cameras, even have the USB dummy batteries). Unfortunately the IBIS and viewfinder let them down.

I've seen E-M10iii for less than £200. Looking for a steal as a B-Cam to my E-m5iii. Same image, just no PDAF. Would love to see them open source the code. That could be revolutionary like Magic Lantern or the GH2! Imagine what people could squeeze out of that hardware. Olympus has the best IBIS hardware and PDAF sensor, they just need more software features like zebras and better codecs beyond the C4k which is quite nice.

I'm sure they can do all this and more. I find it strange though that they are finally upping their video game _after_ being sold. Also, I'd like them to have similar firmware for all their cameras like the continuous bounding-boxes for face-detect focus while recording. That feature is not on the E-M5iii. I was thinking today, that those Olympus cameras could do so much more. They should open-source the firmware - ha ha.

I totally agree. For the stuff that I do, the Olympus E-M5iii and 12-100 f/4 is a fantastic combination. Small, light, weatherproof - the PDAF is a bonus although I often use the manual clutch on the 12-100. That pair shoots a very nice, extremely stable (gimbal-like) cinema 4k image with good colours that I don't even need to grade. The 12-100 f/4 with the extra 2x punch-in crop gives me 24-400mm full-frame equivalent range in 4k. Also it allows for macro-like close focusing. I throw that combo, the Panasonic 25 f/1.4 for interviews, a couple of Instamics, a Rode video micro, a small tripod, and my Mavic Air drone in a little backpack and I'm good to go for the day. No, I'm not going to be on Netflix or win any awards, but for the outdoors/environmental and event/community video that I do, Olympus is more than great. As far as excess gear, I probably should sell off my GH5 as I'm not using it as much now I have the E-M5iii. I also am thinking of selling my 17 and 45mm Voigtlanders which I love, but don't get a lot of indoors or low light work, especially after COVID. I still keep a Panasonic GX80 with dummy USB battery as it is so handy for timelapses and useful as a backup camera. Maybe I should look at a cheap E-M10ii as a B-cam to match my other Olympus. I've been considering other systems (fuji, sony, canon) but they all have limitations (size, stability, cost) compared to m4/3 and especially Olympus that has a little bit more "magic" to me over Panasonic. There must be a market for small, good quality video, stabilisation for vloggers or people like me. @fuzzynormal seems to be in the same camp as well as people like Chris Eyre-Walker. Too bad Olympus didn't capitalise here and Panasonic is making similar mistakes. Olympus should have thrown in every trick they had including better video-assist tools into two cameras - a small EM10 and a larger "pro" EM1. Panasonic needs a GH5 in a GX80 body and similar tech in an LX100 body with fixed, high-quality zoom lens and IBIS.