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  1. Table of Contents
  2. Top
  3. Main Differences
  4. Design
    1. Portability
    2. Build Quality
    3. Body
    4. In The Box
    5. Ergonomics & Comfort
    6. Viewfinder
    7. Screen
    8. Menu System
    9. Built-In Lens
    10. Sensor
    11. Battery
  5. Photo General
    1. Photo Shooting Speed
    2. Photo AF-C Tracking
    3. Photo AF-C Center Point
    4. Photo Image Stabilization
  6. Photo Image Quality
    1. Photo RAW Dynamic Range
    2. Photo RAW Sharpness
    3. Photo RAW Noise
  7. Pictures Sample Gallery
    1. The Skate Park Picture
    2. The Polish Church Picture
    3. The Studio Picture
    4. The Stairway Picture
  8. Video General
    1. Video Features
    2. Audio
    3. Video File Format And Compression
  9. 4k Video
    1. 4k Video Frame Rate
    2. 4k Video Internal Recording
    3. 4k Video Autofocus Performance
    4. 4k Video Quality
    5. 4k Video Rolling Shutter Effect
  10. Full HD Video
    1. FHD Video Frame Rate
    2. FHD Video Internal Recording
    3. FHD Video Autofocus Performance
    4. FHD Video Quality
    5. FHD Video Rolling Shutter Effect
  11. Video Image Quality
    1. Video Dynamic Range
    2. Luminosity Patch Detection
  12. Storage And Connectivity
    1. Storage
    2. Inputs / Outputs
  13. Comments

Panasonic LUMIX S5 vs Sony α7 IV

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

Panasonic LUMIX S5
Sony α7 IV

Tested using Methodology v0.12.1

Updated Jan 23, 2024 09:32 PM

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Walmart.com

Tested using Methodology v0.13

Updated Apr 03, 2025 02:47 PM

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Panasonic LUMIX S5 Picture
Sony α7 IV Picture

Variants

  • LUMIX S5 (Black (Body Only))
  • LUMIX S5 (Black W/ 20-60mm F3.5-5.6 Lens)
  • α7 IV (Black (Body Only))
  • α7 IV (Black W/ 24-105mm lens)

Our Verdict

Panasonic LUMIX S5

Sony α7 IV

The Panasonic LUMIX DC-S5 and the Sony α7 IV are both great full-frame mirrorless cameras that perform well in photo and video. They can record 4k 10-bit 4:2:2 video internally at up to 60 fps. Both have fully articulated screens and sturdy, weather-sealed bodies and are similar in size and weight. That said, while the Panasonic has better overall stabilization performance, the Sony has a significantly better autofocus system, takes CFexpress Type A cards as well as UHS-II SD cards, and can shoot at 120 fps in 1080p.

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Black (Body Only)
LUMIX S5
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Black (Body Only)
α7 IV
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Black W/ 20-60mm F3.5-5.6 Lens
LUMIX S5
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Black W/ 24-105mm lens
α7 IV
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Main Differences for
Travel Photography

Threshold 

0.10

Travel Photography 

8.0
7.7

Minimum Shutter Speed Achieved 
 

1/8 s
1/30 s

Full Comparison

Design

Portability 
 

3.5
3.9

Portability Picture  

Panasonic LUMIX S5 Portability Picture
Sony α7 IV Portability Picture

Height 
 

3.9" (9.8 cm)
3.8" (9.6 cm)

Width 
 

5.6" (14.2 cm)
5.6" (14.3 cm)

Depth 
 

3.1" (7.9 cm)
3.2" (8.1 cm)

Volume 
 

67.1 in³ (1,099.4 cm³)
67.9 in³ (1,112.0 cm³)

Weight 
 

1.61 lbs (0.73 kg)
1.47 lbs (0.67 kg)
Show Text 

Build Quality 
 

8.0
9.0

Build Quality Picture  

Panasonic LUMIX S5 Build Quality Picture
Sony α7 IV Build Quality Picture
Show Text 

Body  

Body Picture  

Panasonic LUMIX S5 Body Picture
Sony α7 IV Body Picture

Body Type 
 

SLR-Style
SLR-Style

Water Resistance 
 

Weather-Sealed
Weather-Sealed

Mirrorless 
 

Yes
Yes

Rugged 
 

No
No

Hot Shoe 
 

Yes
Yes

Customizable Button 
 

Yes
Yes

Command Dial 
 

3
4

Tripod Mount 
 

Yes
Yes

Lens Mount 
 

L Mount
E-Mount

Built-In Flash 
 

No
No

Fastest Shutter Speed 
 

1/8,000 s
1/8,000 s
Show Text 

In The Box  

In The Box Picture  

Panasonic LUMIX S5 In The Box Picture
Sony α7 IV In The Box Picture
Show Text 

Ergonomics & Comfort 
 

9.0
8.5

Hand Grip Picture  

Panasonic LUMIX S5 Hand Grip Picture
Sony α7 IV Hand Grip Picture

Hand Grip: Small Hand 
 

Yes
Yes

Hand Grip: Medium Hand 
 

Yes
Yes

Hand Grip: Large Hand 
 

Yes
Yes

Hand Grip: Extra-Large Hand 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Viewfinder 
 

EVF Menu Picture  

Panasonic LUMIX S5 EVF Menu Picture
Sony α7 IV EVF Menu Picture

Viewfinder Type 
 

Electronic
Electronic

Advertised Coverage 
 

100%
100%

Advertised Resolution 
 

2.36 million dots
3.69 million dots

Advertised Magnification 
 

0.74
0.78
Show Text 

Screen 
 

9.7
9.2

Screen Picture  

Panasonic LUMIX S5 Screen Picture
Sony α7 IV Screen Picture

Screen Articulation Type 
 

Fully-Articulated
Fully-Articulated

Screen Max Brightness 
 

1,030 cd/m²
800 cd/m²

Advertised Resolution 
 

1.84 million dots
1.04 million dots

Size 
 

3.0" (7.5 cm)
3.0" (7.5 cm)

Touchscreen 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Menu System 
 

9.0
9.0

Screen Menu Picture  

Panasonic LUMIX S5 Screen Menu Picture
Sony α7 IV Screen Menu Picture

Guide Mode 
 

Yes
Yes

App Name 
 

LUMIX Sync
Creators' App
Show Text 

Built-In Lens 
 

0.0
0.0

Aperture Vs Focal Length  

Panasonic LUMIX S5 Aperture Vs Focal Length
Sony α7 IV Aperture Vs Focal Length

Maximum Aperture 
 

No built-in lens
No built-in lens

Max Aperture (Full-Frame Equivalent) 
 

N/A
N/A

Minimum Focal Length 
 

N/A
N/A

Maximum Focal Length 
 

N/A
N/A

Max Focal Length (Full-Frame Equivalent) 
 

N/A
N/A

Optical Image Stabilization 
 

No
No

Light Falloff Picture  

Panasonic LUMIX S5 Light Falloff Picture
Sony α7 IV Light Falloff Picture

Luminance 
 

N/A
N/A

Light Falloff 
 

N/A
N/A

Sensor 
 

Sensor Type 
 

CMOS
BSI CMOS

Advertised Effective Pixels 
 

24.2 MP
33 MP

Processor 
 

Venus Engine
BIONZ XR

Sensor Size 
 

Full Frame
Full Frame

Extended ISO Minimum 
 

50
50

Native ISO Minimum (Base ISO) 
 

100
100

Native ISO Maximum 
 

51,200
51,200

Tested Firmware 
 

Ver. 2.6
Version 1.10
Show Text 

Battery 
 

8.8
8.6

Battery Type 
 

Panasonic DMW-BLK22
Sony NP-FZ100

USB Charging 
 

Yes
Yes

Power Delivery While Recording 
 

Yes
Yes

Advertised Battery Life In Photo 
 

440 photos
580 photos

Tested Battery Life In Video 
 

130 min
105 min
Show Text 
Photo General

Photo Shooting Speed 
 

5.8
7.9

Low Speed Continuous 
 

3 fps
4 fps

High Speed Continuous 
 

6 fps
10 fps

Silent Shooting Continuous 
 

6 fps
10 fps

Raw Buffer Size 
 

34 Photos
10,000 Photos

JPEG Buffer Size 
 

10,000 Photos
10,000 Photos

Buffer Empty Time 
 

8 s
0 s
Show Text 

Photo AF-C Tracking 
 

6.6
8.7

Autofocus Tracking Shots  

tracking-run-01-01
Run 01
AF-C Tracking 01
tracking-run-01-01
Run 01
AF-C Tracking 01

Perfect Focus Hit Rate 
 

52%
77%

Usable Focus Hit Rate 
 

69%
94%
Show Text 

Photo AF-C Center Point 
 

10
9.7

Autofocus Center Point Shots  

center-point-run-01-01
Run 01
AF-C Center Point 01
center-point-run-01-01
Run 01
AF-C Center Point 01

Perfect Focus Hit Rate 
 

100%
96%

Usable Focus Hit Rate 
 

100%
99%
Show Text 

Photo Image Stabilization 
 

8.3
6.6

Stabilization Slideshow  

Minimum Shutter Speed Achieved 
 

1/8 s
1/30 s

In-Body Image Stabilization 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 
Photo Image Quality

Photo RAW Dynamic Range 
 

9.6
8.7

Dynamic Range Scene  

Panasonic LUMIX S5 Dynamic Range Scene
Sony α7 IV Dynamic Range Scene

Dynamic Range At Base ISO 
 

11.9 f-stops
11.0 f-stops

Dynamic Range At 1/500s Exposure Time 
 

11.1 f-stops
9.6 f-stops

Dynamic Range At 1/2000s Exposure Time 
 

9.8 f-stops
7.5 f-stops

Dynamic Range At 1/4000s Exposure Time 
 

7.5 f-stops
6.9 f-stops
Show Text 

Photo RAW Sharpness 
 

8.7
9.0

Sharpness Scene Crop  

Panasonic LUMIX S5 Sharpness Scene Crop
Sony α7 IV Sharpness Scene Crop

MTF Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Vertical Edge MTF50 At Base ISO 
 

2,289 LW/PH
2,116 LW/PH

Horizontal Edge MTF50 At Base ISO 
 

1,998 LW/PH
2,630 LW/PH
Show Text 

Photo RAW Noise 
 

7.9
7.7

Noise Scene Crop  

Panasonic LUMIX S5 Noise Scene Crop
Sony α7 IV Noise Scene Crop

Noise Vs Exposure Time  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SNR 18% At 1/8 Exposure Time (125 ms) 
 

34.4dB
34.5 dB

SNR 18% At 1/30 Exposure Time (33 ms) 
 

32.6 dB
32.2 dB

SNR 18% At 1/125 Exposure Time (8 ms) 
 

28.8 dB
27.7 dB

SNR 18% At 1/500 Exposure Time (2 ms) 
 

23.5dB
22.3 dB
Show Text 
Pictures Sample Gallery

The Skate Park Picture 
 

Sample Gallery - Skate Park   

Panasonic LUMIX S5 Sample Gallery - Skate Park
Sony α7 IV Sample Gallery - Skate Park

JPEG Skate Park Picture  

RAW Skate Park Picture  

The Polish Church Picture 
 

Sample Gallery - Church  

Panasonic LUMIX S5 Sample Gallery - Church
Sony α7 IV Sample Gallery - Church

JPEG Polish Church Picture  

RAW Polish Church Picture  

The Studio Picture 
 

Sample Gallery - Studio  

Panasonic LUMIX S5 Sample Gallery - Studio
Sony α7 IV Sample Gallery - Studio

JPEG Studio Picture  

RAW Studio Picture  

The Stairway Picture 
 

Sample Gallery - Stairway  

Panasonic LUMIX S5 Sample Gallery - Stairway
Sony α7 IV Sample Gallery - Stairway

JPEG Stairway Picture  

RAW Stairway Picture  

Video General

Video Features  

Full HD Video 
 

Yes
Yes

4k Video 
 

Yes
Yes

6k Video 
 

No
No

Clean HDMI Output 
 

Yes
Yes

Advertised Max Chroma Sampling Over HDMI 
 

4:2:2
4:2:2

Advertised Max Bit Depth Over HDMI 
 

12 bits
10 bits

Log Picture Profile 
 

Yes
Yes

Recording Light  
 

No
No
Show Text 

Audio  

Audio Test Sample 
 

Audio Recording 
 

Stereo
Stereo

Microphone Level Display 
 

Yes
Yes

Video File Format And Compression  

MP4 H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC 
 

Yes
Yes

MP4 H.265 / HEVC 
 

Yes
Yes

MOV H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC 
 

Yes
No

MOV H.265 / HEVC 
 

Yes
No

AVCHD H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC 
 

No
Yes

All-I Compression 
 

No
Yes
4k Video

4k Video Frame Rate 
 

9.0
9.0

240 fps In 4k 
 

No
No

120 fps In 4k 
 

No
No

60 fps In 4k 
 

Yes, with a Crop
Yes, with a Crop

30 fps In 4k 
 

Yes
Yes

24 fps In 4k 
 

Yes
Yes

4k Crop At Max Available fps 
 

1.5 x
1.5 x
Show Text 

4k Video Internal Recording 
 

9.3
10

Bitrate Maximum In 4k 
 

200 Mbps
567 Mbps

Bitrate Minimum In 4k 
 

60 Mbps
60 Mbps

Chroma Sampling In 4k 
 

4:2:2
4:2:2

Bit Depth In 4k 
 

10 Bit
10 Bit

Record Time Limit In 4k 
 

30 min
N/A

Overheat Recording Interruptions in 4k 
 

0
0
Show Text 

4k Video Autofocus Performance 
 

7.9
9.7

4k Object Tracking Video  

Object Tracking In 4k 
 

7.0
9.7

4k Face Tracking Video  

Face Tracking In 4k 
 

8.0
9.5

Face Detection In 4k 
 

Yes
Yes

Eye Detection In 4k 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

4k Video Quality 
 

9.0
8.8

4k Sample Low Light Video  

Low Light Capability In 4k  

8.5
8.5

4k Test Scene Extract  

Panasonic LUMIX S5 4k Test Scene Extract
Sony α7 IV 4k Test Scene Extract

Test Scene Extract In 4k  

9.5
9.0
Show Text 

4k Video Rolling Shutter Effect 
 

6.1
5.5

Rolling Shutter Video in 4k  

4k Rolling Shutter 
 

6.3°
7.3°
Show Text 
Full HD Video

FHD Video Frame Rate 
 

9.5
9.5

240 fps In FHD 
 

No
No

120 fps In FHD 
 

Yes
Yes

60 fps In FHD 
 

Yes
Yes

30 fps In FHD 
 

Yes
Yes

24 fps In FHD 
 

Yes
Yes

FHD Crop At Max Available fps 
 

1 x
1 x
Show Text 

FHD Video Internal Recording 
 

9.8
10

Bitrate Maximum In FHD 
 

100 Mbps
207 Mbps

Bitrate Minimum In FHD 
 

20 Mbps
14 Mbps

Chroma Sampling In FHD 
 

4:2:2
4:2:2

Bit Depth In FHD 
 

10 Bit
10 Bit

Record Time Limit in FHD 
 

N/A
N/A
Show Text 

FHD Video Autofocus Performance 
 

7.9
9.5

Object Tracking Video  

Object Tracking In FHD 
 

7.0
9.0

FHD Face Tracking Video  

Face Tracking In FHD 
 

8.0
9.8

Face Detection In FHD 
 

Yes
Yes

Eye Detection In FHD 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

FHD Video Quality 
 

8.5
8.5

FHD Sample Low Light Video  

Low Light Capability In FHD  

8.0
8.5

FHD Test Scene Extract In FHD  

Panasonic LUMIX S5 FHD Test Scene Extract In FHD
Sony α7 IV FHD Test Scene Extract In FHD

Test Scene Extract In FHD  

9.0
8.5
Show Text 

FHD Video Rolling Shutter Effect 
 

7.2
8.2

Rolling Shutter Video in FHD  

FHD Rolling Shutter 
 

3.7°
2.0°
Show Text 
Video Image Quality

Video Dynamic Range 
 

8.9

Video Dynamic Range Waveform  

Sony α7 IV Video Dynamic Range Waveform

Video Dynamic Range Slideshow  

Strict SNR Max Dynamic Range 
 

10.50 stops

Lenient SNR Max Dynamic Range 
 

11.51 stops

Background Floor Max Dynamic Range 
 

13.92 stops
Show Text 

Luminosity Patch Detection 
 

8.3

Luminosity Patch Detection Chart  

Sony α7 IV Luminosity Patch Detection Chart

Above Middle Gray 
 

5.17 stops

Below Middle Gray 
 

9.98 stops
Show Text 
Storage And Connectivity

Storage  

Card Slot Picture  

Panasonic LUMIX S5 Card Slot Picture
Sony α7 IV Card Slot Picture

Card 1 Slot 
 

SD Card UHS-II
CFexpress Type A and UHS-II

Card 2 Slot 
 

SD Card UHS-I
SD Card UHS-II
Show Text 

Inputs / Outputs 
 

9.5
10

Input Picture  

Panasonic LUMIX S5 Input Picture
Sony α7 IV Input Picture

USB 
 

USB-C
USB-C

HDMI 
 

Micro (Type D)
Full Size (Type A)

Headphones 
 

Yes
Yes

Microphone 
 

Stereo
Stereo

Wi-Fi 
 

Yes
Yes

Bluetooth 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Check Price

Black (Body Only)
LUMIX S5
Searching
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Black (Body Only)
α7 IV
Searching
Finding store
Black W/ 20-60mm F3.5-5.6 Lens
LUMIX S5
Searching
Finding store
Black W/ 24-105mm lens
α7 IV
Searching
Finding store

Panasonic LUMIX S5

Sony α7 IV

Comments

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Panasonic LUMIX S5 vs Sony α7 IV: Main Discussion

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