Generations of photographers have come and gone. And as you become a photographer with more money and who has experimented a ton, you eventually want to do less post-production. So many cameras on the market value the idea of the photographer sitting behind a screen for sometimes days to refine the right photo. But did you know that so many of the world’s most famous and greatest photographers strived to get it right in-camera? If you’re like me, you want to sit behind a computer far less with a keyboard and mouse in hand. Instead, you want to trade that for the tactile experience of nice dials, buttons, etc.
The article is presented in partnership with LUMIX.
Functionality
There’s a lot about LUMIX cameras that really help to give photographers the chance they need to get an image right in-camera. First off, we want to talk about something that you probably don’t even think about: build quality. In the case of the LUMIX S5II and LUMIX S5IIX, photographers get full-frame cameras with weather resistance. Weather-resistance doesn’t only have to do with taking it out into the elements. Instead, think of it almost like your camera “weathering” away. The extra durability ensures that all the parts continue to function far longer than you’d really think. In the staff’s opinions here, cameras tend to have a lifespan of around seven or eight years. But with weather resistance, you get even more. Some of us are still using cameras that are around 10 years old or more. That’s because they’ve all got weather resistance built in.
On top of all this, LUMIX cameras have ergonomics that simply work. If you’re shooting stills, then you’ll find all the controls exactly where you need them when you need to access them. And though we rarely shoot video, the ergonomics of the S5II feel almost like you’re holding a camcorder. Considering that we’re seeing so much of Gen Z run around with those, that’s wonderful for us to know.
We’re only just grazing the surface there too. We’ve barely mentioned the simple menu system that’s touch-screen based and one of the simplest to use on the market. Then there’s the massive selection of lenses available from the Leica L Mount Alliance — which is the second oldest autofocus mirrorless camera mount available.
Focusing with LUMIX
If we’re really going to talk about lenses, then know that LUMIX doesn’t play around. They’ve got tons of fast-focusing lenses that are also lightweight. For example, they’ve got a ton of f1.8 lenses in the form of their S-Series Full Frame 18mm, 24mm, 35mm, 50mm, and 85mm. Then there are offerings from the other L-Mount brands that all work well because the L-mount alliance shares full autofocus and exposure information through the mount.
These days, camera manufacturers like to boast about their scene-detection modes. While LUMIX does a very good job with human, animal, car, and motorcycles, it’s not really even worth mentioning because it’s just so obvious at this point that it will do a good job. The LUMIX S5II, for example, has received several updates since it first came out, and LUMIX has worked to constantly improve the autofocus performance.
These days, most photographers leave their cameras in continuous autofocus mode and then just go about shooting their subjects. If you’re one of those photographers, then know that LUMIX can really hone in and work to get the subject perfectly in focus — we’re talking about the most minute details here. It has features such as AF-Scope — which switches the camera to AF-S mode for a few seconds and gets it perfectly in focus. This method, combined with the phase detection focusing, works very well in practice.
LUMIX also gives photographers lots of options for autofocusing on a subject such as tracking, zones, spot, etc. A photographer truly has everything that they’d need here.
Image Quality: Getting it Right in-Camera
When it comes to image quality and LUMIX cameras, the thing to talk about is not only the Real-Time LUT option, but also the in-camera editing. Lots of folks talk about Real Time LUT. But if you haven’t heard of it before, it’s the ability to import editing LUTs and presets to the camera and apply them to the image upon shooting. What folks don’t talk about beyond that is just how complex it can become.
First off, you can layer LUTs on top of each other. This might be something that your creative vision is really craving — but I prefer to keep it simple. After you’ve shot an image, you can edit it in-camera using their simple editor and change the LUT of the photo. Think of it almost like you’re editing in Lightroom or Capture One and then you want to change your mind later about what the image looks like. Then it will give you exactly what you want — but in-camera.
That’s crazy to us! Seriously, there aren’t many camera systems out there that offer this level of image quality flexibility, so when they come around, they’re a treasured gem.