Nikon Z f vs Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 — Which Is Better?

The Nikon Z f and the Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 are both mirrorless cameras, released two years apart. The Z f arrived in September 2023, while the S5 was announced in February 2021. Their weights are almost identical at 710 and 714 grams.

Their bodies are shaped differently. The Z f measures 144 x 103 x 49 mm, making it the shallower camera, while the S5 at 133 x 97 x 82 mm is deeper front to back.

For fast action, the Z f is the clear choice, shooting at up to 25 frames per second against 7 on the S5. That difference matters for sports, birds in flight, and fleeting expressions where the peak frame can fall between slower bursts. The Z f also has the denser electronic viewfinder, 3.69 million dots against 2.36 million, for finer framing and focus checks. Its autofocus system covers 273 points versus 225.

In other respects their stills foundations are similar. Both use full-frame CMOS sensors with in-body stabilisation, a 1/8000 second maximum shutter, and a minimum ISO of 100. The Z f reaches a higher standard ISO ceiling of 64000 versus 51200, while both extend to 204800. They use different lens mounts, Nikon Z and Leica L, so each draws on its own native lens range.

Either body can carry a standard 4K project, because their headline video limits match. Both reach 4K as their maximum resolution and 60 fps as their maximum frame rate, and both offer built-in timelapse for interval shooting. The useful difference is file format. The Z f records in MPEG-4, MOV and H.264, while the S5 uses MP4 and MOV, which may matter to your editing software.

The S5 has the more convenient rear screen for everyday operation because it is a touchscreen, letting you tap to move focus points and adjust settings directly. The Z f has no touch input, but its screen is larger and sharper, at 3.2 inches and 2.1 million dots against 3 inches and 1.84 million. Both screens tilt for low and high-angle work.

Their protection and connectivity are otherwise similar. Both bodies are weather sealed, support Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, work with external flash units, and lack both a built-in flash and GPS.

The S5 holds the higher rated battery life, 440 shots against 380 for the Z f. Both take two memory cards and can be charged over USB.

Their card support differs in useful ways. The S5 takes SD, SDHC and SDXC cards with UHS-II compatibility for faster writes, while the Z f takes the same SD range plus microSD, handy if you already own phone-sized cards.