Exploring the Panasonic Lumix S5 Photo Styles

In my previous post I talked about getting back into film photography. And on that note, the film I ordered from AliExpress, that was due to arrive in about two months from that slow boat to China, actually only took a couple of weeks. Excellent! If I like the look of the 400 ISO Lucky film, I may have to order some more....

But why, in this day and age, would anyone want to shoot film (I hear you say)? And that's a very good question - thanks for asking. Well, one of the main reasons to shoot film relates to what I just said about the Lucky film from China. It has to do with the 'look' of the film. Its rendition of colour (or monotones). Its grain structure. The way it handles contrast - mid tones, highlights etc. 

It's the reason film photographers have favourite film stocks. Some like the 'look' of Portra, while some prefer Velvia. Which of course, also speaks to the Fuji vs Kodak debate. Fuji tends more towards greens and blues, while Kodak tends more towards reds and warm colour tones.

Film shooters will argue that they get to change their camera's 'sensor' every time they change their film stock. Kodak for portraits, Fuji for landscapes, and TMax for moody black and whites. Whereas a digital sensor is just an electronic device capturing 1s and 0s in a predictable and repeatable manner - right?

Cobden Lagoon. Lumix S5 with S20-60mm. L Classic Neo Photo Style + Low Grain.

Well, actually, digital camera manufacturers have gone to great lengths to reproduce colours from digital sensors in very specific ways. It's why two manufacturers can use the same digital sensor, and yet the images that they produce will be very different in the way they render colour. Very much like film shooters preferring a particular film stock, you will now hear digital photographers talk about preferring a particular 'colour science' from one brand over the other.

Every digital camera you buy offers 'Picture Profiles' (some call them 'styles') with titles like Landscape, Portrait or Natural (to name just a few). These give you different 'looks' to your photos - if you shoot Jpegs. If, however, you only shoot RAW, then these picture profiles are basically redundant (although they will be what you see through the viewfinder and on the LCD screen when you review the image).

Perhaps the manufacturer who has taken these picture styles to the extreme is Fujifilm. With a rich history of 'film' (duh), they offer styles called Velvia, Acros and Eterna (among others) that get baked-in to the jpeg and simulate their film stocks. An entire community has been created around photographers coming up with new 'recipes' that simulate film stocks for Fujifilm cameras. But they aren't the only players in the game...

Photo Styles from the Panasonic Lumix S5.

Above is an overview of the 15 Photo Styles (plus one with grain added) available in the Lumix S5. It may be difficult to pick up some of the subtle (and not so subtle) nuances in each style, but they are certainly different from each other. Many of the styles are 'as advertised', in that Natural is quite 'natural' looking, Vivid is more 'vivid, and Monochrome is - you guessed it - 'monochrome'. Others, like 'Landscape' or 'Portrait' are also fairly self-explanatory.

But then there are also options like L Classic Neo, L Monochrome D and Cinelike V2 which are a bit more out of the ordinary. L Monochrome (Lumix Monochrome - or Leica?) has been added to Photo Styles with the S series of cameras, together with Monochrome D and monochrome S. D is a more punchy b&w - more suitable for architecture and landscapes, while S seems tailored towards portraiture? That's how I would use them.

L Classic Neo is Panasonic's attempt at simulating colour negative film. The colours are intended to have a more nostalgic and gentle colour film look. And to be fair, it does a pretty decent job of it (see the first photo in this blogpost).

Another example of Photo Styles.

The final row of Photo Styles are more geared towards video shooting, although you can produce still images using these profiles. The final, V-Log is a very flat profile, ideal for colour grading of video, and not really useful if you are purely a stills shooter. I did, however, quite like the colour rendition using the Like 709 style on the landscape image above, so there's no rule that says you can't use these video-centric style for your photography. But again, remember these are for Jpegs only, so the resulting style will be 'baked-in' to the final image.

Greymouth Wharf from Cobden Lagoon. L Monochrome D + Grain High.

Almost all of the above examples are of Picture Styles using the default settings. Each individual Photo Style can also be 'tweaked' to create your own style (or 'recipe' to steal the concept from Fujifilm). The S5 allows you to programme a further 4 custom styles of your own making for quick recall. 

Adjustments such as contrast, highlight, shadow, tone, hue and sharpness can be set by adding or subtracting values and will vary depending on the picture style (you can't set hue and saturation in the monochrome styles for example). For Monochrome (and Classic Neo), you can also add grain structure in 3 settings (low, standard or high), as well as adding yellow, orange, red or green filter effects. The options are almost endless! With a bit of trial and error, I'm sure you could dial in something resembling your favourite film stock.

Grain can be set at either Low, Standard or High for that extra film look.

And if this wasn't enough, the latest Lumix S cameras (not my S5 unfortunately) can also accept LUTs - colour profiles that are usually used at the post-processing stage by videographers to simulate different colour gradings or film stocks. Fujifilm eat your heart out!

Photo Styles (or film recipes - call them what you will) were something that I played around with a lot when I was shooting Fujifilm cameras. It seemed like a natural thing to do when you were starting out with styles called Provia. But there's really no reason why you couldn't do the same thing with Lumix cameras like the S5 using their Photo Styles as a base. 

If you enjoy shooting jpegs, and trying to get a particular 'look' to your images SOOC (straight out of camera), then have a play with Photo Styles. I'm going to have a play with some of my own, and I'll share what I've come up with. Can I get Kodak TMax 400 and Fuji Velvia out of a Panasonic Lumix S5? Why not....

2025 - The Year of Film!?

I love black and white photography. Always have. It's what I cut my teeth on when I first started learning all about photography (way back when). It's classic, the images often have a timeless feeling and there's something 'evocative' about monochrome that color doesn't match.

Perhaps that's why I enjoyed shooting the Fujifilm cameras and playing around with the film recipes so much? At least half of the recipes I programmed into the cameras were black and white (mostly trying to replicate Acros - my favorite b&w film). And shooting with all these 'film stocks' on a digital camera was a heap of fun (and a huge rabbit-hole it turns out).

Aailyah. Lumix S5 with Panasonic S 50mm f1.8. 1/60th sec @ f2.8, ISO 100. 

Shooting black and white with digital is a simple matter of choosing a monochrome profile instead of color. Then, if you shoot RAW, you get a b&w image in the viewfinder (if you're shooting with a mirrorless system), but the RAW image still has the color information attached if you change your mind.

You can also choose to shoot in RAW + JPEG, in which case the jpeg will have the b&w profile 'burnt' into the file, while the RAW will still retain the color. The best of both worlds. 

I don't shoot Fujifilm cameras anymore, having moved to the Panasonic Lumix S5 full-frame camera. But when I did shoot with Fujifilm, I would often only shoot in JPEG - meaning that the resulting image would only be monochrome. No color info - no going back. It was a bit like shooting film, but with digital. 

Some are very happy with this work flow - creating 'pretend' film images on digital. Heck, you can even add grain to the image at the point of capture to further enhance the film look. 

Say 'Cheese'. Lumix S5 with Panasonic S 50mm f1.8. 1/60th sec @ f2.8, ISO 100.

The portraits in this post were all taken on the Lumix S5 using the Monochrome S profile. The S5 has a variety of monochrome profiles you can choose, with the 'S' profile seeming to give the best rendition of skin colors. But since they were all shot in RAW, they were infinitely 'tweakable' in post-processing anyway. And as much as I do like the final look, there is a part of this jaded old photographer that thinks to himself "If you want the film look to your images, just damn well shoot film"!

Storytime with Grammy. Lumix S5 with S 50mm f1.8. 1/60th sec @ 4.5, ISO 1000.

So that's exactly what I've decided to do in 2025. Shoot some film.

Early last year, a very good friend gifted me a Minolta Dynax 7 film camera body (thanks Stew) and I've meant to shoot it ever since. The time for thinking is over, and it's time to get doing! 

First step was to actually get some film for it. Given all I've said in this post so far, I was only going to be looking at monochrome film - for two reasons. Firstly for all the reasons I've given in this post 😁(didn't I just say that?), and second - the cost. B&W film is cheaper to buy and, if you have your own processing tanks and chemicals (which I do), cheaper to develop. Much cheaper. 

I brought some Rollei APX 25, 100 and 400 ISO film, and then actually scored some cheap expired color film online, just for giggles. Don't know when I'll use the color (especially since one of them is a slide film which is horrendously expensive to develop), but it's there just in case.

I then decided to get a 'standard' lens for the Dynax 7, and I knew just which one to get; The Minolta 35-70mm f/4 macro. It's a lens I've owned before and used with Sony A-mount digital cameras. It's a great performer, very sharp wide open, with a constant f/4 aperture.

The 35-70mm f/4's come up reasonably regularly, and are a fairly cheap price for such a good lens. The one I bid on was actually attached to a Dynax 7xi, so I got another film body as a back-up to the Dynax 7.

When Stewart gifted me the Dynax 7 it came with a 50mm f2.8 macro lens, so I decided my new film kit would be complete with a telephoto lens. Enter the Minolta 70-210mm f/4.5-5.6. I had actually purchased a 70-210mm f/4 'beercan' but had to send it back because it wouldn't focus to infinity! Damn... I might get another one later, but for the meantime the f/4.5-5.6 will do.

With the Minolta in the bag I thought I was now sorted for a film kit. Turns out I was wrong! Since I was looking through all the listings for film cameras on our New Zealand auction site (TradeMe), I was seeing other cameras that were catching my attention. I had my eye on a Canon EOS5 body that looked like it might go cheaply, so I put in a 'low' bid and left it at that. And yes, I won it (for the princely sum of $35.00NZ).

Film cameras (and film) have experienced something of a resurgence in the last 5 years, which has seen the prices go up considerably. Film itself is eye-wateringly expensive (which does give pause when looking at getting back into shooting film), while old film cameras that used to be given away (or thrown out), are now going for more that older digital camera bodies. Crazy...

But there are still bargains to be had (can't complain about $35.00NZ for a Canon EOS5) if you look out for them and are patient. Strangely enough, it's the older, more manual film cameras that are the most popular. The more 'modern' looking film cameras tend to go for cheaper prices. Suits me.

I'm looking forward to getting a bit more 'hands on', a bit more 'tactile' with my photography this year. Not in a hipster, 'look-at-me-aren't-I-cool' sort of way (I'm middle aged, bald and fat - hipster I ain't) - more in a photography as 'craft' kind of vibe. I'll let you know how it goes....

What the Heart Wants...

Yesterday I posted on this very blog that I had made a decision - a very rational decision - about which 35mm camera system I should opt for. I chose the Canon 300V over the Nikon F80, because I had some existing glass for the Canon body and not for the Nikon.

I also mentioned how this was a 'head' decision, rather than a 'heart' one. I've wanted a Nikon F80 ever since they came out (in 2000). but back then I simply couldn't afford one. But now I can. And I really do want one...

Before going off to bed last night (as I write this), I had another 'quick' look on TradeMe (can't hurt, can it?). I had been 'watching' an auction for a Nikon F80 with 70-300mm G lens, but having opted for the Canon I had then cleared all my watch list. The camera obviously failed to sell, and popped up in my search again. Yeah, nice camera (I thought to myself), but it's a little too much, and I'd really prefer an all-black one, rather than the black and silver model they were selling. No sooner had this thought occurred, when a black N80 (the American version of the F80) also popped up in my search! Is that karma or what?

It was getting very late, so I decided to be a bit cheeky and ask for a lower 'Buy Now' for both auctions. I had the Canon 300V coming anyway, so had nothing really to loose. Seller's get asked all the time if they will accept a lower 'Buy Now' price, and usually the stock answer is "I'll let the auction run thanks". Except this time both came back to me almost immediately and accepted my offers! Yikes! What's a boy to do?

My 'new' F60 with 70-300G from TradeMe

Yeah, ok - I brought them BOTH! And no, I don't need them both. But they were kind enough to accept my offers, so the least I could do was follow through with it - right? I mean, it would be rude not to :-)

When they all arrive - the two Nikons and the Canon, I will try them out, get them in the hand, use them, and then decide from there which one(s) I'll keep and which I will sell-on. I 'think' I already know, but I am trying to keep an open mind.

I opted for the Canon originally because it ticked all the boxes of what I wanted in a 35mm body specs-wise, and I had a couple of lenses that I could pair it with to try out when it arrived. Having said that, the lenses I have in mind are 'borrowed', I don't actually own them, so would have to get my own someday anyway.

The Nikon F80 comes with a 70-300G lens, and while I'm not a big telephoto kinda guy, I do like to have a 'cheap' one on hand for those rare occasions when it could get some use. So to complement the Nikon purchases, I've also gone ahead and ordered a Nikkor 35-70mm f3.5/4.5 that will be the standard lens for 90% of the time. It's also a very inexpensive lens, and has often been called Nikon's worst lens! Ouch! But internet searches on this lens produce a mixed bag of reviews and views (surprise, surprise).

My other 'new' N80 - an all black version. Nice!

Some get very dramatic with it and even throw it away on video (I kid you not), while others decide to keep it and add it as their standard walk-around lens. When it arrives I will shoot some images with it on digital (an old D70 I still have) and get the images on the computer to assess the results. But it can't be all that bad, especially stopped down to the mid apertures, can it? Guess I'll find out.

It seems that the heart is ruling the head at the moment, and if the 35-70mm is an ok performer, paired with the 70-300mm, I could have a decent Nikon film kit that would certainly sway the verdict in its favour. And I do love the look of the black N80! Gorgeous! Add a MD-16 battery grip to it so I can use AA batteries and I think I'll be sold! We'll have to wait and see?