so i finally caved and picked up the s5ii after years of shooting on the older gh5 and man that autofocus is such a relief i was tired of the hunting but now im in a bit of a spot because the body basically nuked my gear budget for the quarter lol. i have a wedding coming up next month in chicago and im looking for a solid prime to handle some low light shots during the reception but i cant really drop a grand on the pro glass right now. i was looking at those panasonic 1.8 primes because they all look exactly the same size which is cool for gimbal work i guess but then i saw some sigma stuff and now im just overthinking it. i need something sharp but with nice character for portraits. i usually lean towards a 35mm or 50mm but honestly i might even consider an 85 if it isnt too slow. my budget is strictly under 500 bucks since i still need to buy extra batteries and a faster sd card. anyone have experience with the panasonic 50mm f1.8 vs the sigma contemporary ones on this specific body? i heard the native glass plays better with the dual base iso but i dont know if thats actually true for stills or just marketing fluff...
Congrats on the S5II! Its an amazing camera and that autofocus is life changing! For a wedding, you definitely want the reliability of native glass so you dont miss those key moments.
- Panasonic Lumix S 50mm f/1.8 is super fast and light, plus the AF is basically silent!
- Sigma 45mm f/2.8 DG DN Contemporary is cool but might be too slow for dark receptions. Stick with the Panasonic 50mm, its a total steal and performs like a beast in low light!
Coming back to this... I've been shooting L-mount since the S1 launched and I've tried basically every budget prime out there. For a wedding, you really want something that can isolate a subject during those reception speeches. In my experience, the Panasonic Lumix S 85mm f/1.8 is the secret weapon of that f1.8 series. I used it recently for a low-light event and the AF stayed locked on the eyes even when the DJ started the strobe lights. It's got way more character than the 50mm and handles skin tones beautifully. If you're leaning toward a 35mm though, the Sigma 35mm f/2 DG DN Contemporary is a total gem. I love the physical aperture ring on it. It’s usually under 500 bucks and the metal build feels much more pro than the native plastic primes, even if it's a tiny bit slower at f2. The dual base ISO thing is mostly marketing for the sensor side of things, but native glass definitely handles the AFC better for those candid dance floor shots.
