Video, set up right
How do you set up video on a Panasonic Lumix S5 II — 6K open gate, the real story on 4K 60p, V-Log, REAL TIME LUT, and what the fan and heat settings actually do?
MOV, and the open gate
Rec. File Format MOV carries the serious codecs: 4:2:2 10-bit Long GOP and 4:2:0 10-bit, with LPCM 4-channel audio. The flagship quality is 6K/30p/420/10-L — 5952×3968 pixels in 3:2 at 200 Mbps HEVC, recorded from the FULL image area: the open gate, the entire sensor height, ready to reframe for any delivery shape. 5.9K (5888×3312) covers 16:9 at the same rate. Rec Quality (My List) registers up to 12 favorite combinations. There is no internal RAW video; RAW output over HDMI requires the paid DMW-SFU2 upgrade key and an external recorder.
4K 60p is an APS-C recording
The manual groups recording qualities by image area. The FULL group lists C4K/4K at 30p, 25p and 24p; the 59.94p and 50p C4K/4K qualities sit in the APS-C group — 4K 60p is recorded from the APS-C image area, a noticeably tighter frame than the lens promises at full width. Image Area of Video can also be chosen deliberately: FULL, APS-C, or PIXEL/PIXEL (a 1:1 pixel readout). Frame 60p work wider, or use 30p when the full width matters.
V-Log with a preview — or baked
With Photo Style set to V-Log, the available ISO range becomes 640–51200 (the floor drops to 320 with Extended ISO ON), and 18% gray is exposed at IRE 42%. V-Log View Assist applies a LUT — Vlog_709 or any file registered in the LUT Library (up to 10 files, .vlt or .cube formats, loaded from a card) — to the monitor/viewfinder and HDMI output without touching the file. REAL TIME LUT is the other road: a Photo Style that applies the LUT to the V-Log image as it records, for photos and video alike. View Assist is not available while a LUT is baked into the Photo Style.
Heat, planned
There is no per-movie time cap; MOV files segment at about 3 h 04 min per file on SDXC (SDHC splits at 30 minutes / 4 GB). Heat is the real limit, stated in the manual: with Recording Max Temperature at STANDARD, the 6K/30p, 6K/25p, 5.9K/30p and 5.9K/25p qualities stop once continuous recording exceeds 30 minutes. At HIGH, recording continues longer while the body heats — Panasonic warns about low-temperature burns and recommends a tripod; handheld long recording belongs on STANDARD. Fan Mode (Custom Menu, IN/OUT) ships on AUTO2; AUTO1 prioritizes controlling the temperature rise. Panasonic rates the DMW-BLK22 battery at about 90 minutes of continuous 4K/60p recording and 80 minutes at 6K/30p (actual available time roughly half).
Steady video
Video stabilization combines in-body, in-lens and electronic correction (5-Axis Hybrid). Since firmware Ver. 3.0, E-Stabilization (Video) offers HIGH, STANDARD and OFF: it corrects shake and the peripheral distortion of wide lenses, and the angle of view narrows — more at HIGH than STANDARD. It is unavailable in S&Q mode. Boost I.S. (Video) locks the composition for fixed-perspective shots, tripod-style; turn it off before moving the camera. The stabilizer Operation Mode is forced to Normal during video recording.
Set MOV and the 6K open gate, turn V-Log View Assist on with Vlog_709, then flip between 4K/30p and 4K/60p and watch the frame change areas. Finish by reading the Thermal Management screen for your 6K quality.