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Panasonic GX80, GX85, or even GX7 Mark II in Japan
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  • Jimbo - very nice! finally a GX85 video that looks professional and not super saturated with weird panny colors. Can I ask if you used MP4 or AVCHD? I owned a G6 for a bit and absolutely hated using AVCHD, canikon files are so much easier to work with straight from the camera.

    I could never get the colors right either, but you made it look workable somehow.

    I'm looking at getting a small camera for gimbal shots but would like some decent quality so really thinking about this one... too bad 1080p 24p only avchd

  • PR

    Panasonic to collaborate with leading sports photography agency to capture Rio 2016 on Lumix G

    With the Rio 2016 Olympic Games set to start on Friday, Panasonic’s award-winning DMC-GX80 LUMIX G camera is gearing up for its first Olympic Games shoot. The GX80 will be used by official photographer, Warren Little, to capture images at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

    Warren Little has been accredited for Rio 2016 to capture the unique and historic Olympic moments. Having worked for Getty Images for 18 years, Warren is well versed in capturing epic sporting moments now including the Olympic Games. Panasonic is providing Warren with an award-winning DMC-GX80 LUMIX G camera to capture the games on. A fast, responsive and lightweight camera, the GX80 is the perfect choice for Warren to capture those momentous moments that happen in a fraction of a second.

    Perfectly designed for a sports photographer, thanks to its compact and easy-to-grip chassis the LUMIX GX80 is effortless to carry around, yet provides the superior image quality required for such historic shots.

    With a 16.00-megapixel Digital Live MOS sensor the LUMIX GX80 provides stunning image quality, even in low-light situations – perfect for demanding shooting conditions like the Olympics. The GX80 also features 5-axis Dual Image Stabilisation technology – where both the camera’s body and lens feature high-end image stabilisation - to achieve stunning effectiveness even when shooting handheld. The benefits will be even more apparent at the Olympics when you need to use high zoom to focus in on an athlete or when the stadium is in low-light.

    In the world of sports photography, faster is always better. There are no second chances when shooting at the Olympics – that split second moment is there to be captured and you need a camera you can rely on. With highly precise, ultra-fast Auto Focus, the GX80 ensures you’ll never miss the perfect shot.

    With such epic shots to capture, it can be challenging for a sports photographer to take the shot at the exact moment of interest. Not with the GX80. This camera features Panasonic’s 4K Photo feature which lets you take a complete 4K video of an event and then select a single still frame from the footage. Perfect for fast-moving action such as an athlete crossing the finishing line, 4K Photo will enable the most fleeting of momentous moments to be captured.

    Rio 2016 is set to capture some truly iconic images as this will be the first Olympic Games that will be captured using 4K photo.

    Warren will also carry a selection of LUMIX G Lenses in his kit bag suitable for capturing a wide range of scenes.

  • Received my GX85 with no recording limits from personal-view last week in time for a Friday wedding (fantastic service, very fast delivery - thanks Vitaliy!)

    Just wanted to share my initial thoughts on the camera (being a GH4 and GX7 owner) and a short teaser film I made for the couple I filmed with the camera on Friday.

    Firstly, operationally, this camera with its stabilisation is a gem. For a number of years now, every time I've wanted to go handheld at a wedding I've had to remove my baseplate and attach my Zacuto target shooter and z-finder (I don't keep the Zacuto baseplate on permanently as I value the GH4s flippy screen way too much). Weddings being as they are, this meant I only used my mini rig at strategic times of the day when the switchover meant I wouldn't miss anything. So having it built in meant I could go handheld whenever I wanted; and I did. I had it slung around my neck most of the day, operating my GH4 on tripod and mono as my A Cam and then choosing certain moments to use the GX85. As the day progressed I began using the GX85 more and more and it gave me a photography-like framing freedom to the height and angles I could get to without having to hoist up my beloved monopod or put my tripod down into low leg move. I can see the pitfalls of a device making shooting so easy... you get lazy... but on Friday I felt a freedom and creativity I haven't felt in a long time. I started looking with my eyes more knowing that my gear wouldn't stop me getting into position (and quickly at that).

    And the quality of the stabilisation? Well, you can probably already tell from the videos that it's incredible. And where I wouldn't normally go handheld with anything over 25mm on my Zacuto, by the end of the day I had my Nikon 105mm and speedbooster (making it 75mm) and it was fantastic, allowing me to grab shots that normally I'd have to set a tripod up for. And with some practise I felt quite comfortable panning gently with it too, it doesn't come to a hard stop like the Olympus stabilisation seem to, it tapers off nicely.

    I won't comment too much on image quality at this stage as I haven't had time to pore over the footage. My initial feeling is that in terms of DR, detail and colour it is on par with the GH4 with a slightly different colour signature. I feel it is definitely less noisy than the GH4 at high ISO (which is a boon for my work, although I'm really not afraid of noise as much as some people) but detail and DR like normal still seem to struggle once you hit 1600. Also, I don't think the slow-mo (50p/100 shutter on a 25p timeline) is as good as the GH4, doesn't seem as fluid. The GH4 has fantastic 50p. Again, please take this with a pinch of salt as I've scanned my footage for all of an hour and never have time or inclination to pixel peep (too busy editing bloody weddings!). It's just my feel.

    Now the cons to the camera.... instantly the moment I took it out of the box and put it up to my face I was disappointed. I love the left-side EVF, it means guests can see more of my face and I can smile to put them at ease and more easily talk to the bride and groom if doing any direction. However, that damned left strap lug just sticks into my nose. The GX7 has the correct placement of this lug and I cannot believe Panasonic engineers changed it and then didn't think about the consequences. Anyone else notice this? I want to hold the camera to my nose for additional stabilisation and can't do it comfortably now. I can live with it, but found myself pushing the viewfinder upwards into my eye socket so I didn't have red marks on my nose all day. It's workable, but the GX7 lug placement was perfect.

    Secondly, no battery charger included. You have to charge the battery in camera which is less handy when you want to have your second battery on charge while using the first. I do this a lot.

    Obviously it's a real shame it doesn't have mic input, but I understand this isn't a pro model. I just have to choose wisely when I use it for my work until the GH5 comes out as audio clips are so important to the way I edit (I use natural, candid audio whenever I can, especially in my longer edits). However, I really will have so much pleasure using it for my work in the meantime, and it is now the perfect personal camera for me too.

    So here is a mini teaser video I put together for my bride and groom from Friday. Shots 1, 2 and 4 at 50mm, shots 3 and 5 (cliff ones) at 75mm. Yes, I have slowed them down, but I would be more than happy (and will) use them at normal speed too. The 75mm on the cliff was a bit of a wow moment for me. With the wind the way it was, there is no way I would have been able to get the shot on a monopod that steady, and I would have never been able to get the variety of shots I did if I were using a tripod (there was no time for a tripod anyway). The GX85 is opening my mind up to new possibilities.

    All shots straight out of camera, natural w/ -2 contrast, -4 sharpness, -3 NR:

  • Impressive comparison with the GH4 vs GX80:

  • First project with my GX80, STD with -5/-5/-5/-5

    Lens used: Panasonic 20mm f1.7 together with the almighty Tiffen Ultra Contrast 3 filter.

    Whitebalance setting adjusted to A3G3, used the cloudy preset at daylight and the tungsten preset at night.

    Graded with Filmconvert (GH4 Profile, Standard Setting) using the KD P400 Ptra emulation.

  • Loved this wedding shot with it:

    (Wedding film handheld with GX80/85, P12-35 and Voigtlander 17.5)

  • Rolling shutter comparison GH4 vs GX80/85

    Both cameras in the same rig and fast pan at 1:30. Result is very close, GH4 has little less RS.

    gh4-gx80.jpg
    1926 x 1265 - 146K
  • I posted this at that link (wherever that is): I don't fully understand these quizzes - with ILC's, the biggest factor is what lens is used, and at what aperture too. Not to mention the settings - NR, Picture Style, contrast, sat, sharpness...The G7 with a different lens than a GX85 might produce a different picture.

    I watched this video at 4K on my 4K monitor. The medium shot from the stage right is soft, blocky and noisy (maybe due to YouTube compression, maybe due to too much NR (a setting)). Yet it has a wide dof, suggesting it was shot at a relatively small aperture, so the shot was starved for light. Not a camera problem. (A shot with limited dof, isolating the face from the cluttered background might have made this a bit more interesting).

    Since you can see the G7, one can tell which shot was from that, although there was a smooth zoom that surprised me from there. But you cannot see the lens. The shot from the back was likely the AX100.

    Anyway, nice sound, although a tad too much reverb for my taste (that's just a choice).

  • There's nothing wrong with the video from either this camera or the G7. The A6300 is ever so slightly sharper, but it randomly overheats.

  • @ninetto That was an incompetent review. He disses the color from the GX85 relative to the Sony, yet looking at the actual video examples it is clear the GX85 color is better than from the Sony (which everyone but this guy agrees). Read the comments on this review at the video site. In any case, you should not base any decision on one person's view. There are many, many reviews on line, with real tests, and many video examples here. Why focus on this one? What is it that you are concerned about?

  • @ninetto If you have the time to wait and the significantly more money it goes without saying to wait for the GH5. If you want something lighter cheaper and available now the GX85 is an attractive package. I have a G7 so as alluring as body stabilization is I'm waiting for the GH5 or whatever it will be called.

  • Thanks for the review-link. I was 80% sold on getting a GX85/GX80, but the video-part-review from the "art-of-photography" guy seemed so disappointing. So here we go again: sure this would be a step up from the LX100 I already own, but maybe it really does pay to wait for the GH5.

  • Playing with the old Olympus Zuiko 43 (not m43) 140-600mm macro zoom.

    Why does one need a 600mm macro lens? Here's a hint (from the last part of the video):

    http://i1268.photobucket.com/albums/jj572/markr042/Macro%2011_zpsxdkgqnxa.jpg

  • @markr041 It was the L.Monochrome yeah. I quite like it as well. Some of the shots were a little washed out but I think that's something a lens hood would've helped with.

  • @fahrenheit Is that the new L. monochrome setting in the GX85? I like the look in any case. IBIS is really good too.

  • That's some impressive unimpaired vision work there markr041 ;-)

    Further to my post above: I've tried this before, the night street videography with the Oly 75mm f/1.8. I find the 150mm equiv focal length completely unusable hand held. Even with a monopod I get mostly unusable results. I find it possible to get reasonably steady static shots if handled with great care (kneeling, monopod steadied against chest or with the tilting eyepiece resting against eye socket (GX8)), however as soon as any movement's introduced it's incredibly challenging to keep things smooth. The monopod also requires a certain degree of deliberacy which invariably draws a lot of unwanted attention.

    I tried with a Pilotfly H1+ once and did a little better, but still the panning was a bit of a mess. Most problematic was keeping a moving subject where I wanted it in the frame. The slight delay in the gimbal's response was too much for that focal length. And of course it also draws its fair share of attention from curious onlookers.

    So I had no expectations of the GX80's IBIS doing any better. I even almost left the Oly 75mm at home, thinking I'd just take the 20mm f/1.7 and Oly 45mm f/1.8.

    But I'm glad I did take the 75mm because I couldn't be any more thrilled with the results. I'm genuinely stupified at how capable it is. It's so much fun to handhold a 150mm equiv non-stabilised lens and come away with rock solid results and reasonably smooth pans.

  • An attempt to capture what its like to be out on a sunny day through dawn, near water, with unimpaired vision:

    with Lumix 12-32mm and 35-100mm pancake lenses.

  • An attempt at some street night videography with the Oly 75mm f/1.8: