Personal View site logo
Make sure to join PV on Telegram or Facebook! Perfect to keep up with community on your smartphone.
Please, support PV!
It allows to keep PV going, with more focus towards AI, but keeping be one of the few truly independent places.
Panasonic G7 topic, 4K castrate monster or GH4 for poor
  • 719 Replies sorted by
  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    PANASONIC LUMIX G7 4K Mirrorless Camera, with 14-42mm MEGA O.I.S. Lens, $497

    Amazon says it sells good.

    https://www.amazon.com/PANASONIC-Mirrorless-14-42mm-Megapixels-DMC-G7KK/dp/B00X409PQS/

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    Panasonic - G7 Mirrorless Camera with LUMIX G VARIO 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 II ASPH./MEGA O.I.S. Lens for $399

    https://www.bestbuy.com/site/panasonic-g7-mirrorless-camera-with-lumix-g-vario-14-42mm-f-3-5-5-6-ii-asph-mega-o-i-s-lens-black/7588027.p

  • DrDaveDrDave

    I still have a bunch of these and they mostly work good. For travel, they are super lightweight. There's no IS built in, so there is no noise from the camera, but, on the other hand, there is no IS. The image quality from the G85 and the GX85 is slightly better, and those cams have IS built in, and they also don't break up your clips into 4gb chunks, but they cost more and weigh more.
    They kit lens is really pretty good. It's sharp up to about 38mm, and wide open it is very sharp indeed. IS works well on this lens and it is light and compact. I use it up to about 38mm, if I want the long end I swap it out for the fairly cheap 42.5mm Panny or the Olly primes. Both these budget primes give you a very good image on this cam at short to medium distances, the Olly is smoother with a portrait look and the 42.5 is just super sharp across the frame.
    The lens is for sure worth $150, so you are getting the cam for $250.

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    Panasonic Lumix DMC-G7 Mirrorless Camera w/14-42mm Lens Silver w/Free Acc Bundle for $497

  • IronFilmIronFilm

  • Energy80sEnergy80s

    I have both. I feel that the G80 (G85) is the camera the G7 should have been, but image quality wise, they are both identical. I'm planning on getting a GH5 next year so will sell on the G7 and keep the G80 as a back up body.

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    @Energy80s

    Camera must not have any crop in 4K, this is first thing :-)

  • IronFilmIronFilm

    Is a very minor crop..... at least it is not an EOS R crop! ha

  • DrDaveDrDave

    The G85 has a small, but noticeable bump in IQ compared to the G7. The bumplet comes from slight better color, a tiny amount of extra detail, and some smoother gradients. It's almost the same as the GX85.
    The G7 is lighter and completely silent. The G7 is more prone to electrical problems.
    The G7 needs to be hacked to record over 30 minutes.
    It cannot be emphasized enough the difference in image stabilization. This, in combination with the reliability makes the G85 the best choice.
    For $50 you can add a battery grip to the G85 which doubles the battery life and allows for remote shutter as well as vertical grip. It also allows you to have a built in UPS when using a dummy battery.
    The G85 has a better shutter which is a real improvement.
    Lastly, the G85 records your movie in one big file. That's great if nothing goes wrong....not so great if the file is corrupted.

  • IronFilmIronFilm

    G7 is more prone to electrical problems.

    How so?

    The G7 needs to be hacked to record over 30 minutes.

    The G85 by default can do unlimited?

  • JOFOJOFO

    @IronFilm: My G7 started having top right dial problems. It switches from Movie mode to M-mode by itself which is annoying when you want to shoot unattended. I've disassembled it and reattached ribbon cable from dial but it didn't helped. On the other hand G85 feels more robust in hands and has magnesium body.

  • Energy80sEnergy80s

    @IronFilm That is a known fault of the G7, mine is the same. It only seems to be at switch-on as after about 5 minutes everything runs OK. Also if you start shooting within those 5 minutes, the camera can stop recording again all by itself, so definately one to watch out for. Panasonic did offer a fix for it if your camera was in warranty, but I left mine too late to get it sorted.

  • FirworksFirworks

    I had the mode dial switch problem with my G7 as well and had it repaired by Panasonic under warranty. I still use it regularly and 2 years later have not seen the problem return so at least their fix worked.

  • JOFOJOFO

    Unfortunately mine starts to autoswitch after warranty ended. So I have to live with that or send it to Pany for charged repair.

  • Energy80sEnergy80s

    @JOFO Basically ... yes.

  • DrDaveDrDave

    Mode dial switch: I had this on two cameras. I disassembled them both and looked for wires pushing on cables and stuff like that. I made sure the thermal pad was OK. Both were fixed, one of them reverted and then I fixed it again, the other one stayed fixed. PIA.

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    Panasonic Lumix DMC-G7 Mirrorless Digital Camera with 14-42mm and 45-150mm Lenses and Accessories Kit, $598

    https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1516255-REG/panasonic_lumix_dmc_g7_mirrorless_digital.html

  • MikeLinnMikeLinn

  • DrDaveDrDave

    No point in buying the G7 over the G85. First, the G7 has a random switch bug that can create serious problems. Second, the G85 is a way better camera. Better image, better IS, better color. Only reason to get the G7 is to save a few grams, or if you need something absolutely 100 percent silent.

Add a Comment