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Help to choose my next run&gun camera
  • harryharryharryharry

    I am looking for a small camera system for traveling. I do a lot of wilderness trips where I have to carry the gear for days so size and weight needs to be taken into consideration. I will use the camera 70% for photo and 30% video.

    I just sold of a GH2 and a Nikon D750. I really liked the GH2 for video. Not so much as a photo camera. The D750 was an excellent photo camera and the video quality was good. However the camera and good full frame lenses are heavy. The camera needed to be mounted on a tripod or a rig to get usable video. The AF for fast moving subjects for video was not so good and MF with LCD was difficult. In the end I decided to sell both cameras to find one smaller and lighter camera that can do both.

    My wishes are as following:

    • Not too heavy and big
    • Weather sealing for camera and lens
    • 70% for photo 30% for video
    • One large range all-round lens with good image quality (I have lots of good primes with Nikon mount)
    • Good stabilization for video since I most of the time do not bring a tripod, monopod or rig.
    • Mic in for external microphone (For critical things I use an external recorder)

    Options I have been looking at:

    Panasonic G80/G85 with 12-60 kit lens (Then maybe upgrade to the Leica 12-60 when it becomes available)

    • Small and light system with good photo and video quality
    • Stabilization not as good as Olympus
    • A lot of camera for the money

    Olympus Om-D MarkII with 12-100 lens

    • Expensive
    • Video quality not as good as G85?
    • Impressive stabilization
    • Seems very rugged with good weather sealing (Better than Panasonic?)

    Panasonic GH5

    • Many details still unknown and an unknown release date
    • Better video features than I need?

    What do you think? Any other cameras I should consider?

  • 8 Replies sorted by
  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    Get Panasonic G80 kit, shoot with it, and in 2017 you can check GH5.

  • IronFilmIronFilm

    70% for photo 30% for video

    On that basis I would've stuck with the Nikon D750, but you found it too big... perhaps get a Nikon D500 instead?

  • eatstoomuchjameatstoomuchjam

    I assume that you've already ruled out the A7R Mark II due to the size/weight of FF lenses and/or mediocre weather sealing, but otherwise it's small/portable and has the bonus of being able to charge by USB.... and 42 megapixels is nice for photos.

  • Manu4VendettaManu4Vendetta

    What kind of video do you do? If it is not for fiction, the GX8 is overbooked, is great photo camera and has good quality in video.

    But for price, I think the best would be the GX85 or the G80.

  • LPowellLPowell

    For photo shoots and monopod-mounted video, I use a hacked Nikon D5200 with a Tamron 24-70mm f2.8 zoom. The D5200 has the same 24Mpix APS-C sensor as the D7100, making it similar to the D750 with a 35-100mm zoom. With the Nikon hack, the D5200 can shoot in 1080p at either 40 or 64Mbps, though its maximum video file size is limited to 4GB. Video image quality is comparable to the D750, with virtually no visible aliasing or moire. The Tamron 24-70mm is superb and its optical image stabilization is well behaved, with none of the jitter or iris flickering that plagues Panasonic OIS zooms. Tamron claims it's weather sealed, at least at the lens mount, though I'm not totally convinced about the telescoping zoom barrel. I've used many Nikons from the D90 to the D800, and the D5200 is the one I'm keeping.

  • harryharryharryharry

    I think I will go with the G80 kit. Thanx a lot for your help.

    I have looked at the A7/A7R but the weather sealing on these cameras have a bad reputation. http://tobinators.com/blog/2014/04/gear-and-kit/sony-a7r-in-not-weatherproof-shock/

    The D750 is a great photo camera. For my use I found the use of LCD Viewfinder not ideal. I much prefer an EVF for video. Manual zooming with the low resolution LCD was difficult. I sometime used it on a rig with an external monitor.This worked much better. The video quality was very good when you nailed the focus and had good camera support.

  • harryharryharryharry

    I have now bought the G80 with the extra battery grip. (The grip is expensive but I got a deal and to my surprice there where one extra battery in the pack.) I bought the camera with the 12-60 kit lens and a 45mm Olympus prime which works very well with the camera. I have a lot of Nikon primes I am planning to use with it. The battery grip helps a lot with heavier lenses. The camera uses the same batteries as the GH2 (I had two extra batteries in my gear collection). So far I am impressed with the camera. The AF could maybe be better in low light.

    I do not know how well the weather sealing is on the camera. Panasonic call it splash proof which is not the same as to use it contant rain. I therefore bought the Peak Design Shell (in size small) for some extra protection. This fits well with the kit lens. https://www.peakdesign.com/shell

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    @harryharry

    Cool.

    Make sure to write your initial experience, may be photos and videos at G80 topic

    http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/15524/panasonic-g80-g85-g8-4k-5-axis-stab-magnesium-monster#Item_342

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