Been using the FZ82 super zoom bridge camera until now, so here goes......
The overall quality jump from the FZ82 is obvious.
1. EVF is stunning !
2. Shutter is whisper quiet.
3. Flippy screen (the advantages are yet to be explored)
4. Dials and buttons are plentiful and crisp.
5. Heavy ! (How the heck do you pros lug big cameras around all day when you do weddings !)
6. Manual zoom far better, no waiting for a super zoom to roll out to the length you want.
7. Found it a bit small and fiddly, but soon forgot that when started taking shots, funny how quickly your hands adapt.
8. Photos ...... hmm...well so far not impressed. Yes the added ISO levels are helpful, but results are no better (so far) than the FZ82. The 1200mm zoom with the fZ82 gets me so close, and in good light it can be really sharp. Cropping shots from further away achieves nothing with the 100mm - 300mmon the GX80 that the FZ82 can't do, ad that's the big problem. Lenses lenses lenses, money money money. If I want to take closer photos I'll need another £100 minimum for a shorter lens. Money money money.........
It's early days, and far too soon to make conclusions, but right now the FZ82 is laughing at me from the shelf, It can do nice close ups, super distant 4K video, great images at various distances, all for £300. If you have the cash for all the gear then the advantages of better cameras are obvious, but if you don't, then the advantages of a bridge camera are obvious.
But these are initial thoughts, and the quality of the G80 is obvious, but to unlock the potential will be expensive, maybe too expensive for me?
I will spend the weekend walking and shooting with the GX80. I want to change my mind, I want to love this camera, but can I afford to love it? Maybe a cheap Nikon D3300 with modest shot count would have made more sense, with a general purpose lens? With the the FZ82 for the long reach stuff.
I enjoy my photography with the FZ82, and I have very limited funds, maybe I have delved to deep and need to make for the shallow end? Time will tell
Anyway, the weekend beckons. Here's the first shots with the GX80 after work today in the garden, just getting a feel for it, and I realise I need to expand and get out there to really find out what I can do with this camera. But right now, I do think it's a quality camera ....if you can afford what you need to use it properly?....early days and all that.
Cropped a bit, I like the stronger bokeh on the GX80
View attachment 356699
This one I liked. The added ISO meant i just needed to crop and sharpen a bit.
View attachment 356701
This one would have been terrible with the FZ82, it's a dark shaded corner. Shutter priority to the DOF is rubbish, my bad.
View attachment 356702
This ones ok but the added zoom on the FZ82 means I can do better with that, and no more lenses needed.
View attachment 356703
This one was a quick chance snap but I like like it. Birds heading home for the evening.
View attachment 356704