"Panasonic G series" Owners Thread

G7 review posted at DPR...

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonic-lumix-dmc-g7

A couple of things on my wish list are...

- Auto ISO in manual mode.
- Full time constant preview of DoF.

So I'm pleased to see that the A7 does indeed alow auto ISO in manual mode but...

"Auto ISO is available in manual exposure mode but the camera won't let you use exposure comp to specify how bright the image should be."

Such a shame that they don't allow compensation. Maybe they'll come to their senses and include the ability to dial in comp with a firmware update.

No mention of constant preview. My GX7 only allows it in manual mode so maybe the G7 is the same? Without auto ISO it makes for a slow shooting process but again this should surely be something that could be implemented via a firmware update.
 
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What an odd conclusions list. Too many buttons? I think it has 2 more than the G6. Too many touch screen options? That disappear when selected/can be disabled. Q menu difficult? I felt that Q menu was one of the easier on screen selection menus around, select the category, press up/down and adjust it. Is shutter shock something you only notice at 100% viewing? I've had 4 m43 bodies, a few lenses that were meant to suffer badly from it, and I don't think I've ever noticed it?

Focusing appears to be a massive upgrade from the G6. Surprised more wasn't said about the DFD, it's looking like Panasonics big success (especially compared to the older Lumixs and most other mirrorless cameras). I do wish the raw buffer was upgraded a little, I rarely use burst modes but when I do I notice how quickly I'm out of shots, usually within a second.

Remember the pre announcement rumours of doom about this upgrade? I think Panasonic have made a very good upgrade. Not one that stands out for stills and I can imagine an Olympus E-M body still looking more attractive. I would love to upgrade but not at the moment.

EDIT - I notice the exp. comp. toggle has disappeared. I actually liked this on the G5 and G6, but I can understand the removal from an ergonomic sense.
 
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Micehorns said:
What an odd conclusions list.
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Yup and IMVHO it's suspiciously like looking for something to criticise.

I'd criticise other things as I'm hard to please and I am disappointed that yet again a new Panasonic seems to be falling short of what I'd hoped. Auto ISO in manual mode seems crippled by the lack of exposure compensation, there doesn't seem to be any mention of constant preview in other than manual exposure mode, the mechanical shutter is limited to 1/4000 and there's the shutter shock issue too. Guess I'll give the G7 a miss, hope that my wish list will eventually be fulfilled and in the meantime keep my G1 and GX7 despite their faults.
 
I like the fully articulated screen and most of the time for me it would be turned to the body.

No mention so far of how any constant preview may work and in what mode or of auto ISO in manual mode and if compensation is possible, a real shame if it doesn't have these features. Dropping the inbuilt flash is a shame too.

I've been spoilt by the excellent features of my Sony A7 and I don't think I can now bring myself to buy a camera without them.
 
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simonblue said:
Review here,look interesting :)
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Well, it seems to get a positive review there :D

I have the G1 and GX7 and I'd like to replace them with one camera and the GX8 does look good but I'll certainly wait to see if the features I want are available and if not I'll keep the ones I have. Actually I may not keep the GX7 as although it's a nice camera and should replace my G1 the EVF is IMVHO poor to the point of being camera ruining and I just don't like using it and that's before I think about the missing features I'd like to have.
 
woof woof said:
Well, it seems to get a positive review there :D

I have the G1 and GX7 and I'd like to replace them with one camera and the GX8 does look good but I'll certainly wait to see if the features I want are available and if not I'll keep the ones I have. Actually I may not keep the GX7 as although it's a nice camera and should replace my G1 the EVF is IMVHO poor to the point of being camera ruining and I just don't like using it and that's before I think about the missing features I'd like to have.
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It does,not sure if I will replace my GX-7 yet,will wait for some more reviews :)
 
I've had a look at the features of the GX8 and wonder who the target customer group is. Clearly some very nice and some not so good features, a new sensor that has currently unknown performance, it's bigger than the already quite chunky GX7 but has managed to lose the built in flash along the way. The GX7 body was just over £800 on introduction in 2013 and is currently £399 new. The GX8 has an introductory price of £1069, in fact it costs more than a GH4 body although I fully accept these are chalk and cheese camera bodies. That's way over the top for a GX camera in my humble opinion, it won't even appear on my radar until it reaches closer to £500, which is approximately the cost of the Olympus E-M1 from HDEW at the moment if 4K video isn't essential, if it is, buy the GH4. Better to wait until the market decides what the body is really worth (tongue in cheek, the market valued the Canon EOS-M at £199!).
 
adrianday said:
I will bookmark this post. And repost it when you buy one! :D
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:) :) :)

Unfortunately you will be disappointed. I didn't like the GX7 form factor and EVF and sold it on quickly. The GX8 seems even clumsier - trying to have a DSLR style grip but in a rangefinder style body.

As mentioned above - sensor is an unknown quantity, but I am genuinely interested to see how m43 can move from the second generation 16MP sensor we know and love.
 
I'll be surprised if the sensor isn't an improvement over the last but we wont have too long to wait to find out.

And on a cheaper note I recently bought a used Olympus 17mm f1.8 and I've mounted it on my G1. I've been very busy lately so I've only managed shots about the house and garden but so far it looks to be a very nice lens and shock horror... lens markings and end stops for manual use! Focus seems lovely and fast and although it seems softer than my 20mm f1.7 wide open it's perfectly useable.

I'm very happy with it and the image quality it gives with my G1.
 
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I don't think that the size of the grip is a big deal as it doesn't really add to the depth of the camera as it's less than the depth of even a compact lens.



Looking at that I think that for the grip to add to the depth of the camera the lens would maybe have to be a very flat pancake.
 
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HarveyM said:
I've had a look at the features of the GX8 and wonder who the target customer group is. Clearly some very nice and some not so good features, a new sensor that has currently unknown performance, it's bigger than the already quite chunky GX7 but has managed to lose the built in flash along the way. The GX7 body was just over £800 on introduction in 2013 and is currently £399 new. The GX8 has an introductory price of £1069, in fact it costs more than a GH4 body although I fully accept these are chalk and cheese camera bodies. That's way over the top for a GX camera in my humble opinion, it won't even appear on my radar until it reaches closer to £500, which is approximately the cost of the Olympus E-M1 from HDEW at the moment if 4K video isn't essential, if it is, buy the GH4. Better to wait until the market decides what the body is really worth (tongue in cheek, the market valued the Canon EOS-M at £199!).
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To be fair,a lot of new stuff has gone into this body,WR the new sensor and looks a good build,but I can't help thinking it's beginning to look like the the Fuji Xpro-1,maybe making an jump on the Xpro-2 which isn't due till next year :)
 
Been reading up on GX8 and one of my little requirements is auto ISO in Manual mode and although this is available there's no ability to dial in compensation but... I read that one of the top dials can have two uses and that you can toggle between them with the button in the middle of the dial so it could I hope be programmed for shutter or aperture with a button push changing it to ISO which wouldn't be as seamless and nice as being able to dial in compensation but would be quicker and more convenient that pressing a button to call up ISO and then toggling along to a suitable setting and selecting it as I have to with my GX7 and G1.

I'm still hoping for good DoF and exposure constant preview in all modes and as these things often don't seem to be covered in reviews I might have to wait for someone here to buy one and report back :D

One thing I do like with my Pannys is that spot metering moves with the focus point. With my A7 it stays in the middle.
 
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Anyone had an experience of a G6 paired with a 45-150 for taking aviation photo's? Looking to get a second lens which will be the 45-150 and will probably be mostly used at Duxford as it's local. I know people say the Af of 4/3 is a bit slower just wondering how it will cope. Last time I took aviation pictures i was using a D300 paired with a 70-300
 
I picked up a used Olympus 17mm f1.8 and I'm very impressed with it. Apart from a quick test on my GX7 I've been using it on my G1.

I think I've read that it's not as sharp wide open as the Panny 20mm f1.7 which I also own and it probably isn't but it is perfectly useable wide open and sharpens up quickly when you start stopping down. It focuses waaaay faster than the Panny 20mm though and the push pull AF/MF thing is lovely and there are lens markings and end stops. Why don't they make them all that way? Colour and contrast seem to be good too and it'll focus quite close.

A few snaps about the house and garden follow.

My mam recently had a little stroke and this is a picture of her recovering with a jam and cream scone...



My car...



Flowers...



It seems to be a lovely lens. If you haven't got one, why not?
:D
 
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Regarding the Olympus 17mm f/1.8 lens....

woof woof said:
It seems to be a lovely lens. If you haven't got one, why not?
:D
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I haven't got one because I own the Panasonic 20mm. :)
I'd welcome a go with the 17mm but I don't see a place for it when I have the P20 which is so close in focal length. It's not to say it's better, it's just I bought the P20 before it came out I think. The P20, is a lovely lens and even sharp wide open. It's also a true pancake. The images from it are sharp and have very good colour and contrast. It's also cheaper than the O17. However....focus....yes the O17 wins I'm sure. The P20 is probably the most lethargic MFT's lens I know. A shame really, but not a complete show stopper so long as you understand you won't be shooting fast moving stuff with it in the dark. ;)
 
I have no intention of selling the Panny 20mm as it's a nice lens and it makes for a very compact camera and lens package and if I used my GX7 more I'd use the Panny 20mm more.

I see the Oly as complimenting it for when I want faster focus, the manual focus and the zone/hyperfocal focus advantages the Oly offers and for higher ISO use under artificial lighting when the banding that the Panny 20mm can produce could spoil shots, the banding is absent from Oly 17mm shots.
 
ian-83 said:
Anyone had an experience of a G6 paired with a 45-150 for taking aviation photo's? Looking to get a second lens which will be the 45-150 and will probably be mostly used at Duxford as it's local. I know people say the Af of 4/3 is a bit slower just wondering how it will cope. Last time I took aviation pictures i was using a D300 paired with a 70-300
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The closest to aviation photos I have are these birds in flight taken with a G6 & 45-150, they have both been cropped a little. Overall I found the combo managed quite well on their first outing.

View attachment 42458 View attachment 42459
 
I think my G1 is slowly dying... when I fit AF lenses the aperture chatters and the EVF flashes. Reseating the lens might give a few minutes of trouble free shooting and then it starts again. Cleaning the contacts achieves nothing.

I have a sort of love hate relationship with MFT but the old G1 gets a lot of things right and I'll be sad to bin it... but it still has a life with manual focus lenses :D
 
woof woof said:
I think my G1 is slowly dying... when I fit AF lenses the aperture chatters and the EVF flashes. Reseating the lens might give a few minutes of trouble free shooting and then it starts again. Cleaning the contacts achieves nothing.

I have a sort of love hate relationship with MFT but the old G1 gets a lot of things right and I'll be sad to bin it... but it still has a life with manual focus lenses :D
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GX-8 coming soon :D
 
I think I'll resist but I'll read the reviews with interest. I have a GX7 and it takes pretty good pictures but there are a few niggles including the EVF. The GX8 may well fix my EVF issues but I think that the other issues I have with the GX7 will be largely still present in the GX8.

What I'd really like is the auto ISO with compensation and constant exposure and depth of field preview in all modes that my A7 gives.

One feature of the Panasonics that I wish my A7 had is moving spot metering with the focus point as with the A7 it stays in the centre.
 
norrisphysio said:
G7 looks like a good update to my gh3. Anyone got one to give feedback?
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You'll gain a faster focus system with better focus tracking and focus peaking, and potentially a better viewfinder. Other than that (and maybe some video specs - not my area of expertise) I don't see you'll gain anything much.
 
In my view there's nothing in it when it comes to image quality. If I had to choose I'd probably say the G7 has it by a whisker, but it would be right near the bottom of my list of differences - and I'm overly fussy about such things :) (Personally I don't find that the DXO tests tell you much of practical relevance).
 
At various times I've owned the GH3, GX7, (currently) G7 and other recent micro 4/3 cameras. I shoot RAW and things haven't changed significantly in a while IMHO. (The improvement from the earlier GH2/G5/G6 sensor, on the other hand, was worthwhile).
 
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I've had the GX8 for a few weeks now, and while I haven't been able to use it as much as I might've liked due to work and family commitments, I am so far extremely impressed with it. The EVF is the best I have ever used. It's huge, crystal clear and so far I have yet to see it lag. The new sensor looks to have excellent dynamic range, and I am very happy with the IQ. The camera is clearly bigger than the GX7, but it is extremely comfortable to hold and isn't overly heavy. It is also very well screwed together, with tight seams and zero flex anywhere.

So far, I'm a very happy bunny and with the trade in offer + cash back + 5 year warranty + year subscription to Adobe CC, the early adopters tax was even nicely offset!

25mm f1.4 Test by Simon Harrison, on Flickr

The above is GX8 + PL 25mm f1.4

Cheers,

Simon.
 
Short write up, GX8 v Nikon D750...

http://www.soundimageplus.com/sound...rrorless-panasonic-gx8-compared-to-nikon-d750

I do like the idea of the GX8. I have a GX7 but I don't enjoy using it as for whatever reason I don't like the EVF. The GX8 brings a different and I hope better EVF and the ability to turn the back screen to the body and that's a great feature. It is bigger though and more expensive for, from what I've read, little if any improvement in image quality.

Oh, what to do...
 
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