"Panasonic G series" Owners Thread

mjb123 said:
So the million dollar question is what would you buy instead of it? In the same price bracket!! Gx7 maybe??
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I also have a GX7 :D and like the G7 it's a good camera with issues. The evf is IMO poor and worse than the one on my first generation G1 and like the G7 it suffers shutter shock with some lenses so I wouldn't recommend it unless the issues are known and understood.

I understand that the GX8 has a better evf but is still affected by shutter shock with affected lenses, or so some reviews say.

Unfortunately there currently isn't a mft body I'd either recommend unconditionally or buy myself. I think that the GX8 and GX80 as so flawed by either a poor evf or shutter shock that any potential buyer needs to be aware of the possible issues and think carefully before making a decision. Until Panasonic sort the shutter shock issue and drop the field sequential evf I wont be buying. Twice bitten with the G7 and GX7 but never again.
 
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The GX80 had the new electronic shutter which should reduce/stop shutter shock.

I don't know what it is tbh as I haven't experienced it, is there a good combo to try to replicate it ?

The evf is a little bit of a let down being LCD based and not oled, but I'll take the compact size and the few issues it has over my Nikon D3200.
 
BigD said:
The GX80 had the new electronic shutter which should reduce/stop shutter shock.

I don't know what it is tbh as I haven't experienced it, is there a good combo to try to replicate it ?

The evf is a little bit of a let down being LCD based and not oled, but I'll take the compact size and the few issues it has over my Nikon D3200.
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michael23 said:
Whats the shutter shock issue? How does it show up?
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I mostly use primes and although I'd read of issues with shutter shock I'd never encountered it until I bought a G7 which came with a 14-42mm mega ois kit lens and that combination is affected by shutter shock.

What happens is that between certain shutter speeds (from my own little experiments I'd say that the 14-42mm mega ois displays shutter shock between something like shutter speeds 1/60 to 1/250) affected shots look soft and when viewed at high magnification can display a slight double image. I haven't found that the issue is constant but if/when it occurs it's pretty shot ruining. The first time I encountered it was the first time I took my GX7 and the 14-42mm for a day out and upon reviewing the shots I thought that the lens was very poor but I later tried it on my G1 and the results were very good so that was my first clue that something funny was occurring. Upon Googling the issue and pixel peeping it became clear what was happening. I certainly haven't encountered this issue with any prime lens or with my Panny 12-35mm f2.8. I just think that this issue should have been spotted and I'm shocked that a company the size of Panasonic sell such a flawed combination as the G7 and 14-42mm together. IMO it's appalling but I do think that both the GX7 and G7 are good cameras if you intend to use lenses which don't display the problem on these bodies. IMO careful thought and research is therefore required before buying these cameras or lenses for them.

Switching to electronic shutter cures the problem but brings others such as rolling shutter which isn't an issue for me and the possibility of banding under artificial light. So, if for example I want to shoot indoors under artificial light I'm highly likely to be using shutter speeds below the safe limit of about 1/300 and I therefore risk shutter shock but switching to the electronic shutter could mean banding so the shutter shock affected camera and lens combination is effectively useless in this one scenario and possibly others too but indoor shooting is one thing that I do at family events etc so it matters to me.

I realise that many people are happy with the field sequential EVF but I'm not and I'd advise anyone thinking of buying any of these cameras and lenses to research the various issues and decide if they're significant or not and to if at all possible try before you buy. Knowing what I know now I'd never have bought either the GX7 or G7. Good though they are in many respects they're just too flawed and compromised for me and IMO reflect very badly on Panasonic. Personally I will not be buying anything else from Panasonic until the geeky internet crowd have declared them issue free.
 
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Thanks for the summary Alan, I haven;t noticed it myself, though the camera is mostly used by my daughter, I shall indeed keep an eye out for it.

I do wish the build quality and the buttons were better, the grip although I liked it at first, they do need to make it more comfortable though, My dad has an oly em5 and grip, love the feel of that, but don't like the menu system, it drives me up the wall!
Being impressed with the m4/3 lenses, exp the panny 100-400, oly 300f4 really made me think about switching, but I feel I want to wait for the gh5 or em1 mk2 for the best in iq before making my mind up.
 
woof woof said:
I mostly use primes and although I'd read of issues with shutter shock I'd never encountered it until I bought a G7 which came with a 14-42mm mega ois kit lens and that combination is affected by shutter shock.

What happens is that between certain shutter speeds (from my own little experiments I'd say that the 14-42mm mega ois displays shutter shock between something like shutter speeds 1/60 to 1/250) affected shots look soft and when viewed at high magnification can display a slight double image. I haven't found that the issue is constant but if/when it occurs it's pretty shot ruining. The first time I encountered it was the first time I took my GX7 and the 14-42mm for a day out and upon reviewing the shots I thought that the lens was very poor but I later tried it on my G1 and the results were very good so that was my first clue that something funny was occurring. Upon Googling the issue and pixel peeping it became clear what was happening. I certainly haven't encountered this issue with any prime lens or with my Panny 12-35mm f2.8. I just think that this issue should have been spotted and I'm shocked that a company the size of Panasonic sell such a flawed combination as the G7 and 14-42mm together. IMO it's appalling but I do think that both the GX7 and G7 are good cameras if you intend to use lenses which don't display the problem on these bodies. IMO careful thought and research is therefore required before buying these cameras or lenses for them.

Switching to electronic shutter cures the problem but brings others such as rolling shutter which isn't an issue for me and the possibility of banding under artificial light. So, if for example I want to shoot indoors under artificial light I'm highly likely to be using shutter speeds below the safe limit of about 1/300 and I therefore risk shutter shock but switching to the electronic shutter could mean banding so the shutter shock affected camera and lens combination is effectively useless in this one scenario and possibly others too but indoor shooting is one thing that I do at family events etc so it matters to me.

I realise that many people are happy with the field sequential EVF but I'm not and I'd advise anyone thinking of buying any of these cameras and lenses to research the various issues and decide if they're significant or not and to if at all possible try before you buy. Knowing what I know now I'd never have bought either the GX7 or G7. Good though they are in many respects they're just too flawed and compromised for me and IMO reflect very badly on Panasonic. Personally I will not be buying anything else from Panasonic until the geeky internet crowd have declared them issue free.
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So is there a CSC you would recommend?
 
I have a Sony A7 and the three Panasonic MFT cameras so they're all I can comment on. The A7 is pretty nice but it's a relatively expensive system.

You could go for a Panasonic if the field sequential evf is ok for you and you manage to avoid cameras and lenses affected by shutter shock or the circumstances in which shutter shock or electronic shutter banding (and/or rolling shutter) occur. I'm just recommending that anyone interested in these cameras should research the issues and make an informed decision and give the evf a road test to see if it's acceptable before buying. Better to know about the issues and make an informed decision than to buy blind like I did and encounter problems later.

Maybe you could ask in the Olympus thread or there's also the Sony A6xxx series?
 
Dont know if its relevant but i did a firmware update on the GX8 this was part of the description.

"The phenomenon that rarely freeze at the time of tracking AF usage is improved."

On occasion with AFC and continues medium (6fps) i have had a quick freeze in the EVF after 4 or 5 shots,this opportunity presented it self today,target in the distance and following a line across me with nothing likley to get between me and them.I took 22 shots in raw with no slow down or freeze and only stopped because i was happy with the performance.

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Received my GX8, so far can't fault it, need to put the new firmware on it, lovely combination with my em1, wish I'd gone MFT a long time ago
 
Ended up at sunderland airshow a few days ago, after visting shildon, so thought I would give the g7 a go at something fast... both images below were zoomed in to 100% on elements and cropped jpegs, taken on a pany 45-150. Have to sayI I am impressed! The system has potential esp with a faster fps,bigger buffer and the100-400...

typhoon 2 by Michael Johnson, on Flickr

typhoon by Michael Johnson, on Flickr
 
I was beginning to think it would never come,my 100-400 has arrived,only a few shots as its started raining but i got down to hand holding at 400mm with 1/250th and thats good for me and i reckon i can get slower.

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michael23 said:
Look forward to seeing more Mike and hearing your thoughts on it too.
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Me too I think it's overpriced, well not sure it's 1k better than the 100-300 but would like to see what it can do
 
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Robintaylor said:
Me too I think it's overpriced, well not sure it's 1k better than the 100-300 but would like to see what it can do
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I think your right but what can you do if you want long there is no alternative
 
Well not the sort of day to be out with a new lens but you have to,dont you:D

Couple of shots that dont show anything really except i cant wait for decent light.;)

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A recent garden visitor with the GX80 +Olympus 40-150 2.8

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Just bought a Panny 14-140mm f3.5 lens to go with my G6 and here's a shot I took of 'Ed' in my garden from our back door and at full zoom (and through the glass of the door).

image.jpeg
 
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Here's a few I took yesterday with the same camera and lens whilst on a day out. All photos are straight out of the camera jpegs with no pp but I did crop the shot of the lifeboat that was out on a shout. I was very pleased with the performance of the lens and have just bought a G7 today to replace the G6 with.

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image.jpeg image.jpeg image.jpeg image.jpeg
 
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Started trying a few close ups with the 100-400

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My first go at photo stacking,using post focus with the 100-400,hand held,it didnt work properly,

Untitled_Panorama12.jpg
 
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I know the GX8 and 100-400 are weather resistant but it was a bit unsettling being out in light rain today.

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Gull in the rain.

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I complained a while ago about shutter shock with my GX7 and G7 and what brought this to my attention was the GX7 and 14-42mm Mega OIS lens. I took this combination out for a short walk yesterday and it performed very well with the electronic shutter.











I'm not a fan of f3.5-5.6 zooms especially on smaller format systems as they're so limiting but accepting the aperture range the 14-42mm Mega OIS is actually quite a good lens considering its humble spec and price as part of a kit. There seems to be a little distortion at wide focal lengths which CS5 didn't or couldn't correct but it's sharp from wide open and it's very compact. It's therefore even more of a shame that Panasonic (and others) seem to have had brain fade and done so badly over the shutter shock issue. For me the electronic shutter is a decent fix for sunny day shooting but my GX7 limits the max ISO to 3200 and the combinations of either GX7 or G7 and the 14-42mm are effectively useless for shooting indoors under artificial flickering light. Such a shame as if they'd got the kit right the Mega OIS lens would be a nice compact zoom to use with any compact MFT body... :(
 
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Some info on the GX7 please.

I have the GX8,100-400,12-35 and 45-175 plus a 105 EX sigma macro and dumb adapter,i cant see me wanting to take the 100-400 off the GX8 so looking for an inexpensive second body.

Will the GX7 with its latest firmware do dual IS with the 12-35,and post focus for focus stacking later on the PC, these two features i would like with the second body.
 
I'm pretty sure the dual IS only works for the GX8 and GX80 models.

It also doesn't have the post focus as that's part of the new 4K photos stuff the newer cameras have.
 
BigD said:
I'm pretty sure the dual IS only works for the GX8 and GX80 models.

It also doesn't have the post focus as that's part of the new 4K photos stuff the newer cameras have.
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Yes it's only for the GX8, not the g7
 
Robintaylor said:
Yes it's only for the GX8, not the g7
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And the GX80 as I have it on mine.

Which the would choose different numbers for the different styles of camera as the G7 often gets confused with the GX7.
 
BigD said:
And the GX80 as I have it on mine.

Which the would choose different numbers for the different styles of camera as the G7 often gets confused with the GX7.
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You have to remember the x [emoji4]
 
Robintaylor said:
You have to remember the x [emoji4]
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Indeed, Mike was asking about the GX7 and post focus, but not sure if he means the G7.

I love trying to explain the many differences to customers :/ lol.
 
BigD said:
Indeed, Mike was asking about the GX7 and post focus, but not sure if he means the G7.

I love trying to explain the many differences to customers :/ lol.
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Updated my GX8 not tried the post focus yet, must give it go being as it there
 
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