Thanks for the clarification George. I didn’t realise there was one of each but I see the difference now you’ve brought it to my attention. Regards Chris
I have barely touched the onboard flash since buying the G80 7 months ago. I've never found onboard flash very reliable with any camera, mainly because they cannot be bounced, and that is mostly how Ilike to make use of flash. Just played with the one here now [not my camera but a loan replacement as mine is in for repair] , I have it set to TTL, flash mode on the full lightening bolt symbol, flash syncro: 1st, flash adjust +2/3, Auto exp comp: off, and it's ... ok for a bit of fill, nothing more. It'll give that harsh, rabbit in head-lights look to people if it's not diffused or bounced somehow. Onboard flash tends to concentrate the light into a small space, harshly and unevenly - I'd suggest making a little DIY bounce card or even a small milk carton diffuser to help spread and soften the light for it and pushing the power a little if needed. Also, with long lenses it's useless for anything close, as the flash will just hit the back of the lens and cause shadow, same with longer hoods [I even had to remove the hood from a Samyang 122 to test there, and that's a short lens, just has a big hood] I used to buy at least a couple of mags p.m, I had a stack of them that I passed on to a friend's daughter who got into photography and film a few years back. Shed was delighted. I used to do all/some of the challenges or projects they would lay out for readers, also entered many of their competitions [never won, but did get mentioned a few times ] I didn't care which mag it was, I would buy whichever had the more interesting articles, reviews or assignments in any given month. Digital photography mag, Outdoor photographer, Digital photographer, Digital camera world ...etc ... it really depends who's got what each month tbh. Go to a store that allows you to flick through the magazines before buying [though many photo-mags nowadays come plastic wrapped ...Boooo!]
I dont normally jump in on things like settings etc on here as i'm still new to MFT but on this occasion I might be able to help . yes the flash on the g.80is tiny but this thread jogged my memory ,hidden away in the drawers of might use one day I had a little gem I bought a few years ago , its called a " ROGUE SAFARI" flash extender ,and simply clips into your hot shoe .its a bit tight on mine but i'm certain it comes with different sized feet ,more drawer searching needed . will do pics later but I just tested it and its definetly better . if I remember correctly I got mine from somewhere in west London and was just over £20
Don't think the image I posted worked? But it was something like this: Even a white sheet of paper works as a diffuser, but any semi-transparent white plastic and a bit of creativity
Have a look on e.bay there’s a couple on there between £20 to £30 and one for a buy it now at a tenner. And no Keith definetly not that ,LOL
Why not? it works, there's whole forums dedicated to DIY camera stuffs. You can pay £10, for one like this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/BlueBeach®...0453978&sr=8-4&keywords=pop+up+flash+diffuser but the result won't be any better, it's just cosmetic. I have made a bunch of soft-boxes for my speedlights out of cardboard, tinfoil, white linen etc ... though I did give in recently and buy a flash disc [rip off of the F stoppers one] - but it was only £12 and works really well, has a grey card on it too which is handy Just found the one you mentioned, never seen that before, can't say how well it works but I imagine just the same really. It diffuses and spreads the light so you get a softer, larger lit area, less harsh and obtrusive. But honestly, a piece of white card in front of the flash does the same job.
Totally wrong Keith ,the one you posted which I also have btw is a flash diffuser which as you say just spreads the light ,the rogue safari however is a flash multiplier extender which has a fresnel magnifier built in ,not a diffuser .it really does work along the lines of a “ better Beamer “ if you have heard of them ,totally forgot I had it will be ideal for woodland birds ,it also comes with two hot shoe adaptors ,the 5mm one works on my g80 just found them and tried them both out
No, I know the one you're on about, I didn't post that, I posted what you can save your tenner on by using a piece of plastic or paper, it's worked for thousands through the years. I've never used the one you mention, it's this right?
yep thats the one ,works a treat to LOL anyway just been playing silly buggers in photoshop with the previous image .something to do while waiting for my tea . beware the hun in the sun by jeff and jan cohen, on Flickr
couldn't step back or I would have had the other migs nose cone up me jacksee ,dont think I need to worry about it going places though so like mc.arthur I shall return
I too like the flare. I sometimes take shots specifically provoking flare. With the graduations in the sky it'd could be difficult to clone out but if it's possible I'd probably keep two versions, with and without.
Haven't posted for a while, but here's a couple of photographs from the annual visit of the BTCC circus to Croft Circuit just over a week ago. Ginetta GT4 by Simon Harrison, on Flickr Max Coates by Simon Harrison, on Flickr British F4 Championship by Simon Harrison, on Flickr Ollie Jackson by Simon Harrison, on Flickr Cheers, Simon.
Alan the lens flare has been added in photoshop I can move it anywhere in the picture . Normally doing birds I don’t have to do much pp so I thought I would have a mess around
hmmm not sure which way to go ,got the g80 with a 12-60 and 100-400 at the moment and a few bob spare ,do I get a couple more lenses for the camera or just get another body to stick the 12-60 on .just been offered a mint G6 for £199 ??
As good as the G6 is Jeff (and I’ve owned one), it isn’t a patch on the G80 and I think you’d really notice the performance difference across the board. If I were you, I’d either go with the lenses or wait until I could afford a second G80. Simon.
We're looking to pick up a camera for use at work, mainly for videos but will also be used to take product photos. My research has pointed me towards Panasonic, Sony or Canon for video, with Panasonic seemingly getting the best reviews in this field. We have a budget of between £300-350. Any user recommendations for any particular model? Been looking at the G6 or GX7 but it seems they've been around a few years. Does it hold up well these days and is it likely the best that budget can buy? Cheers!
A used GX80 can be got for £269 on MPB: https://www.mpb.com/en-uk/used-equi...ameras/used-panasonic-compact-system-cameras/
Cool. I've got the G80 with the 12-60, 100-400 and the sigma 60mm art. I dont use the art as the 12-60 is a great lens. I would like a more of a walk about lens with longer reach though, so I've been thinking about a 14-140.
That’s why I just went for the 45-150 see above post ,stick the 12-60 in my pocket and every walkabout situation should be covered Also thinking about a old m42 manual focus 135.mm f 2.8 to play with
another one from sat ,missed Theresa may's state jet by half a hour uplifting by jeff and jan cohen, on Flickr
the beluga no.5 incoming these are soon to be replaced by even bigger ones 5 arrive by jeff and jan cohen, on Flickr
a gannet or two from bempton gliding by jeff and jan cohen, on Flickr deep in thought by jeff and jan cohen, on Flickr
I can't comment on the G6 but I had a GX7 and currently have the GX80 and GX9 and I struggle to see any difference at all in the image quality these cameras give. Ditto with the G7 I owned. That would seem to make the GX7 a bit of a bargain on the used market but to be honest I'd only recommend the older shutter shock affected cameras like the GX7/GX8 to people who know exactly what the potential issues are and are going into this fully informed and with their eyes open. Other than that I've been impressed with the GX80 and there do seem to be good deals cropping up regularly for these. The only negative thing I can say about this camera is that the EVF is relatively poor by todays standards. Other than that it's very possibly the best all round camera I've owned (not as good image quality as my Sony A7 and not as good for legacy lens use but much faster in operation, smaller and stealthier) as would the GX7 be if it wasn't for the potential dreaded shutter shock issue which prevented me from using lenses I wanted to use in some situations I wanted to use them.
I have also looked into this over the last couple of days ,hovering over investing a bit of spare cash into either a older body as back up or buying lenses . the lenses won mtf is changing rapidly and a bit of research shows that its worth spending that bit extra to get the latest ,but a budget of £300-350 to be fair isn't going to get you the best results and in fact with any camera at that price range could well turn you off the idea of photography entirely
Wowza. I'm a bit surprised at that Jeff... looking at used kit £300-350 will easily get you a later model MFT body including the GX80 which will give you image quality to rival and perhaps exceed what you could get from a FF body just a short time ago. Going back to the Canon 300D which was the first digital camera I was happy with, that camera is capable of excellent results (unless you boost the shadows...) yet it'll be absolutely trounced by the latter MFT cameras in that £300 sort of price range and lets not even get into comparing what £300 gets you today to what was possible in the days we all used 35mm film. Even my TZ100 seems like something the aliens brought to earth compared to that experience and I do think that anyone who'd be put off the idea of photography by the image capturing ability and quality of output you can get for £300 and even £300 including a lens must be very exacting, have very specific needs or need to brush up on their technique and we've all met people who couldn't be helped even by an unlimited budget. PS. I'm not claiming to be a great photographer but my pictures (which I've been taking for over 40 years so you can imagine what I used back then) are usually correctly exposed and in focus which is a doddle these days and I do think that even basic kit today is easily good enough until you get into areas where the more exotic and expensive kit is really the deciding factor regardless of the skill of the person pressing the button. For example your bird shots could only really be taken with more expensive kit but for many other things something like a Pany G1 and a kit lens will probably cost you under £100 and yet from ISO 100 to 1600 give you A3 pictures that'll trounce anything I could get from a 35mm film SLR and a similar "kit" lens, I've done the comparisons at A3
Thanks guys. I understand the budget is a bit tight but it will be for occasional use really. Most cameras will be absolutely fine for the simple product shots we need, indeed I used to use my Fuji X-A2 at work for these and that was good enough. The issue I guess is that we also want to produce videos for our youtube channel and customers, tutorials and printer help etc. As well as the odd promotional video. They will almost all be using the camera in a fixed tripod position, aiming at a fairly in-animate printer with the only real movement being a hand or person moving around. The Fuji wasn't that great with video, focusing and re-focusing so I guess the question should be more focused on what is the best camera to handle video in this price range, but also takes a decent photo.
o.k Alan fair comment ,I suppose its just that I tend to look at near top of the range stuff ,and like to keep up to date .but fair do's the budget range for the o.p is out there just needs seeking out
I do agree with you to an extent and it's definitely worth thinking about what's to be photographed and in what situation. Once that's decided the kit maybe can pick itself.
Had a walk around Shrewsbury yesterday with the GX80, trying something a bit out of my comfort zone and a bit abstract-y. The light and shadows on the side of the theatre caught my eye so grabbed a quick mono snap. Theatre Severn Abstract by Jason, on Flickr
I would say with M43 it's about the best format to buy older, cheaper models, as the sensors haven't changed all that much. Plenty of bang for buck out there in the £300 range. A used GX80 or Omd em10 mkII for example. Either one will give cracking images in the right hands. The GX80 has decent 4K video and end results are on par with the G80, it just has a crappier EVF and it's missing a couple of other options
Sod’s law bought a lens yesterday ,today I had to take the daughter into Chester and found a cracking GX7 in one of the shops ,still mulling it over
