sgreszcz

I'm really interested in your thoughts on the LX100 and how you get the best out of the camera. Also, how the image/colour compares to the Gx7/G7. I find it strange that the colour would differ significantly between Panasonic cameras, but I've not really tried mixing LX100/G7 video yet. Back in January I did play with your Panasonic LUT (Canon/pleasing) on some shots from my LX100 (neutral), and it did something weird with the contrast. I didn't mean to hijack your softening thread, just looking forward to your LX100/LUT thread! I really like that little camera.

Looks good Mattias, I'm going to follow this with interest as I use the Olympus cameras as I love the colours, the IBIS, and especially for stills with the small m4/3 primes. Both of your videos looked great. I'm still experimenting with the various profiles to get ones that I like that look good without having to mess with grading. In full auto mode (well, semi as I often use S priority), I find that the auto white balance quite good. What lenses have you been using with the Pen (I see the Olympus 17.5/1.8 mounted)?

Same reasons why I sold my DS1. I saw great things shot with it, and the price is right, but I need something a little less time consuming and foolproof which is why I'm going to look at the DJI Osmo for now.

The firmware upgrade didn't fix mine, unfortunately. If it did, I'd probably exclusively use the LX100 and G7 with that lens when out and about. It would be a great two-camera combo, especially with the 2x ETC (or cropping the 4k) on the G7 to get 24-400 (equivalent) at f1.7-2.8. I've pre-ordered the Gx80 to see if things improve in the stabilisation department.

If I go with something like the Sigma 18-35 for use with my G7 with the lens turbo II, then I should probably stick with the Nikon mount so that I can adjust the aperture?

I just ended up selling my (unused) Beholder DS1 on Ebay. After joining the Beholder Facebook group, I realised that all the necessary tweaking wasn't for me due to lack of time and it is also one more thing to carry around. I think I'll rely on my E-M5II (and maybe the new Gx80) for stabilisation for now and look at the DJI Osmo if I need something for more dynamic movement.

Thanks, I was actually hoping I had a bad copy as I love the lens for stills as well as on my E-M5 II. Just would be easier to go out with the 35-100/2.8 on a panasonic body matched up with my LX100.

How does the stabilisation on your 35-100 work for you in video mode? Mine sucks (tested on the Gx7 an G7) compared to both the LX100 or EM-5II at equivalent focal lengths. In fact my 35-100 adds jitter to a shot when I'm relatively hand holding it quite steady. I've always wanted to know if it is just my copy as I've heard others with the same experiences. Maybe it will work better with the dual-IS on the Gx80, or I should try another copy of the lens...

Another option is the Shure VP83F shotgun with built-in recorder (and line out + headphone jack).

It actually isn't that bad (except for the 1/60 - then rear dial to 1/50 shutter)... It could be faster if you could set a shutter angle in video mode that ignored the shutter dial. If you don't use 4k photo mode as your C2=4k video, then you don't need to worry about setting the aspect ratio manually to 16:9 (as it overrides the manual setting) but you need to use the back record button rather than shutter button. I often shoot video in shutter "S" mode, so I leave the lens aperture dial to "A" to make things a little quicker. I use C3 for 1080p/50fps (which I wish had an ETC mode like the Gx7/G7). A couple of tricks about moving the focus point. If you are mostly in manual focus mode, you can still use AF-S by assigning it to the back button (AF/AE Lock). Then when you use the back dial, if you click left you can then move the focus point. When you are in AF mode, you can also enable the focus point movement by hitting the left focus type selector on the back wheel and then down (adjust) to enable movement of the focus point. I mostly stay in M focus mode and use the smallest manual focus area plus AF-S on the back AF/AE Lock button. This way you still have access to ISO/WB and drive modes on the rear dial. In video mode I use Fn2 to swap on/off monochrome mode (easier to see focus peaking), and Fn3 to switch EVF. I don't really use the Q.Menu - I wish Panasonic had something like the SCP that Olympus uses. By the way, how do you still use AF-S after recording starts? I can only get that to work when in AF-S mode, and not in Manual focus mode (using the back AF/AE lock button). The AF-S works before recording starts, but not after. I can get the back button AF-S to work after recording on my G7 though.

I just got back from holiday where I travelled with just my LX100 and a 3 and 6 stop ND filter. Such a great little camera, especially for video. It has all the features that you could need, including excellent 4k, good Image Stabilisation, built-in time-lapse and decent HD at 50fps. In fact, for the things I do (kids, community video), I'm not sure why I even own any other cameras. The Raynox 250 macro converter connects directly to the filter thread (49mm) if you are into that sort of thing. For the next iteration, I would appreciate a tilt/touch screen, a better EVF, and AF-S while recording in M mode (works only before recording - my G7 does this during recording).

I get the same thing with both my G7 and LX100. I'm not sure how to improve this. One way I work around this is to use yellow as the colour and then switch the LCD to monochrome to have the peaking jump out a bit more. I find the peaking in my Olympus EM-5II much more obvious. Please post back if you find a solution.

What are the recommended zoom lenses with stabilisation to use with the Speedbooster+G7 combination in run-and-gun/documentary type work? Thanks!

I always fall back to my LX100, especially when I travel as it covers most of what I need range-wise and has a great picture with decent stabilisation. It and a couple of ND filters is all that I carry. The only negatives (for me) is lack of tilt/touch screen and a better viewfinder as I sometimes have problems with seeing focus (with or without peaking). I also cannot get S-AF working when in manual focus mode on the LX100 (which works fine on my G7 - newer camera?). I find that handy to try to keep up with my active kids. I sometimes use my G7+P35-100/2.8 with the LX100 for requiring longer zoom, but the OIS wobble makes me crazy on that lens. I also sometimes use my E-M5II with a couple of primes. I prefer the Olympus colours (looks more real accurate to me) and the stabilisation, but the image isn't nearly as good as the LX100 on wider, more detailed shots. Shallow depth of field looks good on the Olympus, especially when hand holding (see . All of them are good hybrid, lightweight, compact cameras, but when I travel I only take my LX100 due to the excellent manual controls, picture, and fast lens.

@DPStewart - I have a DS1, but haven't had much time to configure it or test it. Is there some recommended documentation or tutorials that would allow me to quickly configure it and the profiles for the camera/lens combinations that I have (G7, LX100)?

I went with this solution as I have/had a couple of cameras without Mic in (Gx7/LX100). http://www.shure.com/americas/products/microphones/vp/vp83f I got it for $200 used from Adorama and I think it sounds pretty good (although Dave Dougdale preferred the Rode VideoMic in his head-to-head test). It records internally to microSD card, and has a headphone monitor jack as well as a line out (with +20db adjustable output) so you can run an audio backup to cameras with a mic input (like my EM-5II/G7). Rode was supposed to release something similar, but it never came to market. I find the H1 a little overkill due to size (and I don't use it much these days due to handling noise - I prefer my Sony ICD-SX1000 which is smaller, but unfortunately discontinued). I wish there were more decent mini-recorders without mics like the Little DARling or Tascam DR-10C (a little bit expensive) which are much smaller than something like the H1.

I'm not sure how best to modify ISO on the fly either. I often just shoot in "S" mode set to 1/50 shutter with auto-ISO and vary the aperture or ND to get the right exposure. Unfortunately you can't change the aperture or shutter using dials when recording. I hope they fix that. I use the 1/2 switch to go between stills/video and a function button to enter ISO/WB mode. I've got one button to switch peaking on (which removes the histogram for some reason), the front button for one-touch WB, and the fn button near the shutter set to "off" as this will engage S-AF when you are in S-AF + Manual focus in video mode. This is cool as you can quickly get back into focus before and during shooting automatically while still being in manual mode. With my Panasonic cameras (and I think with Sony too) I can only use S-AF before recording starts. A couple more things that I like about the E-M5II - I find the colours, especially skin tones better than Panasonic straight out of camera - The stabilisation is so good, and now with the new firmware there is no crop in IS-2 (sensor stabilisation only) mode. I mainly switched from my Gx7 to EM-5II as I couldn't stand the jittery OIS on my 35-100/2.8 lens, and with the Olympus it is solid. - I find the focus peaking and the histogram much better on the olympus. I haven't spent a lot of time with the still side of things, but the high-res images, live composite, live time, time-lapse, face detect functionality is all really cool and useful. I was thinking of using the E-M5II to do tripod-less hyper lapses as with the great IBIS you can use really slow shutter speeds to get motion blur without camera shake.

How do you deal with ND and the contrast filter. Can you stack a fixed or variable ND?

I had the filter holder for the o7-14/2.8 printed from: http://www.7-14filter.com/ I just got the lens yesterday, so didn't have time to test it yet. Looking forward to the film, Ed, and hopefully you can give the client some feedback to continue to improve the camera for video shooting.

I was thinking of swapping mine for a Sony RX100iv, but I love the manual controls on the LX100, the lens is good, the OIS works great and the picture quality is fantastic (except for the funny face colour that I get sometimes). The only things that are missing for me is a better EVF, a tilt screen, and more pronounced focus peaking as I find it difficult to see sometimes. To get around the no mic input, I use a Shure VP83F shotgun with built-in recorder.

I find this a bit frustrating too, although it is nice to have so many good options. Maybe the rumoured Nikon/Samsung deal will shake things up. I wish that Panasonic and Olympus would collaborate on more than just lens mounts. I'm quite bought-into micro4/3 as I love the tradeoff between compactness and quality, and I do about 50% stills. You definitely hit all the key differences and strengths above. I was thinking of selling EM5II+lenses and LX100 and moving to a A7SII and RX100iv but in the end got the £250 G7 to pair with my LX100. Thanks for the continued evaluation of cameras like Olympus, Fuji, and Samsung as there are not many bloggers that cover them. Hopefully the manufacturers read and consider some of the feedback.

I agree with all of this too. I use my e-m5 II as my primary hand-held cam with primes or longer zooms mostly due to the stabilisation and how much I like the colours, especially for people. It is a toss-up whether I take out my lx100 or em5-II with 35mm as a pocket camera as I still do a lot of still photography. I like the Olympus Jpegs right out of camera... i found the Olympus audio input quite noisy with an external mic. What setting do you use, fuzzy? have you switched to the 'movie' picture profile or do you still use the modified picture profiles? The firmware update was worth it for me just for the uncropped IBIS in video mode. if they just took the next steps to get the video to current Panasonic or Sony 1080p quality and allow us to directly change exposure with the dials when recording, it would become an excellent video camera. As a stills camera, it is second to none, with fast AF, magical IBIS, and unique features like live time and live composite and high resolution mode.

A quick shot from this morning's school run. Grey, rainy day - 25fps, 1/50, f3.5 with Olympus 17.5/1.8. Dropbox - original file I still get the menu that pops up on the right of the screen and my dials don't operate shutter or aperture directly as they do before starting to record?

It is definitely a compromise - detailed but jittery images using the Panasonic 35-100/2.8 on my new G7, but rock solid and slightly "fuzzy" shots with the same lens and the IBIS on the E-M5II.

The crop with the MIS-2 (sensor only) is gone now in video mode! There is only the large crop with MIS-1 (sensor shift + digital stabilisation).