John Matthews

I fully agree. It simply can't be done. The microphone needs to be close to the subject. The first time you do it, you're really surprised how much better the audio is... regardless the microphone. The fact that the GX80's audio can practically only be used for sync FORCES users to do it the right way. In fact, maybe it's a feature.

Another review...

In France, many places still have it on back-order. I wonder if the sales were higher or lower than expected.

Ha! I wish. I think I'd love the look! But my wife wouldn't like the price tag! If I were a solo guy and I could make money at either photography or videography, I'd do it in a heartbeat! Unfortunately, I live in a lost part of France where the equivalent of craigslist rules the imagery world. I have to stick with teaching English- it's what I'm good at. Meanwhile, I need to buy my wife a new car- maybe version 2 of this lens... in 5 years.

I'll just add my 2 cents. What makes a lens great: high micro-contrast high sharpness across the field excellent IS low distortion round bokeh balls low chromatic aberration no vignetting maintains colors easy-to-use and handle withstand torrential rainfall durable reasonable size aperture ring distance markings perhaps more?... The above looks mathematical, but if you like the look, you like the look. It's more subjective than people think. This lens checks a lot of boxes (no IS, but no big deal with a GX80). So, why does this lens cost so much? It doesn't. I'll argue in favor of buying this lens on the sole criterion: "I like the look." Lenses can range from free (someone gave me one once) to millions (think NASA). Now, the cost of ownership could be actually quite cheap (provided you don't break it). At $1299 (retail full price), it seems expensive, but how much can you sell it for later? I bet you could sell it for more than $600 by the time you move on to something else. Meanwhile, you've just shot a bumload of photos and videos with the "look" you like. How much would that be worth to you? In short, the Panasonic Leica 12mm sounds like a state-of-the-art lens for 2016. And, if you were to put your money in a lens for MFT, a fast wide one would be a good place. They're the more difficult ones to design and manufacture... period. Also, this thing is quite small (which is arguably THE POINT OF MFT). "But it's not full frame!" Who cares? People get caught up in this argument all the time and it's quite meaningless. Can I get shallow DOF on MFT? YES!!! "But I want only the cornea of the eye to be in perfect focus and the rest to be a beautiful bokeh ball!" Really? If there's one argument not often made against full-frame, it's that it lacks DOF (especially for videography)... just saying. It's no wonder that film industry rarely uses them.

I'm quite surprised about 30 minutes. I've heard reports of 1 hour and 30 minutes. That's really low. I bought 2 extra batteries for 30 Euros with a charger. I think I'm covered, you might consider the same. This problem would have been solved had Panasonic been able to change their voltage requirements- I wanted to hook up a USB battery pack like my RX100!

I have more faith that people will be tired of the the one-liners. It's already happening. What happens when Facebook is full of only that? Do they actually have any real value after? What does one gain from going there? I prefer EOSHD. Community is still king... always has been. This site brings people with similar interests together. I'm quite happy with it. I know many people who HATE Facebook, but only feel they have to use it because everyone uses it. I check mine once a week. I check this site daily.

Hi Jordan, thank you for responding. TCSTV has now got over 200,000 subs. Congratulations! That's amazing! Some people probably have full-time jobs with those kinds of numbers. I really like your show and I look forward to seeing many more episodes. You're taking criticism the right way, meaning, when constructive, people are trying to make your show better... not worse. I respect what you have to say, as I'm just an aspiring filmmaker who wants to learn the tools of the trade. With the number of your youtube subs, there undoubtably comes great responsibility to get it right. 2016 will be a make or break year for many of the companies out there... and there are a lot of people and jobs who depend on camera sales. You've got a difficult job... Good luck! ... especially with people like me who are going to double and triple check everything you say. Many of us have tried to contact Panasonic about the HDMI to get clear information on it. Sounds easy enough, but no response. Can you put in the question? I'd think you've got more pull. Concerning the 80d, there was a touch of sarcasm in my post. Dual-pixel AF sounds great, but I think people are going ga-ga over this tech, not taking into consideration more important issues and features. Personally, I'd rather have a detailed 4k image and IBIS. That's just me though. And just a note, I had a look at the dpreview review (that sounds weird) of the GX85 and I also didn't agree with some of the things they said there... and I found a few mistakes.

Saw it on BandH for 1299... ouch! Maybe I'll go the speedbooster route for wide shots, or just get the Olympus 12mm or Panasonic Leica 15mm. Still, consider this: for $3300, you get a Panasonic Leica 12mm F1.4, a Panasonic Leica 42.5 F1.2, and a GX80... that would be about the price of a A7R ii body only. Those lenses could be some of the best that MFT has to offer.

I'm pretty sure this is my next MFT lens: http://www.43rumors.com/ft5-leaked-first-images-new-panasonic-12mm-f1-4-asph-lens/ Panasonic Leica branded 12mm F1.4- no IS, but you won't be needing it with the GX80. Could be priced at $600- perhaps more. I'll start saving.

Great to see you post! Interesting codec specs... not quite sure what it all means, but I'm hesitant to say you somehow recorded 1080p 60fps 10-bit 4:2:2. I have my doubts. A number have put in questions regarding this point to Panasonic. I wrote Panasonic France and they said they would forward my question to HQ... we'll see. I bet they're being cagy for some reason... or they're just inefficient. Your Blackmagic video assist could be just recording zeros on a 8-bit signal. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. I also looked at Fuji, but they're just too far behind on the video front- great color, but awful moiré and aliasing problems. Not sure which Fuji you held, but have you tried to change the ISO when the camera's at your eye? I bet it's harder than the GX80. I've never been a fan of its dedicated dials. I do admit that I would have liked to see a little larger grip on the GX80 (possibly with a GH4 battery), but then again I've just bought 2 extra batteries and the AC adapter- power won't be a concern for me, but holding it took some adjustment.

I think Fotodiox makes one... not sure if its any good. Maybe someone has experience with it. Also, do you want the IBIS to work with it? If so, it would need to communicate it to the camera...

Pretty sure you can't. For that setup, I think you need an adapter with electrical contacts or with aperture built into the adapter...

I'd say yes as long as you put NR and sharpness at -5. Otherwise, it looks like a bad 1080p image blown up to 4k. I know that iDynamic on many of the Panasonic camera didn't yield great results, but have you actually tried it on the GX80?

Just an experiment. I filmed my 4-year old daughter on a head-shot. I wanted to see if the IBIS would still be picked up with the Zoom. I realise placing the mic close to the subject is ideal. I learned that one 8 years ago when I first started.

I guess my main point is that they seem inconsistent in their review comparing it to other cameras out there- a double standard. Apparently, Panasonic needs not only to give excellent features like zebras, 5 axis IBIS, reliability, no overheating, no max filming limits, a GH5 sensor (because it's the same), a smaller form-factor better suited for MFT, an excellent 4k image, a great touch interface, peaking, a large, sharp image for manual focus, and many more video related features that other manufacturers can't seem to offer, but also all the features of a higher priced GH5 (like the ones you mentioned above). In fact, the features you mentioned like bigger battery and a swivel screen might require a bigger body. I think its unreasonable to expect a sub-$1000 dollar camera to do everything perfectly- just because it's Panasonic. Meanwhile, other manufacturers get a free pass for not having 4k (and many of the other features I mentioned above). Concerning the handling of the camera, it's much better than one might think: notably, the fact you can easily change ALL aspects of your shot with it up next to your eye- something that the Fuji and Sony cannot do (not sure about the Olympus they talked about). The A6300 doesn't even have two dials on it and it's much more expensive. Finally, the one thing that I simply love about this camera is its minimalistic nature- why should a camera be a fashion statement? It's a tool that you WANT to disappear. Anyway, I conclude by saying I think they didn't do their homework and they got some stuff simply wrong in the review and didn't really promote some of the features that are rather unique at the price point.

I didn't know about the extra pin. That's interesting though. Maybe some accessories are coming in the future? I guess if there's some sort of mic that can pass through the hotshoe, it would give it much better onboard audio. I would like to note that I did try simply putting a Zoom H1, needless to say, I could still hear the IBIS. Moving the setup off camera (closer to the subject) yielded great results though.

Not to descend into Jordan-bashing here, but think he might have forgotten why the channel became popular in the first place. He seems more concerned about his FS5 review, which I'm sure is really cool, but many of us will never really see. I think the best word to describe their review of the GX80/85 is "superficial" at best. I think they spent more time on scouting their location, learning about their location, running the FS5, and driving to the location than they did on learning more about the camera... possibly only reading confusing marketing literature from Panasonic. Sorry for the rant, but it seemed the only thing they had to say was: "It doesn't have a mic-input. It's got crappy sound." Meanwhile, they'll love the dual-pixel AF in the 80d- what a great cinematic tool that is! I'm not going to watch anymore review channels and I'm just going to do my best with the camera I've got now. Besides, I'm getting the impression most of the channels out there are primarily considering the clicks they can get from listing the "great" product in their "show notes below." By the way, I specifically asked Jordan to look at the HDMI. He didn't. Doubt he ever read my question. Log files sound great, but I think, from listening to many people on this site, they represent major challenges in post for the non-pro. Often, I look at the final product and simply can't help thinking: "why bother?" It looks almost the same. Sure, the highlights tend to blow out, just be more careful. You mention 14-bit raw... that's cool, but if it screws up or slows anything else down, I'd rather not have it. For me, the problem of having a great camera for photography was solved about 5 years ago. With a GX80/85, you can have huge prints and have amazing latitude in post. Yes, even from 16 megapixels and "only" 12-bit files. If you print, I think most people would see little to no difference between the $3000 A7R ii and a GX80/85 on a A3-size print... possibly A2 or even A1, with viewing distance taken into consideration. For a major improvement in quality, consider medium format as everything else is simply a single-digit percentage point difference with current MFT offerings. Sure, there are aesthetic differences, but can you get shallow DOF with MFT? Of course, you can.

Saw it. I feel like they were very dismissive of the video capabilities due to its lack of a microphone... (jackitis- look above) and I think they didn't really know how to use it (they must have used only default settings and cranked up the electronic IS). They misrepresented its 5 axis IBIS by calling it 3 axis IBIS + 2 axis IS in lens. They left out the fact it doesn't overheat and that the GX85 model doesn't have a max recording time. Finally, they said a 1" sony sensor has more dynamic range. The conclusion was simply that it's more of a still camera... whatever. I wonder what the GH5 review will look like for these guys... or maybe they'll learn how to use the camera first. I like their show though.

In this case, I really don't like the magenta (very noticeable on the wall)... I'd prefer the GH4 image because I prefer a warmer image... but it also has a problem in that it seems to pull to orange... again, with my viewing experience. And what about you?

I've decided to coin a new word: jackitis [mass noun] filmmaker condition in which a camera cannot be used due to the absence of a microphone jack.

Thanks for this. It needed to be done. I'm not sure for the color-shift upon uploading. However, you might want to try the Standard Profile instead. I've had good luck with that... but in the end, it's just a matter of personal preference. I'm finding your GX85 sample too pink in the skintone, but then again, I don't have a perfectly calibrated monitor and, as you mentioned, Youtube might be doing something to your file. Personally, I've just decided to use Standard (-3,-5,-5,-3), with shadows at +2... It seems good to me. I think the most important is to turn off all sharpening and noise reduction- you can tweek the rest in post. Also, I just leave it at something that suits the project to keep the look consistent. Finally, I've been choosing only from sunny and incandescent WB and just letting the colors do what they want- again, consistency being the goal.

On another photography-related note, the GX80 says in its specs that it has a max flash sync speed of 1/160, but I and others have found 1/250; so, that's good news!

Couldn't help noticing that when I import converted DNG files and apply VSCO Kodak Porta 160 NC - (one of my favorite looks), it hardly changes the original RAW file's skin colors... just increasing the highlights, but the overall saturation and skin color seems very similar. Other cameras that I've used over the years had a much bigger change when I applied the same Preset. Interesting.

I really don't understand why people even care about having a mic jack and headphone jack. Knowing you have poor audio REQUIRES you to pay attention to it, get the mic closer to the subject and just sync it. I'm OK for having the jacks, but rarely do manufactures include good preamps... yeah the GH4 and G7 have the mic jack, but it won't beat a zoom H1 ($100), correctly positioned, and perhaps hooked up to an even better mic. What's the big deal?