An adventure into the Panasonic GX85/80 begins - and a look at the Leica Nocticron for Micro Four Thirds

[Dean]

20 hours ago, Ronnie Amighetti said:

As per EOSHD Color Profile. Let's call it quite similar to Standard.

OK, great to know. Cheers.

[John Matthews]

1 hour ago, tupp said:

Thanks!

 

Are the Panasonic cameras actually keeping the aperture physically open, or are they just boosting gain/iso?

In manual photo mode or manual video mode (not recording) with constant preview on, they keep the aperture physically open and apply gain when pulling focus. Otherwise, it should be WYSIWYG. Hope that answers your question if I understood correctly. I believe they do the same as many other manufacturers.

[tupp]

9 hours ago, John Matthews said:

In manual photo mode or manual video mode (not recording) with constant preview on, they keep the aperture physically open and apply gain when pulling focus. Otherwise, it should be WYSIWYG. Hope that answers your question if I understood correctly. I believe they do the same as many other manufacturers.

Thank you for the reply, but I am not sure that I have made my question clear.  I am not talking about the shutter -- I am referring to the lens aperture (fstop).

 

SLRs (and most DSLRs when shooting stills not in "live view") have the aperture (not the shutter) always wide open for focusing and framing.  Then, when the shutter button is pressed, the mirror goes up, the aperture stops down to it's desired setting and the shutter opens and closes.

 

So, my question is:  Can Panasonic mirrorless cameras do the same -- can the aperture (not the shutter) on the lens of a Panasonic mirrorless camera be always wide open for stills until the shutter button is pressed?

 

Anyone who has a Panasonic camera and lens should be able to easily tell what actually happens to the aperture by looking through the front element of the lens when the shutter is clicked.  Set the shutter speed to 1 second, set the aperture to it's smallest setting (f11-f22?), and click the shutter.  It should be obvious whether or not the aperture stops down during the 1 second exposure.  Of course, this process will not occur in "Constant Preview" mode.

 

Thanks!

[jase]

9 minutes ago, tupp said:

So, my question is:  Can Panasonic mirrorless cameras do the same -- can the aperture (not the shutter) on the lens of a Panasonic mirrorless camera be always wide open for stills until the shutter button is pressed?

Exactly thats the behaviour on the GX85 if constant preview is set to OFF. Regardless what aperture you set, it the lcd shows it wide open.

[tupp]

4 minutes ago, jase said:

Exactly thats the behaviour on the GX85 if constant preview is set to OFF. Regardless what aperture you set, it the lcd shows it wide open.

I hope so.

 

However, could someone with a Panasonic camera and lens please confirm this by simply observing the aperture stopping down during a 1 second exposure?

 

Thanks!

 

[jase]

Just now, tupp said:

I hope so.

 

However, could someone with a Panasonic camera and lens please confirm this by directly observing the aperture stopping down during a 1 second exposure?

 

Thanks!

 

if you would take your time and read the last two pages of this thread, you would have an answer to your question. If you dont want to: the answer to your question is yes, I can confirm this with a Panasonic 20mm lens.

[tupp]

6 minutes ago, jase said:

if you would take your time and read the last two pages of this thread, you would have an answer to your question. If you dont want to: the answer to your question is yes, I can confirm this with a Panasonic 20mm lens.

Thank you for your suggestion, but I have actually been directly involved in the last two pages, and it is not clear whether or not others understand exactly what I am asking.  There seems to be confusion between "aperture" and "shutter."

 

If someone with a Panasonic camera and lens would merely observe the lens aperture (set to f11-f22) during a 1 second exposure, the answer would be clear.  So, are you saying that you observed the lens aperture momentarily stopping down when the shutter was released?

[jase]

1 minute ago, tupp said:

If someone with a Panasonic camera and lens would merely observe the lens aperture (set to f11-f22) during a 1 second exposure, the answer would be clear.

Just did it, sorry for being a bit harsh. Let me describe what I did: i have set the lens to Aperture mode and then to f16 (maximum of my lens). The lens is still wide open. I press the shutter button, the aperture (e.g. the blades of the lens) switch to f16 and after the picture is taken, the aperture is again wide open. I can provide you with a video if you want me to.

[tupp]

2 minutes ago, jase said:

Just did it, sorry for being a bit harsh. Let me describe what I did: i have set the lens to Aperture mode and then to f16 (maximum of my lens). The lens is still wide open. I press the shutter button, the aperture (e.g. the blades of the lens) switch to f16 and after the picture is taken, the aperture is again wide open. I can provide you with a video if you want me to.

Thank you!!!!   That's perfect -- no video necessary!

 

Considering Panasonic mirroless now!

[jase]

1 minute ago, tupp said:

Thank you!!!!   That's perfect -- no video necessary!

 

Considering Panasonic mirroless now!

Just to be more precise, when I half press the shutter to focus, the aperture stays fully open. Only when i press the shutter button to take the picture, the aperture is stepped down during exposure and then switches back to be fully open.

[tupp]

1 minute ago, jase said:

Just to be more precise, when I half press the shutter to focus, the aperture stays fully open. Only when i press the shutter button to take the picture, the aperture is stepped down during exposure and then switches back to be fully open.

Thanks!  Very helpful!

[7 Lakes]

Hello, everyone. Does anyone know how to switch off video noise reduction? I experience a huge noise reduction, when shooting video at ISO 6400 at night.

[jonpais]

1 hour ago, 7 Lakes said:

Hello, everyone. Does anyone know how to switch off video noise reduction? I experience a huge noise reduction, when shooting video at ISO 6400 at night.

It cannot be switched off. In Photo Style, dial down NR to -5. But I'm afraid you won't see much difference.

[Vesku]

9 hours ago, 7 Lakes said:

Hello, everyone. Does anyone know how to switch off video noise reduction? I experience a huge noise reduction, when shooting video at ISO 6400 at night.

When shooting video with 4k photo there is less NR than in normal video mode. It also shows exposure values (aperture, shutter and iso) all the time and in all exposure modes. Video mode does not which is strange. 4k photo has no single focus, just AFC which is also strange considering 4k slow focusing.

[7 Lakes]

8 hours ago, jonpais said:

It cannot be switched off. In Photo Style, dial down NR to -5. But I'm afraid you won't see much difference.

It is a terrible, unforgivable thing.

16 minutes ago, Vesku said:

Video mode does not which is strange.

It is a terrible, unforgivable thing.

[Ronnie Amighetti]

10 hours ago, 7 Lakes said:

Hello, everyone. Does anyone know how to switch off video noise reduction? I experience a huge noise reduction, when shooting video at ISO 6400 at night.

Unfortunately no. You can dial it down to -5 but it's still quite aggressive from 1600ISO and up. You can test it out shooting with lens cap on at all ISO and then push the exposure up to match. I do it all the time with new cameras just to see what's going on as far as NR goes. 

[jonpais]

37 minutes ago, 7 Lakes said:

It is a terrible, unforgivable thing.

It is a terrible, unforgivable thing.

With or without NR, the GX80/85 is simply not an extreme low light camera. If you regularly shoot at ISO 6400 and above, one of the Sonys is probably a better option. 

[Vesku]

9 hours ago, jonpais said:

It cannot be switched off. In Photo Style, dial down NR to -5. But I'm afraid you won't see much difference.

In my GH4 the NR 0 is very blurred and muddy. Even NR -4 is muddy but NR -5 shows original noise much better. I am not sure if it works the same in GX85.

 

[jonpais]

56 minutes ago, Vesku said:

In my GH4 the NR 0 is very blurred and muddy. Even NR -4 is muddy but NR -5 shows original noise much better. I am not sure if it works the same in GX85.

 

Here's a test I just did. Hope it helps.

 

[Ronnie Amighetti]

1 hour ago, jonpais said:

With or without NR, the GX80/85 is simply not an extreme low light camera. If you regularly shoot at ISO 6400 and above, one of the Sonys is probably a better option. 

I beg to disagree, if you constantly shoot at 6400ISO or higher you'd better look for a brighter lens (even speed boosted) before changing camera and/or system. Just nitpicking I reckon.