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

[webrunner5]

5 minutes ago, John Matthews said:

I've certainly seen some nice shots on a hacked GH2. Having never owned one, one always needs to imagine how good it looks without the compression. It's funny because the GH5S is bringing back the multi-aspect sensor- something the GH2 already had and we lost with the GH3, GH4, and GH5. To my eyes, the GX80 has a slightly different color algorithm than the GH4 and I'm satisfied. The GX80's size, colors, 4k, and IBIS trumps the hacked GH2's 1080p, but right now the GH2 is half the cost- not bad.

Personally, the GX80's still a value option that's hard-to-beat. It gets the job done for me. I still haven't seen any features in any of those new Panasonic cameras that would merit the price jump. Secondly, the GX80's successor is going to have to be pretty damn good to convert me.

Oh I won't argue with any of your comments. If you can only have or afford one camera you are not going to buy a GH2. A G7 puts one to shame overall. These new cameras make every ones life easier, but I just think beautiful 1080p output is, well just beautiful. We just seem to be loosing that in these new cameras.

[kidzrevil]

@webrunner5 I never knew the value in 1080p files until I got tired of working with 4k. Clean 1080 would be so ideal for all of us with 2k workflows

[John Matthews]

41 minutes ago, kidzrevil said:

@webrunner5 I never knew the value in 1080p files until I got tired of working with 4k. Clean 1080 would be so ideal for all of us with 2k workflows

When you say you got "tired of working with 4k," is it more processing time, disk space, too much detail, etc.?

[kidzrevil]

Sometimes its unneccessary for the project. Dont get me wrong I love 4K but I think companies neglect their 1080p performance for it. All my cameras do amazing 4K but crappy 1080 so slow mo is out of the question for me most of the time

[Nathan Gabriel]

On 1/24/2018 at 1:16 PM, kidzrevil said:

I went to a Panasonic Masterclass with William Wages ASC and B&H and he had some interesting things to say. They were demoing a move shot with the Panasonic Varicam and one of the shots were cut with the GH4 flawlessly. I asked how difficult was it to match the shots he said it wasn’t at all and he prefers the GH line for his work. He says the GH4,5 & 5s allows you to get shots you cant with cine cameras and he rates ALL as very good pro level cameras. 

Yeah, but if someone is on a budget they can hack a gx85 to get cinelikeD 4k which is already at 100mbps plus stabalization that the gh4 didn't have. That's why the gx85 was so impressive (and the g85 is also a low price point with longer battery life than the gx85, fully articulating screen and a mic input. BUT why not just get an external recorder if you need a front facing screen and mic input. That way you get 422)

[kidzrevil]

@Nathan Gabriel yup if it gives you the image you like then thats all that matters. I shoot with a g85 too and I look at it like an improved GH4

[John Matthews]

I'm guessing this is the newest version of the gx80/85 according to the rumor sites:

LUMIX DC-GX9 / GX7MK3

Effective 20.3 million pixels 4/3 type Live MOS sensor. Low pass filterless
5-axis Dual I.S. for 4 stages of camera shake correction effect.
Electromagnetic drive type mechanical shutter
Continuous 9 frames / sec
4K30p video / 4K photo
3 type 124400 dots touch panel liquid crystal
Focus bracket / aperture bracket
Wi-Fi · Bluetooth installed
Size: 124 mm x 72.1 mm x 46.8 mm
Weight: 450 g
North American Price: Body $ 999

Personally, I'm not that impressed by the price.

 

[John Matthews]

5 hours ago, John Matthews said:

Personally, I'm not that impressed by the price.

New info to sweeten the deal: you get a 12-60 Panasonic lens; that sounds much better. With it, you're getting an upgraded sensor and a tiltable viewfinder. If the viewfinder is also better, it WOULD be worth it. I still won't be upgrading though...

[IronFilm]

On 5/20/2016 at 6:26 AM, Andrew Reid said:

"So they left the mic jack off? So what? One thing they surprisingly did NOT leave off the GX85 is a clean uncompressed 4K HDMI output. I’ve been trying out the new Blackmagic View Assist 4K with the GX85/80, it works superbly with native 4K 30p, 25p and 24p from the camera, has a great audio feature too – twin XLR jacks. These are of the mini-XLR type, with a supplied cable adapter to full size XLR. These inputs mean you can rig your professional mic to the GX85 and have sync, not to mention 4K ProRes HQ image quality. Suddenly the lack of 2.5mm audio jack and crappy preamps don’t seem to matter much."

Any total mad man out there tried hacking a mic input to the GX85?

As I was thinking to myself that the GX85 might be my perfect 4K camera for 2018 vlogging, as it small in both size and price (from ebay) with a flip up selfie screen, if only.... it had a mic input!! Sigh. 

[BTM_Pix]

51 minutes ago, IronFilm said:

Any total mad man out there tried hacking a mic input to the GX85?

As I was thinking to myself that the GX85 might be my perfect 4K camera for 2018 vlogging, as it small in both size and price (from ebay) with a flip up selfie screen, if only.... it had a mic input!! Sigh. 

This fella has put a mic input on his LX100

https://***URL removed***/forums/thread/3845240

This fella has modded his GX85 for IR

https://www.lifepixel.com/tutorials/infrared-diy-tutorials/life-pixel-panasonic-lumix-gx85-diy-digital-infrared-conversion-tutorial

I think the mic input aspects are a case of same horse different jockey with the two cameras.

If you look at where the mic input on the LX100 has been marked in this picture

Then I have marked in the picture of the exposed GX85 from the other fella what is highly likely to be its equivalent 

So it should just be a case of following the details of the LX100 fella.

I would be very surprised if the GX800 isn't the same and you might want to look at that because its cheaper, smaller and has the flip up screen so might be even more ideal for vlogging.

They are usually sold with the collapsible wide zoom (which is better than you might think) and even brand new they are generally under £300 for the bundle.

 

[IronFilm]

26 minutes ago, BTM_Pix said:

 

I would be very surprised if the GX800 isn't the same and you might want to look at that because its cheaper, smaller and has the flip up screen so might be even more ideal for vlogging.

They are usually sold with the collapsible wide zoom (which is better than you might think) and even brand new they are generally under £300 for the bundle.

True! Forgotten about the little GX800
As damn, they're cheap! Perfect.

If only it had a mic input....

 

27 minutes ago, BTM_Pix said:

This fella has put a mic input on his LX100

https://***URL removed***/forums/thread/3845240

It is a pity that thread attracted so little attention :-/ The OP is gone. 

 

[Thpriest]

I still use the GX85 as a B or C cam with the GH5. I bought from Hong Kong and it has no recording limit. It keeps going until the card or battery run out. I also bought a dummy battery with a DC connector. Very cheap, small but quality 4K cam. One of my best buys ever even if the sound is rubbish. If sound is important get one of the 2 Sennheiser kits with the mic and recorder and just sync up.

[tomastancredi]

On 1/24/2018 at 5:16 PM, John Matthews said:

Secondly, the GX80's successor is going to have to be pretty damn good to convert me.

Isn't the Gx9 it's sucessor? Certainly not the gx8 successor.. 


I had a gh2 up till it was stolen and I bought a gx80. I have to agree that on certain situations the gh2 did look more cinematic,  maybe the cadence. Gh2 colors pleased me a lot in lowlight, combed with nikkors, but a lot of times looked videoish compared to canons. Overall the gx85 colors look nicer to my eyes, and the added sharpness ( in 1080p) look good for me. But even with my nikkors on similar light I don't get the wow factor I used to get with the gh2. This is also very subjective, of course, and I am talking about natural light only. 

[MattH]

2 hours ago, IronFilm said:

Any total mad man out there tried hacking a mic input to the GX85?

As I was thinking to myself that the GX85 might be my perfect 4K camera for 2018 vlogging, as it small in both size and price (from ebay) with a flip up selfie screen, if only.... it had a mic input!! Sigh. 

You'd just have to use a seperate audio recorder.  And use some visual cue with a sound to sync the audio.  Thats what clapperboards are for.

But one thing to realise is that the GX85 doesnt have a selfie screen, it only tilts upwards at 90 degrees not 180.   It's the GX850 that has a full selfie screen, but I think the 4k for that is limited in time to 5 minutes, or even less due to heat.  

So you'd maybe have to mount a mirror to the hotshoe angled at 45 degrees above the screen of the GX85 or something.  It would still be Cheap 4k though.

[IronFilm]

14 minutes ago, MattH said:

You'd just have to use a seperate audio recorder.  And use some visual cue with a sound to sync the audio.  Thats what clapperboards are for.

I'm totally aware of that workflow!
After all I do work as a sound recordist professionally ?

However somewhat hypocritically, I don't want to do that for my own videos. As I am super lazy, and I want my vlogs for my youtube channel to take the absolute minimum effort. 

[PannySVHS]

Rereading the article by Andrew in a second, which started one of my favorite threads and follow ups. This thread deserves to be pinned again I think! I will be having a steamy cup of coffee and some delicous German cake with it while reading! Just as suggested by Andrew four years ago. See you later.:)

[Yannick Willox]

After reading the original article I bought a GX85, and an adapter for my Panaleica 14-50 fourthirds lens. It was my first cam that could do video.

Years later, I have now shot several concert (live or production) video's, up to 10 cam (mainly P4K), 3 manned cams. I currently have 3 fourthirds lenses (adapted to m43) and 8 mft lenses and 14-15 Samsung T5 ...

The GX85 still serves (mainly photographs, or as a fourth cam when I am in a pinch).

So, a big THANK YOU to Andrew.

Without getting into video for music, the last two years would have been a personal disaster ...

[Tim Sewell]

I've arrived late to this party, having taken delivery today of a pristine used GX80. After reading this whole thread I'm raring to go with some testing down at the beach this evening!

[Marcio Kabke Pinheiro]

GX80 works wonderfully with the @BTM_Pix hack to get Cinelike-D. When I had one, used it with Leeming Lut for Cinelike-D and the colors were amazing.

[kye]

12 hours ago, Tim Sewell said:

I've arrived late to this party, having taken delivery today of a pristine used GX80. After reading this whole thread I'm raring to go with some testing down at the beach this evening!

Welcome to the club - these things are great little cameras!!

What sort of subjects are you going to use it for, and what lenses etc are you planning on using?

I bought mine to be a second/time-lapse/backup camera to my GH5 for travel and for at-home for my "Go Shoot" project which is just trying to get out of the house and go shoot little adventures / days out / etc.

In terms of lenses, I think there's a few ways I'm intending to use it.  

• The first is with the 15mm F8 lens-cap lens for something truly portable but this only works outside during the day, or the 14mm F2.5 for a small but more capable setup.  
• The second is with a modern zoom for flexibility of getting shots as they present themselves, like my 12-35mm f2.8 or the 12-60mm f2.8-4 which I'd love to buy (for the extra reach).
• The third is to go with primes and shoot more intentionally, like the 7.5mm F2, 17.5mm F0.95, 50mm F1.4 trio.
• The fourth is to go a bit vintage with a single prime, like a 28mm F2.8 with a speed booster (making it a 43mm FF equivalent lens).
• The fifth is to go for a vintage zoom, using my Tokina 28-70mm F3.5-4.5 with speed booster (making it a 43-110mm F5.5-7 FF equivalent lens).

I do like the idea of using vintage glass on it because it softens the 4k which is a bit sharp for my tastes.

The idea of all the various lens options etc was to make me excited to go out and shoot but also to use the outings as a test-bed for styles of shooting and lens choices and experimentation in editing and colour grading etc.  The only way to get good at making films is to make films, and to make lots of them, and to try stuff and learn from what works and what doesn't.

The Cine-D hack is really good too - if you haven't got that in there already it's highly recommended.  The CineD profile is actually quite reminiscent of the colours that an Alexa would give you.  Not the same, of course, but they both push a 'correct' image in the same sorts of directions and do the same sorts of desirable colour things.  
If you're not keen on the hack, the Natural profile is actually quite similar to the CineD profile in that it has a different flavour but is still employing the same nice colour treatments that the CineD and Alexa colour science do, and makes a great base to tweak in post if you're keen to customise the colours.