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

[Fredrik Lyhne]

I second that the mini Panny zooms are great for the price and size. Havent tested them on my GX85 yet, but here is a couple of shots with the GM1 and the 35-100mm.

 

[7 Lakes]

Lumix GX80 + a vintage lens. Highly cropped photo. No sharpness in post. Press on the photo to see true colors and detail.

[markr041]

Most museums do not allow tripods, monopods or gimbals (or selfie sticks). So camera/lens stabilization is essential. A museum video captures the experience of being at a museum - you see the exhibits, the space itself, and the people. Getting the colors right, for the art, is also essential. So, a good test for a camera. One oddity here is that the space was sunlit from above (skylights), and the sun was moving in and out of clouds - so the light changes in some shots. It's not the camera. Part of the true experience.

 

[John Matthews]

18 hours ago, 7 Lakes said:

Lumix GX80 + a vintage lens. Highly cropped photo. No sharpness in post. Press on the photo to see true colors and detail.

Really nice shot. Great colors.

[7 Lakes]

7 hours ago, John Matthews said:

Really nice shot. Great colors.

Thank you. Little corrections were made only for contrast and shadows (down) in post. After a little practice with the camera, I think, this could even be done in the camera, after tweaking the curve.

[7 Lakes]

Ok, here is the cropping of the previous photo.

[Buckster]

went to park with daughter this afternoon

what an amazing little camera the GX80 is - the IQ is stellar both for photos and videos - I'm really impressed

the photo quality far exceeds that of my G6 - I'm even enjoying the 12-32 now ......

[mechanicalEYE]

 

[jase]

The only way to get a AF lens that is NOT fly-by-wire on the GX80 would be a Canon EF lens with a focal reducer, that has electronical contacts like the metabones speed booster, right?

There is no native m43 lens that is not fly-by-wire and there is no other system with AF lenses that can be adapted on m43, is there?

[John Matthews]

25 minutes ago, jase said:

The only way to get a AF lens that is NOT fly-by-wire on the GX80 would be a Canon EF lens with a focal reducer, that has electronical contacts like the metabones speed booster, right?

There is no native m43 lens that is not fly-by-wire and there is no other system with AF lenses that can be adapted on m43, is there?

Not sure if that's quite right. Do you mean Canon EF mount compatible? I believe the Sigma lenses (18-35, 50-100 F1.8) work, but in quirky ways... either IS working and no AF or vis-versa. Metabones lists the lenses that work on their site- refer to that. None of them will be DUAL IS enabled; and I think the challenge will be making sure that the correct focal length is communicated to IBIS, especially working with zooms. For example, the Sigma 18-35 used at 23.5mm would need to communicate: 23.5(current focal length) x 2.22(GX80 crop in 4k) x .63(speedbooster XL reducer). I'd buy from Amazon so you can send it back and please tell us what you think.

The AF on all these speedbooster/lens combos are not the same level of performance as native mount lenses. I doubt that I'll ever go this route. I'd rather have good AF and slightly less DOF- low light isn't a problem for me anymore.

The MFT lenses, as far as I know, all use fly-by-wire... though some of them are so good at it that I'd challenge someone to tell the difference.

[jase]

Yes, i meant EF-mount compatible. As far as i know there is no any other mount for which an AF-compatible focal reducer or adapter exists(?)

I know that AF is not comparable to native lenses nor that dual IS works, but i just hate fly by wire lenses, i have never found one that gave me the ability to smoothly do a focus pull as on a manual lens (or on a canon ef lens). Which native m43 lenses have a good manual focus feel according to your opinion?

[Inazuma]

1 hour ago, jase said:

Yes, i meant EF-mount compatible. As far as i know there is no any other mount for which an AF-compatible focal reducer or adapter exists(?)

I know that AF is not comparable to native lenses nor that dual IS works, but i just hate fly by wire lenses, i have never found one that gave me the ability to smoothly do a focus pull as on a manual lens (or on a canon ef lens). Which native m43 lenses have a good manual focus feel according to your opinion?

The Olympus lenses that have a clutch focus are the closest you'll get to a manual focus feel. They have hard stops and the rotation of the ring lines up with exact distances. The main difference is that if you turn the ring quickly, the focus will snap to the new distance. 

[jase]

Not really @Inazuma. I had the Oly 12mm 2.0 and as soon as you use the clutch focus, the lens will "jump" as soon as you get to one of the distance markers.. at least this lens is even worse for a smooth focus pull.

[Inazuma]

15 minutes ago, jase said:

Not really @Inazuma. I had the Oly 12mm 2.0 and as soon as you use the clutch focus, the lens will "jump" as soon as you get to one of the distance markers.. at least this lens is even worse for a smooth focus pull.

On my 17mm it is fairly smooth unless you turn it quickly

[sanveer]

I am on the fence wrt to buying the Panasonic GX85 or the Sony A6300. Here the Sony is available (while the GX85 isn't), and it costs as much as the Panasonic would. Prices are all erratic around here (the Rode Video Mic X costed as much as the NTG2 here, a little while ago, and if it didn't have those horrible 9V Batteries and such a crazy wide pickup pattern, I would have probably picked it up).

I hate the fact that the Sony does not have touchscreen (have become used to that), and that it overheats. My city isn't too hot, but I have traveled for film work to places that go above 40 Degrees Centigrate (upto 46-47). The Sony could almost certainly explode. It may even injure people around.

Also, the Post Focus and Dual Stabilization seems pretty stellar. One can easily add upto 4 stops, which can be great for landscape or non-moving subjects. It makes up well for not having very high ISO.

I dunno how many people use 24MP photos. 16 seems sufficient for almost all purposes to me. I know a lot of film people who use Canon 5Ds and they crop a lot, so the extra megapixels help them.

Also, I wonder what lens has Optical Stabilisation and is reasonably fast (and not too expensive) for the Panasonic GX85. I may do some night videos. I like the older Leica 25mm f1.4 for the look and bokeh (it doesn't overdo the Leica boken effect like the 42.5mm), but it doesn't have stabilization in the lens

[Inazuma]

58 minutes ago, sanveer said:

I am on the fence wrt to buying the Panasonic GX85 or the Sony A6300. Here the Sony is available (while the GX85 isn't), and it costs as much as the Panasonic would. Prices are all erratic around here (the Rode Video Mic X costed as much as the NTG2 here, a little while ago, and if it didn't have those horrible 9V Batteries and such a crazy wide pickup pattern, I would have probably picked it up).

I hate the fact that the Sony does not have touchscreen (have become used to that), and that it overheats. My city isn't too hot, but I have traveled for film work to places that go above 40 Degrees Centigrate (upto 46-47). The Sony could almost certainly explode. It may even injure people around.

Also, the Post Focus and Dual Stabilization seems pretty stellar. One can easily add upto 4 stops, which can be great for landscape or non-moving subjects. It makes up well for not having very high ISO.

I dunno how many people use 24MP photos. 16 seems sufficient for almost all purposes to me. I know a lot of film people who use Canon 5Ds and they crop a lot, so the extra megapixels help them.

Also, I wonder what lens has Optical Stabilisation and is reasonably fast (and not too expensive) for the Panasonic GX85. I may do some night videos. I like the older Leica 25mm f1.4 for the look and bokeh (it doesn't overdo the Leica boken effect like the 42.5mm), but it doesn't have stabilization in the lens

I have both cameras and I'm going to do a post about this at some point but basically the decision really should come down to what you will find more useful: 5 axis stabilisation or fast C-Af. There's a lot more points to make about the subject but like I said I will probably do a write-up some time. 

[sanveer]

47 minutes ago, Inazuma said:

I have both cameras and I'm going to do a post about this at some point but basically the decision really should come down to what you will find more useful: 5 axis stabilisation or fast C-Af. There's a lot more points to make about the subject but like I said I will probably do a write-up some time. 

Wow. I'll be really looking forward to that one. I read a few user reviews of the GX85, and US users said that they got almost or over 1 hour, with the camera, until the battery drained. The time limit is only applicable for Europe. 

Anyways, I am eagerly awaiting for the review. 

[mercer]

So, about 2 months ago I was ready to sell off a lot of my lenses and my few cameras and purchase this little guy. As I was patiently waiting for it to be released, my short screenplay turned out better than I expected and I happened upon some videos from the newly released BMMCC.

Since my script requires a fair amount of slow motion, I opted for the higher DR and 10bit color than higher resolution 4K and 5axis stabilization of the GX85...

Even with the learning curve, I am happy with my choice. But I have a few smaller projects that have a more run and gun nature and the BMMCC is a lot, but it isn't a run and gun camera.

I've also seen some amazing videos from you guys, with the GX85, with fantastic color, in some ways better than previous Panasonic cameras and in a lot of ways more Canon like. 

So while I was getting acclimated with the BMMCC, I have missed out on a lot of the discussion regarding this little beast...

Needless to say, I have a few questions that may be answered quicker than me reading 28 pages of forum discussion... If someone would be so kind?

1. How is the IBIS with non ois lenses?

2. When I had my G7, I occasionally used my Sigma 19 & 30mm 2.8 lenses. The AF button worked like a charm for quick set ups. From memory, the GX85 does not have a dedicated AF button, but can one be assigned to one of the FN buttons?

3. I have recently become interested in stills photography, but now lack a camera to shoot with, so is micro 4/3rds a viable stills camera as well... Specifically the GX85's raw capabilities?

So since this would truly be a hybrid camera for me, can you guys recommend it, or would something like a Nikon D5500, with its aps-c sensor and mic input be a better hybrid option?

[John Matthews]

This has already been posted on this thread and I wish they'd tested the video AF on a tripod.

 

[sanveer]

30 minutes ago, John Matthews said:

This has already been posted on this thread and I wish they'd tested the video AF on a tripod.

 

I had seen this one. Though, it's nice to see it again. Matthew tests stuff quite well. Though, I find the CameraLabs.com photos to be some of the sharpest out there. Thanks for posting this. 

I wish someone would hack the GX85, and get VLog and CinelikeD on it. Apart from log profiles and a mic input jack, it seems to be perfect for the price.