Warning about Panasonic g85/80 & lens

[jonpais]

6 hours ago, Michael Ma said:

Well,I heard these problems wouldn't have existed in the past if people bothered to turn off the stabilization.  Too bad people kept trying to use it forcing Panasonic to unnecessarily fix something meant for photos and still shots.  All joking aside, these in body stabilization systems are still no match for a gimbal.  People are trying to push the IBIS far out of what it was meant for.

I think the most common test that I see online when a new camera with IBIS comes out is people start walking with their cameras.  I bet Panasonic engineers would say "Whoa, hold on there cowboy.  What in the world gave you the impression that you can walk with the camera?  It's made for careful pans and still shots."

First of all, even though I watched the video on my iPod, it was quite thorough and informative. The reviewer also demonstrates that if you have some interesting movement or subject that holds your interest, the camera shake is not always so obvious. In the real world, I would never just run up and down the street to see how steady the horizon is. ? And I agree with Michael, I don't see IBIS or electronic stabilization replacing gimbals any time soon, but they can help get even smoother looking shots when used in combination with a handheld stabilizer. 

[Michael Ma]

11 hours ago, Chris Oh said:

so, kinda back on topic. Would the issues on this video before a firmware update on the GX85? I am totally confused now.

fast forward to 4:30

 

and if so, would Panasonic do the same thing for G85? Or, is this just a stunt to sell more GH5?

Thanks so much for this info by the way. I was literally on my way out the door to the airport when i noticed that the gx85 was still on firmware v1.0.  Now rocking v1.2.  Would have never caught it if you didn't mention it. 

[Orangenz]

First impressions of playing with G85 along with the GH4 and GX85 today:

Noise. The GH4 is silent. The G85 is quieter than GX85. Maybe just because the body on the G85 offers more insulation, but the GX85 ibis "noise" was quite a bit louder. Now, I didn't notice this noise at all in real world filming earlier with the GX85 so the chance of noticing the sound from the G85 seems highly unlikely. In fact, I wonder how you would record the noise unless you tape a mic onto the camera body and block outside noise getting to it by covering it with tape. The noise is not the lens. It is coming from in the body. 

2nd, the stabilisation, well I'll put some of my recorded files together and see. My first impression, before examining the files, is that the G85 IBIS is definitely superior for holding the shot steady. For very slow pans it also produces incredibly stable shots. I think it did start bouncing around a bit more under more vigourous panning but I think this is a result of the better IBIS at each end of the movement. So maybe in video mode they might tweak the settings in the future but it's not a video deal breaker even like it is. 

Focus speed - instant. Shutter noise - silent? Definately wow factor there. Handling - very nice. Better placement of play button. Better grip, especially thumb location. 

[Orangenz]

And after doing a little shooting with them, mostly 100-400mm and 12-35:

G85: I can’t hear any camera noise on the audio tracks from any of the cameras. It would take a very quiet environment I think.

The IBIS on the G85 seems quite superior to the GX85 but... sticky pans. I would prefer to buy the G85 though.

A point was made about rotation around the vertical axis. I'm not sure if I agree now. The angle the camera moves through using this zoom lens is really insignificant. Plus, there is no way you would hold this combo out from your body doing a pan. 

 

[Orangenz]

It takes a bit to spot the the weird movements but when you see them you can't unsee them. Hard to understand this as "working as intended" but will be great for photos and non-panning video.

 

[ThomHaig]

I actually had a go with a G85 in a shop on the weekend.  The guys at the shop were very helpful and let me test it out with my metabones adapter. I used the metabones EF XL with a canon 50mm, and normally shooting video handheld on my G7 without stabilisation, I wouldn't expect to get anything usable, so I was impressed it did such a good job to remove all hand jitters, and the shot became a pleasing, gentle drift. I didn't really put it through it's paces regarding how it dealt with pans, which everyone is calling it out on.

One pitfall I noticed of the camera that I haven't seen too muchis the rolling shutter. I thought it was terrible! Anyway, the guys at the let me put a memory card in there, so I can show you what I mean. I'm pretty sure the G7 beats the G85 on this front.

 

[jonpais]

Yeah, but who pans that fast when shooting anyhow?

[Grimor]

 

[Orangenz]

Not listed as Social Media Approved account?

[Grimor]

Don't know . Someone posted it in Dpreview forum...

[Orangenz]

Ok have checked with Panasonic and it's legit.   From the sounds of it they have already figured it out, fully confirmed from factory end. Just have to check all the other code (you know, you change one thing, have to check how everything else is affected) before announcing it and putting it together in a firmware update. So very good news, well done Panasonic for keeping the ear to the community!

[Cinegain]

21 hours ago, jonpais said:

Yeah, but who pans that fast when shooting anyhow?

True, but cars don't magically slow down either.

@Grimor, great news! Matt Frazer and the Panasonic US team always show they listen and care. Then they'll have to pull some strings to actually get something going overseas, but they really come through for us! I think they're the main reason we've seen features added on the GH4.

[Hanriverprod]

Panasonic issued firmware update for g85 stabilization. Hope it helps.

http://www.43rumors.com/panasonic-releases-firmware-updates-for-the-g80-and-the-gh4/

http://av.jpn.support.panasonic.com/support/global/cs/dsc/download/fts/index2.html

[jonpais]

Reader Peter Kent had this to say over at 43 Rumors:

I've been testing Ver 1.1 on the G85 for the last 30 mins and it is much improved; I now consider the G85's IBIS usable for video recordings.

It's not perfect and I'm not sure if it's as good as the GX85 because I no longer have access to one but it does not look bad at all.

Supposedly the Em1-II is like using a stabilizer or tripod, I am not seeing those results with the G85 and Ver 1.1 but I am also not using a Dual IS lens. I still see a little shake sometimes and I've seen one or two jumps but the jumps are very smoothed out now and I no longer find them distracting.

I'm now wondering whether the GX85 might not be the better option, especially now that I'm not even sure whether the G85 is compatible with my Speedbooster. ?

[jonpais]

Tom Haig says the Metabones XL works on the G80, so that's great news.

[jonpais]

43 Rumors posted a video showing that the IBIS still sticks when panning with the Leica DG Vario Elmar 100-400mm f/4.0-6.3 lens, but who cares - i'd never spend $1,800 for that crap lens anyhow. If I were a sports or nature photographer, I would however invest in the gorgeous Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 300 mm f/4.0 ED IS PRO, whose image stabilization reaches a remarkable 4.5-4.7 EV, according to LensTip.com.

#I'mnotafanofuniversalzooms

Edit: I should add, in all seriousness, that a good tripod is worth its weight in gold, and I can highly recommend the iFootage Wild Bull T7 carbon fiber tripod. I've been using it for a while now, and it is sturdy as hell, handsome enough that it gets nods of approval from people on the street, and is able to handle up to 40 kg payload.