Get the GX80 at B&H for $797.99
“Creeeek” What was that sound? Was that the sound of the coffin lid closing on Olympus’s hope of ever getting any more video users?
For a long time Olympus have had the best video stabilisation on the market but failed to capitalise on it! The system was far more powerful than any OIS lens, smoother and more effective than any other camera for handheld shooting without a gimbal. An absolute pleasure to use. Goodbye tripod.
Sony haven’t been able to compete with their in-body stabilisation which has to carry a much larger, heavier sensor, and last year’s Panasonic’s system on the GX8 was a disappointment.
Now the GX80 / GX85 has us enthralled – finally that beautiful Olympus performance 5 axis stabilisation, but with 4K image quality.
As you can see from their official website, Panasonic have had a camera in Berlin! Unfortunately, they didn’t give it to me! However there are some early tests floating around and as usually, I will buy mine like you all will, when it hits the shops. In the UK the price is particularly appealing at WEX for the body-only, just ÂŁ509 (here).
The recent shoot from Martin Wallgren on Instagram show that for sweeping handheld movements and locked down shots without a tripod it performs just like the legendary E-M5 or E-M1. This test from Amateur Photographer’s Video Mode shows the effectiveness of the stabilisation with an extremely long telephoto lens.
Both of these early tests tell the same story – 4K, ÂŁ500 body only, Olympus levels of IBIS performance. I am buying one, it’s a brilliant move from Panasonic.
However those who aren’t quite so camera-mad as I am may be wise to wait. I fully expect the Panasonic GH5 to have the same system.
By the way, like the G7 which turned into a G70 in Germany, the GX80 becomes a GX85 here in Berlin. Wonder why?
Now the next move for Panasonic… handling like this please!…
