New Panasonic GX8

[Interceptor121 704]

Finally dpreview published their article on the GX8

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonic-lumix-dmc-gx8-review/

 

The image quality and ISO performance for both JPEG and RAW is slightly worse than the GX7

 

Video resolution at 4K slightly worse than the LX100 and much worse than the Sony RX100 Mark IV

 

Panasonic what happened here? Other issues include shutter shock et co...

[Griff 23]

Shutter shock is a Micro Four Thirds problem and effects most Panasonic and Olympus cameras including the GX7 dependant on lens and shutter speed set. Most things are a trade off, M43 users sacrifice some IQ and battery life for compactness and lighter weight (I have M43 and DSLR underwater equipment). I like size and weight of M43 and that you can review pics in the viewfinder but prefer the faster focusing and battery life of my DSLR.

I think the ultimate underwater camera presently is potentially the Canon 1DX mk2. Full frame, excellent Dual Pixel autofocus for stills and 4K video, good battery life, good lowlight performance, excellent IQ, rugged, widest range of lenses for underwater, the list goes on. However, it's big, heavy and very, very expensive to buy and kit up for underwater.

It's about choosing the best camera for you and the pictures you want to take. I bought a Panasonic G7 mainly for topside 4K video, 4K photo and Post Focus and 25fps time lapse videos (Olympus only do 10 or 15fps time lapse videos in camera and only 5fps 4K time lapse.) The Olympus IBIS and stills performance are better than the G7 though.

Have considered the GX8, which the review does say is a good camera but I might wait for the GH5 announcement, possibly September to see if they can do a big leap in technology over the G7/GX8/GH4.

Edited March 27, 2016 by Griff

[Interceptor121 704]

Mmm except the power zoom lens none of my lenses have problems with the GX7 even the 60mm does fine

[Griff 23]

I hound an on line review of the Panasonic G7 where he tested it with several lenses and many shutter speeds and no shutter shock issues. Wth the GX8 the biggest issues with shutter shock seem to be with the 14-140 zoom.

Olympus have updated their firmware in the EM5 mk2 and EM1 to include zero second delay and electronic first curtain in certain shutter speeds as shutter shock is caused by the shutter closing before opening to expose the photo. I have not noticed any issues on any of my camera and lens combos.

Edited April 2, 2016 by Griff

[insomniac 9]

The WWL-1 is really heavy in water and outside and doesn't have a lens holder for float arm. Plus the CMC has a very short focal length to be useful for videos. I think the combination is more useful for still images currently until they release a float collar for the WWL the in water removal is a bit theoretical

 

 

It looks like the float collar is out... No pictures found on the US sites, but I did find some pics on a Japanese site. What do you guys think (approx. 0.5kg buoyancy in sea water)?

 

 

 

 

[thetrickster 328]

Looks good!

 

 

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[Interceptor121 704]

It does need that lift and I would recommend that to anyone although it may be impossible to remove the lens in water

[thetrickster 328]

I've gone for a 3 carbon arms above the WWL instead.

 

This might compress with depth...?

[Interceptor121 704]

I've gone for a 3 carbon arms above the WWL instead.

 

This might compress with depth...?

Not if it is nautical material like the stix floats. It will be fine down to 40 meters.

 

Need to see if it can be locked to the lens as otherwise when you remove the lens it flies off

[thetrickster 328]

Stix Floats compress at depth, which is why I swapped my original stix floats for carbon arms.

 

But this looks a more elegant solution than my monster rig.

 

 

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[Interceptor121 704]

I have used stix floats and they compress little at 30 meters. Bit more below and would not take them to 60 meters as they would be damaged

The ring on the lens is far better than having massive arms and if it sticks to it you can also remove it in water that would be a real plus

The WWL-1 is a great solution for compact cameras still users and the float ring is a great addition

[insomniac 9]

Uggh, this is so off topic, but I just ran across these images from Fisheye's Facebook page (Posted April 1). I wonder what the final floats will look like, the one I posted earlier in this thread or this one:

 

 

[thetrickster 328]

I prefer those plastic ones you've posted insomniac - I think they would last longer.

 

Also some sort of buoyancy in the handle?

[Interceptor121 704]

Edward told me they were working on an aluminium collar. Maybe this is it? Will add to land weight rather go with the foam

[max81 0]

Hi,

 

the GX8 looks to be a great camera.

In particular it seems it can get out a still from a 4K video . The still I guess is 8Mpixel resolution.

I think this is a really cool feature.

Does anyone tried it out underwater?

Any samples?

Also does anyone have underwater still picture to show ?

 

I am looking for a mirrorless camera I am attracted by the sony a6300 but now this Gx8 i attracting...

Do you have any comment about serious pros and cons to help me deciding ?

 

Thank you very much

[Interceptor121 704]

Stills from movies are not very useful as shutter speed is low and lights never strong enough to freeze motion

[thetrickster 328]

The 4KPHOTO mode's on the newer Panasonic's run at a minimum of 1/125 shutter speed, so you can extract good sharp stills, however its a bit of a odd situation.

 

You can't get particularly good stills from the normal movie modes, due to slowish shutter speeds (if you want a filmic look) yet you can't get particularly good video from the 4KPHOTO mode, due to it having a very video look from the high shutter speeds.

[max81 0]

Thanks a lot, I know it is a bit unusual question but I found out to be somehow useful technique in some situation.

I tried with go pro and I ended with a great still but low resolution.

This is why I was thinking to 4k possibility to capture still in some situation.

Clearly it is an strange technique.

 

But this panasonic compare to the sony a6000 or a6300?

 

Any comment?

[Diver4fun 7]

Panasonic is more affordable, has a much better lens selection and has image stabilization (the Gx80/85 has stabilization for 4k video). Panasonic also has the edge in handling/features.

Sony has an advantage in image quality and (much) better autofocus. But it overheats, and you're kinda forced to buy expensive full frame lenses (not for wide angle, for which the sony is probably superior).

As far as I know 4kphoto is designed for action shots. Underwater you need a strobe to freeze motion, so I don't think 4kphoto will be very useful underwater. Might work using a video light.

Edited May 27, 2016 by Diver4fun

[Griff 23]

I have used the 4K photo mode above water for birds etc and it works well as you can set a fast shutter to freeze the action and effectively shoot at 25 or 30fps. Underwater should be possible as long as you have good video lights. For more static subjects full resolution stills shot with strobes will give better results though.