NEW Panasonic GX85 Announced

A New Panasonic Camera was officially announced today!

A relatively affordable (mid-range): LUMIX GX85

4K Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Camera Kit, 12-32mm Lens, 16 Megapixels, Dual Image Stabilization, Electronic Viewfinder, WiFi - Black

• New 5-axis in-body sensor stabilizer works with LUMIX 2-axis optically stabilized lenses in video and still capture modes using class-leading Dual Image Stabilization.
• Eliminates the need for low-pass sensor filters while boosting fine detail resolving power by nearly 10% over existing 16-Megapixel MFT sensors.
• Shoot lighter and faster with the modern hybrid photography performance of a Mirrorless camera and nearly half the bulk of most DSLRs.
• Thumbwheel controls, integrated viewfinder and touch control enabled tilting LCD maximize control of the photographic experience.
• Capture spontaneous moments with 4K imaging performance in both 4K video and exclusive 4K PHOTO and Post Focus.

What are your thoughts on this?

Do you think the included lens would work well with the WWL-1?

How soon do you think it will be for housing to be available for this (I have a trip in min-June planned)?

I don't know if you are talking about stills or video (for some reason, a lot of people choose to discuss video here instead of the video forum). I would doubt that a housing would be available soon and there might be none, given all of the other Olympus and Panasonic models for which there are housings. I have no idea whether this new "entry level" model is a good choice for video. For stills, I would suggest you take a look at a GX7, EM5, EM5II or EM10. There are housings already out for all of these and because the camera models are not newly introduced, they will likely be a lot less $. You can use whatever Olympus or Pnasonic lens you want on any of those. I believe the WWL-1 does work with he 12-32 zoom.

Panasonic are continually moving forward and introducing higher end features on their budget/midrange cameras. The biggest advantage Olympus had over Panasonic was the IBIS. Now they have an IBIS as good as Olympus AND that now works with 4K video! Olympus just released the PEN-F that still does not do 4K! By the time they release a 4K capable camera, rumoured to be the EM1 mk2 in September, Panasonic will release the GH5, probably with the 5 axis IBIS, 4K 60p and possibly 6k video and photo modes. Olympus like Canon are losing more and more sales to the innovating companies like Panasonic and Sony. Even Nikon is now on board with 4K filtering down even to thier compacts and mid to high end DSLRs. I have an EM1 and EM10, both great cameras which we use underwater in Nauticam housings. But after I got a Panasonic G7 for topside stuff, it is fast becoming my go to camera above water OVER the EM1. Looking forward to September and the possible EM1 mk2 and GH5 face off. I know who I would put my money on.

I'm pretty excited about this camera, and I would be surprised if we don't see UW housings for it... Here's a great video demonstrating that not only does it have 5 axis IBIS but it blows the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II out of the water. That said, these types of test can usually be rigged in the favor of ones strengths vs. weaknesses, but nonetheless it looks very promising.

I have no loyalty or biases as to Panasonic vs. Olympus. I would use whichever brand appeared to offer me the best product for my needs at the time I was buying. As to this camera and underwater use, it appears the max flash sync speed is 1/160.

I'm pretty excited about this camera, and I would be surprised if we don't see UW housings for it... Here's a great video demonstrating that not only does it have 5 axis IBIS but it blows the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II out of the water. That said, these types of test can usually be rigged in the favor of ones strengths vs. weaknesses, but nonetheless it looks very promising.

Looks like the lens on the Oly is longer / extended.

Apart from that it's cool that Pana now has been able to include IBIS.

Let us hope that GH5 will also iclude IBIS.

I have no loyalty or biases as to Panasonic vs. Olympus. I would use whichever brand appeared to offer me the best product for my needs at the time I was buying. As to this camera and underwater use, it appears the max flash sync speed is 1/160.

You are right!

Looks good for video and it has onboard flash but 1/160 is poor. Since i shoot the gx7 am struggling with 1/320 as my rx100 i could shoot 1/2000. I cant Imagine 1/160. Wonder whats the 4k crop with stabiliser on

Looks good for video and it has onboard flash but 1/160 is poor. Since i shoot the gx7 am struggling with 1/320 as my rx100 i could shoot 1/2000. I cant Imagine 1/160. Wonder whats the 4k crop with stabiliser on

I don't know much about that; as I've only ever shot on a TG3 (I guess that is 1/200)... This camera has a hot shoe, would using that somehow allow you to sync any faster (again, that could be a totally ignorant question as I know nothing about this)? Or is the sync speed limited by the shutter speed?

I'm guessing the innards are based on the G7, 1/4000 and 1/160 synchs speed so probably have a similar 2.3 4K crop. Also when shooting macro which I do most of the time at around 1/160 to 1/320 on the EM1, my strobes rarely have to fire more than 1/8 to 1/4 power, so the recharge time is very short. Don't do much wide angle as my local waters can be a bit murky but our next trip is Ningaloo here in WA to see the Whalesharks so I will be using wide angle ambient light.

Sync speed is limited by the mechanical shutter an external bulk head will not change things.

All those cameras with 16Mp sensor have the same sensor of the GX7 including: LX100, G7, GX85 etc. The only camera with a different one is the GX8 and it does not look like the extra megapixels improve the resolution

http://www.eoshd.com/2016/04/revealed-5-axis-ibis-is-as-powerful-on-the-4k-panasonic-gx80-as-the-olympus-e-m5-ii/

"5 axis IBIS is as powerful on the 4K Panasonic GX80 as the Olympus E-M5 II"

So 5 axis IBIS in the GH5?

Seems Panasonic is using this as a test bed for new technology ahead of the GH5, 5 axis IBIS + 2 dual, the lack of low pass filter etc etc. The GX80/85 or GX7 mk2 as it is in Japan (surely the GX8 is the real GX7 successor??) seems to be an upgrade of the G7 but not enough, i.e. 16MP sensor, downgraded EVF and no weather sealing, to impact GX8 sales. As I have said before, Olympus need to up thier game as thier previous advantage over Panasonic was the IBIS and that has now gone. The G7 is now AU$629 ($475) for the body and will get cheaper now. Olympus still have no 4K and the Pen-F is AU$500 more than the GX8 with same sensor.

Olympus has always been lagging on video. Their priority are stills. Maybe when 4K is mainstream they will come along. Not many people have a 4K set anyway

Yeah, that a common argument... But shooting in 4k provides a lot more flexibility in post (esp. for topside)... For example:

https://fstoppers.com/originals/6-reasons-shoot-4k-video-even-if-you-cant-view-it-yet-77535

The benefits in that post are not really practical except crop and taking stills out

1. If your camera has full sensor read out the picture does not have anymore resolution once you downscale it

2. Panning is a problem as all camera have even more problem doing it smoothly

The parts based on crop and stills I agree but have yet to find a lot of use. Maybe underwater macro

Olympus has always been behind in video they produce cameras for stills and need to license the rest, they will not invest to catch up any time soon in my view

Everyone had same argument when 1080p first came out over 720p but you want a camera as future proofed as you can.

Also Panasonic are really pushing thier prices down. All prices shown are my local high street prices in AU$. Sony and Nikon only have 4K on higher end cameras. The Pany GX8 body only, $1099 is cheaper than the Sony RX100 mk4, $1199 and the a6300, $1499. The G7 is half the price at $629! Even thier super zoom compacts TZ110 with 1" sensor at $849 and TZ80 at $529 undercut thier rivals and have 4K. When I replace my EM10 and EM1, which are great cameras, I will want the latest features. The GH5 looks it could be a great replacement if it gets Dual IBIS,4K 60fps 20MP sensor etc.

The argument is based on screen size. Years ago nobody had. 50" tv now its standard. However to see 4K pixel is not just a matter of money you need the space to accommodate 70+ inches. The main benefit of 4K when I watch netflix is bandwidth that is much higher. HD streams run at 3.5 mbps and it shows. Try and compare a 35 mbit bluray though to your 4K and the gap is less. 100 mbps for 4K is not much. The reason why is thrown in is that is cheap to do it uses known codec at a bitrate thats ok for a memory card. The step change will be when the real time encoding moves to HDR and a better codec at 100 mbps. My 4K clip are around 20 mbps in HEVC the camera codec is poor with 4K and performs much worse than HD at half the bitrate. Obviously if you are using an external recorded the story is different but I cant see a great benefit shooting 4K on land and I have gone back to HD 50 mbps offers more dynamic range as far as I can see

In the Cameralabs review of the Sony a6300, he has stills at 100% taken from video shot at 4K , 1080p and 1080p from other video biased cameras. The level of extra detail is massive at 100% but if you watched all videos on a tv would you be able to tell the difference? Probably not. Some people on this forum are obsessed with soft corners in wide angle pictures. If you look at identical subjects taken with lens A to lens B on your iPad they will look the same. However if you zoom in to 100% and pixel peep, lens A is clearly sharper. If you have macro subject A at f5.6 and at f22 from a MFT camera to the casual observer they will look very similar. Pixel peep at 100%, oh no diffraction! Cameras these days live and die on thier spec sheets wether the purchaser uses a feature or not. A lot of macro shooters turn off thier IBIS underwater to save battery life which is generally poor in mirror less cameras. Sony revamped thier A7 cameras within a year to include in camera 4K recording on the R and S mk2 and fitted IBIS across the range as the buyers demand it at that end of the market. Above water with my Pany G7, I tend to use the 4K photo including the 25fps timelapse features more than the 4K video yet.

With Canon's 80D with no 4K, how many new system purchasers (i.e. No lenses yet) will pick the 80D over say a Nikon D7300 if it comes out with 4K in a years time? The life cycle of Canons tends to be 3 years, so the 80D looks outdated already, same goes for the Olympus Pen-F. Also if Olympus don't adopt 4K across the range, more and more people will switch to the equivalent Panasonic model. If my EM1 was stolen tomorrow I would replace it with a GH4 or GX8, sell the EM1 housing and buy a new Nauticam housing for the Panasonic.

Griff got it right. The screen resolution does not show the pixels anyway. You can only see the real difference in resolution if you print or with a 5K screen

Contrast and dynamic range instead show across the board together with color

I sit 8 feet away from my TV in order for my eyes to see the 4K pixels I would need 80" screen ...uhm at this distance though with my 55" I can tell a clear difference with 720p

http://s3.carltonbale.com/resolution_chart.html

By the way the body looks exactly the same of the GX7. Also the specs say flash sync speed less than 1/160