Micro 4/3 Panasonic GX7 review @ Imaging Resource

Here's the thing, I love my Leica M8.2. I have used it for paid work and I love it. But it's getting old and I am not trusting it as much, there is some banding that appears in lower light situations for example, and there are times when I wish I had files larger than 10MB so that the client has the option of larger prints. The biggest thing is the M8.2 cannot handle low light situations very well, I tried taking it to a paid gig to photograph a bar a year ago and it just couldn't handle the low light without a lot of noise. I had to resort to my Canon 7D which got the job done. The other thing is the UV/IR filter, the filter creates unwanted flares and light spots when there is a light source in the frame unfortunately. Very very annoying.

My ideal upgrade would be the M240 (or perhaps M9/M-E) which I would be more than confident I could perform most kinds of photography, paid and personal. But since I can't afford it....

...I was looking at the GX7 particularly since I recently purchased the excellent Voigtlander 17.5mm f/0.95 m43 lens for the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera. It's such a good lens that I've been really wanting to stick it on a capable m43 stills camera. I like the GX7 over the OMD because the GX7 has much better video features, I like the articulating VF and screen, and I also like the way the GX7 looks aesthetically. From the reviews it appears to have decent focus assist which looks like it might be a good alternative to rangefinder focusing. The GX7 also does 1/8000 shutter speed which I think is great. Paired with the f/0.95 Voigtlander and M lenses via an adapter, I could have all the shallow depth of field options I need if necessary.

So either I go with the GX7 if it is up to the task, or I go the other direction and put the money into the standard industry full frame Canon 5DmkIII workhorse which can be had for under $3000. I've never worked with full frame but in the video world, full frame results in better low light performance with less noise and better IQ overall. The 5DmkIII is also a second generation DSLR with video features that has less moire and aliaising artifacts, and I'll never have a client questioning whether why I've turned up to a pro gig with anything other than a pro-looking DSLR (not that anyone's ever questioned the M8.2).

I guess it's really a question of whether the m43 sensor in the GX7 is up to the task - whether it can handle large prints, whether it can handle low light and noise for low light event photography.

That's all that comes to mind at the moment.
 
I actually have the E-PM2! My neighbour lent me his camera to have a play (he also has the OM-D). It doesn't have a viewfinder so I'm not able to fully appreciate it though, especially when using manual focusing with the Voigtlander 17.5mm. I know the camera has focus assist of sorts but the process doesn't feel very organic without a viewfinder. The sensor in the E-PM2 is apparently the same sensor as the OM-D.
 
That's right, the E-PM2 is essentially the same sensor as the E-M5. The GX7 has a new Panasonic sensor but it appears to have very similar IQ measurements to the Sony-based sensors found in the Olympus Micro 4/3 models.
 
I wonder if the GX7's sensor has the filmic high-ISO grain of the Oly 16MP sensor?

Yeah, I know, there are many people who describe their favorite digital cameras as having "film-like grain", but the Oly E-PM2 really strikes me as having that attribute, moreso than any other digital camera I've used.
 
I wonder if the GX7's sensor has the filmic high-ISO grain of the Oly 16MP sensor?

Yeah, I know, there are many people who describe their favorite digital cameras as having "film-like grain", but the Oly E-PM2 really strikes me as having that attribute, moreso than any other digital camera I've used.

I find them VERY similar. I used to have issues - BIG issues - with Panasonic colors and WB. Even shooting raw all the time I used to feel like I had to fight with Pany files to get anything I liked out of them in anything other than sunny outdoor weather. I recently bought a used G5 as a backup body and I immediately had the same issues with it and turned around and sold it within a week or so. But the GX7 doesn't have ANY of that going on. The colors and WB are excellent. Maybe just a touch muted compared to Olympus, but pleasingly so. I like the initial look of the files coming out of that camera in a way I never have with a Pany m43 body before. And, yeah, I'd say the "grain" is just as film like as Olympus. But this is a distinction I see less and less with modern cameras. Once you get up to 16mp or more, the noise is gonna at least be tight, so fairly film like and pleasing up to a point. Unless you really pushed the tri-x, in which case you got golf-ball sized hail like grain. Haven't seen a digital sensor that bad in quite a while...

-Ray
 
There are simply too many cameras that are quite attractive (to me) in the market now. As much as I like the GX7, there are others that I like even more.
 
You can get a used GX7 for $770 or GH3 for $750 at unique photo... They had 5% coupon also... EM1 (or other competition) killed the high gear m43 sales or they were overpriced from the beginning...

Kind of surprised there are already used GX7s. After spending a lot of time with the GX7 and the EM1, they make an amazing pair for those who want two bodies. As great as the EM1 is, the GX7 isn't far off and is a whole lot less money. I don't understand why the EM1 would be almost impossible to keep in stock while the GX7 is already being discounted. If I was financially smart, I'd have waited for the GX7 to come down another few hundred $$, but I actually want to USE it in the meantime, even as it's busy losing all of that value...

This seems to be the pattern with Panasonic lately and while I've certainly understood it with SOME of their models, I sure don't with this one. But maybe enough people have been put off of the brand that they don't even give 'em a chance. I hope they keep making cameras this good but if this continues, I wonder how long they'll be willing to.

-Ray
 
Ashton Kutcher??? I didn't know he knew anything about photography?

Jamie Oliver is a photography nut himself, he insists on using the 5DMkII and 7D cameras to film his shows, as well as the Red camera. And it shows, his shows are always very well produced and the visuals are excellent. So in that sense I can understand when Nikon snapped him up in their ads.
 
Ashton Kutcher??? I didn't know he knew anything about photography?

Jamie Oliver is a photography nut himself, he insists on using the 5DMkII and 7D cameras to film his shows, as well as the Red camera. And it shows, his shows are always very well produced and the visuals are excellent. So in that sense I can understand when Nikon snapped him up in their ads.

What can I say -- American advertisement!

So Jamie Oliver betrayed Canon for Nikon ... turncoat! :)
 
Kind of surprised there are already used GX7s. After spending a lot of time with the GX7 and the EM1, they make an amazing pair for those who want two bodies. As great as the EM1 is, the GX7 isn't far off and is a whole lot less money. I don't understand why the EM1 would be almost impossible to keep in stock while the GX7 is already being discounted.

-Ray

I "played" with a GX7 and a EM1 today at a store... for me the EM-1 is just too close to my DSLR in size and heft, to justify, though the controls are superb. If I was advising someone just getting into serious photography and set on a low-mid Canikon APS set, I would recommend a serious look at this camera. But I "think" I am heading for a 2-camera travel set, my X-2 which handles the wide end, either a Fuji or M43 body with longer prime(s) to handle tight framing and shallow DOF compositions. And for now Fuji lacks the longer primes....

PS: Rant announcement:
Cameras need a new feature: the "set to defaults" button, which would allow camera store staff, who cannot ever know the deep menus of more than a fraction of the equipment they sell, to quickly make sure every floor model has functioning AF, etc. Both the GX7 and EM1 I looked at had weird AF and metering options set by previous staff or customers, likely inadvertently, such that I would have had to read both manuals just to get a sense of basic camera functions.... Not going to happen. But very frustrating when trying to get a basic sense of how they respond....
Rant over....
 
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