1st Post: Just Received A Panasonic Lumix G DMC-GX85W

[Thomas Envision]

Hello There! I just received a Panasonic Lumix G DMC-GX85W mirrorless micro four thirds body with the following items:

1. Panasonic Lumix G Vario 12-32mm lens / F3.5-5.6 ASPH. / MEGA O.I.S. / MEGA S.O.I
2. Panasonic Lumix G Vario 45-150mm lens / F4.0-5.6 ASPH. / MEGA O.I.S. / MEGA S.O.I
3. EMART LED Video Light Model LED-120B, which is attached to the Hot Shoe
4. Fotomate M-046 Tripod

I only want this camera to be geared up for photographing very small mushrooms and some larger species of fungi. I have no experience with professional or sophisticated photography. I have tried lots of settings, but my photos are pathetic. The settings on this camera are not super intuitive, and I could use some very basic assistance on how to adjust some of the most important settings.

I think I need a much better macro lens, but I happen to be in South America in a somewhat remote area, and I don't know what my limited options are. Can you recommend a better lens? What settings might I try with the current gear I possess? What tripod would be best? Please note that my hands are always "shaky." I also have not yet figured out how to increase the Depth Of Field. When searching both manuals for this feature, nothing helpful could be found.

I have been running Linux Mint with GIMP for simplistic level additional photo editing.

 

[PJM]

Congratulations on your recent acquisition. And welcome to the forum.

I can't personally provide any useful advice in this area but I'm sure others here can.
Best of luck.

 

[Thomas Envision]

Thank you for the warm welcome! Cheers! Hopefully I posted this in the right place.

 

[Jeff15]

Hello and welcome, happy new camera....

 

[Thomas Envision]

Hello There!

 

[jeffashman]

Howdy and welcome! Show us some of your shots. We have some experienced macro togs in TPF and I'm sure they will gladly help!

 

[Thomas Envision]

Thank you for the welcome. Attached are two images I just took. I can't push in on these mushrooms.

 

[jeffashman]

The Beginners Forum is a great place to ask those questions, even for non-beginners. You could also post your pictures in the General photo forum and ask for critique and suggestions. I don't think either of the lenses you have are macro lenses. Dedicated Lumix macros run from $300 to $1300 it looks like, with both pre-owned and new offerings. The Panasonic Lumix G Macro 30mm f/2.8 ASPH. MEGA O.I.S. Lens looks like that would be ok for what you are doing.

 

[aussirose]

G'Day Thomas. Welcome


I have a 60mm macro for my Canon 80D. So I totally recommend that you buy a dedicated prime macro for your Lumix. You can of course get closer to your subjects using the lenses that you already have by switching to manual mode and manually focusing, however a prime macro lens will do the job better. Tip for using macro lens is to move your body backwards and forwards to get best focus. That was the thing that took me the longest to get used to. But now I love my 60mm macro. What you also need to look for is the minimum focusing distance as you will want to get as close as you can to your subjects.

So I did a google search for one that would suit your camera and came up with the Olympus Digital ED 60mm f2.8 macro. It has a minimum focusing distance of 7.5.

Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 60mm f/2.8 Macro Lens

Buy Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 60mm f/2.8 Macro Lens featuring Micro Four Thirds System, 120mm (35mm Equivalent), Aperture Range: f/2.8 to f/22, One Extra-Low Dispersion Element, Three High Refractive Index Elements, ZERO Lens Coating, 1:1 Magnification, 7.5" Min. Focus, Movie & Still Compatible...

www.bhphotovideo.com

I hope this helps.
Cheers, Ann.

 

[Thomas Envision]

G'Day Thomas. Welcome


I have a 60mm macro for my Canon 80D. So I totally recommend that you buy a dedicated prime macro for your Lumix. You can of course get closer to your subjects using the lenses that you already have by switching to manual mode and manually focusing, however a prime macro lens will do the job better. Tip for using macro lens is to move your body backwards and forwards to get best focus. That was the thing that took me the longest to get used to. But now I love my 60mm macro. What you also need to look for is the minimum focusing distance as you will want to get as close as you can to your subjects.

So I did a google search for one that would suit your camera and came up with the Olympus Digital ED 60mm f2.8 macro. It has a minimum focusing distance of 7.5.

Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 60mm f/2.8 Macro Lens

Buy Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 60mm f/2.8 Macro Lens featuring Micro Four Thirds System, 120mm (35mm Equivalent), Aperture Range: f/2.8 to f/22, One Extra-Low Dispersion Element, Three High Refractive Index Elements, ZERO Lens Coating, 1:1 Magnification, 7.5" Min. Focus, Movie & Still Compatible...

www.bhphotovideo.com

I hope this helps.
Cheers, Ann.

Thank you, Ann! I didn't get notified of this post, and I just saw it now after refreshing the page. Hopefully someone can sell me a new one here in the madness of South America. Cheers to you!

 

[Thomas Envision]

The Beginners Forum is a great place to ask those questions, even for non-beginners. You could also post your pictures in the General photo forum and ask for critique and suggestions. I don't think either of the lenses you have are macro lenses. Dedicated Lumix macros run from $300 to $1300 it looks like, with both pre-owned and new offerings. The Panasonic Lumix G Macro 30mm f/2.8 ASPH. MEGA O.I.S. Lens looks like that would be ok for what you are doing.

Thank you, Jeff! I really appreciate your suggestion!

 

[D Alonso]

Is there a separate thread for Lumix G9?
My specific question concerns: on a Lumix-G9, what's the differences between C(1,23) and P. Specifically, I'm setting up backplane focusing, and should I do it in one of C(1,2,3)s or P?

 

[nerwin]

I been very interested in buying a used GX85. They are so cheap now but still offer wonderful image quality and smaller than my full frame Nikon. This is encouraging me