Am I going to regret Panasonic GX8?

[Flavio]

Hi everyone!

I've just sold my Nikon D610.
Now I'm trying to decide which mirrorless to buy.
I'm strugling to decide between the Fuji X-t20 and the Panasonic GX8... well I'm leaning towards the GX8 because of the weather sealing, full articulated screen, articulated viewfinder... BUT its a micro4thirds, small sensor... not so good for lowlight photos, wider DOF, low ISO capabilities...

Am I going to miss the blury background from the D610?
Am I going to notice a tremendous diference in image quality?

Help would be much apreciated!

Thanks in advance to all!
Best regards,
Flávio.

 

[Fujidave]

I own the X-T20 and totally love it, the screen flips out so you look down on it. It`s small and very light weight, yes it is not WR but it is a hell of a camera.
PS: IQ is fantastic too.

 

[jcdeboever]

I wouldn't go out in the rain with any camera, weather sealed or not. Incidental is OK but not like, oh, it's raining out today, I'm going out to shoot.

 

[Jeff15]

I can recommend the Lumix G9. Being a former Nikon DSLR photographer I can tell you that you will not be disappointed with image IQ. Good luck with your choice

 

[ac12]

My feeling is that you will adapt to whatever gear you have. Yes it may have differences from your old system, but you either accept it or work around it.

But plan well to minimize some of the differences and take advantage of the new system.

• Get the m43 camera with the larger 20MP sensor, rather than the smaller 16MP sensor.
• Get the camera that will give you the level of control that you want.
  • In the Olympus world, it is the M10 at the bottom, then the M5, then the M1 at the top.
• Lenses
  • Does either m43 or Fuji have a long FAST lens that can give shallow DoF, and that you can afford?
    • Example, Olympus has a 75mm f/1.8, but it is a $900 USD lens.
      There is a more affordable 45mm f/1.8 at $400 USD.
  • Does the Panasonic/Olympus m43 lens lineup have the lenses that you want?
    • While m43 is supposed to be interchangeable, some Olympus lens functions won't work on Panasonic cameras, and the same the other way around.
• IS
  • Olympus is in-body, Panasonic is in-lens. But some newer Panasonic have in-body IS.
    • The issue is if you get a Panasonic without in-body IS, and you put an Olympus lens on it, you have no IS.

There may be things that just do not work in the target format, if so you may have to get a FX body and that 1 lens for that specific shoot.

Example, in the DX world, there is NO equivalent of the Nikon FX 70-200 f/2.8 VR pro lens. The 55-200 is a consumer grade lens. So you either go up to FX, or down to the Olympus 40-150 f/2.8 or Panasonic 35-100 f/2.8 m43 lens. So as dumb as it sounds, that one lens is pushing me to get a FX body. ​

 

[Flavio]

I can recommend the Lumix G9. Being a former Nikon DSLR photographer I can tell you that you will not be disappointed with image IQ. Good luck with your choice

Thanks for the reply Jeff, which dslr did you have?

 

[Flavio]

I wouldn't go out in the rain with any camera, weather sealed or not. Incidental is OK but not like, oh, it's raining out today, I'm going out to shoot.

Thanks for your reply. I understand your point, but I shoot a lot by the sea, so I think WS is important...

 

[Jeff15]

I can recommend the Lumix G9. Being a former Nikon DSLR photographer I can tell you that you will not be disappointed with image IQ. Good luck with your choice

Thanks for the reply Jeff, which dslr did you have?

Nikon D7200

 

[jcdeboever]

I wouldn't go out in the rain with any camera, weather sealed or not. Incidental is OK but not like, oh, it's raining out today, I'm going out to shoot.

Thanks for your reply. I understand your point, but I shoot a lot by the sea, so I think WS is important...

Well then in regards to Fuji, you would need to go with an XT2 which is smaller than a DSLR but a little bigger than the XT20. The lenses need to have the WR designation for a total weather resistant system. I think the glass Fuji is putting out is some of the best glass in the world but they are not cheap. Image quality is definitely not an issue. Low light is not an issue. I can't speak to the M43 system other than I looked at them prior to moving from Nikon to Fuji. They were just too small or felt wrong in my huge hands. Even the XT20 felt strange. Soon as I picked up the XT2 and the X-Pro 2, I knew it was something I could work with. I bought both eventually. You should consider the desired focal lengths because the WR zoom glass can be quiet heavy in comparison to a M43 zoom.

 

[ac12]

I wouldn't go out in the rain with any camera, weather sealed or not. Incidental is OK but not like, oh, it's raining out today, I'm going out to shoot.

Thanks for your reply. I understand your point, but I shoot a lot by the sea, so I think WS is important...

Unless you are going to get hit by a wave, water droplets are and have never been a problem for me. Though it depends on how much water droplets you get hit with from the wave. I did not go where I would get sprayed by the waves.
More of a problem is to CLEAN the salt water off the camera so that the salt does not corrode any metal that it lands on.

 

[Derrel]

It does look like the GX8 is vastly worse than the Nikon D610 in terms of High ISO and low-light performance. Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX8 vs Nikon D610 | DxOMark

I own a D610, and the High-ISO performance of that model is really impressive. The 2,925 ISO rating score it earns on DxO Mark is quite good. The GX8 earns a score of 806 for High ISO performance, which is not very good.

STILL, however, the GX8 offers the dual-IS capability, of using either in-body stabilization, or in-lens stabilization, and it is a small and compact camera that you'll be able to carry without hassles.

You'll adapt to the camera and lenses. I think in most cases, the blurred background effect is over-emphasized in many types of photography; for many years, the desire for MORE things to be in-focus was always the primary goal, and so, I think the m4/3 sensor format will be a net plus.

Additionally, I think the 4:3 image aspect ratio is, in general, a better aspect ratio than 3:2 is, so that too is a net plus for the Panasonic.

 

[Flavio]

I wouldn't go out in the rain with any camera, weather sealed or not. Incidental is OK but not like, oh, it's raining out today, I'm going out to shoot.

Thanks for your reply. I understand your point, but I shoot a lot by the sea, so I think WS is important...

Well then in regards to Fuji, you would need to go with an XT2 which is smaller than a DSLR but a little bigger than the XT20. The lenses need to have the WR designation for a total weather resistant system. I think the glass Fuji is putting out is some of the best glass in the world but they are not cheap. Image quality is definitely not an issue. Low light is not an issue. I can't speak to the M43 system other than I looked at them prior to moving from Nikon to Fuji. They were just too small or felt wrong in my huge hands. Even the XT20 felt strange. Soon as I picked up the XT2 and the X-Pro 2, I knew it was something I could work with. I bought both eventually. You should consider the desired focal lengths because the WR zoom glass can be quiet heavy in comparison to a M43 zoom.

Thanks for the reply! I've been watching reviews of the XT2 and I think that your suggection is correct ;-) Weather sealed, great pic quality and I think the little joystick to select the focus point is going to be really useful! Do you think the XT2 is to big to be a travel camera? Thanks again! ;-)

 

[ac12]

Flavio,

It all depends on how much space you have and how much weight you want to carry.
I traveled with a Nikon F2 + 3 lenses. Almost any m43 kit will be smaller and lighter than that.

If you want to reduce weight, you also have to consider the lens.
A m43 12-40 f/2.8 lens is smaller than a Nikon 24-70 f/2.8, but it is still a big lens.
For travel, where size is a consideration, you may want to drop down to a smaller lens like the 12-60, 14-45 or even 14-42 pancake lens, as your general carry around lens. My plan is the 12-60 and maybe also the 14-42 pancake lenses.

Travel gear is always a compromise of capability vs. size and weight.

 

[beagle100]

I wouldn't go out in the rain with any camera, weather sealed or not. Incidental is OK but not like, oh, it's raining out today, I'm going out to shoot.

Thanks for your reply. I understand your point, but I shoot a lot by the sea, so I think WS is important...

Well then in regards to Fuji, you would need to go with an XT2 which is smaller than a DSLR but a little bigger than the XT20. The lenses need to have the WR designation for a total weather resistant system. I think the glass Fuji is putting out is some of the best glass in the world but they are not cheap. Image quality is definitely not an issue. Low light is not an issue. I can't speak to the M43 system other than I looked at them prior to moving from Nikon to Fuji. They were just too small or felt wrong in my huge hands. Even the XT20 felt strange. Soon as I picked up the XT2 and the X-Pro 2, I knew it was something I could work with. I bought both eventually. You should consider the desired focal lengths because the WR zoom glass can be quiet heavy in comparison to a M43 zoom.

Thanks for the reply! I've been watching reviews of the XT2 and I think that your suggection is correct ;-) Weather sealed, great pic quality and I think the little joystick to select the focus point is going to be really useful! Do you think the XT2 is to big to be a travel camera? Thanks again! ;-)

maybe it's not too big but mirrorless and "pancake" lens are definitely better for lightweight travel
www.flickr.com/photos/mmirrorless

 

[Flavio]

Hi everyone!
Yesterday I went to my local photo store, held the fuji x-t2... and I was a bit disapointed with the weight and size :-o
It felt a bit heavy and not as slim as I antecipated... then I held the Sony A6500, and I think that's the size I was aiming for, any thoughts on the Sony A6500?

Thanks a lot for the help!
Best Regards.