jonpais

Ming Thein does know his lenses.

Sounds like you've already made up your mind then. If it's any help, the AF is still not going to be as good as PDAF, and for serious video work, I wouldn't rely on Panasonic's AF anyhow. And dual IS is only going to add an extra half a stop or so of stabilization: I shoot with non-Panasonic lenses all the time, IS works fine. To me, an extra stop of light is worth more than a 1/2 stop of extra stabilization or whatever. Save your money, spend it on lights or something. My two cents.

Get the Olympus.

I can't recall ever watching a negative review over at Mirror Lessons, but this is as close as it comes. They recommend getting the Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8 or the Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8 instead. Just one reason being, the Leica 12-60 is really only f/2.8 at 12mm, which is why I've been calling it the Leica 12-60mm f/4. Other reasons include onion bokeh balls at the edges of the frame (the bokeh isn't the most attractive I've seen, due to its somewhat busy appearance), poor correction for barrel distortion and vignetting until f/5.6 (read: the apertures you'll be using most often), and high cost (if purchased separately). For those needing the extra reach, the Olympus 12-100mm f/4 is looking like a great value, with superb optics (for a zoom) and only $200 more than the Leica. Incidentally, aside from focal length, the light gathering power of a lens is usually the second consideration when shopping around, but it comes as no surprise that not a single person shooting with it in the videos we've had the privilege of viewing up until now has mentioned the fact that the Leica is not as fast as they would have you believe.

No argument there, Panasonic rules!

I really think the Fuji is good value for the money, considering it is the best built mirrorless camera (aside from Leica) and made in Japan. Panasonic's factories are in China, where wages are much lower. And Olympus charges more ($2,000.00) for their m43 camera, manufactured in Vietnam, which has even lower wages than in China. So I don't think anyone can accuse Fuji of price gouging.

Most expats pay at least $250 for a serviced apartment (a studio), but you can find less expensive expensive housing in Vietnamese neighborhoods. Not very pleasant though, and they aren't furnished and no AC!

When I lived in South Korea, people would look at me like I was crazy if I told them I spent so much as $15.00 for a Korean language book. And in Vietnam, people think I'm rich because I pay $300.00/month in rent. So I guess everything is relative.

But doesn't the GH5 retail for $1,999.00 USD, and the best system lenses: the Leica 42.5mm f/1.2 $1,400.00, the Leica 12mm f/1.4 $1.300.00, the Olympus 25mm f/1.2 $1.200.00, and even the Leica 12-60mm f/2.8-4 purchased separately $1,000.00? A Metabones adapter + Sigma prime can run upwards of $1,600.00 and more. So I don't see much of a difference as far as pricing goes. Of course, you can buy slower, less expensive lenses...

Just playing the devil's advocate here, but neither are Sony's a7 series - but they're used by some of the best photographers in the world. An a7r II and G Master 85mm f/1.4 will set you back almost 5 grand.

Yeah, an ISO dial, shutter speed dial and an aperture ring on the lens - so 1970s! Virtually unusable. I want the camera to get out of my way, even tell me how to compose my pictures. I'm the smartphone generation. No decent X mount adapters either - just 30 or so all metal native lenses made in Japan. And a measly APS-C sensor. Who wants to shoot with a crop sensor camera? Why don't they just let all their employees go and move their factories to Vietnam so they can increase their profit margin? And provide jobs for rice farmers here. Leica wannabes is what they are - so pretentious - aside from Leica, making theirs the best built bodies in the mirrorless universe. Who cares about build quality when I'll be trading the body in every two years anyway. Always bragging about their 80-year history, too. I'll bet anybody with a high school diploma could build a better camera in their mom's basement. And how can they charge $1,600.00 USD for their 50-140mm f/2.8? Sure, it's insanely sharp, has no distortion, 23 elements, ridiculously fast focusing, but come on! It should only be like $100 tops. They're going to fail for sure.

I thought the Bayer sensor in the GF-X was a sign they'd be abandoning X-Trans, but I guess not. Anyhow, I was wrong about IBIS, it's not the sensor, but the X-mount that prevents them from having IBIS. And apparently, they have no plans to introduce IBIS, since it would involve changing both the mount and their lens lineup. So highly unlikely.

I don't think it will be able to have IBIS if they stick with the X-Trans sensor. Edit: it's not the sensor, it's the X-mount.

I don't think you missed anything. I couldn't find similar tests for video AF in their review either.

True, but the sources say it will be the best Fuji APS-C camera for video work. Which could mean anything.

I agree, which is why I often ask myself why so many camera reviewers, who pretty much stay seated in the same position or standing for 30 minutes even use AF. And inevitably there is hunting going on, sometimes just a little, sometimes a lot. There must be a reason for it, it just escapes me.

Hugh Brownstone

Exactly, the scene has difficult lighting, so the photographer should have chosen a different location.

Guess I'm out of luck then.

You are correct, it's one of the worst. Where do they find these zombies, anyway?

For subjects moving toward the camera, it may very well be unusable. What I'm interested in knowing, since I intend to use the camera for vlogging from my home, is whether or not it can even stay focused on me for all of ten minutes. I've even seen Sony and Fuji fail this test, so I'm not getting my hopes up.

Thanks, Stab, but I'm not finding Seetec here in Vietnam. This really is a third world country when it comes to finding camera gear beyond the consumer level. Monitors are in scarce supply. Same goes for LED video lighting.

They say it can be used with the GH4, but that means it will accept 1080p, not 4K. In the menus of the G85, you can set it to Auto, and it will automatically switch to 1080p or 4K. Is there any difference if I get a monitor that only accepts 1080p while I'm recording 4K?

Color balance is way off, skin tones awful; just because someone's doing a test doesn't relieve them of the responsibility of making half-way interesting content. Like over 1/2 the clips we've seen, this guy's not only not a photographer - he's not even a capable technician. I know some here are just interested in tests, and that's all well and good. But I find it disheartening to see such a great camera in the hands of so many mediocrities. I'm not saying I'm all that great either - my color balance is off all the time, maybe my stuff is trifling - but I try. Even the expression on the subject here is like a zombie who doesn't want to be there.

The shop I ordered the Feelworld F7 from says they are out of stock, so I was about to get the FW-760 instead, but the manual says nothing about 4K HDMI support, so I didn't get it. In addition to not having HDMI pass, the ports are on the side rather than on the bottom, which would have made it easier to use.