jjj

You can see the pricing here:  https://www.lensrentals.com/rent/nikon-z6  It is a pretty expensive rental, but, that's because it is brand new.
I usually don't splurge and rent the 'latest & greatest', and I always buy used or refurbished equipment, but, I was hoping that the Z6 might be the hybrid camera that does a great job at both stills and video, so, I was anxious to handle one.  Reviews are useful, but, the best way to know if a camera will work for you is to have it in your hands.  
I have a D750 that I use for my daughter's swim meets.  I need a FF sensor since some of the pools are not very well lit, and I need a minimum SS of 1/800 to freeze the swimmer's motion.  Before I got the (used) D750, I tried using my u43 gear for swim meets, but, it was just too noisy.  I could get some OK shots if I slowed the shutter speeds down to 1/200 - 1/320, but then the swimmer's arms and legs were always blurred (but sometimes the swim caps were sharp).  A couple years ago I rented a d750 and 70-200/f4 for a league champs swim meet, and was amazed at how mu ch better the results were than with my GH3.  Almost every shot was fine.    BUT....it is impossible to take useful video with the D750.  So, at the next championship meet, I rented a Sony a7r2 and Sony's 70-200/f4.  It was nice to be able to take good video with the a7r2, but, what a let down as far as performance!  It was SLOW AS MOLASSES!  I missed way too many action shots because the camera was buffering and not ready to shoot.  This especially happened if I took a video clip and then wanted to take some stills.  So, after that experience renting the D750 and then the a7r2, I watched e-bay for months till I got a great deal on a D750.  Since then, I have slowly acquired some nice (used) Nikkor glass.  I now own the 70-200/2.8 G VR II, and the 300/f4 PF and they work really well for swim meets.
I was hoping that the Z6 would be able to do as well as the D750 in stills, and also give me great video, in one camera.  I've not done a lot of testing with it yet, just one day.  The video looks quite good, BUT, the AF-C for stills is a huge letdown.  In my opinion, based on some testing I did today, the Z6 will not satisfy my use case of action photography (swimming).  The AF-C is just very poor.  Hopefully, in a year or two Nikon will release a mirrorless camera with great AF-C, or at least one that is as good as the D750, but, right now...   
Sorry to ramble on, but, those are my first impressions.  I'm quite disappointed by the continuous AF on the Z6. 
For a simple AF-C test using [dynamic  area AF], I tried to take a sequence of shots of license plates on passing cars on a residential 25 mph road.  I got very poor results from the Z6.  With my D750, I get almost 100% in focus (except for when the cars are VERY close).  With the Z6, the in focus rate was more like 15-25%.  I tried different AF-C modes like [Wide Area S] and [Wide Area L] and got similar results as with [dynamic area AF].  Very poor rate of shots in focus.  So,  I don't think I would trust the Z6 for action photography?
Apparently that is the same reaction from Gordon at Camerlabs (but his review was of the z7, I was hoping the z6 would have better AF-C)
https://www.cameralabs.com/nikon-z7-review/
As an aside, for AF-S the Z6 did fine, but NOT AF-C.

BREAKING X-T3 NEWS:
Fujifilm has decided to axe their upcoming X-T3 release because Jon is “not feeling it.”
MORE TO COME

Who's gonna make one of those old school Hitler videos with the Panasonic staff reaction to this? 

Received my GX85 last week in time for a Friday wedding and just wanted to share my initial thoughts on the camera (being a GH4 and GX7 owner) and a short teaser film I made for the couple I filmed with the camera on Friday. Heads up: this is the same post I put on personal-view to avoid any duplicate reading time ;-)
Firstly, operationally, this camera with its stabilisation is a gem. For a number of years now, every time I've wanted to go handheld at a wedding I've had to remove my baseplate and attach my Zacuto target shooter and z-finder (I don't keep the Zacuto baseplate on permanently as I value the GH4s flippy screen way too much). Weddings being as they are, this meant I only used my mini rig at strategic times of the day when the switchover meant I wouldn't miss anything. So having it built in meant I could go handheld whenever I wanted; and I did. I had it slung around my neck most of the day, operating my GH4 on tripod and mono as my A Cam and then choosing certain moments to use the GX85. As the day progressed I began using the GX85 more and more and it gave me a photography-like framing freedom to the height and angles I could get to without having to hoist up my beloved monopod or put my tripod down into low leg move. I can see the pitfalls of a device making shooting so easy... you get lazy... but on Friday I felt a freedom and creativity I haven't felt in a long time. I started looking with my eyes more knowing that my gear wouldn't stop me getting into position (and quickly at that).
And the quality of the stabilisation? Well, you can probably already tell from the videos that it's incredible. And where I wouldn't normally go handheld with anything over 25mm on my Zacuto, by the end of the day I had my Nikon 105mm and speedbooster (making it 75mm) and it was fantastic, allowing me to grab shots that normally I'd have to set a tripod up for. And with some practise I felt quite comfortable panning gently with it too, it doesn't come to a hard stop like the Olympus stabilisation seem to, it tapers off nicely.
I won't comment too much on image quality at this stage as I haven't had time to pore over the footage. My initial feeling is that in terms of DR, detail and colour it is on par with the GH4 with a slightly different colour signature. I feel it is definitely less noisy than the GH4 at high ISO (which is a boon for my work, although I'm really not afraid of noise as much as some people) but detail and DR like normal still seem to struggle once you hit 1600. Also, I don't think the slow-mo (50p/100 shutter on a 25p timeline) is as good as the GH4, doesn't seem as fluid. The GH4 has fantastic 50p. Again, please take this with a pinch of salt as I've scanned my footage for all of an hour and never have time or inclination to pixel peep (too busy editing bloody weddings!). It's just my feel.
Now the cons to the camera.... instantly the moment I took it out of the box and put it up to my face I was disappointed. I love the left-side EVF, it means guests can see more of my face and I can smile to put them at ease and more easily talk to the bride and groom if doing any direction. However, that damned left strap lug just sticks into my nose. The GX7 has the correct placement of this lug and I cannot believe Panasonic engineers changed it and then didn't think about the consequences. Anyone else notice this? I want to hold the camera to my nose for additional stabilisation and can't do it comfortably now. I can live with it, but found myself pushing the viewfinder upwards into my eye socket so I didn't have red marks on my nose all day. It's workable, but the GX7 lug placement was perfect.
Secondly, no battery charger included. You have to charge the battery in camera which is less handy when you want to have your second battery on charge while using the first. I do this a lot.
Obviously it's a real shame it doesn't have mic input, but I understand this isn't a pro model. I just have to choose wisely when I use it for my work until the GH5 comes out as audio clips are so important to the way I edit (I use natural, candid audio whenever I can, especially in my longer edits). However, I really will have so much pleasure using it for my work in the meantime, and it is now the perfect personal camera for me too.
So here is a mini teaser video I put together for my bride and groom from Friday. Shots 1, 2 and 4 at 50mm, shots 3 and 5 (cliff ones) at 75mm. Yes, I have slowed them down, but I would be more than happy (and will) use them at normal speed too. The 75mm on the cliff was a bit of a wow moment for me. With the wind the way it was, there is no way I would have been able to get the shot on a monopod that steady, and I would have never been able to get the variety of shots I did if I were using a tripod (there was no time for a tripod anyway). The GX85 is opening my mind up to new possibilities.
All shots straight out of camera, natural w/ -2 contrast, -4 sharpness, -3 NR:
 

Here is what Standard default looks like on a sunny day (NR -2):
To me, that's what I saw, and what I wanted to convey.
If you want something unrealistic with a "look" then you may want to use Natural as a base. But it is not at all clear whether you should also drastically reduce contrast, saturation and sharpness in the camera when you shoot, since altering those in post forces you do it on a highly compressed, 4:2:0 8-bit video. Camera settings, however, are invoked prior to compression.
I think you should get the look you want in the camera (whatever that is), but others seem to want to do more in post based on severely altered from normal settings in the camera. Why not try to get the camera to produce the look you want (there are lots of controls), and then tweak in post from there, rather than trying to get a "blank slate" out of the camera that needs a lot of work in post? No flat setting really mimics RAW video. In any case I am not advocating your videos should look like the one I posted; it is just an example of what one setting produces.

Wow, that's a lot to go through, but I'll do my best to cover your complaints. I  like how there aren't a bunch of 'good job' posts on this forum, posters actually take time to give constructive criticism.

Firstly, while I am a big fan of the FS5, I'm hardly fixated on every shoot I go on. It gives me reliable results (except for the 'flickergate' saga), and it's the tool I've chosen for capturing most TCSTV episodes. I realize that many viewers preferred when we shot the show on more affordable cameras, and I empathize with that. The FS5 just lets me work faster, which is key when I'm shooting and editing an episode a week on my free time. Reviewing the FS5 is at the very back of my mind when shooting episodes, I'm busy getting the shots I need for a coherent review.

I'm sorry I didn't see your request for a review of HDMI output. It was discussed, but the number of shooters using a 4K recorder on a camera at this price range seemed too small a market for us to devote a lot of time to in the review. As well, the benefits of improved colour space are most noticeable after heavy grading. The lack of a log profile or Cine profiles mean a lot of information is already baked into the files. There will be advantages to shooting 4:2:2 out, but they won't be nearly as noticeable as if the footage was shot log and properly graded.
As far as the Canon 80D, that is a flawed camera that is targeting the Vlogging audience (not pros) extremely well. The dual pixel AF is a great thing for people inexperienced at shooting video, and eliminated one of the major hurdles of large sensor capture. The stabilizer in the GX85 is also a powerful tool for people who won't use a tripod, gimbal, steadicam, etc but those users also probably won't have much interest in syncing sound.

At the end of the day, I love the image and stabilization of the GX85, but I feel like the features have been put together haphazardly. It is a very exciting preview of the GH5, which is hopefully where Panasonic will stop with any artificial handicapping and give us the 5 axis stabilizer, a great internal codec, nice preamp, and maintain the great battery life and stability.

It should be an exciting Photokina!