fuzzynormal

But nobody wins internet arguments. Thus, there is a failure to acquire e-penis points. I am now sad.

How do I score e-penis points? That sounds like something I need.

I record audio directly onto my EM5II files. The preamps are not great in the EM5II, but I find that the human voice while using my sennheiser e100, I get recordings that are perfectly acceptable. The key is to turn down the input level of the EM5II so the floor is as low as possible, and then send the fattest line-in source audio into the camera it can handle. I even let it drift ever so slightly into the red. Also, with this setup you can headset monitor whatever is going into the camera. Certainly helpful. You'll need the EM5II grip accessory to monitor the input. I was bummed about the need to buy this art first, but the camera feels so much better with the battery grip. Plus, you get hot swap power.

Be sure to pick up some tolerance for a lot of inanity. It's an election year here. "Election" means something different to the U.S. culture and its citizens than it does to the rest of the world. Plus, there's more than a bit of political existential hand wringing going on that we need to sort out, so expect even more navel gazing than typical. Going to New York City? Maybe consider a visit to B&H. Not only to consider a purchase, but check it out for social study. (and you can review the EOS thread about that biz from a few month back too) And no, US customs won't care about you carrying a camera. Not sure where you're returning to, but I doubt it would matter there either. I've never had issue bring gear into Europe...save for Spain, but that was decades ago before the EU and we had too much pro cases with us to be inconspicuous.

Luckily, we're both wrong on our previous assumption! And it's very simple: Just push the shutter adjustment wheel and the camera does the "punch-in." Pull your focus and half press the shutter release to pop back out to full screen. Easy and nice. BTW, near as can figure at the moment, this only works when a dumb lens is on the mount.

We all relate to the world differently, eh? I'll still argue that knowing the why of an issue (even from a grumpy old cuss like me) is more important than being offered a subjective solution. That way you can figure out an answer that works for your specific problem. After all, it's your problem and you have the best insight on the nuances of it. Agreed. I do like the camera as well. But it's hard to step down from a really good EVF like the EM5II.

Yeah, a work around it to use a loupe, which I am, but that increase the size of the rig and the stuff to carry around, so a really good EVF (such as what's on the EM5II) would have been wonderful on the GX85. Don't take it personal. You're just a proxy for a subject that's a big peeve of mine. I figure, when it comes to an issue like this, cut to the chase. I'm assuming we're all grownups here and can handle a little brusque, and hopefully constructive, criticism? Also, what you suggest is a "how" solution, but it's more important to understand the "why" of it all.

Hey, if you want to use a remote mic mounted on your camera as you're 10 feet away from your subject, go for it. I'm not calling you out specifically. All I'm saying is that many people doing these online videos don't seem to comprehend how sound recording works. I certainly don't know why. As I say, it's a fundamental thing to know and it's the easiest thing in the world. Put your mic as close to the subject as possible. Ta da. It's like freaking magic. You now have better audio. 5-axis. Killer feature. The GX85's 4K IQ and 5-axis; hard to beat that performance of the GX85. And the price is a great value. Still, it's not a perfect camera for me. I like it alot, don't love it. As I say, if Oly made a EM5II with 4K, I'd be there in a second. Or, if/when Panasonic makes something similar... Great EVF, mic input with audio monitoring, super comfortable and useful battery grip... As I say, it's always something, aint it?

Same. Pretty sure we're limited when using "dumb" lenses.

Here's a Quick review from someone that owns a GX7, EM5II, GX85 and likes to shoot with manual lenses. The GX85 has great IQ. Love the 4k and the colors are an improvement. Ergos stink. The EVF is a mess and, for lack of a better word, "terrible." I would have thought it couldn't be any worse than the GX7, and I was right. Unfortunately, it's the same. Yikes. On the EM5II, the EVF is so clear and clean that a user can actually use it to find manual focus. It's not viable on my LUMIX cams, and to step backwards from that luxury is a shame. The body grip of the GX85 is not comfortable (or reassuring in one's hand) and it's actually worse than the GX7 in that regard. However, exposure controls are easily accessed and exposure monitoring is impressive. This end-user ergos might not matter to you if you're not shooting a ton of footage, but once you try to get through full day shoots while handholding the GX85, it's something to seriously consider. For now, the GX85 IQ is so superior to a camera like the EM5II, that it's a worthwhile tradeoff. But, since the egos are so much better and nicer in the EM5II, at this point I would not hesitate to return to an Olympus camera once they finally adopt 4K. *sigh* it's never perfect, eh?

How would one use the audio from the GX85 regardless? It's bad audio. Good only for a scratch track to guide the sync process in post-production. The only way to get good audio for any production, from your backyard home movies to the highest level film productions, is to get a mic near your subject. This is fundamental. I'm frankly a little surprised that there are people out there that would consider buying and owning loads of production gear to create impressive IQ, but then mount some mic to a camera hot shoe and think that was appropriate...for almost anything at all beside rough ambient noise/room tone. Yet, all you have to do is watch a few vlogger youtube videos to see this ignorance. I find it quite staggering because it's so ridiculously obvious a problem to solve. A crappy mic in the proper place will be better than the most expensive mic in the world set up in the wrong place. Audio is NOT Video. You can't buy your way into an easy solution. You want better IQ on your images? A better camera/lens can do the trick. You want better audio? You better know how sound vibrations actually work --and know how to use that to your advantage.

It's a practical camera with great user egos and is still a good value, IMHO. Clean, not great, image. Caveats: It's a larger footprint camera. For some doc subjects/situations these can be a problem as it "looks" like a pro camera and people behave around it as such...and authority figures react to it as such. Getting a shakedown from some local security guard while traveling is never fun. The highlights roll off like a video camera. It doesn't have that film gamma curve. You can compensate by manually adjusting your knee settings and that'll help. For the type of doc stuff I'm involved in, using consumer mirrorless cameras has been really great and I wouldn't switch back to a "real" camera, (even though I'd really appreciate the XLR/ND/ergos) --but only because my stuff has been and continues to be a rather specific style/technique. If I was doing more in-town-corporate stuff right now I think I'd do what you're doing. Buy a used one of these and work it like crazy. For only 1K-ish, it's not a risky investment.

I recognize a bit of rationalization there to try and talk ones self into a purchase. amiright? ;-). Been there.

I can testify that the FUJI footage needs at least a basic color grade...but there's lots of info in the darks and it "lifts" up just fine. --and that's about it. The colors have been looking pretty good to my eye.

Since I need to have two edit stations, I just can't afford two well-spec'd Macs. Sorry Apple. Gotta go. I know you won't miss me, but I'll miss you. Time to assemble...

In my experience, cheap Chinese speed boosters can struggle with QC. You may find that shorter lenses mounted to a "dumb" speedbooster will not focus to infinity because the build is slightly off. I can't mount a 24mm to mine and make it work, for instance. I've read on a forum or two that Metabones suffers from a reputation of questionable QC as well. Since I heard that on the internet it must be true.

I saw in the marketing that it's: "4K enabled for video capture" Thank god for that! It sure is funny how light behaves when it knows it's being captured at 4K resolutions... More impressive is how Pany has enabled it's lens to deal with those curious photons that apparently can change their behavior. Thats some quantum physics science-y level sheit right there. Good thing the Japanese and Germans are on it. Good design and good ergonomics should be part of the same coin. Minimalism is okay when it's functional... It's very very difficult to design something to be simple but also practical. I own the gx85 and a Em5II. I'd RATHER shoot with the Oly; not that the Panasonic can't do the job, it just doesn't do it, for me, as easily and comfortably as the EM5II does it. That said, I now shoot more with the GX85 because it's technically superior. However... Does one actually get better shots with a camera they love using, even if it's inferior?? Theres harmony to all this stuff. Sometimes when you hear that harmony, everything grooves together and it can be a lot of fun. And I know I'm more creative when I'm having fun.

Record some sky gradients at magic hour and then see what you see on playback...

Don't we all ;-)

You tried to use a H1 as a mic to record audio while it was on the camera? For example, you filmed someone talking from 10 feet across the room and the H1 mic was on the GX85? FWIW, it almost always worthless to record audio from the camera. It's almost irrelevant how high-fidelity and professional a microphone would be. If a mic is not placed in the right spot, pointed the right direction, it'll just sound lousy.

Wonderful insight. Thanks!

Fair enough. I'm not an event shooter so the unmanned option didn't occur to me.

Great. Now I can record the feature lecturer at the insurance adjusters conference next month without having to miss a single moment by pausing the recording and then restarting. Seriously though...is non-stop recording (a feature that many people seem to go on about) not at all a big deal? Legitimate question: does anyone here really need to record this long? I'm actually curious.

Seems like the GX85 would be okay. You stay in M43, shoot 4K, and you get a nice little camera that can stabilize your hand held shots. I wouldn't nessecarily invest in a bunch of new glass if you don't really have to. However, only you know how much low-light you're trying to deal with. Personally, I've never had too much trouble with LUMIX cameras in low light, but I also have a f1.2 lens with a speed booster for darker shots, which helps tremendously. As for the "pro"ness of it all, here's my anecdote: During my wedding I gave my GM1 to my 16 year old nephew. It had the Oly 45mm 1.8 lens on it. With the f-stop wide open, aperture priority, and everything else set on automatic, I told him to go to town, frame up faces at eye level from 5 feet away, and shoot stills of everyone at the reception. No flash, available light. Because of those simple rules, the nice magic hour light that was filtering into the ballroom, and his personality of being willing and able to effortless socialize with strangers and warmly interact with him, he got twice as many good photographs of the reception than the wedding photog that was paid thousands of dollars to be there and was running around nervously with a Canon 1D, 5 different lenses, and a flash. Our wedding album is half of my nephew's shots. And we got all those pictures simply because he was curious about the little camera I was carrying around so I thought I'd let him use it and see what happened. This incident just shows that photography is more about how one interacts with the environment they're in and takes advantage of it rather than the gear. (Although the gear does help if you're also good at the craft of it all.) Anyway, something to consider.

Amen to that; needs some tweaking ability on the video side.