John Matthews

Wow. It sounds like everyone is giving up on Panasonic. Not me. I get the disappointment—no S1H II—but you still have to hand it to them for taking a different path of fewer camera updates and more firmware updates. Granted, they've seemingly screwed the pooch on two successive events: the S9 and the S9 firmware update. It seems this was mainly an attempt at a re-release of the S9, responding to the many complaints about it. Given the hardware they put in it, I think it's successful. No, it doesn’t have an EVF, mechanical shutter, or hot shoe, but they did address other issues. The new 18-40mm lens isn’t exactly God’s gift to lenses, but it's a good start to the lineup. Now, we need to see smaller primes for it to make some sense. Personally, I won’t leave Panasonic now, nor will I entertain the idea for some time. I don’t see the point in chasing the latest and greatest without any serious need for the features they offer, and I intend to reward the company for continuing to make improvements. Sony offers firmware—it’s called a 'new camera.' Canon offers firmware when people complain enough. Nikon releases cameras and apparently forgets to check if they work as intended. Fuji used to issue major firmware updates, but now they just mess up their cameras. Panasonic is the only one giving a slow, methodical release schedule. Sure, their cameras don’t always hit home and their marketing is wacky, but I don’t see the snafus of other companies. I imagine they are proud of the cameras they release, and they’re probably equally proud of the cameras they haven’t released due to not being ready.

Austerity measures and inflation (at least in France) have made the situation worse for many. The few who are profiting are probably making money hand-over-fist. I imagine a family wanting to have a videographer and a photographer for a wedding with the later being the priority. When push comes to shove, I'd bet both don't get hired and some just say *uck it and have people share their cellphone shots. Sadly and regrettably, that's practically what I did when I got married. I only had ONE decent photo from the whole thing, a jpeg from crap phone. :( Now, I use Topaz Photo AI to try and improve that ONE shot [insert affiliate link]! There's always a positive, you see!

Ahh, I looked at those Sigma cameras many times, but never really pulled the trigger. With the Merrill series, many said they had medium format quality, but the usability lagging. However, it became the "poor man's" medium format camera. When you look at the files, they're amazing. I also find it interesting they reference the D800E sells for LESS in the used market than the Sigma DP2 Merrill. However, you're not getting the lens with the D800E. For me, I just wanted the ability to make run and gun video; so, I never purchased either of these cameras.

I've been printing recently. It's so hard to see differences these days between sensor formats. Granted, I don't print much about A4, but I don't have the wall space or budget for much bigger. I think many people buy Leica because they're tired of getting "lost" in GAS- there is something enticing to that concept. Just put all the money you have for gear into ONE camera with a fixed lens. Now, you can ONLY create with that. There's something liberating in that.

I owned the Olympus E-m5ii for about a day. When I saw the moiré coming off that image, it was sent back in a heartbeat. There was no using it for anything video related. Funny that they marketed it for video because it felt like a bad joke. When you can't trust a camera 90% of the time for moiré, it just becomes unusable. You CAN trust the E-m5 iii, E-m1ii, E-m1iii, and E-m10 iii (and iv), E-PL9, E-PL10, E-P7 and E-M1x (which is the bargain of the century IMO- just a little big). IMO, most of these Olympus cameras seem to produce better images than the cropped 4k images from Panasonic GX85, GX850, GX9, GX8, etc. However, the Panasonic cameras seems to better with less sensor (noise and less color weirdness). Panasonic always seems to blow away the 1080p of Olympus cameras. Also, most of the tools seem better. Honestly, I'd choose the camera with the best audio; for me, it's the E-M5iii, E-m1ii or iii, E-M1x. All the others don't have audio-in and have crap on-camera audio (get a decent sound recorder).

In France, I'll buy and sell on leboncoin.fr.

So does this mean we show up to a paid shoot with the brand new iPhone 16, some lights, and a fog machine? I suppose it shouldn't matter so much, but I have my doubts about getting called back; you might just get labelled as the person who showed up with a phone. Not to mention being able to tap into the engineers who know how to code really, really well. That would a winning scenario IMO.

After you mentioned this camera the other day, I also watched a few reviews; indeed, the hiss is real. Also, the EIS is of the older variety and basically doing it in post will blow it away in 2024. In the same budget if you're in Europe, I think the Olympus E-P7 is better and about the same price new (with the kit pancake lens). I had that camera a couple of years ago and it was great except for the faulty IBIS unit- they ended up replacing it with the E-M5 iii due to inventory concerns. There are 2 gotchas with the E-P7: 1) it feels flimsy; 2) no EVF. Neither of those are a big deal for me.

Back when I saw this release, it looked compelling. Then, I heard the audio hiss. On, paper this camera seems great with its big 3.5" screen (nearly viewable in sunlight), mic jack (albeit 2.5mm), PDAF, S35 sensor, some sort of IBIS, and decent codecs. I'm not certain if they fixed the audio problems or it was a faulty unit. Here's the review:

Listening to the story and watching the video on a 4.5k screen, I found I was taken out of the story at 288x144 pixels. Any less, I thinking something is wrong with my monitor, my connection, or compression. Interesting.

The point of IBIS cannot be understated. How many people are there who practically never use a tripod? I bet the answer would be very high. Also, what surprised me the most was the 1080p, which is what I really care about. I think the S5ii bettered the others at 25fps in FF. I'm fairly certain it's a 6k-ish downsampled image, making it the best of the bunch, but they're all fairly good at 200%.

I thought I might share this. It would be interesting to hear some thoughts on resolution, moiré, aliasing, etc.

Markuspix just compared some video cameras:

Yeah, you're probably right.

I also think it would be hard to beat the D750 for anything photography at $600 budget. The used market is absolutely flooded with that body with all the wedding/wannabe wedding photographers moving to mirrorless. Granted, I'm not 100% sure you'll be able to sell it; so, the "cost" comes with a heavy caveat.

Panasonic aren't really playing to their strengths in some ways. To think they were the creators of the GM1 over 10 years ago; now, they can't seem to make it work. It baffles me that they would agree to lose so much money to Fuji and Sony. Meanwhile, OM System keeps selling out of the E-P7 and the OM-5 (a much more capable photo camera than the S9) is going for over 1149 euros. Did Panasonic also shut down the group of engineers who know how to design something small? I swear the S9 was designed by someone in the fashion industry because all the camera engineers were busy. It's as if their prototypes were given to the YouTubers and no engineer (who shoots photos) ever tried.

There are certainly more expensive cameras, I just can't think of any at that price with so many glaring omissions for photography. $1500 was a significant stretch IMO.

It's really a shame that the pricing is wrong for enthusiasts. It's even worse that Panasonic doesn't really offer any real lenses either. Still, they're selling a bunch; so, someone must be buying them. My guess- people look at it and buy it, never mind the lack of some major photography features. It just looks cool. I'm sure there are lots of trust fund babies who have this camera because they can.

The S9 seems like a winner... EXCEPT (this list is long). We all wish it were just slightly better in some way, but it's not. Still, Panasonic is selling tons of them I believe. Sadly, it's at the detriment of the MFT line IMO. As you said, the EM-5/GX85 lines just need some small updates. I think the sensor and battery are the major hiccups to get that 25MP sensor in a small body. I'm sure they've been trying, but they haven't had success on getting something "releasable".

If it were to only take videos, I could make do with the camcorder and a phone. However, I find the phone too limiting and ergonomically a black hole of no return. Like you say, "thread the needle" is the name of the game on holiday and travel. Don't want to get too noticed by family or others. There are a couple of lenses that can make the MFT system unique for this purpose: Olympus 75-300mm, at only 423g, it covers a lot; Panasonic 12-32 kit lens, at 70g, why wouldn't to take it?; A favorite fast prime; there are many- just pick and choose your favorite(s). There are lots of options and I often find myself in the weeds.

I'm back from holiday. In retrospect, although the camcorder was fun, I suffered from "camera paralysis", a horrible disease where you don't know what to take with you. In the middle of my stay, I realized the GX800's display couldn't cut the mustard in any sort of bright conditions on the beach or in the Palouse area of Washington State. I did the right thing by obtaining a E-m5 iii, an old fav from a few years ago that I had sold. I'm now reconverted to MFT. I'm not sure what to do with my S5ii. I'll probably sell and pay down my car. Might sell the GX800 too (though it's a fun camera). Or, not sell anything. Next time, I will be bringing MFT lenses that cover ultra-wide to 600mm equivalent and I'll have no need for the camcorder.

Funny enough, the LX-10 is more expensive than the E-m5 iii (if you already have M43 lenses) on the used market. Also, no EVF.

So, something came up during holiday... I need some more serious landscape photos and... I bought a used e-m5 iii. I'll be making some high-res shots of various houses my family used to live in going back to the 1850's in the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. I don't intend on going back to that area anytime soon. The E-M5 iii is a camera that I've used before (for over 2 years). It's amazing how great that camera still is and all the features it has over the GX800: An EVF (I've been really struggling on the beach, only seeing the histogram and just trusting the camera finding a face) Shutter going up to 1/8000, 1/250 for flash vs. 1/500 mechanical and a ridiculous 1/50 for flash Proper down-sampled 4k covering the entire sensor High-res photo mode on a tripod Great IBIS Dials and buttons galore (comparatively speaking) The only major things I miss on the GX800 are the flip-up screen and the fact it's 145g lighter. I'll still be keeping the GX800 until I get back to France or maybe longer.

Something strange: the Panasonic GX880 is going to be back in stock on July 27, 2024 at Fnac.com, a major French retailer. It's listed at 449 euros with the kit lens. This makes me believe no small M43 cameras are set to be released. It's understandable as the sensor is probably more expensive than a FF one. Still, I want some (not all) newer features. https://www.fnac.com/Appareil-Photo-Hybride-Panasonic-Lumix-GX880-Noir-et-Argent-Objectif-Lumix-G-Vario-12-32-mm-f-3-5-5-6/a14139329/w-4 Here's Richard Wong's take on it:

Haha! Clearly, the S5ii had been filming the wrong things. I was also contemplating this option until I realized the price of the 28-200mm in the USA (and it's sold out almost everywhere) because that would be an option. One lens to do it all, the ultimate travel setup IMO. You still need to worry about getting mugged, just not in Japan. That's a crazy good price. I'm sure you'll get remarks about how you should have to pay taxes on it. Please let us what you think of the OIS and Sigma FP. Judging from that video, it looks great, especially for micro-jitters.