@markr041 send a postcard to Sony!

Direct comparison with GH4. Autofocus and high ISO noise also much improved on the new little baby...

@markr041

Interesting. So all 3 stab aids can be used with 4k? Excellent.

The funny thing with EIS is some times the effect that the subject stays steady and the background "dances" like is the case with flowers moving in wind.

Personal impressions of the GX85

I purchased the GX85 through Personal View Deals. The price was a bit better than the current sale, although the current sale added an extra battery and charger. As usual, the camera arrived well-packed 2nd day DHL with tracking.

I basically bought this cam for three reasons: the G7 was out of stock, I wanted something with IS, and the photos looked a bit better with the lack of AA filter and the newly designed shutter. In addition, it appeared from the description that the cam would do 24p, 25p and 30p, but this is not the case, sadly. My NTSC version does 24p and 30p. All of these cameras here in the US are unlimited, so, unlike the G7, no apparent advantage to buying an unlocked one unless you want PAL.

A lot has been written about this camera already, so I'm just going to hit the high spots. First of all, the thing is a brick. They must have loaded it up with buckshot or something. On the one hand, it does make the camera bit more steady, but OTOH for me they added a bit too much weight.

Next up, the grip kinda sucks compared to the G7, and the lug is positioned right where your finger goes. Not great.

The viewfinder is only OK. If you wear glasses, it is a tough fit. Although on paper the viewfinder looks sharp, it isn't great--it's good but not great.

On the other hand, the screen is very good, and can be used outdoors. If you are used to the fold-out screen, be advised that this screen just moves up and down--you cannot see yourself by folding it around. It is good for low shots, but I don't film feet. Whatever.

Panasonic moved some of the buttons around, so if you are used to the button placement this is somewhat annoying. The exposure adjust is right on the thumb wheel as a button press. Buttons are customizable, and there's enough buttons. The G7 is just a bit more friendly in terms of wheels and layout.

The build is solid, the battery is small. The camera does not come with a charger (no charger on an $800 camera? F*** you Panasonic). You can charge the camera with USB. Which is good, but you need a charger. Stupidly, you can't charge the battery while the thing is running A FEATURE WHICH HAS BEEN ON CAMCORDERS FOR TWENTY YEARS. Sorry. I got 1.5 hours on the battery running constant video. On the bottom of the battery hatch, there is a door, not a notch, to run the DC adapter for continuous power. This means whatever aftermarket or stock PS that you use must THREAD through this door. This is stupid because for example if you hardwire your adapter (to keep it from popping off) you need to leave the door open. It also means you need a connector that will fit through the gap. Whatever.

The kit lens, a foldable 12-32 zoom, is a bit slow but really quite sharp. At 12mm, I saw no real difference between the kit lens and my Olly 12mm prime in the center of the image. It's a good lens.
Image quality and shutter shock. The G7 suffers from shutter shock, the GX85 has a new shutter that solves this problem. Photo IQ with the newly designed shutter and AA filter is roughly the same as the 20mp sensor. Although you would think that the 16mp sensor would be less noisy, the difference is slight.

Video IQ--after extensive tests, I find the video IQ to be the same as the G7. Note that if you use all the IS features it will crop the image. Some of the pro features are lacking on the GX85 that are present on the G7. Although you can customize the grey point curve, there is no way to adjust the 0-255 range, not is there any kind of log for the highlights (except the grey curve). You do get Zebras and focus peaking. Both of these cams give you slightly better video quality than the GH4, no matter what anyone tells you.

One handy feature is that on my cam, the video files record in long chunks, not the little teeny weeny files that you have to string together. I haven't tested it to see how big they get, but it is way easier to deal with in post.

A lot has been said about the IS. You will hear the 4 stop BS, and even some reviewers will claim that you get four stops. Well, you can get 3 stops, maybe a bit more but IMHO 4 stops is BS. Having said that, big step up for Panasonic finally adding IS to their cams, and it works in 4K video.

If you are old school, you will find the absence of a dedicated MF switch seriously annoying. OK, you can set it in software, or assign a button, but for me I really need a switch with all the focus positions marked out. If you are filming an event, the customizable focus screen is handy to set up focus zones.

Using the data tables, the camera focuses very fast and accurately. Panasonic's AF system is really very good.
For the money, however, you can almost step up to a Sony A6300. The Sony will give you slightly more detailed video, better photos, a bigger sensor, but it has overheating problems. You can also look at the Samsung NX500.

@markr041

What settings: iso, contrast, sharpness, NR, profile, exposure EV , Exposure program PASM...

Do you use NR 0? My GH4 makes quite mushy and muddy 4k video in NR 0. I use always NR -5.

Do you have Exiftool? It is handy when I need to check all the video parameters later.

@tonalt I shoot with my style because I do not like pans or moves in video when subjects are static. I zoom and pan to follow moving subjects, as in, say, sports videos and that works ok. No one is afraid of talking about panning and zooming; we know that is not a technique to be used other than minimally on static subjects and it is a pipe dream that IBIS is going to get you a gimbal-like shot. We all (well, almost all) agree with you that walking with a camera not on a gimbal does not work. I don't like posting ugly videos on purpose.

There is in fact a walking panning GX85 comparative video posted above - it is painful to watch. It shows you cannot walk using IBIS+OIS and expect anything like what you get with a gimbal while walking, even if you know all the tricks for minimizing unwanted motion (unlike in that posted video above). I have gimbals and I experimented with moving with the camera without a gimbal - hopeless (whether BOSS, or IBIS+OIS). The stabilizer in camera is for avoiding shaky video when you are trying to hold the camera still. The GX85 does that well; yes, better than nothing (no stabilization), by a lot. Unless you feel that all video shots require that the camera move?

@Vesku Standard profile (best ooc color), NR -2 because Panasonic noise reduction is too aggressive (not as bad as the GH4). Shutter priority at 1/60th in Creative Video Mode, plenty of negative ev so that what I saw through the viewfinder matched exactly what I saw with my eyes as I shot. I aimed to create a video reproducing what I saw with the intent of minimizing any adjustments in post. I will check into exiftool to find out ex post what the camera actually did. Thanks.

@markr041 I'm interested why you prefer Standard to Natural. I often cannot make up my mind on these....

Thanks Mark...I guess I always need to grade a bit. Maybe I shouldn't!

@tonalt:

the microphone is the worst I ever had in a photocamera. It records the IBIS noise on a very high level. That´s why panasonic cuts some frequencies so the sound is very thin. That is crap panasonic.

@DrDave

Camera must not have both mic and phones jacks, but must have two full size locking USB 3.0 ports located on small addon inserted in flash mount, and support for standard audio devices (both phones and mikes).

@mark041 The crop factor is different in the GX85? And the GX85 samples looks like a little bit less exposed (albeit you've said that the histograms were equal - different calibration?)

But yes, much less noise in the GX85.

My experience is the same--less crop, less noise, slightly more detail (slight). There may be more NR going on, but the grain of the noise is more even.