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Panasonic gave me a weekened with one

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C

cgarrard

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Smaller than I thought, and lighter. Built great, lots to use in this package. I dare say its almost too loaded considering its classic design- almost wish it had a more minimalist design personally. That said, I think its probably the best m4/3 Panasonic has made yet and I suspect many others will think so too. I didn't get a chance to eval the image quality yet because I don't have ACR set up to support it at this time- will get into that when I get more time with it with an extended review on a full production unit (the one I used is really the same, no changes in firmware or exterior have happened).

My first impressions were very positive though. It has a couple of quirks that I don't like, but overall It's a really good camera. I don't like the strap lugs, and the battery life should be better.

That said, I think its twice as useful as other RF designed m4/3 cameras in the past because of the integrated viewfinder yet super compact design. Pana of course makes many m4/3 cameras with integrated VF's but none this small. It's a camera I'm afraid should have come out when the GX1 did, since then competition on models an sensor improvements has really left Pana behind. It's price is too high to me- at this time, and with so much competition. Had it been introduced in place of the GX1, the price would have been fine.

I suspect it will drop very quickly.

This camera may save them for a while longer though, it's that good. Pana needs to get the horsey cart going though if they intend on staying viable in this market, if they don't it may eat them up alive.

Carl


http://www.photographic-central.blogspot.com (Gear reviews)
http://www.carlgarrard.blogspot.com/ (Best work compilation)
Also formerly AlphaMountWorld.com (Now off the web)
 
Everyone has their own opinion, just like everyone has a rear end. You read into it what you want, as for me I like reading all comments. The negatives I can live without, and we'll see how the GX-7 does as more people buy them. I'm still sitting on the fence thinking about it, my camera shop does not even have any as of yet. So, Chill folks.

I'm as confused as a baby in a topless bar.

Gary
 
sderdiarian said:
sderdiarian wrote:
sderdiarian said:
cgarrard wrote:

Uh no I did not.This is what I said "It's a camera I'm afraid should have come out when the GX1 did, since then competition on models an sensor improvements has really left Pana behind."

Panasonic's sensors have lagged behind other competitors, which is why Olympus is now using Sony' sensors. I'm talking about the marketplace with my comment and had Pana introduced the GX7 instead of the GX1 they would have leaped forward instead of sort of stagnating till the GX7 came about. If that doesn't make sense I'm afraid I'll never be able to explain it to you.
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Hmmm.... so you're saying Panasonic should have released the GX7 instead of the GX1 back in February of 2012 to avoid stagnating. Yet the GX7 is being touted by reviewers as having a sensor that's a real leap forward into E-M5/GH3 territory, which surely took Panasonic time to develop the technology for and which wasn't of course available when they released the GX1.

Count me among those not quite following your logic here.
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Chris Noble said:
Chris Noble wrote:
Chris Noble said:
cgarrard wrote:

I think its probably the best m4/3 Panasonic has made yet... I didn't get a chance to eval the image quality yet.
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I am curious... Why publish such a rushed first impression rather than do a thorough analysis before expressing judgment? Does anyone out here prefer to make buying decisions based on rushed 1st-impressions, rather than thoughtful reviews? Surely it takes longer than a weekend (and some comparative analysis) to usefully evaluate a camera. And there are already plenty of other "Here's my first impressions" postings on this camera.

Not trying to be rude, just curious.
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I can't speak for others just myself. Ask them.

I've reviewed a LOT of cameras. In 48 hours I can get a very good and final impression on most areas of a cameara design. The areas that need more evaluation, such as IQ as I stated, will take longer. So I was very up front in not making a final call on IQ.

The review I put up here is final in what I have discussed. Other areas I haven't yet will also be final when I finish up this review in its entirety.

I was very clear on that.

Hope that makes more sense to you now.

C


http://www.photographic-central.blogspot.com (Gear reviews)
http://www.carlgarrard.blogspot.com/ (Best work compilation)
Also formerly AlphaMountWorld.com (Now off the web)
 
David Wilson said:
David Wilson wrote:

I think the OP did a good job reporting exactly what the subject said. A weekend with a GX7. I personally like seeing these as each of the first impression stories gives me a slightly different view and we all know everyone has their own bias so take all of them with a grain of salt.

It also seems petty and disingenuous to start ripping on a quick review for being a quick review or to be inserting meanings or completely false assumptions that were not even included in the quick review. I know there are many trolls that try to pick fights but this one was actually funny. I am wondering if some of these people have canned responses to any quick review they see and are not actually reading the review. For example, I could not find any comment on APS-C in the review at all but someone took the time to rip the OP for saying the GX7 was not as good as APS-C cameras and rambled on about DXO scores. How the heck did the person read an review and then start making up stuff? This was not even a long review, how confused can you get with a few paragraphs?
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It happens. Hopefully they will learn from this and read more in the future :)
David Wilson said:
I for one appreciate the review, it gives me more insight. May I suggest that those that freak out on quick reviews possibly ignore them since High Blood Pressure is not good for anyone. Of course if you have canned responses ready to go then it has nothing to do with blood pressure and all to do with trolling.
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Thanks !
David Wilson said:
OP, just ignore the trolls, you can never win since they cannot read, do not read or really have nothing of substance to say. Sad to say but the education system has failed a lot of our citizens and we need to have pity on them and not cause them anymore brain headaches by making them think.
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Oh I totally agree. Some people have a bad day, some people its seems have a bad life- always grumpy. That's fine, I'm just clearing up any misconceived perceptions for those that may need it.
 
I think that there are plenty of previews, first-looks and samples around, so that everyone has a fairly good idea of what to expect. One of the big things up for debate is the effectiveness of Panasonic's IBIS. If you can comparatively test it's effectiveness, that would be great.
 
Member said:
Yes that is precisely what I'm saying. If you understand the perspective I'm coming from, it makes complete sense.

Think of it this way, the camera market is a horse race. Momentum and pacing are very important so that you don't get left behind. Oly abandoned Pana for sensor tech, ouch. Pana has been behind many other makers in sensor tech until now, which it seems they are finally starting to reach (as opposed to being ahead of other makers). Not only the sensor tech, but many of the prosumer bodies have had fierce competition.

The market today is so much different than when Pana introduced the G1.

My comment serves as a warning. Don't let yourself get behind in this market (get the horsey cart going) or you will get left behind quickly. Samsung is a perfect example, they started strong with their system and now look at them. Everyone has passed them up.

If Pana isn't more careful that can happen to them.

In the end, I like Panasonic alot. I'd rather not see them get behind. Voices heard on this issue may or may not motivate them to pick up the pace, but at least I won't be someone saying that I didn't say or do anything to motivate them. Giving an honest opinion opens yourself up for a lot of criticism, but I'd rater do that then nothing.

Business is earned, not gifted.

Carl
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sabesh said:
sabesh wrote:

I think that there are plenty of previews, first-looks and samples around, so that everyone has a fairly good idea of what to expect. One of the big things up for debate is the effectiveness of Panasonic's IBIS. If you can comparatively test it's effectiveness, that would be great.
Click to expand...
 
Tanngrisnir3 said:
Tanngrisnir3 wrote:
Tanngrisnir3 said:
Yes that is precisely what I'm saying. If you understand the perspective I'm coming from, it makes complete sense.

Think of it this way, the camera market is a horse race. Momentum and pacing are very important so that you don't get left behind. Oly abandoned Pana for sensor tech, ouch. Pana has been behind many other makers in sensor tech until now, which it seems they are finally starting to reach (as opposed to being ahead of other makers). Not only the sensor tech, but many of the prosumer bodies have had fierce competition.

The market today is so much different than when Pana introduced the G1.

My comment serves as a warning. Don't let yourself get behind in this market (get the horsey cart going) or you will get left behind quickly. Samsung is a perfect example, they started strong with their system and now look at them. Everyone has passed them up.

If Pana isn't more careful that can happen to them.

In the end, I like Panasonic alot. I'd rather not see them get behind. Voices heard on this issue may or may not motivate them to pick up the pace, but at least I won't be someone saying that I didn't say or do anything to motivate them. Giving an honest opinion opens yourself up for a lot of criticism, but I'd rater do that then nothing.

Business is earned, not gifted.

Carl

--
http://www.photographic-central.blogspot.com (Gear reviews)
http://www.carlgarrard.blogspot.com/ (Best work compilation)
Also formerly AlphaMountWorld.com (Now off the web)
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Wow. So you're basically saying that somehow, magically, Panny should have had that sensor available more than a year and a half ago, w/absolutely zero knowledge of what it took in R&D, production planning, etc....
I sure wish Honda would come out with the 2015 Civic this fall. I mean, that sort of jump in product release would be a real advantage.
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Yes Panasonic needs to learn time travel, that's what I'm saying. Uh yeah.

No, that's not what I'm saying.

If you actually read what you copied for my text again, the answer is RIGHT THERE.

Companies can stay ahead of the competition or neck to neck with them if they are willing to spend the money and manpower on staying there. Apparently at some point Panasonic felt comfortable enough not too and thought that they could keep using the same old tired sensor lineup for its cameras. It wasn't until sales started to wane that they got some giddy up again (a sense of urgency IOW).

Next time I'm saying- don't wait for that, anticipate the market better. That's what I'm saying.


Pretty simple unless you just don't want to see it.

Carl
http://www.photographic-central.blogspot.com (Gear reviews)
http://www.carlgarrard.blogspot.com/ (Best work compilation)
Also formerly AlphaMountWorld.com (Now off the web)
 
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Great, another review with no regard to image quality. A true dumbing down of the entire "review" genre. How does it feel? How did I like the color? These are what's most important in a "review".
 
toomanycanons said:
toomanycanons wrote:

Great, another review with no regard to image quality. A true dumbing down of the entire "review" genre. How does it feel? How did I like the color? These are what's most important in a "review".
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Honestly, if you gave me the choice of a user review that lacks ergonomic impressions or one that lacks a report on image quality, I'd have no problem opting for the former. These cameras are so good and so close to each other right now that unless you have a set up that lets you test them in exactly the same conditions and then pixel peep, the image quality review isn't going to be that useful. Especially if the user isn't shooting at the high end of the iso range. Places like DPR do a good job of this type of review and I'll wait for theirs.

Subjective reviews of the shooting experience are much less absolute, so getting lots of them is way more important to forming an impression of the camera. How nice is it to hold? How is the viewfinder for that person? What's the overall shooting experience? This is the type of thing that an amateur photographer can evaluate and share with others. By looking at a large sample of these, we can get a feel for what it's like to use a camera not just what its sensor is capable of.
 
MarcusBrody said:
MarcusBrody wrote:
MarcusBrody said:
toomanycanons wrote:

Great, another review with no regard to image quality. A true dumbing down of the entire "review" genre. How does it feel? How did I like the color? These are what's most important in a "review".
Click to expand...
Honestly, if you gave me the choice of a user review that lacks ergonomic impressions or one that lacks a report on image quality, I'd have no problem opting for the former. These cameras are so good and so close to each other right now that unless you have a set up that lets you test them in exactly the same conditions and then pixel peep, the image quality review isn't going to be that useful. Especially if the user isn't shooting at the high end of the iso range. Places like DPR do a good job of this type of review and I'll wait for theirs.

Subjective reviews of the shooting experience are much less absolute, so getting lots of them is way more important to forming an impression of the camera. How nice is it to hold? How is the viewfinder for that person? What's the overall shooting experience? This is the type of thing that an amateur photographer can evaluate and share with others. By looking at a large sample of these, we can get a feel for what it's like to use a camera not just what its sensor is capable of.
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Yep I think IQ has really plateaued in a way that most cameras should be more than capable to handle demands well beyond most users needs.

I still discuss it because I think banding, grain texture (noise), and dynamic range are varying qualities amongst cameras that do make a big difference in a print or, for viewing on very large screens.

But I won't do that until I can evaluate it in the same way I always evaluate other cameras keeping the playing field equal- which I explained, and why I thought I was being fair. I certainly could have based an opinion on using silkypix for raws and the Jpeg quality, but I didn't, did I? Nope, and I didn't because I know that ACR is a much better solution for evaluating raw IQ.

That said, I'm preparing a full size review on my blog, I do believe that I mention that here and also on my blog as well. What I don't understand is why readers here take the user reviews so seriously and get so down about someone doing one. I never intended it to be anything but a quick summation review as those kind of fill in the blank reviews are absolutely intended to be.

I guess some people just aren't happy unless they are unhappy.

Carl

http://www.photographic-central.blogspot.com (Gear reviews)
http://www.carlgarrard.blogspot.com/ (Best work compilation)
Also formerly AlphaMountWorld.com (Now off the web)
 
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There is something I don't understand.

Pana claim that the new GX7 sensor is improved, and I think it's true (I just recieve my GX7 yesterday, and for me the IQ is seriously improved compared to my EP1, even if people does not really see any improvement ... )

But they said it's improved compared to the G1X.

But the G3H has a very good sensor. So is is the same sensor ? an alternate one, or does the GH3 is a sony sensor ?
Just wondering
 
Powerdoc said:
Powerdoc wrote:

There is something I don't understand.

Pana claim that the new GX7 sensor is improved, and I think it's true (I just recieve my GX7 yesterday, and for me the IQ is seriously improved compared to my EP1, even if people does not really see any improvement ... )

But they said it's improved compared to the G1X.

But the G3H has a very good sensor. So is is the same sensor ? an alternate one, or does the GH3 is a sony sensor ?
Just wondering
Click to expand...
 
Yes , I won't have any clear answer. Perhaps Sony have sold them some EXMOR licenses.

In dark areas, the GX7 is way better than my Canon 7D.
 
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