In praise of the Panasonic GX7 and comments about the GX8

CBubolz343 wrote:

I'm currently considering getting this camera or the Sony A6000. Aside from the change in formats, is there any reason you'd prefer the GX7 to the A6000 or vise versa?

I have owned the a6000 and, aside from the Sigma lens offerings (19 and 30 2.8), I do not like the costliness and general quality of the Sony Nex lens lineup. The ideal lens for me with the a6000 would be the Zeiss 24 1.8 but it is exceedingly expensive for my commitment to the system. So, I moved off the a6000.

The a6000 has, like the Nex-7(an old favorite of mine), superior dynamic range and overall image quality over the GX7. Now, I recall from past research, that the Olympus OM D E M5 and the E M1 and M5 II have great dynamic range that is similar, but I just don't see it with the Panasonic GX7. And I do miss the greater range and a bit less noise of the a6000 files as you move to up the ISO to 800ish. I enjoy bracketing my shots sometimes(examples below) and this helps achieve a bit more DR. I've found the GX7 is fast enough to handhold this task.

GX7 bracketed shot example 1

One more thing, the grip on the a6000 is even better than the GX7. They both have a lot of customization options though the GX7 has more.

I've been shooting with the GX7 for a few weeks and there's really a lot to like. I wish the grip were less rounded so I could handle better with a single hand, as I could the a6000 with a wrist strap.

GX7 bracketed shot example 2