Just how good is the GX8 especially against the GX7 ?

Adrian Harris wrote:

Okay I have put this off for a while as I was hoping to be more in depth and include lots of examples. But sadly life is very busy at the moment.

I really didn't want to spend that much money and on paper the GX8 appeared to have very little gain over my wonderful GX7. But it was Christmas and lots of my friends ar dying from old age, so I thought what the hack, raided the pension pot and took the plunge: Bought the GX8 along with the Panasonic 12-35 f2.8 Pro lens.

In simple terms the general picture quality produced by the GX8 blows the GX7 away. Over the last 2 months I have had many trips in all sorts of extremely variable weather conditions to photograph outdoor action sport, plus moorland, woodland, and indoor exhibitions and use the cameras side by side. I grab whichever camera has the lens fitted that I need to capture the shot at that moment. And they both take it in turns to have all my lenses fitted: Olympus 40-150 f2.8 Pro, Panasonic 12-35 f2.8 Pro, Olympus 75-300, Panasonic 14-140, Olympus 9-18, etc.

What I have noticed is this ... The viewfinder on the GX8 is generally so much better than the GX7 that in many conditions I try desperately not to use the GX7, yes the viewfinder is that much better (but I am a glasses wearer). The photos from the GX8 are much sharper with a serious amount of more detail ... when used with a pro lens. The colours and local contrast is also improved (important depending on subject, tree leaves and grass do well, for cars and people the difference is probably irrelevant). Being able to crop a lot more when necessary and yet still have a shot capable of being enlarged and printed is also of great benefit.

I can honestly say despite the high initial price, after seeing my results I have not regretted it one tiny bit.

Is there anything I miss about the GX7 ? ....yes: The popup flash and the tilt rear screen. The lack of that really is a pain on the GX8, but if you can get used to the articulating screen and make do without popup fill flash it in one seriously awesome and very under-rated camera.

You really don't need a DPR review, jump in and enjoy the photography.

Have you tried the replacement eye cup?   Much deeper and shades the EVF superbly, best for 2 eyed but still a big improvement for us folk who prefer  glasses

Ian