GX8 II or GX9 ?

Cyvan wrote:

Valentinian wrote:

Cyvan wrote:

Valentinian wrote:

The G7 ...... 2 and ½ years later came the G9

The GX7 .....2 years later came the GX8. After 6 more months came the GX7 II.

Now, considering .....the GX8 when will Panasonic announce an upgrade?

Will it be GX8 II or GX9 ?

.....

So... the GX8 ... it's the first PRO level photo-centric camera line. In that case, it's not actually a successor to the GX7, .

The true successor to the GX7 was the GX85.

The G7 successor, is actually the G80. NOT the G9.

The G9 , .... is the FIRST PRO level G camera in the line.

...... so I wouldn't expect a true successor to the GX8 any time soon.

What you wrote makes sense.

Sure, the G9 is a great camera, it has headphone port, an AF joystick and a top led window. its EVF is better, but it is not tilting and it is not in the same well-chosen position of the GX8.

Also, consider the cons of the Dpreview review:

• Depth from Defocus flutter is distracting when shooting action
• EVF resolution drops when shutter is pressed
• AF joystick can not move points diagonally and is not responsive enough
• Nose activates touchpad AF, no option to limit activation area
• Screen can not be flipped out when ports are in use
• 20 fps mode using electronic shutter can result in rolling shutter effect

So, I will wait. Maybe , just maybe, if, let’s say in a year, a GX9 will be announced, then it will have some of the G9 goodies, without the cons….

I have a GX8 so I would love a GX9 , but I think Panasonic realised they got more traction from the DSLR form factor than the rangefinder form factor of the GX8. There was a lot of negativity surrounding the camera at launch so ppl were against it. But if you got one most people, like myself , loved it.

My ranting.

IMHO GX8 is a wire product. When we go down the path of M43, most of us (except pro users) are looking for a reduced size/weight gear from traditional CaNikon gears. The flat top and more soap like design of rangefinder form factor body is a good candidate on downsizing than a dslr form factor. So there were as extreme as GMs and the GX1, GX7 and later GX85, or EPM, EPL, EP and Pen-F the equivalent offering from Olympus.

GX8 is a great product of its time. Has the highest resolution M43 sensor, Dual IS, a deeper hand grip, extra EC wheel, metal alloy body, upward flippable but larger evf then GX7 (only 2 M43 models to have it)...

But its size and weight should have put many potential buyers off, including me. I upgrade from the older G to GX1 and later GX7 was for their size and weight benefit over the traditional dslr form factor. If I can take GX8's size and weight, why not go for the lighter weight G7 (sadly no Dual IS and non WR) in the similar period of time? In my eye the size of GX8 should have no obvious reason, except to make it bigger to comfort those users who originally jumped ship onto M43 for the size and weight benefit but later complained the offerings on table be too small for them! Except for the different in form factor, today there is G85 in similar size and weight but has the latest standard of hardware (floating IBIS sensor, shutterstock free shutter...). Again why GX8, except for its deep enough recent discount?

Personally I think if the successor of GX8: GX9 or whatsoever, can shrink into the size of GX7/GX85, has a deeper handgrip in the front and similar capability of G9, it could be a real winner. The size and weight of GX8, as well as its initially high listed price making it never warm up as quickly as other models.

Practically it is feasible since put in an improved AF system, same size 20Mp M43 sensor, replace the plastic top plate with a metal alloy one to hold an upward flippable evf, use a 4:3 native display panel instead of 16:9 to give a larger size evf (in terms of magnification) than EM10/5 etc, add weather seals to GX85 etc would already create a smaller but upgraded GX8...

Personally I'd be happy if they did a GX8 refresh and called it the GX8 II and just gave it the new shutter and IBIS. That's the only thing I really wish my GX8 had. I'd really miss having my tilting EVF if I switched to a G series camera.

If GX and G would be in similar size and weight, what would be the difference to use one vs another? Camera is a tool to use, how it looks will not affect IQ/operation. YMMV.