Panasonic G80/85 for events

goncalomp wrote:

Hey everyone!

I need your help and experience with something.

I currently work as a pro, shooting private and corporate events and the ocasional wedding.

LOL. After the first three sentences, I thought I was reading one of my own old posts.

I use a full frame system, it works great but the weight of the 2.8 zooms + 12 hour events where destroying my back

mmmhmmmmmm...

so I switched to primes. I saved a lot of weight but sometimes a zoom is necessary.

Do you think it makes sense to add a G80/85 ( not the GX80/85) to my system with a couple of 2.8 panasonic zooms for the type of photography I do?

FWIW, I shoot with one GX85 and two GX8s, which replaced three GX7s. My decisive factor in choosing GX8 over G85 was the buttons. They're raised and easy to find by touch. The G85's buttons are smaller and flush. I keep my eye to the EVF when making adjustments, so this is critical.

If I buy a Panasonic flash will it work like a DSLR with the read beam that assists focus?

All mirrorless cameras use amber or white AF aid lights built into the bodies. This is because the AF system is not sensitive to near-IR the way DSLRs' PDAF systems are. I find the AF aid light effective out to about 15' unless a large lens blocks it. Panasonic's low-light S-AF is so good that the aid light comes on only in the dimmest bat cave conditions.

I use Godox rather than Panasonic flashes because they have a great radio trigger system for combining on- and off-camera flash with much greater reach and reliability than you'll get from Panasonic's optical triggering.

I chose this camera because I can get it for around 560 euros in a store near me and read good reviews about it but if there are better suggestions around this price point I will consider them!

I picked up a friends GH4 with the 35-100 2.8 and laughed out loud, the setup was so light!

Many thanks

My last DSLRs were 1Ds MkIII and 1D MkIII. I tried MFT for a year alongside them, then switched entirely to MFT four years ago. You can read all about it here:

How to Get Small - Part Four - Why I Switched to Micro Four Thirds Cameras

I shoot with three bodies with primes or f2.8 zooms and little tiny Godox TT350 TTL flashes on-camera and larger Godox V860II TTL flashes off-camera. I use an OpTechUSA Dual Sling. Haven't had any shoulder issues since a crippling bout of bursitis sidelined me for two weeks 6 years ago at the ripe old age of 48, for which I blame my habit of carrying 10-15lbs of camera gear in a shoulder bag for two decades.