G7 and G85 AutoFocus while shooting video questions

pannumon wrote:

red sled wrote:

Thank you pannumon. I was almost ready to purchase one of these two cameras but the focus difficulties others were having has given me pause.

I'm not familiar with these AF difficulties as I normally shoot with a Nikon D90 or D300s which I see have phase-detect AF for normal shooting. Perhaps, as you say, it would get better with experience trying different settings.

Are we talking about stills AF or video AF? Because G7 and G85 will be way ahead of any Nikon DSLR when considering video AF. Also the whole "live view" experience should be a totally new world when using a system that is built on top if it.

When it comes to stills singe-point AF (S-AF), Panasonic cameras should focus much faster than you Nikons. Considering continuous AF (C-AF) or tracking focus, expect the Nikon DLSRs to be better (by far).

When shooting video, unless you actively tell the camera where to focus (either by touching the screen or half-pressing the shutter release button), any camera will have difficulties to know where you want the focus to be, or when to refocus. This can be controlled semi-automatically (much like using A or S mode instead of fully automatic mode for stills).

Thank you pannumon for your patient explanations.  Originally I was asking about video AF.  I did not realize my Nikons used a different AF for video. Interesting, and that explains why I rarely use them for video as it can be very frustrating because it "hunts" a lot while filming and seems to be out of focus frequently.

After much consideration, I believe the majority of work for this new purchase would be scenery, both 4k video and also time-lapse video in 4k (preferrably) or 1080.  Would you still recommend the G7 vs. G85 , or some other model ?  I would love a GH4 to grow into but can't swing it at this time. I really do like the Panasonics for flexibility and options for time-lapse in the camera .