Just bought a G85 a few months ago, and couldn't be happier!!

24thWanderer wrote:

My story:

Self taught photographer of 6 years. Was super amateurish until about 2017. Then my friends told me I should take photography more seriously. I did and followed my passion of doing concert photography. Ended up getting way better as a photographer in both technical skill and technique during 2018. The erratic, low light situations really boosted my timing and technical knowledge. By the end of 2018, I realized I was pretty skilled. I was comparing my work to my peers work in the concert field. They all used giant, Full frame DSLRS; the classic setups. During this time I was using two APS-C sensor cameras; one DSLR and one mirrorless. I NEVER felt like I needed a full frame. I felt like I outperformed a lot of my peers despite their larger sensors and more expensive optics.

This year, I started thinking about how I wanted more features in a smaller body. Sold my Canon M100 and its lens and got the Panasonic GX85. Fell in love with it. After a lot of thinking and soul searching, I realized that I could do what I did before with a Micro Four Thirds camera as long as it had a full feature set. Sold off my Pentax gear and got a G85 along with some carefully selected lenses and a Panasonic battery grip. I was super nervous at first because I work for a pretty prominent music venue in Metro Detroit and I want my work to be the best it can be. I shot my first big show with the G85 and GX85 and it was awesome. And that was my first time using the G85 in a serious setting. Once I really get familiar with it, I will be crushing it. My client loved my work that night too.

Zero regrets so far. I would not have minded the G9 but the G85 was a way better deal with the 12-60 and the 45-200 for free. And either way, I wanted to expand my skills in cinematography, so the G85 was a great deal all in all. I would love to see a 24 MP Micro Four Thirds body one day. But I know that megapixels alone is just a piece of the puzzle.

Long story short; I love Micro Four Thirds and I am especially a fan of Panasonic gear (but I'd buy an Olympus if it fit my needs more).

Woww this is really cool! I used my old GX7 for concert photography once too, and I really think it did really well. I am glad to hear that you are able to use MFT for serious concert photography, that is really a great testament that MFT can do just as well as the other systems in professional environment(if not better).

Regarding video capabilities for cinematography, you won't be disappointed for sure! My G85 is currently my main Youtube camera now, I shot so many videos these last few months with it and I really enjoy using it!

Thanks for sharing your story