My GX7 MkIV (GX10) Wishlist

MrALLCAPS wrote:

So we haven't heard anything about the rumored GX10 recently, with the last news of the camera being launched in the "1st half of 2020".

I'm assuming that the camera will be pushed back because of the current situations, but that's not stopping me from thinking what will Panasonic do? Will it be a incremental improvement, or will it be much more?

Here's my whishlist:

-Size. Keep the body small. Having the size advantage could be a deciding factor if one were to look for a Rangefinder styled body. Fujifilm has the XPro series and the XE3 (even though it's rumored to be phased out) is just as small as the MkIII.

It's hard for me to see the point in releasing a GX10 if it isn't kept small. There are plenty of big m4/3 cameras for people to choose from, while the smaller bodies are generally low end and limited.

-Optional screw on grip, shaped like the original GX7 grip.

The GX7 was an amazing camera for Panasonic. The handling, the swivel evf, the tiltable veiwscreen, but it felt so good in the hand. Give us a screw on option, so that it even resembles a GX7. But please, let us be able to access the battery door.

Are there any fans of the GX85/9 grip who'd miss if it they simply went back to the GX7 design?

Even if they don't repeat the moronic battery blocking design of the current add-on grip, anything that screws to the bottom of the camera will inevitably add to its size. I use a 3rd party 3D printed grip on my GX9, but I'd rather it had a decent grip out of the box.

-Weather Sealing.

You know this was coming. In fact, every camera should include weather sealing. These bodies are high tech, and need all the protection they can get.

I can make do with a cover when I need to use my GX9 in the rain, but there are small weather sealed cameras so I don't think this is an unreasonable request.

-Tiltable Veiwscreen, please do not add a FAS. As a street shooter, one does not want to have something extend the size of the camera, we're trying to be quick and discreet.

I definitely wouldn't buy a GX10 if they afflicted it with a FAS. I bought a G9 last year but find the slow and awkward flip out screen really unpleasant and frustrating to use. The tilt screen is the primary reason why I like using the GX9 rather than my G9 or an Olympus body.

-Shutter Speed/Exposure comp dial

I'd be happy enough if the left the EC dial, but personally I don't understand the appeal of dedicated dials that can't be customised. I'd like to see the triple control setup from the G9, i.e. conventional front and rear dials with a customisable ring replacing the D-pad (to use for EC, ISO, flash comp. etc.)

I know I'm missing more, but to the fans of the L1, GF1, GX1, GX7, GM series and more, what do you think?

The main thing that I'd like the see improved with the GX10 is continuous AF. The G9's DFD AF isn't perfect, but it's far superior to the GX9 when shooting action or birds in flight. It's frustrating when I try to shoot more challenging subjects with my GX9 and find that most of the shots are out of focus and unusable.

A small tweak that would make a difference to me is adding extra custom modes to the mode dial. The GX7 had three C settings on its mode dial, allowing 5 in total to be used with the extra ones in the C3 menu. The GX9 just has the one dial position for 3 custom settings, and you have to use the menu or touch screen to choose which you want.

I'd also love for the GX10 to have a flash sync port like the G9 so that it's possible to work around Panasonic's crippled flash system. Or better yet they could fix it and remove pointless limitations like not being able to use flash when bracketing...