Anyone using the G7 for landscape and wildlife too?

My sisters gave me a joint gift card (Visa) for Christmas that's burning a hole in my pocket and thinking about adding to my camera herd. I was in BestBuy yesterday and handled the Panny G7 and it's a impressive camera at a great price of $499. with kit lens. I would need something in the 300mm reach for wildlife so a recommended lens please. Appreciate G7 (or similar) user experiences. Thanks in advance.

Sactojim said:

My sisters gave me a joint gift card (Visa) for Christmas that's burning a hole in my pocket and thinking about adding to my camera herd. I was in BestBuy yesterday and handled the Panny G7 and it's a impressive camera at a great price of $499. with kit lens. I would need something in the 300mm reach for wildlife so a recommended lens please. Appreciate G7 (or similar) user experiences. Thanks in advance.

Click to expand...

What cameras do you already have?

A G7 can do both those things but I think $499 can be better spent than on such an old body. The G7 is a 7-series G camera. The 8-series, GX80,G80 are much better bodies for both those activities. Better AF, Dual IS IBIS, more detail /w the moire filter removed and new shutters w/o the risk of shuttershock. In my opinion, all of those features should be considered the bare min'm for any new camera purchase.

Ideally you'd want something like the G80 for its ergonomoics and superior AF/IBIS. However it's going to cost more than $499 new. A GX80 /w the accessory grip could work as well and could be had for around the same price as a G7. But it's small (hence the accessory grip), the EVF is not as good as the G7/G80 and the IBIS is not as good as the G80, the G7 has none.

Since u have the gift card for Best Buy I would suggest buying the recommended lens, a Panasonic 100-300mm f4-f5.6 II /w Power OIS (Mega OIS was the v1) instead and see if you can locate a used G80 body which can be had for less than the cost of the lens for which you would be paying cash.

Check the used sections of B&H, Adorama or KEH for deals. I got my G80 2 years ago for $450. It's an excellent camera.

Thanks and yes, that G80 looks very nice. I have two Nikon dslr's (D7000/7200) and an assortment of other smaller sensor cams (Fuji X-S1, S200XR, etc.) and thinking a 4/3 cam would be a nice travel cam with the capability of wildlife camera too. Now looking at the GH4 at Adorama for $697. and wow, reviews are strong. Maybe time to rent it and see what it's about. Thanks for your suggestions.

The G7 is an OK camera, I had one, but compared to the G80 it takes a distant second place. The G80 does not suffer the shutter shock of the G7. The G80 is much sturdier and weathersealed. A secondhand G80 should be possible within your budget. The 100-300mm lens is fine, make sure its Aperture is f5.6 at full zoom and not the first model’s f5.8.

Sactojim said:

Thanks and yes, that G80 looks very nice. I have two Nikon dslr's (D7000/7200) and an assortment of other smaller sensor cams (Fuji X-S1, S200XR, etc.) and thinking a 4/3 cam would be a nice travel cam with the capability of wildlife camera too. Now looking at the GH4 at Adorama for $697. and wow, reviews are strong. Maybe time to rent it and see what it's about. Thanks for your suggestions.

Click to expand...

GH4 is from the same generation as G7. No IBIS. worse AF and bigger. It's gets its strong reviews because it revolutionized 4K video recording when it came out.

https://camerasize.com/compare/#525,621

The G80 is better than it in every single way except for battery life , dual card slots and video codecs.

The GX8 is an 8-series camera as well but it has inferior IBIS. So really ur Panasonic choices are GX80, G80 or newer like the G9, G95 and GX9. Of these the G80 gives you the best bang for buck, esp for its size. The G9 is a powerhouse beast but its bigger. It's slightly larger than your D7200 but weighs less.

https://camerasize.com/compare/#611,725

The G80 is visibly smaller:

https://camerasize.com/compare/#611,689

Which is the point of a good travel camera.

The GX85 is significantly smaller but take the tradeoff's into account and it would be worse for Wildlife.

hi, i own a gx85 and i can tell you that it is not bad for this type of photography. I suggest a 45-200 or a 100-300 and maybe a short focal length for the views.

Mind you, GH4 is not an IBIS model, not DUAL IS supported. So it has to rely on OIS lenses.

Gh4 was the king of hybrid camera at its time of M43 system. But, time has moved on and unless you are looking for the pro video feature of a GH, G85 (the cheapest ATM mid range model of Panny, good for still, better video than GX85) might be the best buy. Next could be the G9, currently the king of still shooting of Panny, than followed by G95 which is at a lower cost/performance, but both at a much higher cost).

Mirrorless is a highly technology driven tool which always welcome bigger processing power for the improved performance. If possible, not to look back for too old models. Currently M43 is in the 20Mp 9th generation, or the fading out 16Mp 8th generation.

My 2 cents.

--
Albert
** Please feel free to download the original image I posted here and edit it as you like **

The basic long lens to buy is a either a 45-150 from panasonic

or a 40-150 R from OLYMPUS .

I got the 40-150 and have gotten good results from it.

but the 45-150 might be as good or better.

windmillgolfer said:

The G7 is an OK camera, I had one, but compared to the G80 it takes a distant second place. The G80 does not suffer the shutter shock of the G7. The G80 is much sturdier and weathersealed. A secondhand G80 should be possible within your budget. The 100-300mm lens is fine, make sure its Aperture is f5.6 at full zoom and not the first model’s f5.8.

Click to expand...

Both versions of 100-300 are the same f/4-5.6?

mk-I : https://www.dpreview.com/products/panasonic/lenses/panasonic_100-300_4-5p6

mk-II: https://www.dpreview.com/products/panasonic/lenses/panasonic_100-300_4-5p6_ii

Yes, I was confusing the 100+300mm models with the 14-140mm models.


Stuart
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I have a G7, GX80/85, and have recently purchased a G9 (to replace the G7). In the past I had bought a used G80, which I had to return as it was defective.

While the G7 is an excellent camera, the G80 would be a substantial step up if it's within budget. The lack of AA filter and in body stabilisation make it a much more useful prospect.

An alternative which has already been stated is the GX80/85, which has most of the features of the G80, but in a smaller form factor. You could purchase a grip such as this one to make it easier to use with long lenses - https://www.ebay.com/itm/113684878686. I did and it made long lenses much easier to use, along with the stabilisation. You may be able to get it in a kit with a12-32mm lens and a 45-150mm lens, which gives you the equivalent of 300mm focal length. You may be able to get that full kit within budget.