Will you upgrade from GX7 to a GX8?

I will miss the dedicated ISO, WB, exposure compensation buttons. They are perfectly placed on the GH4

Don't know about the first two, but the GX8 has an Exposure Comp dial.

John.Laninga wrote:

The new GX8 has great features but also larger body. Wondering if you would upgrade from a GX7 to the GX8 (I'm not).

When the price settles a wee bit I will definitely be updating from the GX7 to GX8 it has a lot of pluses for me , new higher mp sensor, 4k video, fully articulated LCD, weather sealing DFD and for ham fisted folk like myself the larger size is a major advantage 

alcelc wrote:

John.Laninga wrote:

The new GX8 has great features but also larger body. Wondering if you would upgrade from a GX7 to the GX8 (I'm not).

The size again exceeding my expectation on a M43 camera, like GH4...

After reading most of the previews/reviews, and found out GX8 would only be 487g (merely only 80g heavier than GX7), it might be a bit large but trends to within my acceptable limit.

I would like to but one but wishing the price to come down slightly in next 6 months (as my GX7 is still <2 months old!).

I probably will upgrade. As I said elsewhere ...

The GX8 looks like a nice upgrade for the most part to the GX7. Here's the sum from my own POV:

* Dual IS: Awesome. I predicted this feature a few years ago, and I've been looking forward to it showing up.

* Dust and splash-proof: Solid addition.

* New sensor: TBD. I'll take improved DR and SNR any day of the week. Additional resolution is minor but will be nice for some types of photography.

* GX8 size and weight increase. This mostly a down-side. Improved grip for large hands will be an up-side for some people.

* No IS on video. This would have been a significant upgrade, and since the reason given for its omission on the GX7 was "heat dissipation challenge due to small size", the additional size on the GX8 could have theoretically enabled this feature.

* No flash. This is a down-side. I've personally only used the built-in flash on my GX7 a few times in the years that I've had the camera, but a built-in flash is handy for fill use (what I mostly used it for) and trigger use.

* Shutter shock: TBD.

* EVF: Awesome upgrade. I was happy with the old one, so I'm expecting to be even happier with the new one.

* Screen: Nice upgrade on the screen itself. The articulating nature is a significant up-side for me, but some do prefer the old tilting approach (which also adds less to the bulk of the camera).

* DFD: TBD for me, but it sounds like a nice up-side. I never had issues with the focus on the GX7 (except for user error!)

* WiFi & NFC: Sounds promising. I never used WiFi on the GX7, but if it were easy to use and did cool stuff, I'd definitely try it again and see if I could incorporate it into workflow. For example, instead of the USB connection to LR, could it be WiFi?

* Video: Solid upgrade all around (obviously!)

It's not everything that I had hoped for, and I'm not absolutely certain that it will fit my usage as well as the GX7 did, but it seems like a solid upgrade in general.

The GX7 looks more and more like a good deal now at less than half the price of the GX8 and has builtin flash

Only downside I see is the puny EVF

Something to consider if you're still on the fence

Cheers,

For anyone who remembers me when the GX7 was announced I was a RABID GX7 supporter and I still use my GX7 EVERYDAY, it remains the best camera I've ever used.

Yes, there are a few features I would have liked that the GX8 has adopted like Hybrid IS, RAW processing and fully articulating screen but I have little interest in the GX8 with its weight and size increase (and don't get me started on the price point, YIKES!).

The GX7 continues to be the beast that I want it to be.

Now the 100-400PL on the other hand...

I sold my GX7 in March, thinking an upgrade was imminent. However, the GX8 is not an upgrade, it is a new class of camera. It is heavier, less streamlined, and has a fully articulating LCD. Whether it has the improvements the GX7 needed to the shutter are unknown. It may have less shutter shock by virtue of its greater mass. There is no indication of a faster readout of the electronic shutter, which would reduce rolling shutter. It is not the upgrade I wanted. I have no GAS whatever.

Just in the process of upgrading from G3 to GX7. In 3 to 4 years I'll upgrade to GX9 or G8.

No text.

John.Laninga wrote:

The new GX8 has great features but also larger body. Wondering if you would upgrade from a GX7 to the GX8 (I'm not).

Absolutely, but I'll also keep my GX7 to use as a second body. The only thing holding me down is the current price, so just have to be patient now. Hopefully we'll see the price drop at least a bit by Christmas time, maybe some extra holiday special deal discount Although I'm not holding my breath on that one. I was in the exact same boat when the GX7 first came out. I waited for Christmas hoping for a special deal and/or a price drop, but nothing worthwhile was offered during holidays. I ended up waiting another 4 months and ended up buying a second hand GX7 in perfect condition for half the price. Couldn't be happier with that purchase. Maybe I should do the same with the GX8

Nope. I don't like that to get the best from the GX8 I am confined to the Panasonic lenses and not even all of them. Then again I am already pretty well served with four excellent bodies to choose from.

Jason L. Myers wrote:

I won't. Some of the features of the GX8 are definitely attractive, such as better EVF and fully articulated screen. I also really like the idea of having the exposure compensation dial on top of the camera.

But I do use the pop-up flash on my GX7 quite regularly for fill-in flash (especially for outdoor and travel portraiture) and I don't want to carry around a separate flash for this. I could live with the larger size of the GX8 if it had on-board flash, but I think the size of the GX7 is just perfect.

For me, one of the main reasons for moving away from DSLR (Nikon for over 30 years) was to have a compact system. I just love that my Olympus and Panasonic lenses use filter sizes ranging from 37 to 52mm vs. my Nikon lenses that started at 52mm and ranged up to 77mm). The growing size of Panasonic camera bodies concerns me: do they think they need to be almost as big as, or just as big as DLSRs to be taken seriously by advanced amateurs? And at the same time, deletion of on-board flash (LX-100, GX8)? Wrong direction, in my opinion.

I don't use my camera for video, only for stills, so the 4K video doesn't mean anything to me.

Anyway, I do hope that the GX8 sells well, and that Panasonic continues to develop the GX line, especially since for a while it was not clear if Panasonic would continue the GX line after tepid GX7 sales. And I hope they put the on-board flash back into the camera on a future GX9!

GX7 Mk II maybe. With same price and small upgrade feature :). I think GX8 head to head with EM-1 while GX7 with EM-5 or EM-10.

For being sexy, camera needs B&B

LearningForeverIHope wrote:

Nope. I don't like that to get the best from the GX8 I am confined to the Panasonic lenses and not even all of them. Then again I am already pretty well served with four excellent bodies to choose from.

I'm in agreement here.....I get the sense that this new blended IOS/IBIS is meant to leverage the Panasonic lenses to the exclusion of the Olympus M43 offerings, just a hunch, hope I'm wrong.

I've now decided to move to exclusively Olympus bodies for my kit but am keeping my Panny lenses (until Panasonic brings out only lenses that play nice with their bodies......CaNikon, anyone?)

There are many things I like about the camera, and some I don't.

I don't like the EVF.  It's too big and protrudes out too far.  It has no builtin flash.  The price is a bit too high.  So I think I will wait a while and see if the prices drops and by how much.  Who knows, maybe by Christmas it will be affordable.  

javanistus wrote:

Jason L. Myers wrote:

I won't. Some of the features of the GX8 are definitely attractive, such as better EVF and fully articulated screen. I also really like the idea of having the exposure compensation dial on top of the camera.

But I do use the pop-up flash on my GX7 quite regularly for fill-in flash (especially for outdoor and travel portraiture) and I don't want to carry around a separate flash for this. I could live with the larger size of the GX8 if it had on-board flash, but I think the size of the GX7 is just perfect.

For me, one of the main reasons for moving away from DSLR (Nikon for over 30 years) was to have a compact system. I just love that my Olympus and Panasonic lenses use filter sizes ranging from 37 to 52mm vs. my Nikon lenses that started at 52mm and ranged up to 77mm). The growing size of Panasonic camera bodies concerns me: do they think they need to be almost as big as, or just as big as DLSRs to be taken seriously by advanced amateurs? And at the same time, deletion of on-board flash (LX-100, GX8)? Wrong direction, in my opinion.

I don't use my camera for video, only for stills, so the 4K video doesn't mean anything to me.

Anyway, I do hope that the GX8 sells well, and that Panasonic continues to develop the GX line, especially since for a while it was not clear if Panasonic would continue the GX line after tepid GX7 sales. And I hope they put the on-board flash back into the camera on a future GX9!

GX7 Mk II maybe. With same price

You mean 6 months or longer after its initial launching? Or 1 years later from now of GX8? Now, the official listed price of GX7 is still US$1,024 body only in Hong Kong (before that <70% discount) from the sole authorized dealer. If GX7.2 would be out, it would likely be in similar pricing range of over US$1,000. Not that difference from GX8.

and small upgrade feature :). I think GX8 head to head with EM-1 while GX7 with EM-5 or EM-10.

I can tell you there is a HUGE difference in terms of build quality, ergonomics between these two cameras.

Normally I do prefer smaller mirrorless cameras, but after using the GX8 for two weeks, no way I would want to swap it with a GX7.