thedimka
New member
I got this camera when realized that my iPhone 5 was not good enough to take decent pictures of my new born baby.
I was looking for few things in one package:
1. Compact, I did not want to get another DSLR, I had one of the Canon's and was not using it for the big part because of the size.
2. Built-in viewfinder. I find that I take better pictures when I use viewfinder, so for me it was a must feature.
3. Fast focus. I understood that mirror-less camera will not be as fast as good DSLR, but I needed it to be fast enough to take focused pictures of active baby.
4. Built-in flash. Besides baby pictures I find that I still use flash, even when ISO go very high, I still need it, and even though I do not use it much, at the time of purchase I had it on my requirement list.
5. Retro look. That was just for me to feel good about the camera.
6. Good lenses. I end up buying Panasonic 20mm f1.7 and Olympus 12-40 mm f2.8.
And it works out great. I love the quality, the size, the look and features.
I tend to use Olympus zoom lens more often at home and Panasonic one on the go.
I got an extra battery, and it keeps the charge long enough, so when I go on a short trips I do not take the charger nor the second battery with me, but because we have some other users of the camera at home who do not automatically put depleted battery to change it is useful to have one fully changed ready.
It's durable and easy to use in general. I looked at GX8 when it came out and decided that my GX7 is better in aspects that are important to me.
I hated only few things about it. Touch controls on the screen were bad, I had turned them off completely and it felt like someone just fixed the broken camera. Wi-Fi is not useful because of how it is designed. And iPhone app is a disaster. So, I'd say that features that they borrow from smartphones are very poorly done.
So over all it's a great camera, but it can be better.
Fully articulated screen from GX8 is the one of the few things I wish Panasonic would have in my camera.
Here's my wish list for GX9 (or what ever they gonna call it)
1. Higher resolution and zoom level for EV (electronic viewfinder), maybe even a bit bigger sized one. But make it stick out from the back less. That would make it feel like a pro camera and will result in better pictures because it would let you do better framing.
2. Built-in flash from GX7 or even a tiny one like in iPhone. There are situations when it's hard to see and assisting light is very very useful.
3. USB3-C connector, that can also charge the battery. It can replace HDMI too. It's a new standard, compact, versatile, reversible and it will last a long time.
4. The size of GX7, but fully articulated screen from GX8, it is useful for selfies, odd angle shots and can help protect the screen, thus making a caring case less of a necessity.
5. Wi-fi should have two modes: one to connect to my phone network and the second it to create it's own one. But if I'd choose one it should be connecting to the existing network. All iPhones and Android phones have it's own wi-fi sharing, and it's very more useful at home, no need to setup or changes, just enable already set up wi-fi and boom, computers, phones and tablets can control your camera, images can sync etc, etc.
I was looking for few things in one package:
1. Compact, I did not want to get another DSLR, I had one of the Canon's and was not using it for the big part because of the size.
2. Built-in viewfinder. I find that I take better pictures when I use viewfinder, so for me it was a must feature.
3. Fast focus. I understood that mirror-less camera will not be as fast as good DSLR, but I needed it to be fast enough to take focused pictures of active baby.
4. Built-in flash. Besides baby pictures I find that I still use flash, even when ISO go very high, I still need it, and even though I do not use it much, at the time of purchase I had it on my requirement list.
5. Retro look. That was just for me to feel good about the camera.
6. Good lenses. I end up buying Panasonic 20mm f1.7 and Olympus 12-40 mm f2.8.
And it works out great. I love the quality, the size, the look and features.
I tend to use Olympus zoom lens more often at home and Panasonic one on the go.
I got an extra battery, and it keeps the charge long enough, so when I go on a short trips I do not take the charger nor the second battery with me, but because we have some other users of the camera at home who do not automatically put depleted battery to change it is useful to have one fully changed ready.
It's durable and easy to use in general. I looked at GX8 when it came out and decided that my GX7 is better in aspects that are important to me.
I hated only few things about it. Touch controls on the screen were bad, I had turned them off completely and it felt like someone just fixed the broken camera. Wi-Fi is not useful because of how it is designed. And iPhone app is a disaster. So, I'd say that features that they borrow from smartphones are very poorly done.
So over all it's a great camera, but it can be better.
Fully articulated screen from GX8 is the one of the few things I wish Panasonic would have in my camera.
Here's my wish list for GX9 (or what ever they gonna call it)
1. Higher resolution and zoom level for EV (electronic viewfinder), maybe even a bit bigger sized one. But make it stick out from the back less. That would make it feel like a pro camera and will result in better pictures because it would let you do better framing.
2. Built-in flash from GX7 or even a tiny one like in iPhone. There are situations when it's hard to see and assisting light is very very useful.
3. USB3-C connector, that can also charge the battery. It can replace HDMI too. It's a new standard, compact, versatile, reversible and it will last a long time.
4. The size of GX7, but fully articulated screen from GX8, it is useful for selfies, odd angle shots and can help protect the screen, thus making a caring case less of a necessity.
5. Wi-fi should have two modes: one to connect to my phone network and the second it to create it's own one. But if I'd choose one it should be connecting to the existing network. All iPhones and Android phones have it's own wi-fi sharing, and it's very more useful at home, no need to setup or changes, just enable already set up wi-fi and boom, computers, phones and tablets can control your camera, images can sync etc, etc.