Panasonic G80/85 for events

Hey everyone!

I need your help and experience with something.

I currently work as a pro, shooting private and corporate events and the ocasional wedding. I use a full frame system, it works great but the weight of the 2.8 zooms + 12 hour events where destroying my back so I switched to primes. I saved a lot of weight but sometimes a zoom is necessary.

Do you think it makes sense to add a G80/85 ( not the GX80/85) to my system with a couple of 2.8 panasonic zooms for the type of photography I do?

If I buy a Panasonic flash will it work like a DSLR with the read beam that assists focus?

I chose this camera because I can get it for around 560 euros in a store near me and read good reviews about it but if there are better suggestions around this price point I will consider them!

I picked up a friends GH4 with the 35-100 2.8 and laughed out loud, the setup was so light!

Many thanks

It really depends on exactly what you do and how flexible you are in terms of differences.

I'm not a pro, and I don't shoot with DSLRs, so I don't have a direct comparison.  As a hobby shooter, I do drag my gear through 8 hour renaissance faires.  I have the G85 as well as the older Olympus E-m1 mark I.  While I prefer the E-m1 mark I because I'm a long time Olympus shooter and prefer the Olympus way of doing things, the G85 is a good mama bear camera (as in Goldilocks where the baby bear bed was too small and the papa bear bead was too large).

However, one thing to deal with is power.  DSLRs just last longer on a single battery than do mirrorless cameras.  It is the nature of the beast, with DSLRs having an optical viewfinder, they don't have to power the viewfinder/rear LCD all of the time, and DSLRs have heavier batteries.  So you likely need to think about buying more batteries and if you are doing long shoots, getting the battery grip.  There are third party battery grips that are much cheaper than the Panasonic grip.  When I use the grip, I set the default so the battery in the grip is used first.  When the display says it is no longer using the battery grip battery, I change the grip battery at the next convenient break.  I've shot video and watched as it switched to the battery in the body when the grip battery was depleted.  If you are shooting video or from a fixed platform, you can power the G85 externally either with a larger battery or with A/C power.

I shoot JPG, and I presume you would shoot RAW.  With JPG, sometimes highlights are blown with default metering (RAW has a little more headroom).  You need to think about watching the zebra patterns to see when highlights are nearly blown and dial in exposure compensation.  That is one of the advantages of an electronic display is that you can set it up to tell you when you need to compensate.  I suspect however, the dynamic range might not be as high as you are used to.

Being a middle range camera, the G85 only has one memory card slot.  If you need two slots, you might want to think about the GH5 instead of the G85.  Also, if your work is primarily video, the GH5 probably has more bells and whistles that you can use.  I primarily shoot 1080p and for me, the G85 works well.  The USA model (G85) does not have a 29 minute 59 second limit on video like the European versions (G80/G81) do.

One thing that Panasonic video shooters complain about is the video auto focus is not that fast, particularly for 4K video.  This tends to affect bloggers more than regular shooters, because the bloggers typically aren't behind the screen doing manual focus.

It might make sense to shoot with your friends GH5 and see if the Panasonic way of doing things would work with you.  Obviously, for the G85, there will be some features the GH5 has that the G85 doesn't.

goncalomp wrote:

Hey everyone!

I need your help and experience with something.

I currently work as a pro, shooting private and corporate events and the ocasional wedding. I use a full frame system, it works great but the weight of the 2.8 zooms + 12 hour events where destroying my back so I switched to primes. I saved a lot of weight but sometimes a zoom is necessary.

Do you think it makes sense to add a G80/85 ( not the GX80/85) to my system with a couple of 2.8 panasonic zooms for the type of photography I do?

If I buy a Panasonic flash will it work like a DSLR with the read beam that assists focus?

I chose this camera because I can get it for around 560 euros in a store near me and read good reviews about it but if there are better suggestions around this price point I will consider them!

I picked up a friends GH4 with the 35-100 2.8 and laughed out loud, the setup was so light!

Many thanks

Not sure what FF you own but what about using F4 zooms instead. Blur wise, it will still give you more subject isolation than 2.8 on m43 and you wouldnt have to change systems and noise wise, with the advantage a good FF sensor has over m43, you shouldnt notice a difference. Of course it depends on how much weight you are saving with those F4 lenses and how heavy the body you are using is.
Also for pro work, I want dual cards so that rules out the G85 and goes to the G9 instead for example.

goncalomp wrote:

Hey everyone!

I need your help and experience with something.

I currently work as a pro, shooting private and corporate events and the ocasional wedding.

LOL. After the first three sentences, I thought I was reading one of my own old posts.

I use a full frame system, it works great but the weight of the 2.8 zooms + 12 hour events where destroying my back

mmmhmmmmmm...

so I switched to primes. I saved a lot of weight but sometimes a zoom is necessary.

Do you think it makes sense to add a G80/85 ( not the GX80/85) to my system with a couple of 2.8 panasonic zooms for the type of photography I do?

FWIW, I shoot with one GX85 and two GX8s, which replaced three GX7s. My decisive factor in choosing GX8 over G85 was the buttons. They're raised and easy to find by touch. The G85's buttons are smaller and flush. I keep my eye to the EVF when making adjustments, so this is critical.

If I buy a Panasonic flash will it work like a DSLR with the read beam that assists focus?

All mirrorless cameras use amber or white AF aid lights built into the bodies. This is because the AF system is not sensitive to near-IR the way DSLRs' PDAF systems are. I find the AF aid light effective out to about 15' unless a large lens blocks it. Panasonic's low-light S-AF is so good that the aid light comes on only in the dimmest bat cave conditions.

I use Godox rather than Panasonic flashes because they have a great radio trigger system for combining on- and off-camera flash with much greater reach and reliability than you'll get from Panasonic's optical triggering.

I chose this camera because I can get it for around 560 euros in a store near me and read good reviews about it but if there are better suggestions around this price point I will consider them!

I picked up a friends GH4 with the 35-100 2.8 and laughed out loud, the setup was so light!

Many thanks

My last DSLRs were 1Ds MkIII and 1D MkIII. I tried MFT for a year alongside them, then switched entirely to MFT four years ago. You can read all about it here:

How to Get Small - Part Four - Why I Switched to Micro Four Thirds Cameras

I shoot with three bodies with primes or f2.8 zooms and little tiny Godox TT350 TTL flashes on-camera and larger Godox V860II TTL flashes off-camera. I use an OpTechUSA Dual Sling. Haven't had any shoulder issues since a crippling bout of bursitis sidelined me for two weeks 6 years ago at the ripe old age of 48, for which I blame my habit of carrying 10-15lbs of camera gear in a shoulder bag for two decades.

Luis Gabriel Photography wrote:

goncalomp wrote:

Hey everyone!

I need your help and experience with something.

I currently work as a pro, shooting private and corporate events and the ocasional wedding. I use a full frame system, it works great but the weight of the 2.8 zooms + 12 hour events where destroying my back so I switched to primes. I saved a lot of weight but sometimes a zoom is necessary.

Do you think it makes sense to add a G80/85 ( not the GX80/85) to my system with a couple of 2.8 panasonic zooms for the type of photography I do?

If I buy a Panasonic flash will it work like a DSLR with the read beam that assists focus?

I chose this camera because I can get it for around 560 euros in a store near me and read good reviews about it but if there are better suggestions around this price point I will consider them!

I picked up a friends GH4 with the 35-100 2.8 and laughed out loud, the setup was so light!

Many thanks

Not sure what FF you own but what about using F4 zooms instead.

That's what I did, but it was still too much. Admittedly, I was using 1-series beasts. Even so, shooting with three MFTs with f1.7 primes gives me 1/2 stop more light than 35mm format with an f4 zoom, covers a good variety of focal lengths, and spreads the weight in a way that's much less burdensome than a single DSLR with even an f4 zoom.

Blur wise, it will still give you more subject isolation than 2.8 on m43 and you wouldnt have to change systems and noise wise, with the advantage a good FF sensor has over m43, you shouldnt notice a difference. Of course it depends on how much weight you are saving with those F4 lenses and how heavy the body you are using is.
Also for pro work, I want dual cards so that rules out the G85 and goes to the G9 instead for example.

I have triple cards. One in my GX85 and one in each of my GX8s, and in 15 years of doing this work, I've never lost an image to a bad card. You NEVER do event work with just one body. At least not professionally. Murphy's Law.

First, I think G80/85 makes a perfect sense! With that price, it's the best value for money there is.

Jacques Cornell wrote:

y decisive factor in choosing GX8 over G85 was the buttons. They're raised and easy to find by touch. The G85's buttons are smaller and flush. I keep my eye to the EVF when making adjustments, so this is critical.

Overall, for the most of the people, G85 handling is supposedly superior at least to GX85, but also G8. I have G7 that is basically the older version of the G85. I don't find the 'flush' buttons annoying, but I don't know better. Many people seem to think it is some kind of an issue though, and sugru seems to be a decent solution for it.

Let's put it this way: as long as I can set the exposure parameters without looking the buttons, and as long as I don't need to use the menu system in the shooting/capture phase*, I'm happy.

Also I don't want to go to the actual menu system in the preparation phase*. I use a custom Q.Menu for setting those.

I have lost my nerve with some of the smaller Panasonic bodies because the lack of dedicated buttons, although I find my old GF1 totally adequate (this camera has the shooting mode lever, meaning that I can use the down button on the touch pad to select the metering mode).

*Unless these terms are widely explained, they are explained here (this is also a great resource of camera ergonomics): http://cameraergonomics.blogspot.com/2012/03/setup-prepare-capture-and-review-phases.html

I got a G80 to replace my aging E-M1.1 last week. It's fantastic! I'm extremely happy with it, and in most important areas, it surpasses the Olympus.

I've done quite a bit of serious work with the Olympus, so I imagine the G85 would certainly be up to the task.

Ergonomics are great, IQ is the best I've got from the 16 mpix sensor (identical to E-M1 in raw, better in jpeg, after some tweaking), and autofocus feels much more positive than on the E-M1 where I always felt the AF kind of hesitant (though it did the job fine most of the time).

Jacques Cornell wrote:

Luis Gabriel Photography wrote:

goncalomp wrote:

Hey everyone!

I need your help and experience with something.

I currently work as a pro, shooting private and corporate events and the ocasional wedding. I use a full frame system, it works great but the weight of the 2.8 zooms + 12 hour events where destroying my back so I switched to primes. I saved a lot of weight but sometimes a zoom is necessary.

Do you think it makes sense to add a G80/85 ( not the GX80/85) to my system with a couple of 2.8 panasonic zooms for the type of photography I do?

If I buy a Panasonic flash will it work like a DSLR with the read beam that assists focus?

I chose this camera because I can get it for around 560 euros in a store near me and read good reviews about it but if there are better suggestions around this price point I will consider them!

I picked up a friends GH4 with the 35-100 2.8 and laughed out loud, the setup was so light!

Many thanks

Not sure what FF you own but what about using F4 zooms instead.

That's what I did, but it was still too much. Admittedly, I was using 1-series beasts. Even so, shooting with three MFTs with f1.7 primes gives me 1/2 stop more light than 35mm format with an f4 zoom, covers a good variety of focal lengths, and spreads the weight in a way that's much less burdensome than a single DSLR with even an f4 zoom.

Blur wise, it will still give you more subject isolation than 2.8 on m43 and you wouldnt have to change systems and noise wise, with the advantage a good FF sensor has over m43, you shouldnt notice a difference. Of course it depends on how much weight you are saving with those F4 lenses and how heavy the body you are using is.
Also for pro work, I want dual cards so that rules out the G85 and goes to the G9 instead for example.

I have triple cards. One in my GX85 and one in each of my GX8s, and in 15 years of doing this work, I've never lost an image to a bad card. You NEVER do event work with just one body. At least not professionally. Murphy's Law.

Single cards on different cameras does not equal redundancy of dual cards but I dont want to get into an argument about this. Dual bodies both with dual cards is how I work.
To each its own of course.
Regards

pannumon wrote:

First, I think G80/85 makes a perfect sense! With that price, it's the best value for money there is.

Jacques Cornell wrote:

y decisive factor in choosing GX8 over G85 was the buttons. They're raised and easy to find by touch. The G85's buttons are smaller and flush. I keep my eye to the EVF when making adjustments, so this is critical.

Overall, for the most of the people, G85 handling is supposedly superior at least to GX85, but also G8. I have G7 that is basically the older version of the G85. I don't find the 'flush' buttons annoying, but I don't know better. Many people seem to think it is some kind of an issue though, and sugru seems to be a decent solution for it.

Let's put it this way: as long as I can set the exposure parameters without looking the buttons, and as long as I don't need to use the menu system in the shooting/capture phase*, I'm happy.

Also I don't want to go to the actual menu system in the preparation phase*. I use a custom Q.Menu for setting those.

I have lost my nerve with some of the smaller Panasonic bodies because the lack of dedicated buttons, although I find my old GF1 totally adequate (this camera has the shooting mode lever, meaning that I can use the down button on the touch pad to select the metering mode).

*Unless these terms are widely explained, they are explained here (this is also a great resource of camera ergonomics): http://cameraergonomics.blogspot.com/2012/03/setup-prepare-capture-and-review-phases.html

I couldn't find the G85's buttons by touch, so I had to take my eye from the viewfinder and look at the back of the camera. For me, that is a "fail". For casual or more slow-paced shooters, this might not matter. But, as an event shooter, I have to work fast and in the dark, which makes finding buttons by touch essential.

Luis Gabriel Photography wrote:

Jacques Cornell wrote:

Luis Gabriel Photography wrote:

goncalomp wrote:

Hey everyone!

I need your help and experience with something.

I currently work as a pro, shooting private and corporate events and the ocasional wedding. I use a full frame system, it works great but the weight of the 2.8 zooms + 12 hour events where destroying my back so I switched to primes. I saved a lot of weight but sometimes a zoom is necessary.

Do you think it makes sense to add a G80/85 ( not the GX80/85) to my system with a couple of 2.8 panasonic zooms for the type of photography I do?

If I buy a Panasonic flash will it work like a DSLR with the read beam that assists focus?

I chose this camera because I can get it for around 560 euros in a store near me and read good reviews about it but if there are better suggestions around this price point I will consider them!

I picked up a friends GH4 with the 35-100 2.8 and laughed out loud, the setup was so light!

Many thanks

Not sure what FF you own but what about using F4 zooms instead.

That's what I did, but it was still too much. Admittedly, I was using 1-series beasts. Even so, shooting with three MFTs with f1.7 primes gives me 1/2 stop more light than 35mm format with an f4 zoom, covers a good variety of focal lengths, and spreads the weight in a way that's much less burdensome than a single DSLR with even an f4 zoom.

Blur wise, it will still give you more subject isolation than 2.8 on m43 and you wouldnt have to change systems and noise wise, with the advantage a good FF sensor has over m43, you shouldnt notice a difference. Of course it depends on how much weight you are saving with those F4 lenses and how heavy the body you are using is.
Also for pro work, I want dual cards so that rules out the G85 and goes to the G9 instead for example.

I have triple cards. One in my GX85 and one in each of my GX8s, and in 15 years of doing this work, I've never lost an image to a bad card. You NEVER do event work with just one body. At least not professionally. Murphy's Law.

Single cards on different cameras does not equal redundancy of dual cards but I dont want to get into an argument about this. Dual bodies both with dual cards is how I work.
To each its own of course.
Regards

When the body I want to use has dual cards, then I'll have dual cards. But having or not having sways my choice of body not one whit.

Jacques Cornell wrote:

Luis Gabriel Photography wrote:

Jacques Cornell wrote:

Luis Gabriel Photography wrote:

goncalomp wrote:

Hey everyone!

I need your help and experience with something.

I currently work as a pro, shooting private and corporate events and the ocasional wedding. I use a full frame system, it works great but the weight of the 2.8 zooms + 12 hour events where destroying my back so I switched to primes. I saved a lot of weight but sometimes a zoom is necessary.

Do you think it makes sense to add a G80/85 ( not the GX80/85) to my system with a couple of 2.8 panasonic zooms for the type of photography I do?

If I buy a Panasonic flash will it work like a DSLR with the read beam that assists focus?

I chose this camera because I can get it for around 560 euros in a store near me and read good reviews about it but if there are better suggestions around this price point I will consider them!

I picked up a friends GH4 with the 35-100 2.8 and laughed out loud, the setup was so light!

Many thanks

Not sure what FF you own but what about using F4 zooms instead.

That's what I did, but it was still too much. Admittedly, I was using 1-series beasts. Even so, shooting with three MFTs with f1.7 primes gives me 1/2 stop more light than 35mm format with an f4 zoom, covers a good variety of focal lengths, and spreads the weight in a way that's much less burdensome than a single DSLR with even an f4 zoom.

Blur wise, it will still give you more subject isolation than 2.8 on m43 and you wouldnt have to change systems and noise wise, with the advantage a good FF sensor has over m43, you shouldnt notice a difference. Of course it depends on how much weight you are saving with those F4 lenses and how heavy the body you are using is.
Also for pro work, I want dual cards so that rules out the G85 and goes to the G9 instead for example.

I have triple cards. One in my GX85 and one in each of my GX8s, and in 15 years of doing this work, I've never lost an image to a bad card. You NEVER do event work with just one body. At least not professionally. Murphy's Law.

Single cards on different cameras does not equal redundancy of dual cards but I dont want to get into an argument about this. Dual bodies both with dual cards is how I work.
To each its own of course.
Regards

When the body I want to use has dual cards, then I'll have dual cards. But having or not having sways my choice of body not one whit.

Fine by me. We all have our priorities and needs.
Regards

Luis Gabriel Photography wrote:

Jacques Cornell wrote:

Luis Gabriel Photography wrote:

Jacques Cornell wrote:

Luis Gabriel Photography wrote:

goncalomp wrote:

Hey everyone!

I need your help and experience with something.

I currently work as a pro, shooting private and corporate events and the ocasional wedding. I use a full frame system, it works great but the weight of the 2.8 zooms + 12 hour events where destroying my back so I switched to primes. I saved a lot of weight but sometimes a zoom is necessary.

Do you think it makes sense to add a G80/85 ( not the GX80/85) to my system with a couple of 2.8 panasonic zooms for the type of photography I do?

If I buy a Panasonic flash will it work like a DSLR with the read beam that assists focus?

I chose this camera because I can get it for around 560 euros in a store near me and read good reviews about it but if there are better suggestions around this price point I will consider them!

I picked up a friends GH4 with the 35-100 2.8 and laughed out loud, the setup was so light!

Many thanks

Not sure what FF you own but what about using F4 zooms instead.

That's what I did, but it was still too much. Admittedly, I was using 1-series beasts. Even so, shooting with three MFTs with f1.7 primes gives me 1/2 stop more light than 35mm format with an f4 zoom, covers a good variety of focal lengths, and spreads the weight in a way that's much less burdensome than a single DSLR with even an f4 zoom.

Blur wise, it will still give you more subject isolation than 2.8 on m43 and you wouldnt have to change systems and noise wise, with the advantage a good FF sensor has over m43, you shouldnt notice a difference. Of course it depends on how much weight you are saving with those F4 lenses and how heavy the body you are using is.
Also for pro work, I want dual cards so that rules out the G85 and goes to the G9 instead for example.

I have triple cards. One in my GX85 and one in each of my GX8s, and in 15 years of doing this work, I've never lost an image to a bad card. You NEVER do event work with just one body. At least not professionally. Murphy's Law.

Single cards on different cameras does not equal redundancy of dual cards

No, it's not equal, but it does mean that a card failure won't wipe out my entire shoot. And, if I swap cards occasionally, this reduces the at-risk pool of photos even more. Given that I've made it through 15 years without a failure, I'm not worried. I could lose one card and still deliver all the photos my client asked for. And, of course, anyone who shoots an event with just one body and thinks they're safe because they have dual cards is playing with fire.

but I dont want to get into an argument about this. Dual bodies both with dual cards is how I work.
To each its own of course.
Regards

When the body I want to use has dual cards, then I'll have dual cards. But having or not having sways my choice of body not one whit.

Fine by me. We all have our priorities and needs.
Regards

Jacques Cornell wrote:

Luis Gabriel Photography wrote:

Jacques Cornell wrote:

Luis Gabriel Photography wrote:

Jacques Cornell wrote:

Luis Gabriel Photography wrote:

goncalomp wrote:

Hey everyone!

I need your help and experience with something.

I currently work as a pro, shooting private and corporate events and the ocasional wedding. I use a full frame system, it works great but the weight of the 2.8 zooms + 12 hour events where destroying my back so I switched to primes. I saved a lot of weight but sometimes a zoom is necessary.

Do you think it makes sense to add a G80/85 ( not the GX80/85) to my system with a couple of 2.8 panasonic zooms for the type of photography I do?

If I buy a Panasonic flash will it work like a DSLR with the read beam that assists focus?

I chose this camera because I can get it for around 560 euros in a store near me and read good reviews about it but if there are better suggestions around this price point I will consider them!

I picked up a friends GH4 with the 35-100 2.8 and laughed out loud, the setup was so light!

Many thanks

Not sure what FF you own but what about using F4 zooms instead.

That's what I did, but it was still too much. Admittedly, I was using 1-series beasts. Even so, shooting with three MFTs with f1.7 primes gives me 1/2 stop more light than 35mm format with an f4 zoom, covers a good variety of focal lengths, and spreads the weight in a way that's much less burdensome than a single DSLR with even an f4 zoom.

Blur wise, it will still give you more subject isolation than 2.8 on m43 and you wouldnt have to change systems and noise wise, with the advantage a good FF sensor has over m43, you shouldnt notice a difference. Of course it depends on how much weight you are saving with those F4 lenses and how heavy the body you are using is.
Also for pro work, I want dual cards so that rules out the G85 and goes to the G9 instead for example.

I have triple cards. One in my GX85 and one in each of my GX8s, and in 15 years of doing this work, I've never lost an image to a bad card. You NEVER do event work with just one body. At least not professionally. Murphy's Law.

Single cards on different cameras does not equal redundancy of dual cards

No, it's not equal, but it does mean that a card failure won't wipe out my entire shoot. And, if I swap cards occasionally, this reduces the at-risk pool of photos even more. Given that I've made it through 15 years without a failure, I'm not worried. I could lose one card and still deliver all the photos my client asked for.

Redundancy is not the same as dual bodies. Events are about moments that usually cannot be recreated. You lost that shot, that expression..its gone.
Anyways, I will stop here as this debate is pointless. You got your point of view, I got mine and that is just fine.

And, of course, anyone who shoots an event with just one body and thinks they're safe because they have dual cards is playing with fire.

Like I clearly said "Dual bodies both with dual cards is how I work."
This is my last reply. Have a good one.

Luis Gabriel Photography wrote:

Jacques Cornell wrote:

Luis Gabriel Photography wrote:

Jacques Cornell wrote:

Luis Gabriel Photography wrote:

Jacques Cornell wrote:

Luis Gabriel Photography wrote:

goncalomp wrote:

Hey everyone!

I need your help and experience with something.

I currently work as a pro, shooting private and corporate events and the ocasional wedding. I use a full frame system, it works great but the weight of the 2.8 zooms + 12 hour events where destroying my back so I switched to primes. I saved a lot of weight but sometimes a zoom is necessary.

Do you think it makes sense to add a G80/85 ( not the GX80/85) to my system with a couple of 2.8 panasonic zooms for the type of photography I do?

If I buy a Panasonic flash will it work like a DSLR with the read beam that assists focus?

I chose this camera because I can get it for around 560 euros in a store near me and read good reviews about it but if there are better suggestions around this price point I will consider them!

I picked up a friends GH4 with the 35-100 2.8 and laughed out loud, the setup was so light!

Many thanks

Not sure what FF you own but what about using F4 zooms instead.

That's what I did, but it was still too much. Admittedly, I was using 1-series beasts. Even so, shooting with three MFTs with f1.7 primes gives me 1/2 stop more light than 35mm format with an f4 zoom, covers a good variety of focal lengths, and spreads the weight in a way that's much less burdensome than a single DSLR with even an f4 zoom.

Blur wise, it will still give you more subject isolation than 2.8 on m43 and you wouldnt have to change systems and noise wise, with the advantage a good FF sensor has over m43, you shouldnt notice a difference. Of course it depends on how much weight you are saving with those F4 lenses and how heavy the body you are using is.
Also for pro work, I want dual cards so that rules out the G85 and goes to the G9 instead for example.

I have triple cards. One in my GX85 and one in each of my GX8s, and in 15 years of doing this work, I've never lost an image to a bad card. You NEVER do event work with just one body. At least not professionally. Murphy's Law.

Single cards on different cameras does not equal redundancy of dual cards

No, it's not equal, but it does mean that a card failure won't wipe out my entire shoot. And, if I swap cards occasionally, this reduces the at-risk pool of photos even more. Given that I've made it through 15 years without a failure, I'm not worried. I could lose one card and still deliver all the photos my client asked for.

Redundancy is not the same as dual bodies. Events are about moments that usually cannot be recreated. You lost that shot, that expression..its gone.

In theory, you're right. If I can only shoot a few frames of "the kiss" or whatever crucial and fleeting moment you want to postulate, there is an infinitesimally small chance that the card will fail and I won't have it. But, these moments usually last longer than 1 second, and I can almost always shoot them with two cameras. I'm quick, you see. Your hypothetical has simply never happened to me in 15 years. Besides which, in corporate event work, there are almost no such fraught moments. In most of my work, I have plenty of time to shoot various angles, compositions, focal lengths, and facial expressions of, say, a presenter onstage. Shooting with three bodies, there is no way that I'm not going to be able to deliver, dual slots or no.

Anyways, I will stop here as this debate is pointless. You got your point of view, I got mine and that is just fine.

And, of course, anyone who shoots an event with just one body and thinks they're safe because they have dual cards is playing with fire.

Like I clearly said "Dual bodies both with dual cards is how I work."

goncalomp wrote:

Hey everyone,

A little update, so after realising the 2.8 zooms would not suit my needs I invested in a 15 1.7 + 45 1.8 and a 350o godox flash. I have been taking this setup along with my dslr (nikon d750+primes) to events and have been testing it extensively. Here are my main conclusions.

-I love using the system, it is so portable and fast I feel agile, almost like a ninja! I love the freedom it gives me.

-Editing two different cameras is a chore, the colors/saturation/etc look so different from one another.

-The files require more care, they are not so elastic as the d750, I have to proper expose and think more carfully before taking the shot or noise will be there.

DxO PhotoLab 2's PRIME noise reduction can work wonders.

-I have been spoiled by nikons amazing ttl system. To get the results I like with the godox I have to use it in manual mode, old school syle. Also the flash is so tiny that I am considering adding a modifier so that the light is more even.

-The af is super fast, even in disco settings with people dancing.

Panasonic's low-light S-AF is remarkably good. At low enough light levels, any camera's AF will bog down, and I encountered this occasionally with my 12-35/2.8 on dark dance floors, so I got a 12/2 to provide the AF system with one stop more light. It helps.

-2 batteries last me a long long time, I was not expecting that!

-With the 45 1.8 there is enough subject isolation for some "pop", not as much as the nikon but enough for the look I am looking for.

The 75/1.8 does even nicer background blur.

For this setup to be complete I only need a 75 1.8 and an extra camera and I might just start to leave the Nikon in the bag and who knows, maybe even do a full switch.

With MFT bodies available so cheap and small, it's easy to shoot with two or more bodies with primes mounted.

If I invest in a new m43 camera what camera would have the same colors as the g85? Do all models have different color science or if I pick up another camera from that generation it will look the same (gx8 for example)?

Background: I shoot events with two GX8s and a GX85, and I've lately considered adding a D750 or even a7RIII with f1.4 or f1.8 primes.

The D750 is still a great camera. My partner in event photography shoots with one, and I've lately been considering adding one to my kit with some bright primes just for the extra light gathering when shooting in low light without flash. With f1.8 primes, it offers 2 stops lower noise than my GX8 + f1.8 prime and 1 stop more than I'd get with my GX8 + f1.2 prime. Mount an f1.4 prime on the D750 and you have a low-ambient-light beast.

That said, after a couple months of research and dithering, I'm going to stick with MFT. My event work is almost never printed big (it all goes online), so my GX8's 20MP and my GX85's 16MP is plenty. I can almost always keep ISO at or below 3200, which is a usable ISO for me with these cameras. And, the TT350's TTL works really well for me at close range. As for the 75/1.8, to get equivalent reach on the Nikon, I'd need a 70-200/2.8, and that costs $2k and gets me just 2/3 of a stop more light - hardly worth the expense and bulk.

What really made up my mind about getting some f1.2 MFT primes instead of a D750 with f1.8 primes, though, is a workflow test I ran last night. I downloaded DPR's Studio Test shots (daylight and tungsten light) for the D750 and the GX8 and ran them through my preferred RAW processor, DxO PhotoLab 2. Figuring a worst-case scenario where I'd shoot with an f1.2 MFT prime or an f1.8 Nikon prime, I compared ISO 6400 NEFs with ISO 3200 RW2s. After Lens Sharpness squeezed out every last bit of available detail and PRIME noise reduction worked its magic, both sets of images looked very clean and detailed. The D750 better resolved some of the very smallest details, such as the lines on the wall of the B&W etching, but I really had to look closely at 1:1 on my 4K display to see the differences.

The upshot is that my GAS-attack musings about adding 35mm format to my kit have subsided, and I'm going to get some premium MFT primes instead. Part of it is money, part of it is simplicity, part of it is the smaller-than-anticipated difference in real-world results (for my purposes under my shooting conditions), and part of it is I just really like shooting with my GX85 and two GX8s. I've got a system I like that works, and a couple of brighter lenses will get me where I'm trying to go. Nocticron, here I come!

photofan1986 wrote:

I got a G80 to replace my aging E-M1.1 last week. It's fantastic! I'm extremely happy with it, and in most important areas, it surpasses the Olympus.

I've done quite a bit of serious work with the Olympus, so I imagine the G85 would certainly be up to the task.

Ergonomics are great, IQ is the best I've got from the 16 mpix sensor (identical to E-M1 in raw, better in jpeg, after some tweaking), and autofocus feels much more positive than on the E-M1 where I always felt the AF kind of hesitant (though it did the job fine most of the time).

Mind sharing your preferred jpeg tweaks for the G80?  I picked up one recently as well but haven't really used it yet.  I plan to mostly use it for video of the grandchildren, but I'd love to have good jpeg output as well.

G Rash wrote:

Mind sharing your preferred jpeg tweaks for the G80? I picked up one recently as well but haven't really used it yet. I plan to mostly use it for video of the grandchildren, but I'd love to have good jpeg output as well.

Sure. I use jpeg fine, standard or portait color mode.

In standard mode, contrast is set to -1, saturation to -3, noise reduction to -5. All other effects turned off. Same for the portrait mode, except contrast is set to 0. Also, exposure compensation is set to -1/3 or -2/3EV.

I noticed that in standard mode under natural light (mostly in the shade), people tend to have magenta lips, which doesn't happen in portait mode. Portait mode is slightly warmer which suits those subject better. Note that contrast is reduced in portrait mode and the picture is slightly brighter.

photofan1986 wrote:

G Rash wrote:

Mind sharing your preferred jpeg tweaks for the G80? I picked up one recently as well but haven't really used it yet. I plan to mostly use it for video of the grandchildren, but I'd love to have good jpeg output as well.

Sure. I use jpeg fine, standard or portait color mode.

In standard mode, contrast is set to -1, saturation to -3, noise reduction to -5. All other effects turned off. Same for the portrait mode, except contrast is set to 0. Also, exposure compensation is set to -1/3 or -2/3EV.

I noticed that in standard mode under natural light (mostly in the shade), people tend to have magenta lips, which doesn't happen in portait mode. Portait mode is slightly warmer which suits those subject better. Note that contrast is reduced in portrait mode and the picture is slightly brighter.

Thanks.