Panasonic G7 with 14-140mm lense still a good camera July 2022

Congrats on your new G7 kit...looks like you are off to a good start. Enjoy!

barbara j wrote:

JoviFan wrote:

Thanks everyone for the information! I finally received it and was able to play with it, but just for about an hour so far - so straight out of the camera, here are a few....lots to learn I think....def an adjustment without the 'zoom lever' that I'm use to!

Wow! You must be feeling really happy with your purchase! I really like the color on those shots.

PS: is that your yard? another wow1!!! :D))

thanks - another overcast day today, so I didn't get chance to play with it... the focus seems a little 'slower' than my zs70...but could just be me... and yep, that's part of my back yard

a few from today when the sun peaked out ..

dreary day again today and this is thru my door - but finally, after 1 year he's back at the feeder!!!

and a few more, straight outta the camera

This is an excellent lightweight combination of camera and lens. My G7 practically lives with a 14-140 lens and is my default grab and go unit.

It’s a lovely and well featured body with the only drawbacks being lack of in-body stabilisation [your 14-140 lens has its own stabilisation anyway] and the shutter-shock at slow shutter speeds that is sometimes evident. Unless the subject is moving fast, just set the shutter selection to ‘auto’ to avoid this phenomena. It works great.

I have two of these lenses and they are by far my most used.

Enjoy!

Lepewhi wrote:

I'm a sucker for hummingbirds. They seem so magical. And at 65mm you were pretty close. They are pretty skittish.

we have about a dozen this year - they buzz all over our patio - I sit withing 10' of the feeders alot and they buzz on by.  Sometimes one will stop within 2' of me and 'check me out'! It's pretty cool!

pannumon wrote:

Sorry I did not re-read the whole thread. Nice pictures as such, but noise reduction related to high ISO is destroying all the detail.

I hear ya - but I don't normally print many, if any prints over 4x6 so these are fine imo for that...so for looking at them on the screen to me is fine.  I agree if you 'zoom' in they are a little fuzzy but it is what is is...trying to enjoy something since I lost my dad late last year.....life's too short to worry about a lot of little details anymore!

TomFid wrote:

JoviFan wrote:

Pulled the trigger on one from Amazon on deal yesterday....but having buyers remorse reading about it's age and that it's used mostly for video and no in camera stabilization.... this would be my first time trying a non-point and shoot mirrorless camera.

Wondering if I should look for a 'newer' option? or Will this be good for wildlife, birds esp, and landscape photos...?

thanks!

Still good - sure - because everything is pretty good.

But still competitive? I'd say no, though the answer depends on just how good a deal it was. Something like a G85, G95, EM5iii, or even EM5ii is going to offer quite a bit more performance for not much more money. If budget's an issue, it's worth looking at the used market.

The 14-140 is a super useful lens, but a little short for a lot of wildlife, especially small birds. You'd be better served by the Panasonic 100-300 II or the Oly 75-300 at a minimum. These teles are not the best as a general-purpose walkaround lens, so if you can manage to get both that would be ideal.

question about lenses - guessing I need to buy them with OIS or Mega/Power OIS?  since there is no stabilization in the camera?

JoviFan wrote:

TomFid wrote:

JoviFan wrote:

Pulled the trigger on one from Amazon on deal yesterday....but having buyers remorse reading about it's age and that it's used mostly for video and no in camera stabilization.... this would be my first time trying a non-point and shoot mirrorless camera.

Wondering if I should look for a 'newer' option? or Will this be good for wildlife, birds esp, and landscape photos...?

thanks!

Still good - sure - because everything is pretty good.

But still competitive? I'd say no, though the answer depends on just how good a deal it was. Something like a G85, G95, EM5iii, or even EM5ii is going to offer quite a bit more performance for not much more money. If budget's an issue, it's worth looking at the used market.

The 14-140 is a super useful lens, but a little short for a lot of wildlife, especially small birds. You'd be better served by the Panasonic 100-300 II or the Oly 75-300 at a minimum. These teles are not the best as a general-purpose walkaround lens, so if you can manage to get both that would be ideal.

question about lenses - guessing I need to buy them with OIS or Mega/Power OIS? since there is no stabilization in the camera?

Not necessarily for fast shutter speeds. However for longer focal lengths than 45mm, 45 being my comfortable limit unstabilised, yes, stabilised lenses are advised for more consistently good results with the G7 and other Panasonic cameras of that generation and older.

G7 is amazingly good value on the used market at the moment. I checked MPB UK earlier and they have plenty of choice at £264.  Or E-M10 MkII with in-body stabilisation for around £240 for as new, all with six month warranties. If carried with a wrist strap, you might want a grip extension with the Olympus to make it more comfortable to hold for long periods which will take it to the same price or slightly more than the G7.  These are very comparable cameras in many ways.

woof woof wrote:

Lepewhi wrote:

What about if you turn on the electronic shutter? Wouldn't that solve the issue?

It's a partial solution but causes two issues, rolling shutter and the possibility of banding under flickering lighting.

Rolling shutter never bothered me but banding when shooting indoors did. The problem being that with an affected lens which I wanted to use when shooting indoors I'd be in the shutter shock range and facing two possibilities, shutter shock with the mechanical shutter and banding with the electronic shutter. This made some camera and lens combinations and specifically one combination which I wanted to use unusable for indoor shooting.

Outside and away from flickering lighting the electronic shutter is fine unless you shoot subjects that could show the rolling shutter effect.

The ‘auto’ shutter selection is quite intelligent and uses mechanical shutter most of the time but electronic in the shutter speed band prone to shock relative to the lens focal length fitted. It does, in my experience, detect lighting conditions that cause banding and again prioritises mechanical shutter.

The main failing is for rolling shutter distortion of quite fast moving subjects. This has seldom been an issue for me and one soon learns that if cars are passing at right angles close by and faster than 20mph or so, or a golfer is swinging his club, or helicopter spinning blades are involved, to either ensure that the shutter speed is fast enough that the electronic shutter will not be engaged or that the mechanical shutter is manually selected. I have Fn4 button, which is also the back and trash button, set to change shutters.

TomFid wrote:

woof woof wrote:

Lepewhi wrote:

What about if you turn on the electronic shutter? Wouldn't that solve the issue?

It's a partial solution but causes two issues, rolling shutter and the possibility of banding under flickering lighting.

Rolling shutter never bothered me but banding when shooting indoors did. The problem being that with an affected lens which I wanted to use when shooting indoors I'd be in the shutter shock range and facing two possibilities, shutter shock with the mechanical shutter and banding with the electronic shutter. This made some camera and lens combinations and specifically one combination which I wanted to use unusable for indoor shooting.

Outside and away from flickering lighting the electronic shutter is fine unless you shoot subjects that could show the rolling shutter effect.

For the OP's use case - wildlife and landscape - electronic shutter will probably be fine. Fast things like flapping wings on small birds may show rolling shutter artifacts, though sometimes they're interesting or attractive. Most subjects will be pretty safe. Saves wear and tear on the hardware and its nicely silent too.

The insidious thing about shutter shock is you can't always tell you have it. The worst cases with doubled horizontal edges are pretty obvious, but lesser cases may still degrade sharpness a little.

Used with the auto shutter selection mode, if freezing the action is required, then the shutter speed will probably be high enough that the electronic shutter will not be used. Of course one can choose manually to set either shutter as desired.

I must say that choosing the Panasonic G7 with the 14-140mm lens is a wise decision; the camera is great for wildlife, birds, and landscape photography. I use a Panasonic G7 and it does a great job, the photo quality is excellent. You just is to familiarize yourself with the camera's features and functions, and then just enjoy taking some stunning pictures.