End of my tether Panasonic G7 - Focus Advice - Do cameras die?

HRPOWER wrote:

My G7 is 5 years old. Yes it may have been dropped. It has done around 60 video shoots.

Suddenly the auto focus hunting is terrible. On every mode.

So I did a test and put the camera in manual focus. Still hunts, albeit less.

I normally shoot in a car moving along.... No issues for 5 years,

Camera man shop bloke says - cameras die, life span... sensor goes, board goes etc.

Shall I get another G7?

Just some random thoughts!

Have you tried with a different lens?

Have tried resetting the camera to (factory) default settings?

What do you mean when you say it hunts in manual focus?  Note AFAIK autofocus can be known to hunt on any AF camera but manual focus by implication does not 'hunt'!

I have not tried a different lens no.

I know its unusual - it was hunting much less.

I wonder if because I am moving and the light is changing, minor bumps the camera is getting confused even in manual.

I am happy to buy something else. I just wanted to check the shop guy's theory that cameras have a shelf life and stop working so well after  few years.

HRPOWER wrote:

I have not tried a different lens no.

I know its unusual - it was hunting much less.

I wonder if because I am moving and the light is changing, minor bumps the camera is getting confused even in manual.

I am happy to buy something else. I just wanted to check the shop guy's theory that cameras have a shelf life and stop working so well after few years.

Hmmm! does it work properly when not used in a moving car? If so, I think you have a partial answer as to either a setting has been altered and/or the situation is different now to the previous successful video situations

I know nothing about this camera model ...but if you are handhollding it in a moving car and it is struggling to maintain focus you may have simply found the camera limits? (Especially if it works properly when not in the car)

PS manual focus does not hunt.....you are in control of focusing. If because of the cars movements you are losing the subject that has nothing to do with the camera.

Edit ~ of course cameras like all technology can start to fail but you need to confirm for yourself whether it is failing. By doing a more typical test movie not shot in a moving car and finding the camera still has an issue......then just maybe the camera has a fault?

If the test I suggest does indicate a potential fault......try another lens even if you have to borrow it?

Ok interesting. Just odd that it has started happening now.

Best line from the man in the Camera shop.

Me: Yeh I may have dropped it a few times.

Camera Shop man: Yeh, they are designed specifically not to be dropped.

It sounds as if it is knackered. Or the lens is knackered, because this camera has no in-body stabilisation and the lens is totally in charge of manual focus, answering to your instructions.

Best try another lens as a first option.

If the camera is itself knack’d, then do not buy another G7 unless your budget is extremely limited. Try at least a G85 which has the new smooth and quieter shutter and in-body image stabilisation. If you move at all, move on up. If you can afford it, get a G90 or whatever the one with the 20mp sensor is called, not for the extra megapixels but for the newer features, better stabilisation and image engine etc.

Most of all, try not to drop it. These are sensitive precision optical and electronic instruments that require some respect.

No idea but curious, do you use the camera mounted to the car--hood, dash, roof, other? Vibrations might have an effect on it; obviously drops will, and can accumulate.

Five years isn't bad for a camera that has seen hard use. Much better cameras have cone out in the meantime.

Good luck!

Rick

We’re still not clear on what you mean by manual focus. I can’t see how that can hunt

Really great all of you thanks so much wow.

Yes inside the car.

This is really useful.

I do have the G85 already but because it is heavier, the camera moves easier on the mount.  and whilst it keeps focus it jitters more over bumps than the G7 due to that small added weight of the body and lens the 12-60.

There is one school of thought that a heavier camera is more "stable" and other that the heavier camera places more pressure on the mount / i.e. the physics of it all. Using a Gopro on those same mounts... there is zero jitter under any circumstances, as the camera is light enough to move up and down with the bumps in the car, which is a more natural look because the picture is not affected.

I did consider the Sony VZ1 for its size and mic and popularity... but it would mean learning the menus.. I like the Panasonic menus.

HRPOWER wrote:

Really great all of you thanks so much wow.

Yes inside the car.

This is really useful.

I do have the G85 already but because it is heavier, the camera moves easier on the mount. and whilst it keeps focus it jitters more over bumps than the G7 due to that small added weight of the body and lens the 12-60.

There is one school of thought that a heavier camera is more "stable" and other that the heavier camera places more pressure on the mount / i.e. the physics of it all. Using a Gopro on those same mounts... there is zero jitter under any circumstances, as the camera is light enough to move up and down with the bumps in the car, which is a more natural look because the picture is not affected.

I did consider the Sony VZ1 for its size and mic and popularity... but it would mean learning the menus.. I like the Panasonic menus.

If the 12-60 is a second lens you own, swap it over to the G7 to test whether the G7 or its lens is your issue.

OK so following your advice.

Auto focus Tests:

G7 - with kit lens - 4k 24 - added jitters. Camera or lens hates it. Drops wildly.

G7 - with kit lens 1080p 24 - added jitters. Bit better but not keen on movement.

G7 - with 12-60 lens 4k 24 - added jitters. Not so bad.

G85 - with G7 Kit lens 4k  24 - drops focus

G85 - 1080p 60 G7 Kit lens - Not so bad.

So far results.

G7 is worse in both 4k and 1080p than the G85.

G7 Kit lens also drops focus sometimes on the G85.

Looks like the guy who said lenses break before bodies do... could be right.

Lost a lot of confidence now... on these cameras. And boy do I look old with sunken cheeks at this time of day.

HRPOWER wrote:

Lost a lot of confidence now... on these cameras. And boy do I look old with sunken cheeks at this time of day.

Wellll, if you drop a camera, or lens, of any type, you have a darned good chance it will break.

If you are lucky, it won't. Doesn't matter who made it.  Shock will damage delicate electromechanical devices.  Panasonic cameras tend to be more robust than many of the others, by the way, so I would not ascribe fragility to them based on your experience here.

Sorry that you are having problems, I hope you can find a solution that works for you.

-J

HRPOWER wrote:

Looks like the guy who said lenses break before bodies do... could be right.

Lost a lot of confidence now... on these cameras. And boy do I look old with sunken cheeks at this time of day.

I’ll risk repeating myself but this is true for all but sealed ‘rugged’ cameras...

"Most of all, try not to drop it. These are sensitive precision optical and electronic instruments that require some respect."

You may be able to claim on some house content insurance policies but I would not unless the loss approaches $1000 or £750+ because they may raise premiums in future and you might have an ‘excess’ where you pay the first $500. You might like to check if this is a possibility.