Photography News issue 23

Camera test 40

Photography News Issue 23 absolutephoto.com

Full test Panasonic Lumix GX8 It’s the first Micro Four Thirds camera to break the 20-megapixel barrier, but the GX8 has so much more than high resolution to excite

Specs

Price £999 body only, £1699 with 12- 35mm f/2.8, £1399 with 14-140mm Sensor Live MOS, 20.3 effective megapixels Sensor format Micro Four Thirds 17x13mm, 5184x3888 pixels max. 14-bit Raw and 3 JPEG levels. 4 aspect ratios. 4K Video 3840x2160 pixels ISO range 200-25,600 in 0.3EV steps. Extended range to ISO 100 Shutter range 60secs to 1/8000sec mechanical shutter, 1/25-1/16,000sec electronic shutter, Bulb up to 30mins, flash sync 1/250sec or slower Drivemodes 8fps with mechanical shutter, 10fps with electronic shutter, self- timer (2 or 10secs, 3 images) Metering system 1728 multiple zone, spot, centre- weighted average Exposure compensation +/-5EV in 0.3EV steps. AEB 3, 5, 7 shots in 0.3, 0.6, 1EV steps up to +/-3EV Monitor Articulating 3in touch sensitive OLED with 1040k dots, 100% field of view Image stabiliser Image sensor shift type Focusing Contrast-detection type AF. Modes: Face/eye detection, tracking, 49 area, custommulti, single area, pinpoint Creativemodes 22 options in still (17 in video) including Toy Effect, Bleach Bypass, Miniature Effect, Fantasy and Rough Monochrome Connectivity Wi-Fi, USB 2.0, micro HDMI, 2.5mm remote socket, 2.5mm microphone socket Dust reduction system Supersonic wave filter Storagemedia 1xSD/SDHC/SDXC Power Li-ion battery pack, battery life 340 shots approx Dimensions (wxhxd) 133.2x77.9x63.1mm Weight 487g with battery Contact panasonic.com

Words by Will Cheung

The body feels really solid in the hands and that promotes steady shooting

Accessing used features is done with dedicated buttons (which you can change), via the Q menu or via one of the DISP options, which displays the camera’s set-up. The Q menu can be customised too with 33 options to choose from. The touch-sensitive monitor makes choosing and altering a setting really swift. Speaking of the monitor, the GX8 has two viewing options, the three- inch monitor or the built-in EVF. The monitor flips out to the side and can be rotated to face forwards for easy selfie shooting, but for most users perhaps the ability to look down, including when shooting upright-format images, to compose is more appealing. So for sneaky street shots or very low viewpoints, the articulating monitor is ideal and the touch-sensitive screen means you can focus a shot with your finger. The annoying thing with the touch-sensitive monitor (and this is not just on the GX8) is that you can be happily shooting away one second and the next your nose or a brush of frequently

The Micro Four Thirds system has a great deal to offer photographers wanting small, lightweight cameras and lenses without compromising on image quality. The Panasonic Lumix GX8 is the latest Micro Four Thirds camera to arrive and priced at £999 body only, it’s a feature-packed, top-end model. Among the headlines, the GX8 is the firstMicro Four Thirds camera to havearesolutionover20megapixels, it can shoot 4K video and there’s a new Dual Image Stabilisation system. Other key features include a hinged and tilting three-inch LCD that shows 100% of the image; 4K Photo mode which enables capture of eight-megapixel files at 30fps; and a contrast AF systemusing DFD (Depth fromDefocus) technology. The GX8 is a large camera by Micro Four Thirds standards and that helpswithhandling, withplenty of space for the many knobs and buttons. It has a heft too (for a Micro Four Thirds model), so the body, which is also dust-sealed, feels really solid in the hands and that promotes

the finger has moved the AF point to the edge or corner of the frame. After this happened the first few times, I allocated one of the function buttons to enable or disable the touchscreen so I didn’t have to delve into the menus to do it. Besides, there are plenty of function buttons to use. The EVF can also be rotated 90°. It’s firmly clicked for normal shooting and can be set to a different angle in an instant. It’s a neat little feature and much more useful than an integral flash that would normally take up this space. In terms of overall performance the GX8 does well. I had no issues with exposure, white-balance or autofocusing. The camera consistently delivered high-quality pictures. The lens supplied for review was the Lumix 12-35mm f/2.8, one of the leading lights in the Panasonic range. At full resolution, images opened up big enough to give a 17x13in print at 300ppi without interpolation so there is plenty of scope for high- quality prints.

steady shooting. Steady shooting is helped in no small measure with the Dual Image Stabilisation system. In still shooting, this means the two-axis lens stabiliser and the five-axis system in the body work together – or you can have just one system working. I shot handheld down to 1/4sec and got very sharp pictures, which gives you some idea of the system’s efficacy. It is always worthwhile spending time setting a camera up how you like it to work, and the GX8 offers so many options. In the REC menu there are eight pages and a total of 37 options, while in the custom menu, there are nine menus with 45 options. Go into the function buttons menu and you’ll see 13 function buttons (physical and virtual), and each offers up to 52 options. Of course there is an upside to the great many options and that is, the GX8 is very adaptable to different needs and preferences. All you have to do is get used to the camera’s set‑up once you have explored the many possibilities.