Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

Have you tried the camera at a wedding? I have another wedding coming up where I"m planning to make extensive use of it again, I really wish Panasonic would have added a mike input, eventhough voices seem to sound clear there is just way to much background noise.

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

Hi Noa,
I have 2 weddings this weekend and I plan to use it. I'll have to buy a couple of lenses as I only have the kit lens (12-35 3.5-5.6) and a SLR Magic 12mm T1.6 which bought secondhand for 300€.
I'm thinking of buying the Panasonic 25mm 1.7 and the 42.5mm 1.7 as they aren't too expensive and I don't usually use lenses much longer than 100mm (full frame).
I plan to use it when sound isn't the most important. I will use other sound recorders and my C100 when recording the ceremony and dance. But for the preparations, cocktail, dinner and those more intimate moments I'm going to try the GX85. I'll have my C100 at hand if I feel the camera or I are not upto filming such a big part of a wedding yet. In any case, I'm going to try it on Saturday after testing properly tomorrow.

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

The 42,5 f1.7 is a must have for m4/3 as it's cheap, tiny and stabilized, I also have the 75mm f1.8 which was gathering dust as I only could use it on a tripod and I preferred to use the 42,5mm handheld but with the gx80 the 75mm, together with the 42,5mm, has become one of my favorite lenses again to use to shoot handheld.

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

The 75 1.8 looks nice but quite expensive!

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

Yes, but it's a quality piece of glass and one of Olympus finest primes, I do however think it is not so expensive compared to Sony, Canon or Nikon most expensive primes and it's reach is perfect to get those close up headshots at ceremonies, receptions or in the venue. Before I had to use a tripod as even a monopod was difficult to keep it steady enough but the gx80 allows me to shoot handheld with that lens which has given the 75mm a permanent place in my gearbag again.

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

It's true that they aren't really too expensive but I'll have to wait and see if I see a second hand one. I don't want to spend too much without knowing the camera better.
Can you hot swap the lenses on the GX85 or is it best to turn the camera off when changing lenses?

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

Never done that, the startup time of these camera is so fast that I find it safer to turn them off unless ofcourse you don't want to interrupt recording, since you have the camera there is only one way to find out :)

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

Noa, how do you set that up?

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

Another interesting thing:
my Hong Kong camera has no time limit in 4K 25p Mp4 and 1080 50p AVCHD but it has a 20m20s limit on 1080p 50p Mp4

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

I mentioned that a bit earlier in this thread, did you not try it? When you are in the menu: "custom" you have to select "shutter af" and turn that to on".

Also good to know that the Hong Kong version come without a limit, it won't be of no use to me anyway as I"m not using the camera for longer then 30 minute continuous recordings.

So, tried it at your last weddings? Did it work out ok?

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

Hi Noa, thanks for the reply. I had looked back on your posts for the info but must have missed it.
I have tried it out on a couple of weddings. I'll start editing the first tomorrow so I'll let you know how it went.
The long recording time is handy as I have used it as a B cam in the ceremony and dance so hopefully the 4K will give me more flexibility when editing.

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

Another thing I have noticed is that the sound is recorded a split second later than the image as you can see in the photo. It's 4K. I haven't checked HD.

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

That's "normal" behavior, the gh4 does this too.

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

Thanks! I didn't know that. Panasonic is all new to me!

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

My first experience of the GX80 at a wedding has been very positive. The wedding was shot in day light so low light wasn't tested. It handled the harsh Madrid sun very well. It didn't heat up once and exposing wasn't too difficult. I still have to get a hang of the focussing system. I used it as a general b-cam in the ceremony and it recorded a long 40min 4K clip with no problem. The rest of the wedding was shot handheld and the stabiliser is great if you don't treat it like a gimbal. The batteries last long enough. I now have 3 official batteries and 2 Duracell one which cost 10€ each and work fine. Enough to get through a day of shooting. It takes getting used to a camera so small after the canon C100 but it really lightens the load! Sound is shit!

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

Yeah the sound can be pretty bad, the very first time I heard the camera's audio when people where speaking I thought it was ok as the voices sounded very clear until I listened more carefully and compared to my other camera's and then it sounded so bad in comparison (the noise in the background) it was not even possible to mix with any of my other camera's I had. If you have no other option then it is usable with the help of audition or izotope rx but when your audio is important it's no good.

What's the name of those Duracell batteries you have?

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

The Duracell batteries are DR9971 (7.2V/5.4Wh) 750mAh. Less powerful but have worked fine. I bought them from a reputable dealer here in Spain.

I've seen similar in Duracell Batteries - European Locations: UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Denmark: DuracellDirect.eu although they are not exactly the same. Maybe they are renewing their line in batteries.

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

Thx, good to have to cheap alternatives.

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

One thing I've noticed coming from Canon is that the Panasonic has a general greenish look.

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

Yes, color is definitely different to Canon camera's, that greenish tone is even more present on the GH4, my impression is that Panasonic has been finetuning color on the GX80. That's why I would not mix Canon with Panasonic, from my experience it's easier to match a sony with a panasonic.

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

Do you dial the green down in camera or leave it until post?

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

Actually no :) I have become so used to Panasonic colors that beside whitebalancing and shooting in a natural preset (with contrast and saturation dialed a bit down) I don't make a other color corrections in post.

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

Haha - I have used the same preset as you more or less! I guess I'm going to have to try and get used to it! This little camera has made me become very interested in the GH5. If it has a bit better low light and much better sound they could be a great light weight combination. I love the little lenses, so lightweight although manual focus takes a while to get used to.
I have the 1.7 25mm, 1.7 42.5mm, 12-32mm kit and a SLR magic 1.6 12mm. They are all enjoyable to use! I find I use the 25mm the most.

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

The size of the gx80 and little 42,5mm f1.7 lens has caused a guest at a wedding to come up to me asking if it's a 'special" camera because it's so small :)
I"m also waiting for a gh5 hoping it will have ibis, the onboard sound on the gh4 is a lot better then the gx80 so I would expect the gh5 to be similar. It's not on the same level as a camera with xlr and a shotgun but it's perfectly usable for ambient sound but also to record general chit chat during brideprep.
Low light on the GH4 is not like a c100 and I doubt the GH5 will be that much better, probably "clean" up to 6400 iso but I have found 6400 iso in combination with f1.7 lenses fast enough to handle any low light venue I have come across. You won't turn night into day but you can show it like you see it with your own eyes.

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

From what I've read the GH5 will have a better processor which is likely to help low light. If they don't put in the wonderful IBIS then they are crazy!
Adding a metabones or even better, those nifty 0.95 lenses should overcome any low light problems.
Having a lighter camera really frees you up to become more creative!

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

Noa, do you find you have to apply Neat video to many low light shots to clean up the noise? 3200 and 6400 iso?

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

No, never do, the gx80 is cleaner then the gh4 at 6400 iso but is most likely achieving that by compressing the blacks a lot more, you can see more in the shadows on the gh4 but the noise is also more visible.

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

Thought I"d give another update on using the gx80 at weddings, It's been said before that the gx80 sound is not good, it's usable if you have no other choice and for voices it's actually not that bad as it records these clear but it's the absence of low tones and especially the grinding noise in the background which in quiet spaces will make it sound much worse.

I had an issue recently at a wedding when I was shooting at the hairdresser, in below clip you can hear that the noise in the background suddenly became very loud and at the end of the clip you here how it disappears. I found this issue in about 4 clips all shot at that same time and after that it did not appear anymore.


Not sure what has triggered it but if it happens your sound recording is ruined for sure so for anyone shooting withe the camera and planning to use the sound, I would add a small audiorecorder on top so you at least have something more reliable even if it means syncing up later.

Another issue I have noticed which only happened 3 times so far and each time with a stabilized lens is that the stabilization acts up, I have noticed it once when I just had the camera:
and it did not appear again after that until last wedding where I got a jarring effect while I was holding the camera still and even weirder when I had a close up of the bride when she was brushing her hair, I was holding the camera still and the stabilization would move in the same way as her hand while she was brushing her hair. Never saw something like that, it almost looked like I was following her brush movements but it actually was the camera stabilization that was reacting to that movement, also only saw that once.

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

This seems to be a general problem with stabilization. I once shot flowers up close that were blowing gently in the wind. The stabilization detected that as camera movement and attempted to offset the movement. The resulting clips had the flower rock-solid still and the background swaying back and forth!

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

I had 3 unimportant shots with weird IBIS movements. No idea why. Everything else with the IBIs has been great. The camera is unforgiving with exposure coming from a Canon C100. The sound amazes me as to how bad it can be! A sequence of shots from the same place and each with a different sound, some pick up things closer, other back ground music, etc. I have a simple rig with a Zoom H1 for moments when I need half decent sound.

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

I think it's safe to say that the ibis can act up at a few random times and that the sound recording can be very unreliable.
Do you mean with a unforgiving exposure that you can see small exposurejumps while turning the dial?

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

Hi Noa, there are definitely jumps if I change the iris but my main problem is judging the exposure. The histogram seems to change a lot even though I'm filming the same scene. If I get the exposure right the images look great but if it's a bit off they quickly begin to suffer. With the C100 I have a lot of margin to correct exposure. Filming here in Madrid can be tough. Incredibly bright sunlight and really dark shadows. Lots of extreme contrast so having that flexibility is a bonus when filming live events like weddings. The lack of DR compared to the Canon is noticeable. It's quite a learning curve coming from a camera that has been specifically designed for video like the C100 which makes life very easy for the user. Manual focussing is also quite a lot harder on the GX85.
I'm very interested to see what the GH5 is like and whether it will take these cameras to the next level. I'm waiting to see if I get a XC10 to pair with the C100 or I go for a GH5 and GX85 combo next season.

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

Noa, another thing. Your colours always look great on this camera and mine not quite as good. Do you have a secret? :)

Did you get the cheap batteries?

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

I use a combination of the histogram and the zebra's to determine if my exposure is right and this does give me good results, I still need to make adjustments in post but these are always very minor. The problem with the gx80 is that it compresses the blacks a lot and I already have dialed back contrast in camera for that reason, I also noticed that outside in very bright sun light exposing for the bright parts takes a lot of detail out of the shadows.

I never manual focus by using the lens ring, I always let the camera focus by pressing the shutterbutton halfway, here also it's rare I have out of focus shots.

I think you will be better of with a xc10 as prices will go down a bit because of the xc15 and I"m sure the images will match a lot better compared to a gh5. I prefer to shoot with camera's from the same brand as colormatching will be a lot easier, my sony's match pretty good with panasonics but my jvc ls300 has a bit different look.

I don't have any special secret for my color :) I shoot in natural setting with the contrast and saturation dialed down a bit, I do notice the biggest difference when I manually whitebalance, leaving it on auto never gives good results.

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

My choice will be either a xc10 to go with the C100 or to change completely and go lightweight with the 2 Panasonics. A big choice awaits!

The autofocus on the panasonic is ok using the technique you mentioned. The only problem is that if it doesn't get it right straight away it hunts like crazy and can ruin vital shots.

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

Hi Andrew,
The issue with the histogram changing a lot could be the way you have the metering set up. If it is the point metering, you will see the histogram change a lot in response to the exposure changes. Maybe try the middle setting & see if that is better.

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

Thanks Bryce. I'll try that!

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

That also might vary a lot with what type of lens you use, my 12-35mm f2.8 doesn't have that problem but also my 42,5mm f1.7 and 75mm f1.8 only start to hunt when it gets quite dark.

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

The GX80 is always going to suffer in comparison with a C100 with more limited latitude & dynamic range. The harsh lighting will only accentuate the difference. The less sunny weather for Noa in Northern Europe would mean that the difference was less but almost any DSLR especially a MFT is going to suffer comparison with a C100. The XC10 is probably going to be a better match image-wise but don't dismiss going lightweight. The last couple of weddings before I gave up the business I shot with two Olympus OM-D E-M5s plus a Panasonic G6. The freedom of putting all the camera gear in one small shoulder bag plus the lightweight manoeuvrability of it all was very liberating. Nowadays I think that I would use three Sony RX10-M2/M3s & avoid changing lenses completely.

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

Nigel, that is exactly what I'm looking to do. Go lightweight and concentrate on the shots and the story. The IBIS on the GX85 is very liberating.