Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

I ordered a gx80 to complement my JVC at my next wedding, my main interest was it's stabilization and while I only just got it I immediately went off outside to do some handheld shots with my 75mm f1.8 lens and no, I did not run around like an idiot like I see many do because the stabilization is not designed for that. :) I want to take headshots at a reception, in the church, closeup beauty shots of jewelry or during make up and everything handheld with either my 42,5mm f1.7 or my 70mm f1.8. So that means holding the camera absolutely still, maybe do a slow sideways motion with my upperbody while keeping the camera pointed to the same position or just a very slow pan or tilt.

I don't have much time yet for a better test but below video looks frikkin awesome because it's with an unstabilised 75mm prime (or 150mm full frame equivalent), only when I make a sideways motion the stabilization "twitches" a bit because of the stabilization getting confused which I have seen reported but this is very promising because it will even be better with my stabilized 42,5mm lens.

In this video I am not leaning against anything, just holding the little viewfinder against my eye which is the only point of contact.

Wadaya think, not bad he?

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Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

Next up low light which was second important on my list

I shot this with my gh4 and a 14-140mm lens at f3.6 and 6400 iso and shot in 4K, did the same with the GX80, both where set in standard profile with everything at zero.

Low light performance seems to be the same and the gx80 looks cleaner but that is most likely because of a aggressive noise reduction which crushes the blacks completely in the progress, just look at the space on the left behind the door, there is nothing there on the gx80. The gx80 certainly needs some toning down of contrast and saturation but that I will have to experiment with later on. I don't see it as a problem though but will find out soon enough at my next wedding.

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Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

and last one shot with the gh80 in 4k with the 14-140mm (or 28 to 280mm in full frame), this lens is stabilized and I just updated teh firmware on that lens to make it work together with the camera inbody stabilization so that's 5-axis now.
first shot I was leaning against a fence with only other point of contact the viewfinder against my eye, the second shot I was not leaning against anything so only point of contact was the viewfinder against my eye.

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Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

Looks good!
Hopefully the twitches will be predictable as they are the biggest problem that I have had with stabilising systems.

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

Looks great; there's rumour this will be applied to the GH5. I really really hope so.

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

Been a few hours out to test the stabilization, shot with a 12-35mm f2.8, a 42mm f1.7 and a 75mm f1.8.

The 2 stabilized lenses had a firmware upgrade to get the dual is working. My conclusion is that jitter free shooting handheld is no issue at all, all three lenses I tried, incl the 75mm gives very stable footage when you hold the camera still, even with the not so good ergonomics of the camera. Only when you start to move like when you pan or when you move forward or sideways you need to be careful because you can get some unwanted movement. This is not a camera to run around with, for that you use a gimbal.

The tiny viewfinder is very good, even when shooting outside it was easy to see a clear enough image, the lcd screen also allowed me to see what I was doing, even in full sunlight.

I was able to get about 38 minutes worth of footage on one battery load before I got a almost empty warning.

I shot in 1080p 50p natural preset with all set to zero because I wanted to see how it performed in that case and because I wanted to slow down the footage, the location I shot at is a very good test for aliasing and moire and I got some very nasty aliasing on vertical lines.

When I dialed the sharpness way back it was a bit less but still very visible, only when I shot in 4k, dialed the sharpness way back and edit in 4k the aliasing is much less visible and acceptable.

For my next wedding I will shoot in 1080p 50p anyway as I will be shooting with either the 42mm and 75mm at it's widest f-stop for the shallowest dof and since I will be mainly shooing closeups of jewelry and headshots then aliasing isn't a problem and I can slow down the footage when needed.

I added some minor blur to the footage to decrease the aliasing a bit, everything is slowed down in post and a few clips I have stabilized a bit more in post, especially the ones where I moved forward or sideways with the camera.

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Here you can see the aliasing with 1080p footage with sharpness at 0
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and here when it's shot and edited in 4k with sharpness dialled back
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Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

First stabilization "bug" found while shooting with the 12-32mm kit lens, have not been able to replicate the problem so not sure if it was linked to the kitlens or not. In my second shot it disappears when zoomed in, I didn' t notice the problem while I was shooting, I saw it however in that first shot but it disappeared in anything I shot after that.

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

Made some gh4 comparisons, mainly when using the 75mm you see how powerful the stabilization can be, I also noticed now the color from the gx80 is more natural then on the gh4 when using the same image presets (natural in this case) , grass on the gh4 always looked like it's radioactive, looks to me Panasonic has done some tweaking.

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

Noa, the film you posted earlier that's 2 minutes and 2 seconds in length is well worth everyone's time! To think that is all shot handheld is commendable. I absolutely loved the movements and the use of leading lines matched with the rule of thirds. Incredible stuff!

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

In the 2.02 length video you can see the small jumps in a couple of moving shots. I wonder if that's just how the system works or later firmwares might improve it.
I'm seriously thinking about leaving my Canon C100 for business jobs and investing in a couple of lightweight cameras like this foe weddings as I'm tired of lugging around heavy gear.
I'll be following your posts closely. Thanks for all the info!

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

Incredibly smooth for hand held - very impressed (with both Noa and the camera) what's the autofocus like?

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

Yet another quick test but this time in 4K to see how much better it would look like compared to 1080P, To me the difference is very noticeable, if you want to limit aliasing and moire then there is only one option, shoot 4k. This was shot with picture profile natural with sharpness, saturation and contrast dialed all the way back. Only added some sharpness back in post. This was shot with the 12-32mm kitlens.

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

You definitely need to be careful with pans, tilts don't have that issue

Still need to test this.

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

Any signs of over heating?
How do you think it would handle the darker moments at a wedding?

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

I have not testing for overheating yet, lowlight performance looks like the same as the gh4. Eventhough it was a very limited test you can see it here: http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/wedding-...ml#post1915125

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

For my next wedding I have been trying to match the gx80 and my gh4 with my jvc gy ls300, it's clear Panasonic has been tweaking the colors on the gx80, it's easier to match the gx80 with my jvc, with the gh4 red seems to oversaturate and seem to have the same issue with green.

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

Noa, does it have a decent auto mode? I mean could you leave it on a tripod and it would expose correctly?
Thanks again for all your tests!

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

If you turn of stabilization and let it record 100mbs 4K then one single battery makes the camera run for 2 full hours, the handle and backside got warm but not hot. This was done in about 20deg Celsius, it remains to be seen how that would be in full sun at 30 deg. but this is already very decent. I mentioned it before but just to add it again here that when I was using the camera with stabilization enabled on both lens and camera I was able to get about 40 minutes of footage before the battery died, this also includes time the camera was on standby and was not a continuous recording but recording several clips over a time period of 3-4 hours. This I think is still very good considering the stabilization draws a lot more power from the battery.

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

Great info Noa,
I just got this same camera & have been playing around a little with it & comparing to my GH4. I was contemplating buying a second GH4 but thought it would be better to get the GX85 simply because i only want to be able to use it as a b cam/backup/time lapse cam. With the announcement of the next GH camera sure to be not too far off, i didn't want to invest in another GH4.
There is a definite difference with the colours between the two, so i will need to look at how to match them better where i am using one for telephoto shots & the other for wide shots. Interesting though, just how much extra crop there is when using the stabilization. This might actually come in handing for shooting wildlife!!
Bryce

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

Hi Noa,
did you use the GX85 at a wedding? How did it handle everything?
Cheers

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

I will know this Saturday because then I"ll use it at a wedding, did not have the time yet to check auto exposure and my camera has been set for next wedding so I"m not going to change menu settings right now. I don't plan to use the camera in automode and I have a feeling it's, just like the gh4, not really a camera for that purpose.

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

It handled perfectly, it's stabilization with my 75mm f1.8 Olympus lens is so impressive it almost looks like tripod footage, you have to see it to believe it. I just also send you a link to some raw sample footage straight from the card without any stabilization or colorcorrection in post and all handheld.
Anyone else that wishes to see it pls PM me, I have no permission to show anything so pls do not share any further, the footage will only stay for a short time online.

The onboard sound is also surprisingly good, good for ambient sound but not so usable in windy conditions, if it's very quiet you can hear the IBIS working in the background so to record voices it does have it's limit but if you don't have anything else available it is usable. autofocus speed is very fast and accurate, changing f-stop with the front dial was easy as there is not too much friction on that dial. Rest of the buttons are gh4 style and typically Panasonic with less dedicated buttons compared to the gh4 but enough for fast access to some important functions. The very small size does make it somewhat difficult to handhold and I was thinking of getting a handstrap to attach to the side of the body. IQ is also very good with good detail and nice color, comparable to the gh4, I shot in 1080p 50p and eventhough that mode suffers from aliasing I noticed none of that with all closeup shots I made at f1.7 or f1.8, the background blur filters away any possible aliasing artifacts, moire is also hardly a issue in that mode. If you plan to shoot wide then you best shoot 4K.

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

It looks fantastic Noa. Did you use it throughout the whole day/night?

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

Yes I did, I used it to get all close up headshots from guests throughout the day with the 75mm and used the 42,5mm for the photoshoot and during brideprep.

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

I guess you mixed this with your JVC footage. Does it mix alright?
Did you use it in any lower light situations?
Thanks for all the info!

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

It mixes perfectly with my jvc and makes it a great b-camera, low light performance is the same as the gh4, it only crushes the blacks more with the same scene files settings which looks like a way to deal with the noise as it looks a bit cleaner as the gh4.

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

Mine just arrived! Bought it from Hong Kong and supposedly doesn't have the 30min restriction in Pal. We'll see!

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

Noa, did you use AF or manual? Or both? What did you feel work best for you?

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

Only manual, I never felt comfortable using anything auto on a panasonic dslr. By only manual I mean I half press the shutter to lock focus and leave it at that and refocus whenever necessary.

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

I just compared the sound of the GX80 with my gh4 internal mike and my jvc gy ls300 internal mike.the stock shotgun and a at897 shotgun.

At first I thought the gx80 sound was quite usable because I had heard clear voices at the wedding where I last used it until I put them side by side and then, well, listen for yourself. This was recorded in a livingroom so you will hear some cars passing in the background. Camera's where about 50 cm from the speaker.

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

I haven't had too much time to play with the GX85 but it's clear that sound is not it's strong point!
What I have seen is that aliasing can be quite bad even with the sharpening turned down.
I have also seen that the stabilisation is very impressive which is what I bought it for.

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

In 4K though the aliasing is almost not visible but it's best to turn the sharpness down, in HD the aliasing can be a problem when you shoot with wide lenses, I have been using the camera exclusively with the 42,5mm and 75mm and with f-stops at f1.7 and f1.8 respectively and aliasing was not a problem in HD for me.

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

Gday Andrew! Was there a time limit on your Hong Kong model?

Very interesting thread Noa, appreciated....

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

I already posted below video in the wedding sample clip gallery but thought it would be good to post it here as well as this is specific for the gx80 and it's use in weddings, I have added the times below the video where you can see the gx80 in action and what lens was used, all shots where handheld and it was shot in HD, not 4k:


00:23 to 00:54 - 42,5mm
01:06 to 01:17 - 42,5mm
01:31 to 01:34 - 42,5mm
01:39 to 01:46 - 42,5mm
02:35 to 02:37 - 42,5mm
02:40 to 02:43 - 42,5mm
03:10 to 03:13 - 42,5mm
03:22 to 03:30 - 42,5mm
04:02 to 04:14 - 75mm
04:19 to 04:32 - 75mm
04:43 to 04:46 - 75mm
04:48 to 04:54 - 75mm
05:05 to 05:19 - 75mm
05:23 to 05:27 - 42,5mm
05:44 to 05:46 - 42,5mm
05:52 to 05:57 - 42,5mm

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

G'day Jack, supposedly it has no recording limit although I haven't tested it yet. I'll try it this afternoon and let you know.

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

Jack,
I left the camera to record in 4K on a table. It recorded a clip of 1h 43 mins before the battery died! Very happy with that!
I bought it through personal-view.com and the delivery was very quick. 5-7 days I think.

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

Noa, I saw the aliasing on wide shots (like you mentioned) and filming construction sites in 4K with the sharpening dialled down. Anyway, I didn't buy it for that as I have a Canon C100 for those jobs. I bought it for what you are using it for! Lightening the load at weddings and events.

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

Noa,
I'm new to Panasonic cameras. How do you set up the autofocus so that it focusses by half pressing the shutter button but if doesn't continue to try to autofocus afterwards? Can you then make small adjustments with the focus ring?
Thanks!

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

Sorry for the late reply, I missed your last question, when you are in the menu: "custom" you have to select "shutter af" and turn that to on. If I want to shoot with manual focus I have a button set to changing between auto and manual focus.

Re: Panasonic gx80 for weddings
 

Thanks Noa!