Re: Expanding my Gear Camera advice please
 

Yes I ordered today from WEX and they offer a next day delivery. I got a Wedding at St Pauls Saturday and it would come in very handy given some of the restrictions. For the battery grip, from what I understand it works like the cash back policy. You have to confirm the purchase with Panasonic and they send you the battery grip rather than cash. Here's the link to make the claim.

Panasonic Promotions

Another reason I jumped the gun and did it this month as the purchase period ends 31st October. The battery grip would be very handy.

Not sure what Panasonics view on ordering from the UK to deliver to Beligium re the promotion.

Re: Expanding my Gear Camera advice please
 

Well finally my g80 arrived a week ago, luckily I still can get the free batterygrip because I placed the order October last year and which should arrive in a week or 2.
I took the g80 with me on a short holiday last weekend to put it through it's paces and I have found a few annoying things, mainly in terms of ergonomics.

The record button which is tiny is placed on top but it's completely flush with the camera body, I just can't feel the button if I want to push it without looking at it, instead I have been using the shutterbutton to start/stop recording.
The buttons on the back to activate whitebalance, iso are very difficult to differentiate by the touch, I again cannot blindly press on the right button because they don't extend enough, same for the "set" button in the center, they all feel the same, I often pressed the wrong button and had to take my eye from the viewfinder each time to make sure I was pressing the right one.
Pressing the shutterbutton halfway to refocus often resulted in me stopping recording, that button requires a very gentle push and again it's difficult to determine when you have pressed it far enough halfway. This one worries me the most.
The peaking is near useless, often it's very hard to see or not visible at all, even with peaking set at high.
The ibis makes a grinding sound which you clearly can hear in your recording, a external mike is necessary but at least it's possible to plug one in.

It still is a great camera though, despite it's annoying ergonomics, it adds some important features the gx80 was missing, it also gives a cleaner image and retains color better then the gh4 at high iso and for the ibis alone and better formfactor compared to the gx80 it is worth the purchase.

Re: Expanding my Gear Camera advice please
 

My initial G80 suffered from a bug which made IS very temperamental when panning. Thankfully a recent update fixed it and it only seemed to be an issue on the early models. Alas I feel my G80 will get used less and less once the GH5 arrives. I currently use the G80 and GX80 for the majority of my filming, with a different lens on each. 1 stays in a side bag and I can quickly swap between the 2. However the small form factor plus other preferences means the GX80 will be the better choice to sit alongside my GH5. Its such a tiny and light camera to use and a real favourite of mine. Even though the IS is slightly more improved on the G80 compared to the GX80, its such a fun camera to use to grab those quick shots.

As for the G80 shutter button issue, I see the GH5 has a focus joy stick. Shame that wasn't added to the G80 as it may be a solution to the problem if pressing this joy stick down allows for quick focus in much the same way as a half press of the shutter button does.

I agree peaking isn't that great. I have the battery grip for the G80; took months to deliver. Works very well and will ensure the G80 will replace my GH4 when the GH5 arrives. Being weather sealed and able to have a mic attached would make it a better choice than the GX80 when I'm filming in the rain or if gathering guest messages, so I'm glad I have it, even in light of the upcoming GH5.

Re: Expanding my Gear Camera advice please
 

I have used my G80 for 3 weddings now, we also have a GX80 and GH4R and AX100
The GH4 is relegated to tripod duty due to lack of IBIS

The GX80 we find rather awkward to use, we have it set up for BBF with the AE button which is almost flush to the body. Small form factor but not my favourite to use.

The G80 we find a joy to use, set up for BBF, plenty of function buttons, we use touch screen to place focus and the shutter button to stop/start recording.

The GH5 looks tempting, but at more than twice the price of a G80, I am not entirely sure I will get one.

Re: Expanding my Gear Camera advice please
 

The gx85 was my biggest surprise of last year, used it at every wedding and has become one of my more important camera's, I will have to wait until weddingseason starts to see how the g80 really behaves but looking forward to using these camera's in a tandem, not retiring my gh4 though, just like my gh3 it has been one of my most reliable camera's. The gh5 will follow eventually, but only after the price has gone down a bit.

Re: Expanding my Gear Camera advice please
 

Anyone installed the latest 1.2 firmware on the g80? My camera got a lot more silent after that update, before the IBIS was quite noisy, worse then my gx80, now they sound the same.

Re: Expanding my Gear Camera advice please
 

Thanks for reminding me :) , I'll be uploading this week

Re: Expanding my Gear Camera advice please
 

Updated both the GX80 and G80 with the new firmware and both barely make a sound. Haven't done a full test yet, but initial handling shows a marked improvement. Perhaps as part of the procedure, I could hear an audible thud from the camera on my work desk once the update was complete. First time I heard it, it was from the G80; it made me jump and I turned round thinking something had fallen onto the desk, but no it was the camera. Heard the same thud from the GX80, just a bit quieter. Not sure how it ties into the update, but thought I'd mention it as I did wonder if something had happened to the camera.

Re: Expanding my Gear Camera advice please
 

My g80 had a very noisy IBIS when I first got it, a grinding sound that you could clearly hear from a meter distance in a silent room, on my gx80 you could only hear the IBIS if you held your ear close to it which is why I was disappointed about the g80. Good that the firmware update solved this.