Advice on a GX80

[ASBrooks]

Hi All,
First post on the forum.
As the title suggests I've been eyeing a Lumix GX80 which comes with the G 12-32mm f/3.5-5.6 ASPH Mega OIS lens. It's a refurbished one and comes with a years manufacturers warranty. It's going for around the £300 mark, which seems very reasonable.

I have been used to lugging around an old Nikon D200 with a 50mm lens plus a fast 35to78mm zoom, I find this combination too heavy and always regretted 'upgrading' from my old Olympus ON1n film camera some 10 years or so ago. The Nikon was a serious upgrade in terms weight. I bought it to use in low light, live concerts which it dealt with very well. Even managed to sell some of my work.
Anyway because of the size and weight I no longer use, so I'm cashing it in.

I travel a lot in my current job and want something that's small and light and the GX80 seems to fit the bill.

Are there any pitfalls I should look out for? I've spent hours looking at youtube videos which all give it glowing reports. Is it really that good?

Thanks in advance
Andrew

 

[Panolyman]

Hi Andrew, and welcome to the forum from another newbie.
The GX80 is obviously a great little camera, but to be perfectly honest I never got on with it.
I really bought it because I wanted a rangefinder type camera after using mostly larger bridge types and compact zooms.
I compared it to Fuji and Olympus offerings at the time but felt it handled better.
However, my main gripe was that I am left eye dominant and when using the viewfinder, found my nose was always squashed against the touchscreen.
Even thought I had to switch that off, I never was comfy with it, so be aware if you are similarly left eye dominant.
Sadly, I never got used to the 12-32 lens either, the bugbear being you have to rotate the lens to move it to the ready-to-shoot position and numerous times when trying to get a quick shot, I missed it.
You'll now get loads of messages saying how great the camera and lens are, no doubt shooting my comments down, but hey, that's all part of the equation.
As an aside, I upgraded to the G7 and now also have an OM10 mk111, but they're possibly too big for what you want, although I find the OM10 with the 14-42mm EZ lens my always-to-hand option.
I hope you are happy with whatever you end up with, cheers, Brian.

 

[Glawsder]

I agree with Panolyman above. I came to it from an Olympus em10 mark 1.
As a left eye user, it was uncomfortable.
Despitethe love on here, could not bond with the 12-32.
As for the menu system, after the logical, ordered but lengthy Olympus menus, I found the and gx80 confusingcould never find anything.
I bought it thinking it would be pocketable but it wasn't, my em10 was lighter and smaller except for the height. I found it too big to be small and too small to be comfortable.

But.......

It took lovely photos, especially with my Pl 12-60 and it worked well with the small primes.
My son-in-law now has the gx80/12-32 35-100 S30 and S60 2.8 primes and loves them and is taking great pictures.

I bought a second hand LX100, smaller lighter, brighter and better IQ than the gx80/12-32 but limited as it is a fixed lens camera. Put a decent lens on the gx80 and it's better than the lx100.

That price sounds good, buy it, try it and if you don't get on with it sell it. It is a popular camera for very good reason and most people seem to love it. I just couldn't form that bond. Ymmv

 

[Stanga]

If you shop around the GX80 can be found new for less than £300 body only. That leaves you free to pick a different lens. That aside, the GX80 is a great little camera.

 

[agentlossing]

The camera is great, it was my main body for 3 1/2 years, which speaks to its versatility. What has been mentioned above about the form factor can be true, personally I taught myself to shoot right-eyed to get over the issue with the EVF. However, if you are used to the DSLR style and like it, the G80/G85 is the same camera but weather sealed, with a much better EVF.

It sounds like you will want a faster lens. These bodies have the advantage of excellent image stabilization built in, but that only works when a slower shutter speed is appropriate, and does nothing for subject isolation, obviously, if you want shallow depth of field. There are great prime options in the 50mm range (your fifty was effectively 75mm, I know how that is, as I shot almost exclusively with a 50mm f1.8 on my D40 when I had it), or the large but excellent 30mm f1.4 made by Sigma, available second hand pretty darn cheap. The 12-32mm by contrast, while small and quite good, narrows the max aperture pretty fast and struggles because of that in lower light. The 20mm f1.7 is a very small and very good lens for a standard-ish prime too, highly recommended.

 

[sgt08]

Another GX80/85 fan here, still my main camera and very capable. At current fire sale prices definitely worth considering, although I'd check the prices on GX9 kits at this point too, that would get you the 20MP sensor and perhaps some other slight improvements. There is a rumored GX10 on the horizon so prices may drop further (but when is that NOT true…?)

Depending on how "small" small is for you, the other Panasonic kit lens (12-60) is still lightweight and covers a more useful focal range than the 12-32. I liked it better than the 12-32 for travel, but either is quite good. Along with a fast prime or two you'd have most of your bases covered, something like the 20/1.7 and then perhaps the 42.5/1.7 would be a high quality but compact low-light set.

 

[Mike Wingate]

I own and use this model. It is my main camera. Very versatile, great quality, a wealth of lenses to put on the front.
however, if I was buying a replacement a month ago, it could have been a GX9 or a G90. Now, new G9 bodies are becoming scarce. But no new model has been mentioned. Also a new GX10 has been announced. For me, more megapixels would be an advantage. For you, whatever model you get, it will be a great camera. You have the choice.

 

[Robert Davidson]

I'm also a great fan of this camera. I use it as a take anywhere camera and when I Travel, also a a 2nd camera to my Olympus OMD M1 mark ii. I have an Olympus 9-18mm and 14-150mm which work well with it.

 

[ASBrooks]

Thanks for all of your replies.

So the consensus is that I should stay away from the lens? But the body is good if you are right eye dominant, if you can negotiate the menu.... What's a good alternative lens?

I don't see that the prices are coming down too much, I can find a used body (marked as mint) for around £200. Ebay offerings are higher. Clearly, it is still in high demand.

I probably will miss the faster lenses and will at some point begin to acquire these as and when required, but at the minute I don't have the need for such lenses.

Primary uses will be travel, bit of landscape and maybe group portraits where you don't have to get in close.

I'm trying to regain my passion for photography.

Thanks again.
Andrew

 

[G3user]

According to https://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk...-Cameras/Panasonic-Lumix-DMC-GX80-Camera-Body you can get the body for £289.

 

[Mike Wingate]

As above, body only at Mathers of Bolton.
https://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk...-Cameras/Panasonic-Lumix-DMC-GX80-Camera-Body

 

[Mike Wingate]

What lenses, depends on what you take. My favourite zoom is theP14-140mm f3.5-5.6. It is my holiday lens along with the PL15mm f1.7. But the options are almost endless.

 

[Robert Davidson]

The 12-32mm lens is a great compact lens and gives good results.

 

[scott rawson]

I totally agree on Camera... And I sold my 12-60 pana-leica because the size weight and to be honest not much better optically than the 12-32 pancake... gave me cash back for the oly 45 f1. 8 and 40-150 zoom... Try the panny 25mm f1. 7 best bang for buck lens you can buy... Apart from my all time favourite 20mm f1. 7...choices

 

[PeeBee]

I've had my GX80 for over 3 years and I still really like it, especially with the 12-32 attached. I generally only use it with the 12-32 or 20mm f1.7 as a high quality compact. I completely agree with those saying it's not great for left eye viewfinder users. I was initially a left eye VF user, but I've since trained myself to use my right eye because of this. The GX80's EVF is poorly reviewed in general, but I find it functional. My biggest complaint is the eye cup doesn't offer a lot of shade when shooting towards the sun but I use my left hand to shade on those occasions. I would suggest trying the EVF before you buy if possible, and if you can live with it, the GX80 is otherwise a great little camera. The 12-32 looks and feels like a toy lens but the output is surprisingly good.

 

[Stanga]

I have got accustomed to using the LCD screen instead of the EVF when using my lighter lenses. It's actually more convenient over all, especially in stealth situations.

 

[agentlossing]

If you're really reconciled with the slow aperture of the 12-32mm, then I would say get it, it's quite a decent lens! I suspect you will miss large aperture lenses pretty fast, but the 12-32mm is still handy to have around.

 

[cjoliprsf]

I have a GX85 that I recently bought new in a most unusual kit configuration with the small 35-100mm zoom. This came very handy as I already had the 12-32 with my GM5... Plus this was clearance sale at the ridiculous price of 600 CAD$ (equivalent to £ 345) for the kit, new...
1- I shoot with the left eye, and don't have any problem with the EVF as others have reported.
2- about the 12-32, I find it is a great little lens but delicate. Plus the fact one needs to extend the lens before shooting is sometimes a nuisance (mainly on travelling when you keep the camera in your jacket pocket). I also notice the ring tends to slip, which is also not really handy.

So I bought an O 17mm 2.8 pankake, an old model about the same size as the 12-32 retracted, which is easily available at low cost on the used market. Not the sharpest, nor the fastest autofocus, but very useful, always ready and small. In my opinion, it is a great lens on this camera for traveling, street shooting or hiking. Naturally you could also go with the P14 or 20mm pancakes. Such a lens would probably fill the bill considering the projected use:

Primary uses will be travel, bit of landscape and maybe group portraits where you don't have to get in close.

I still like the 12-32, but mainly use it for wide angle shots at 12mm, while for longer focals I'll pick the 35-100mm. I'd love to have a faster prime somewhere around 30 to 45mm, but haven't made up my mind yet (see https://www.mu-43.com/threads/m43-fast-prime-vs-viltrox-canon-50-1-8.107053/)

 

[Mike Wingate]

The P42.5 is a wonderful lens, and inexpensive.

 

[Kae1]

I think for small and light, and for the money, you will be hard pressed to come up with something better. For me the GX80 +12-32 is an ideal size and weight and I can even put it in my coat pocket if needed. Obviously the OM10's are also of a similar size so could be worth looking at too and trying to handle both to see which you prefer. The only problem I've come across with smaller bodies is when you attach larger/pro lenses then the camera becomes too lens heavy but there are plenty of light m4/3 lenses available.

I can appreciate that there are better lenses than the 12-32, but another of the many benefits of a m4/3 system is there are many second hand lens available which you can acquire over time when you wish to invest.

I attended a concert, at the Gateshead Sage, last year which was the primary reason for going. Whilst I could have used a camera phone, I took my GX80 + 12-32 and got an opportunity to take some photos at the interval and after the concert (which my wife wouldn't have allowed me to do if I'd suggested taking my camera bag and other lenses!). Whilst they may not be the best images, to sell the equipment to you, the attached may give you an indication of what the camera and lens can do.

Best of luck with whatever you choose.

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