Thanks much Moose, that really helps. Always succinct clear advice.
Howerver, the GX8 does have the tilting EVF though, so missing that blessing.
One other thing is GX8 has a slightly larger battery.
I was not clear how much the shutter shock was an issue and the IBIS
performance.
WayneS
At 4/11/2020 03:47 PM, Moose wrote:
>On 4/11/2020 8:53 AM, Wayne Shumaker wrote:
>>Does anyone have opinion on the differences between the GX8 versus the GX9
>>(not GX85)?
>
>Yes, the GX8 is an old also-ran. The GX9 is my current axe of choice.
>
>I am or have been an owner and user of GX7, GX85 (AKA GX80 and GX7 MkII), GX9,
>GM1 and GM5
>
>>The GX8 is bigger
>
>The GX8 was a market miscalculation that took Panny a while to recover from.
>The GX7 was a competent camera, fully competitive with the contemporary E-M5.
>I make that statement as someone who used both, side-by-side around my neck,
>sometime swapping lenses between them.
>
>Oly 5-axis IBIS was theoretically superior to Panny 2-axis. With extensive use
>of the Oly 75-300 lens at or near it's long end, and some careful pixel
>peeping, I couldn't see any difference in practice.
>
>The GX8 added a larger sensor, more PDAF points, weather sealing and Dual IS,
>cooperative syncing between IBIS and their many OIS lenses. It debuted Panny's
>Depth from Defocus AF system. DfD sped up focus in most cases. Very
>occasionally, but very annoyingly on those occasions, it will decline to focus
>on near things without special effort. Also some video improvements.
>
>But it also got a lot bigger, a little heavier and more expensive. Apparently,
>there were a lot of others like me for whom the size/weight/$ were a no go.
>You can see that in the home market name for the GX80/85. In Japan it is the
>GX7 MkII, the thing the market expected of the GX8.
>
>One speculation at the time was that Panny hoped the GX8 would sell to the
>video market, as well as hold GX7 owners for still photography.
>
>>and appears to have larger viewfinder and eyepoint.
>
>The GX8 switched from LCD to OLED, very slightly lower resolution and very
>slightly greater magnification. It appears the GX85 and GX9 retain the GX7 EVF
>hardware. I am notoriously VF agnostic, and have never used a GX8, so can't
>weigh in on the differences.
>
>The GX85 brought a new mechanical shutter design that finally ended Panny
>shutter-shock problems, 5-axis IBIS with Dual-IS and removal of the AA filter
>to the basic GX7 spec. The GX98 shutter alone may be a reason to avoid it.
>I've not used one. The AA change makes practical resolution pretty much the
>same as the GX8
>
>It also doesn't have a tilting EVF, a great blessing, although lost again with
>the GX9. It balances that gain with loss of the manual AF/MF switch.
>
>Another difference is that the GX8 had a fully articulated LCD, while the
>others are tilting. to me, there are advantages and disadvantages to both, and
>it's pretty much a toss up.
>
>What isn't mentioned in spec summaries, and is downplayed in some reviews, are
>HR Mode and Focus Bracketing. I switched from the E-M5 and GX7 combo to E-M5
>II bodies for these.
>
>I've made many of my most loved images using Focus Bracketing. It is pure,
>effing Magic that I use all the time. HR Mode has turned out to be less useful
>than I had hoped. Mostly useful for lens testing and macro work on a copy
>stand. Still, I have kept one E-M5 II only for it.
>
>The GX8 doesn't have either feature. Focus Bracketing, with a useful alternate
>mode, appeared with the GX85, and continues with the GX9.
>
>The GX9Â brings back the 20 MP sensor, manual AF/MF switch and dedicated EV
>comp. wheel of the GX8. It also has a newly rationalized menu system that's
>quite an improvement.
>
>Other than that damn tilting feature on the EVF, lack of weather sealing and
>lack of HR Mode, the GX9 is pretty perfect - for now. :-)
>
>As to weather sealing, which only the GX8, of these bodies, has, I used a GX9,
>with weather sealed lens, in pretty heavy, and lengthy, rain in Zion NP,
>keeping it under a rain hat when not actually in use, and had no problem
>(other than poor light ;-)Â )
>
>Final, deal clincher. On the GX9, it's possible to turn off Touch AF, while
>leaving other touch screen operation on, finally ending the nose driven
>wandering AF point. Hooray!
>
>Moose D'Opinion
>
>--
>What if the Hokey Pokey *IS* what it's all about?
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