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Panasonic GX80 Review Part I : First impressions

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2016 is a Photokina year. Photokina is the most important photo fair which takes place in Germany in September every other year. Traditionally, during photokina years, a lot of manufacturers wait until the summer to release their main new products. This year has been very different in this regard as each major manufacturer had released some major products over the last 6 months already. Even if one limit the search to the mirrorless camp and high-end compacts we got new products from almost each brand :

Olympus introduced the Pen-F , Fuji got the Xpro-2, Sony got out the third version of its RX10 and the Alpha a6300 to name a few… It is now Panasonic’s turn to bring out a new product the GX85 which is  kind of the child of the Gx7 and the GX8. GX85 is the name of the model for North America only as Panasonic  has decided to give it no less than THREE different names depending on the market (GX80 in Europe, GX7MII in Asia) ??
This new product seems to compete directly with the Olympus Em5 mark II  (as well as the  Olympus OMD-EM10 mark II) and being now the owner of both I think it is interesting to  dedicate a portion of this rolling review to compare both models.

ERGONOMICS & MENUS

Let’s get out the good news first. The GX 85 built seems pretty good especially when considering its asking price ($699 body only in the USA, €699 in Europe). The body seems  generally well put together with the notable exception of the battery door, which is, alas, not specific to Panasonic in the mirrorless world.
As a example of this, I was last week handling a new  Olympus pen-F in a store and the battery compartment door came off when handling the camera. Rather shocking especially on a camera priced at nearly $1,200 (body only) [Read more…]

Five tips to take great pictures of street events

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This month I got to cover two unusual street events in Europe.On the first Saturday of April, there are over 50 cities who participate in the “international pillow fight day”. I covered this event for the first time last year in Berlin. This year I decided to go to Amsterdam instead which turned out to be on a much  larger scale. A few days ago, I was in Paris to cover the “color run” which takes place in different cities (lots of them in the USA). On both occasions, I was reminded how important it is to be prepared to avoid some mistakes and make the best of it. I thought it might be useful to share my recommendations  for those of you who might be interested to attend and photograph this type of events : [Read more…]

Brussels is mourning

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As you probably noticed, there has been no recent activity on this site as I was traveling through south Asia. An emergency in the family forced me to shorten my trip and fly back to Brussels (where I currently live) on tuesday morning . Fortunately I left The airport 15 minutes or do before the first bomb exploded.
Belgium is now mourning and I want to offer my condolences as well as my sympathy and support to all the families and loved ones of all victims of this coward terrorist attack.

Dust issue on the Ricoh GR : how bad is it ?

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As most regular readers on this blog know, my “every-day- carry everywhere” camera is the Ricoh GR (or GRII). The GR is exceptional in many ways :It is very compact despite featuring an APS sensor; it comes with an 28mm equivalent fixed focal length. In addition to providing great image quality, its main asset, in my view, is the very-well thought-out user interface combined with a great layout of the camera controls and dials. The first digital version of the camera dates back to 2005 (at the time with a much smaller 1/1.7″ sensor). Since this first GRD, Ricoh has introduced an updated version every other year. Ultimately, in 2013, the GRD was renamed the GR and  fitted with the much larger APS sensor. The camera has long been a favorite of street photographers and travelers  alike wanting a small carry-everywhere camera capable of delivering high quality files. You can see my reviews of both models here,here and here on this blog.

Despite this success, there have been several reported issues of dust settling on the sensor. I have  both GR models and did not notice any problems until recently when preparing my review of the GRII. I set up a test scene to compare the image quality between the GR and the GRII (by the way found a notable difference between the two-more on that in a future article). It is only then that I noticed some dust on my GR which, I had been using for about two & a half years without this issue.
As you will notice in the images, I got TWO dust particles on the sensor. One small round one, similar to dust spot I got on many of my other cameras (Panasonic LX 100 and Olympus Em1 for example) and a rather big “nail-shaped” dust spot. I suspect (without being 100% sure) that it had been recently stuck on my sensor. I thought this was almost a “study case” to show how a small or large dust spot on your sensor can affect your image file. [Read more…]

(continued) the worst of 2015… and what to expect in 2016

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Different photographers have different needs and/or budget limitations. For instance, as I travel extensively overseas by planes, weight and size is a major concern for me when selecting photo equipment. A pro photographer always traveling with assistants, or mostly by car may not have the same restriction. Many “photo experts” would argue that there is no “bad” camera  per se when one considers the image quality possible even on the cheapest models.
That being said, there are each year some new products which fail to impress either by their features, or by their questionable design and/or ergonomic choices , or simply  in terms of pricing compared to their competitors.
Hence here is my “worst” list for 2015. These are two recent camera models  that I would not recommend to anyone :

Canon G5X. This product was announced alongside a more entry-level model named G9X. Canon compact cameras have been very popular for the most part and it is likely that because of Canon name and distribution network this new G7x would sell in large numbers. This model  is supposed to be the “expert”model in the product line-up (retail price is at $750) but yet does not allow continuous shooting in RAW mode. You can only make ONE picture before the shutter stops to clear the buffer. Therefore you can forget taking pictures of your kid or pet running in the garden , or simply any kind of street event. I was able to take some pictures at the fair when the camera was introduced and there is definitely a price to pay for the relatively small size of the camera. I have normal average male hands and the camera did not feel that easy to hold and operate.Image quality is unchanged from the Gx7 model.

On a different size of the spectrum in terms of size,another oddball in my opinion is the new Leica SL. this big camera body sports a relatively average 24MP 35mm sensor and use the same mount as the Leica T. But since the Leica T has a smaller APS sensor, your choice is limited to ONE zoom lens for the time being if you want AF lenses which cover the full 35mm sensor. With an adapter you can use the M lenses which are great but only in manual focus. While the camera is weather-sealed and features a very high resolution EVF, I still cannot fathom what is the market for this camera outside the die-hard Leica geeks.

Think about it : The Leica SL costs $7,450 body only and more than $K12 with its 2.8/4 24-90mm zoom lens. If size is not an issue for you, you can  get a Nikon D750 with its 24-120 zoom lens and get better image quality in a more usable body and features a long list of AF lenses in the Nikon or Sigma catalog. the Leica SL is FIVE TIMES as expensive as the Nikon D750. So even for those who believe that the Leica signature is worth extra money , it is a reach.
If you have larger hands or need ultimate quality , you can get another big weather sealed body for $500 by buying the Pentax 645Z (here).The sensor size is more than 2.5X times the surface of the leica SL and has a modern 50MP sony sensor and therefore offers MUCH better image quality than the SL, has more AF lenses options, better controls and menu organization…
This blog is about traveling light so covering the Pentax 645Z would not make much sense but there is absolutely no doubt whatsoever that this model is the absolute best model for your buck for photographers who need the ultimate image quality along with great camera controls for their work.
There is also something else to keep in mind for a photographer who is willing (and able) to spend that kind of money is the lack of choices in AF lenses for this new model. Leica has now FOUR different lens systems for its interchangeable cameras : M lenses, S lenses for its manual format camera, T lenses in APS sized sensors and SL lenses in 35mm. This is a recipe for disaster and one can be sure that at least ONE of this new mount is not going to see much activity. If you do not believe me, look at how many new APS lenses Sony has been introduced for its APSsensor cameras since it developed its A7 series with a 35mm sensor.

There are however, some interesting products on the horizon. And since 2016 is a Photokina year (the largest and best fair for photo equipment which is held every other year in Cologne -Germany) one can bet that 2016 will be a more prolific year than 2015 was in terms of innovative models. At the CES show that started today there are already some interesting announcements: Along with its new flagship 35mm DSLR the D5 Nikon has finally released its successors to the D300s with the Nikon D500.
Panasonic just introduced today its new TZ100 which will be in direct competition with the Canon G5x and the Sony Rx100’s. Panasonic should announce in the spring a GM1/GM5 successor; the GM line being the “mini” line in the m4/3 rd camera system.

Stay tuned