Perfect Outfits: Panasonic GX7 and Two Lenses

Here's one example of a perfect camera outfit.

The new Panasonic GX7 is a terrific mirrorless camera that caused an all-too-brief sensation when it came out because it was such a huge improvement on its immediate predecessors. It was quickly overshadowed by rivals, however, and now tends to get overlooked—unfairly, in my opinion. One result of that is that its price has come down and it now offers relatively high value among premium mirrorless cameras—less than $750 for the body as of this writing. That's still a lot of money, but it's less than the Fujifilm X-E2 ($900), virtually the same as the somewhat older OM-D E-M5, and much less than the Olympus OM-D E-M1 ($1,250). The Fujifilm X-T1 I've been writing about lately costs $1,300, which, let's face it, is not chump change—you could do very well in DSLRs for that much scratch.

One big advantage of the GX7 is its articulated finder eyepiece. I never had an opinion about this feature until I used the VF-2 on the Ricoh GXR that I reviewed a few years ago, when I discovered that I really liked it. The biggest downside of the GX7, on the other hand, in comparison to the Olympii, is that the IBIS (in-body image stabilization) isn't as effective—but see below.

Perfect companions: the GX7 and 20mm "pancake"

For a "perfect outfit"—perfect general-purpose outfit, that should be—I'd pair it with the lovely Panasonic Lumix G 20mm ƒ/1.7 II Asph. prime lens, long a favorite for being a perfect combination of small size, fast speed and beautiful image quality, and the Panasonic Lumix G X Vario 12–35mm ƒ/2.8 Asph., a fine premium-quality zoom with very appealing properties that's been a bit of a sleeper even in the Micro 4/3 world. What's most often said of it by owners is that it costs a lot—but is worth it.

(If you're buying the GX7 and the 20mm at the same time you'll save by buying them together.)

What I'd do is use the small, light, faster lens as an easily portable walking-around lens for snapshooting, grab shots, and family pics, leaving the zoom at home, and have the zoom in reserve for when I get to do serious shooting or have a specific job for it. Best of both worlds.

With the smaller lens, the IBIS of the GX7 (which gives about one stop of low-light help)  is there to help out a bit. The big zoom, however, has O.I.S., Panasonic's in-lens image stabilization—which, in Panasonic's scheme of things, always takes precedence over IBIS when both are present. And Panasonic itself even states that O.I.S., which users report gives more like 2–3 stops of camera-steadying assistance, is superior to its own IBIS. An ideal situation, really.

Mike

Original contents copyright 2014 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

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(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Ricardo Silva Cordeiro: "I think that if I could only have one camera it would be a GX7. Feature-wise, it's the most well balanced camera for my needs. But I preferred (and thankfully could) have a set of four different cameras, each one that excels at a specific task (speed, fun, low-light, and sharpness). But if the GX7 prices drop like they did with the GX1 I might see one in my future, it's a tempting camera, specially after seeing the promotional videos with the Magnum photographers Thomas Dworzak and Ian Berry:

Andrew Johnston [No relation—at least not recently.  —Ed.]: "The GX7 has rapidly become my favourite and primary camera, to the extent that I am starting to think about dumping my Canon DSLRs. It's fast, handles beautifully and the image quality is superb up to ISO 6400. I prefer zoom lenses, and I have two 'normal' options, the superb but quite chunky 12–35mm, and the diminutive 14–42mm 'power zoom,' which is no larger than the 20mm pancake, for when I want to wander with a genuinely small combo."

Steve Rosenblum: "This is my walk around kit exactly. I will also sometimes throw in the Olympus 45mm ƒ/1.8 lens if I anticipate the need to shoot portraits.

"All of the lenses are fantastic. The GX7 fits my hands well and the controls are where they need to be and are well thought out. The entire kit of body and three lenses weighs just 2 pounds. The Panasonic 12–35mm ƒ/2.8 lens weighs just 10.75 ounces! At the suggestion of Carl Weese I bought the ONA Bowery bag to carry this kit around in which is beautifully made, comfortable to carry, and doesn't scream 'Camera Bag!' I still cannot get over how light and compact this kit is compared to the equivalent Canon gear I used to schlep around with me. It's a real revelation. No more 30-pound backpacks! As you said in your last post, we are lucky now to be shooting in a time where digital camera and lenses have all gotten really good. This gear is a pleasure to use. Finally!"

Comments

[Mark Probst]

The main reason I much prefer the GX7 to the E-M5 is the positioning and articulation of the optical viewfinder. Other than SLR nostalgia (and maybe being more accommodating to people who use their left eye for viewfinding?), I think there is no reason to place the viewfinder eyepiece in the center of the camera, like the E-M5 does.

The silent electronic shutter is a very welcome added bonus.

[Mike R]

Thanks for supporting my "wishlist." I have the 20mm on my GF1, and have been very happy with it. I just need to sell off a bunch of my unused gear to pay for a new GX7. Now, that 12-35mm has not been on my radar. Versus the Pan-Leica 25mm, and the Olympus 45mm, two fast primes that I have had my sights on, I wonder if the 12-35 wouldn't be more useful? First world problems.

[Kenneth Tanaka]

"What I'd do is use the small, light, faster lens as an easily portable walking-around lens for snapshooting, grab shots, and family pics, leaving the zoom at home, and have the zoom in reserve for when I get to do serious shooting or have a specific job for it."

Interesting. This is completely opposite of what my own approach to the same situation would be.

I generally use "zooms" when I expect uncertainly of controlling my distance to subject. I most often use primes for situations that I can anticipate or control.

These lenses are all quite light and small, although the 12-35 is indeed the "larger" lens. (After spending a few days with big, heavy honkin' medium format lenses and these micro 4/3 lenses all seem toy-like tiny!)

[Nicholas Condon]

And for similar cost and performance, the GX7 can be subbed for an E-M10 and the Pana 12-35 for the Oly 12-40. And hey, it's not as compact, but I like the Oly 17 better than than Pana 20 for its focus speed. And if you don't like zooms, you can swap it for the Oly 45 mm and get the miniature version of the legendary Mike Johnston "D700 with the 35 and the 85..."

Yeah, like the earlier post said, there's a lot of "perfect" out there right now.

[Tom Judd]

For your walking around lens, don't overlook one of the 14-42mm compact zooms. My experience is with Olympus, but the firmware driven lens corrections makes these kit lenses amazingly good. I also have the 12-35mmf/2.8 which is wonderful, but much larger and heavier than the kit lens.

[Jim]

Have to agree, Mike. This camera beats the competition you mention by virtue of its video capabilities...and the still image potential is second to none. It's just a nice, solid little brick of a camera. A pleasure to hold. It deserves more respect.

I prefer the tiny 12-32 zoom over the 12-35 (which I sold) only because of it's size. I toss in the Oly 45/1.8 to compliment my 20/1.7.

[SAndy Rothberg]

And that's exactly what happened to your Whole Plate sale. The GX7 price dropped $200, the Fuji 10-24 shipped and that's the budget.

The GX-7 can be completely silent. Put the wonderful 20 on and who needs hypo? I can make the viewfinder monochrome shoot at 1:1 and see a histogram while I'm shooting in the viewfinder. Prints at 16X16 are stunning. Maybe some day I'll buy that Whole Plate but I wouldn't be holding my breath.

[Dana]

.......I have been using the GX7 for several months now on many jobs
where I often shoot video as well. With the two bodies running silent(the video body has the excellent 35-100mm f2.8) I am hardly noticed. This camera is just a delight to use.
One afternoon after an assignment in Boston, I was walking in the Commons with my wife and I mentioned that I wish I had brought the camera with me. She looked at me for a second and said, "it's hanging on your shoulder under your coat". Duh....is it that I am just getting old or just armed with a much lighter camera?

[Moose]

I made this move, and am quite happy with the GX7. It has not displaced my E-M5. In fact, for 'serious' outings, I have both around my neck, 75-300 on the Oly, 12-50 on the Panny, 9-18, 60/2.8 macro and 20/1.7 in the bag.

The drawback is wildly different menu systems and control setups. But wandering through woods, gardens, fields seashores, etc., the advantage of responsiveness without changing lenses is really big.

The GX7 adds an electronic shutter (with some limitations of its own). For me, that means a more responsive camera. To avoid shutter shock blurring, especially with the long lens, I have to set 1/8 second shutter delay on the M5. (It seems people aren't having that problem on the E-M1, but I'm not convinced it isn't just the heavier body helping damp it - and making the problem more subtle and insidious.)

The Panny sensor is, fairly subtly, better than the Oly, especially at higher ISOs.

The GX7 might be the answer to some left eyed shooter's prayers. With EVF on the far left corner and controls all on the far right, it's better than several other ILCs with central EVFs and controls scattered all over the back.

I'm not entirely convinced how superior the Oly IBIS is to the GX7. I've found the M5 IBIS to indeed be superior to the older Pen system, most obviously in macro shots.

And it 'should' be better than the GX7. But at least one web site test shows the Panny superior at very low speeds, blurry vs. less blurry, and at long focal lengths.

Being a reluctant tester, more interested in shootin', I've not done my own. So far, using the long and macro lenses on the M5 has made the point moot.

The GX7 is an excellent camera, with a relatively sensible control set-up and great customization flexibility.

I've also been happy with the Panny 20/1.7, but I doubt I've ever used it with the GX7. It used to hang out on a compact camera, like the E-PM2. Recently, it spent some quality time taking a few hundred shots on a GM1, where it makes an incredibly small, light combo.

With the camera set to silent mode, no one has any idea when it has taken a shot. That includes me, until I see the review image flash by on the back.

With a rather wide viewing angle on the screen, it's an impressive stealth camera. The E-PM2 is better for static subjects in dim light, though, a bit bigger, but with IBIS.

Moose

[K Adam White]

The GX7 is my only camera, and I concur with everything written here! It's a beautiful machine, and especially when paired with the 20mm pancake it's the absolute perfect size. My tastes run to the longer end, though, so for price and focal length reasons my zoom of choice is the 45-200. The quality is unassailable lower that the fixed-aperture primes, but I find it to be a more flexible complement to a standard prime.

[Dan Montgomery]

I'm ready to buy, and I'm going back and forth between the GX7, with that nice choice of lenses, and the Sony a6000, with, apparently speedy and trusty autofocus and a little better high ISO performance, but a relative dearth of lens. I could go on and on about the trade-offs.

Back and forth, back and forth....

[Marino]

I happily own a GX7 since it was first introduced in november. I had been eagerly waiting for it, as the true successor model to my beloved GF1. Solid, no-nonsense, quality, portable camera.Ever happy with what it can do. I discovered that even the great Peter Lindbergh - who now shoots FF Nikons - has an old GF1 hanging from his neck, even as he shoots his D3X.http://youtu.be/yUubcgOqvOw Panasonics are no-glam real thing instruments. For photographers.

[Georg Bauer]

I myself went with the EM-5 instead of the GX7 (before that I was using the GH1), for a very simple reason: both the 12-35 and the EM-5 are splash-proof. Which helps a lot when you are on vacation and still want to shoot, despite a light rain. My ideal walk-around kit is the 12-35 and if I don't really know upfront what I will face the 45-175, since that might not be the best tele zoom, but by far the smallest and lightest.

In case of city tours, I often go even lighter - just the 25/1.8 on the camera and the 14/2.5 and 45/1.8 in my jacket and I am ready to go. The thing often overlooked for the 12-35 is that it is quite a bit of weight for such a little lens.

[Nige]

Those model numbers are real confusing!

[Philip Flower]

I too have to say that this is rapidly becoming one of my favourite cameras - it will never displace my Sigma DP2+3Ms in my affection - but it is coming close. I took it along with a Nex7 to Venice and I have to say that the GX files look better in print that the Sony. WIth the 20mm Panasonic it fits in a pocket. I bought a GH2 when it came out with the large (but really very good) 14-140mm lens which is absurdly large for the GX7 but works very well. A large number of exposures at 3200 iso (recreating the "Don't Look Now" Look along the canals at night) are simply fantastic. And video? I can't tell the difference between the GH2 and the GX7 on my iMac.

[Joe]

So many nice cameras able to make wonderful photos. What's a potential buyer to do - flip a coin? Too bad the GX7 evf threatens to poke my eye out every time I put my eye to it! It needs perhaps a better, bigger, different shape rubber eye cup.

[Wayne]

In addition, with use of the electronic shutter feature, the GX7 can be dead silent in use. Well, if the lens is set to anything other than wide open, you will hear the lens stop down when you press the shutter release.

After being so delighted with the GX7, I found a new GX1 at the fire sale price of $300.00. With the 14 2.5 attached, this camera fits in many of my front shirt pockets. If the image quality from the GX1 is lower than the GX7, its not by much.

OBTW, It seems I read that the sensor used in the EM1 is Panasonic rather than Sony.

[D. Hufford.]

What are those round black things with glass? There is only one lens available for M4/3 cameras, and that is the Panasonic "Leica" 25mm 1.4.

I had some sort of thing called a Panasonic 20mm 1.7 version 1. On an Olympus it added permanent cute bluish/purple lines around areas of high contrast. I could even see it on jpgs on the LCD. I don't know if this occurred with every such image as I only had time to wait for it to focus once before I died of old age. :) (Note smiley mark.)

[Ed G.]

I got the GX7 in December to replace my old GF1 (which I bought as soon as it was available). My walk-around lens kit is the 20mm and the Olympus 45mm, and almost always the Panasonic 100-300mm (because, birds).

Excellent outfit. I've almost stopped using my DSLR st all.

I may replace the 20mm with the new Olympus 25mm. I'm not a big fan of the 20mm's color rendition (and I never thought that could be a lens issue on digital before I saw the difference between the colors produced by the 20 and the 45). But I have no urgency about it.

I see several people praising the GX7's electronic shutter mode. The times I've tried to use it, anything moving at all wound up all smeary. Maybe I should give it another try.

[Cliff Lee]

In the UK the GX7 is somewhat more expensive but currently has an offer where should you buy the kit with the 20mm, you can claim a free 12-32mm lens and can claim 2 years warranty.

I have a Panasonic G5 with 14mm f2.5, 20mm f1.7 and the Oly 45mm f1.8 but am sorely tempted, with the reviews suggesting that the contrast is better on the new 20mm and the 12-32mm getting great reviews, especially considering its tiny size.
The GX7, 12-32, 20mm, 45mm should be all that I need (until I want to do macro, go on safari, et all)!

[Ivan Blazhev]

Last weekend I covered a local mountain bike race (Skopje, Macedonia) with the GX7 only and few lenses (20 mm 1.7, 14-42 mm kit lens and Voigtlander 50 mm 2.5 with adapter). The night before, as I was packing my backpack with the D700 and considering which lenses I may need, I decided I'd rather take my 8 yrs. old daughter with me rather than the heavy backpack with plethora of FF equipment. Also, I wanted to see if I can cover a sporting event relying solely on the GX7 and couple of lenses.

Well, I could and I did. I can say that every idea I had I was able to execute it, not missing a beat. Yes, there were few missed focus or missed moment shots, but not more that I have had with the D700 on previous occasions.

I have had the GX7 since December. I "grew up" photographically on Voigtlander Bessas and B&W film and turned to digital with the D700. Had great results with the D700 and did some serious projects but never felt the "connection" I had with the Bessas. So I was really excited when after some research and postponing on previous models I got the GX7.
But the first experiences were of the love - hate nature. So many good things (small, light, great form factor, good control of various options combining touch screen and physical buttons and dials) but something didn't fully click. I have been using it mainly as a walk around camera (something I could never do with the D700) for a personal project on my city over the last couple of months but I was afraid to rely on it for more responsible work for 3rd party clients.

And thus the "test" last weekend. Demanding event, no pressure (no commercial aspect involved) and only the GX7 with couple of lenses. It is the closest feeling of connection I have had since the Bessas, very satisfied with the results and had a great time - camera in one hand my daughter's hand in the other and a very light bag on the shoulder. I will be taking this camera more often in the future for sure along for "serious" work.

Photos can be seen at www.energi-cycling.com if someone is interested.