{"id":2484,"date":"2013-10-15T16:04:41","date_gmt":"2013-10-15T21:04:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admiringlight.com\/blog\/?p=2484"},"modified":"2013-10-22T07:44:31","modified_gmt":"2013-10-22T12:44:31","slug":"review-panasonic-dmc-gx7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/admiringlight.com\/blog\/review-panasonic-dmc-gx7\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7"},"content":{"rendered":"

Panasonic has released a staggering 16 Micro 4\/3 cameras in the past five years.\u00a0 Some have been truly stellar, others mere refreshes or dumbing down of previous cameras.\u00a0 When Panasonic’s first rangefinder styled camera, the GF1, was released, people flocked to it.\u00a0 It’s small form factor, simple lines, responsiveness and level of control were outstanding.\u00a0 Panasonic then decided to take the GF line towards the consumer end, and the following GF cameras were generally downgrades from the GF1.\u00a0 Not until 2011’s GX1 (reviewed here<\/a>) did Panasonic finally create a worthy successor to the GF1.<\/p>\n

\"Panasonic<\/a>
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Now the GX line, which is Panasonic’s high-end rangefinder styled line, gains a new member – the GX7.\u00a0\u00a0 However, instead of working on incremental upgrades to the GX1, Panasonic essentially grabbed every desirable feature from other Panasonic cameras and from around the mirrorless world, and shoved them all into a single body. The GX7 in many ways is a sort of ‘second flagship’ camera for Panasonic, which, along with the GH3 (reviewed here<\/a>), is designed for enthusiasts and professionals who want a highly capable body in a small package.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re not familiar with my reviews, I review from a real world shooting perspective. You won\u2019t find lens charts or resolution numbers here. There are plenty of other sites that cover those. I review products on how they act for me as a photographic tool. I am not a videographer, so my reviews concentrate on the still imaging capabilities of a camera.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Body and Ergonomics<\/h3>\n

Because the GX7 has a more rangefinder styled body, Panasonic included it in the now two member deep GX line.\u00a0 However, the camera feels in the hand much more like a G6 that has been made smaller than a GX1 that has gained new features and a viewfinder.\u00a0 Indeed, it is notably larger than the GX1 that came before it, though not excessively so.<\/p>\n

\"Panasonic<\/a>
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The camera has a thick sculpted rubber hand grip to go along with the sleek, almost-but-not-quite retro body design.\u00a0 The grip feels fantastic in the hand.\u00a0 It’s not too thick as to make the camera bulky, but it provides enough grip to handle well with even the largest Micro 4\/3 lenses.\u00a0 The rear of the camera is flooded with buttons, but the rubber grip wraps around to the back to provide a gripping area for your thumb.\u00a0 I do wish the landing area for the thumb was more sculpted, as there is no real tactile ‘place’ for your thumb…something like the Olympus OM-D E-M5’s rear thumb rest or the GX1’s thumb pad would be welcome here. Still, the camera feels great in the hand.<\/p>\n

The GX7 comes in a two toned black and silver body, and an all-black version.\u00a0 The styling looks similar in many ways to the styling used on some other mirrorless cameras…notably the Fuji X-E1 and the Olympus E-P5, though Panasonic’s version is a little more modern in design.\u00a0 The camera is clad in a well-finished painted aluminum and the build quality is rock solid, with absolutely no creaks or flexing whatsoever.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Two Members of Panasonic’s GX line: The GX1 and GX7 – the GX7 adds a viewfinder and chunkier grip, making the overall package a bit larger than the original GX1.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The front two metal dials on top are finished beautifully and have very positive clicks.\u00a0 The mode dial has plenty of resistance, so you won’t accidentally knock the dial out of position, even though your finger arches over the mode dial to get to the shutter button.\u00a0 The shutter button looks like it may be poorly positioned when you first look at the GX7, but in practice it sits naturally under your finger.\u00a0 The dial surrounding it, though, is slightly harder to actuate due to the angle at which your finger approaches.\u00a0 This is a minor thing, though, and I was still easily able to change settings when desired.<\/p>\n

The top of the camera also houses the built-in pop-up flash that can be manually tilted to provide some bounce flash, as well as a standard ISO hotshoe for external flash use.\u00a0 Next to the hotshoe sits the camera’s breakout feature: the tilting viewfinder.<\/p>\n

Viewfinder and Screen<\/h3>\n
\"The<\/a>
The GX7’s Tilting EVF<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The most notable addition to the GX7 is the inclusion of a unique tilting corner Electronic Viewfinder (EVF).\u00a0 The GX7’s EVF protrudes slightly to the rear, but can be articulated at any angle up to 90 degrees, allowing for easier composition of low angle shots.\u00a0 The EVF in the GX7 is the best ever on a Panasonic body.\u00a0 The optics are notably clearer than those used in the GH3, and the high resolution 2.76 million dot finder is clear and crisp, with good contrast and color. It provides a relatively large view, though not among the largest, and a little smaller than earlier Panasonic viewfinders (though much higher resolution).\u00a0 Part of the reason for this is that it’s a 16:9 aspect ratio viewfinder, and while the 16:9 view when shooting video is utterly gorgeous (and very large), when shooting stills, the viewfinder is pillarboxed and smaller as a result.<\/p>\n

\"Tilting<\/a>
Tilting Rear Screen on the Panasonic GX7<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In my review of the Panasonic GH3, I noted that this pillarboxing of the viewfinder was distracting and made me feel disconnected to the scene.\u00a0 While this was true on the GH3, the GX7 doesn’t suffer the same fate.\u00a0 Since the viewfinder in the GX7 has such nice rich blacks, the pillarboxes don’t distract like they did on the GH3. The EVF features a very high refresh rate, and while it does slow down a bit in dim light, the lag doesn’t pose a problem for getting the shot.\u00a0 Noise is also well controlled in the EVF in low light.\u00a0 Overall, it’s an excellent finder, and probably the second-best EVF I’ve used, next to the utterly spectacular Olympus VF-4.<\/p>\n

The rear screen on the GX7 a 3″ tilting LCD with 1.04 million dots.\u00a0 It’s an outstanding rear screen, with capacitive touch and crystal clear images.\u00a0 The screen has great color and contrast and is an excellent tool for composing and reviewing images.<\/p>\n

Continue: Operation and Performance<\/a><\/h4>\n

<\/p>\n

Operation and Menus<\/h3>\n
\"The<\/a>
The rear of the GX7 features a wealth of physical controls<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Panasonic GX7 is, much like it’s G and GH series brethren, home to a wealth of direct controls.\u00a0 There are four programmable function buttons on the rear of the camera body, plus another four ‘soft’ function buttons that can be accessed via a slide out panel on the touch screen.\u00a0 Additionally, the dedicated movie record button on top of the camera can be commandeered for additional functions as well.\u00a0 These can be set to a number of controls (36 to be exact) to allow for easy shooting based on your specific needs.<\/p>\n

The rear of the camera also features a handy AF\/MF switch for quickly toggling between these two focus modes, as well as a standard four-way controller with menu\/set button for moving around the interface and accessing direct ISO, focus point selection, white balance and drive modes.<\/p>\n

The option for bracketing is conveniently listed as one of the drive modes, which makes setting and changing the bracketing options quick and easy.<\/p>\n

The GX7 has two control dials for changing the main exposure parameters: one around the shutter button and a second on the rear of the camera.\u00a0 The rear dial features the long-standing ‘push to change’ feature that allows further options to be utilized.\u00a0 The operation of the two dials can also be customized to your liking.\u00a0 As a result, the camera can be set up to truly meet your own distinctive needs as a photographer.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The top of the camera features a solidly crafted mode dial with metal shutter button and front ring<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One extremely odd design choice is having flash exposure compensation essentially ‘disabled’ by default, and only changeable via a menu option.\u00a0 If you turn on ‘Auto Flash Exposure Compensation’ to ON in the menu system, you gain the ability to change the flash exposure compensation with the front dial by clicking the rear dial.\u00a0 This is handy once set, but why it isn’t the default is simply baffling to me.\u00a0 I spent the better part of six days with the camera before figuring out how to enable quick access to FEC.<\/p>\n

The odd situation such as above, though, is thankfully not the norm.\u00a0 The main menu structure is well laid out, though each page of the menu system is a little more sparse than on most cameras.\u00a0 This is to make it easier to use as a touch interface, and it’s a good design decision.\u00a0 I found myself quickly navigating the menus via touch to modify camera settings after a day or so.\u00a0 The rear touch screen is useful for changing most any setting, whether using the camera’s “quick menu” for common functions, browsing images on the rear LCD, or most notably changing the location of the focus points.\u00a0 The GX7 offers a tremendous amount of control in a small package that is very well laid out, if a little daunting at first blush.<\/p>\n

Performance and Autofocus<\/h3>\n
\"The<\/a>
The Panasonic GX7’s rear LCD, showing the main shooting information and the current focus point, positioned in the center and set to the smallest setting.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Panasonic has essentially perfected single shot autofocus on their cameras.\u00a0 Each new model brings small improvements to the AF algorithm, but the speed and precision that has been present since the GH2 and G3 is so fast that the small increases are not particularly perceptible.\u00a0 The fact is that Panasonic has the most robust single-shot autofocus of all mirrorless cameras.\u00a0 AF is blisteringly fast and supremely accurate.\u00a0 The ability to select a very small focus point and move it anywhere in the camera’s viewfinder with just a tap makes focusing on what you want fast, easy and precise.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, continuous autofocus is still hampered by the limitations of the contrast-detect algorithm, and as such the GX7 is not conducive to tracking motion that has any real forward or backward component.<\/p>\n

The GX7 is a very fast camera to operate. Startup occurs in about a half a second and is ready to shoot immediately after that.\u00a0 Shutter lag is extremely short and the camera stays responsive when writing to the buffer.\u00a0 With the mechanical shutter, the GX7 is capable of shooting at shutter speeds up to 1\/8000s and at burst modes up to 5 frames per second at full resolution in RAW format.\u00a0 With tracking autofocus enabled, burst shooting drops to slightly faster than 4 frames per second.\u00a0 The 5 frame per second burst mode is a little disappointing given the competition in the mirrorless market, as Olympus offers up to 10 frames per second with the E-M1 (and 9 frames per second for the older E-M5), and even Fuji’s X-E1 offers over 6 fps burst capability.\u00a0 You can shoot with the electronic shutter at up to 10 frames per second, though shooting high speed moving objects with an electronic shutter can lead to very odd images due to the way the lines are read off the sensor (strange motion distortion). Additionally, the electronic shutter can shoot in a super high-speed burst mode that utilizes small 4MP JPEGs at 40 frame per second.<\/p>\n

Flash Performance<\/h3>\n

The GX7’s built-in flash works quite well and is released by sliding the switch to the left of the flash.\u00a0 The pop-up flash provides decent power for directly illuminated scenes, though with the less than stellar look of on-board flash.\u00a0 Like the GX1 before it, the GX7 can be angled upwards to provide bounce flash.\u00a0 I found that with a fast lens of f\/2 or faster and ISO 400, I could use the GX7’s flash in bounce mode and get properly exposed images.<\/p>\n

Using an external flashgun, the GX7 produced consistent exposure using the TTL flash system, though I found the camera was unable to produce accurate white balance using AWB and an external flash.\u00a0 When set to auto white balance using the external flashgun, images had a noticeable magenta cast.\u00a0 While it wasn’t an issue when shooting in RAW, this is something to be aware of if you are a JPEG shooter.<\/p>\n

Continue: Key Features<\/a><\/h4>\n

<\/p>\n

In-Body Image Stabilization (IBIS)<\/h3>\n

One of the headline features in the Panasonic GX7 is the inclusion of an in-body image stabilization system (IBIS). \u00a0This is the very first Panasonic camera to feature IBIS, though Micro 4\/3 has had the feature in every Olympus body since the system’s origin. \u00a0 Unfortunately, coming from the truly outstanding 5-axis IBIS found on Olympus’ OM-D line, the simple 2-axis IBIS in the GX7 is a bit of a letdown<\/p>\n

While the GX7’s stabilizer certainly is better than nothing, I was only able to regularly get around 1 stop of image stabilization, with occasional sharp images at 2 to 3 stops below the traditional 1 \/ (35mm effective focal length) rule. \u00a0While it did a decent job when I was using the very best technique, the problem I had with the in-body IS on the GX7 wasn’t that it couldn’t stabilize at slower speeds, but that it couldn’t do so consistently. \u00a0Ultimately, I couldn’t trust the IBIS to steady the shot at anything below about a one stop advantage over the traditional hand holding rule. \u00a0Meanwhile, with the best optical stabilizers and the OM-D’s IBIS, I can count on those systems to give me a full three stops easily, with the occasional 4 to even 5 stops in the right circumstances.<\/p>\n

While it’s definitely a step in the right direction, I was hoping for a little better performance in this department.\u00a0 One other disappointment with the in-body IS system is that it is not available when shooting video, which is one of the key areas where in-body IS is useful.\u00a0 Additionally, the stabilization is only active during exposure, so you won’t get that nice stabilized view that is possible with optically stabilized lenses or the Olympus 5-axis IBIS system.<\/p>\n

Focus Peaking<\/h3>\n
\"The<\/a>
The in-focus areas of the image are highlighted with a shimmering cyan.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The GX7 features Focus Peaking for aiding in manual focus, and the implementation in use here is well done. \u00a0When you shift into manual focus mode (either via the switch, or automatically when attaching an adapted lens), the camera will give you the ability to both magnify a portion of the image if desired and highlight the in-focus portions of the image in a cyan color. \u00a0The cyan stands out easily and is clearly visible in the viewfinder and on the rear LCD. This feature is outstanding for quickly acquiring accurate manual focus, even with wide aperture lenses.<\/p>\n

Speaking of adapted lenses, the camera’s in-body IS will also stabilize any adapted manual focus lenses that you may attach. \u00a0You simply have to enter the focal length into the camera and the IBIS will make the proper adjustments required to provide the best stabilization.<\/p>\n

One thing Panasonic added that is extremely helpful is that when a lens without electrical contacts is attached to the camera, and the camera is switched on, a dialog box pops up confirming the currently set focal length and asking if you’d like to change it. \u00a0Not only does this allow you to very quickly change the focal length when needed, it serves as an excellent reminder so that you don’t accidentally shoot a hundred frames with the IBIS set to the completely wrong focal length, thus inducing blur in all your images. \u00a0It’s a simple thing to do, but the first time I’ve seen it done, and it’s something I’d love to see Olympus do as well. \u00a0I’ve had numerous occasions where I’ve taken 10 or 20 frames before I realize I forgot to change the focal length setting on a different adapted lens.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The focal length dialog box that appears when you attach an adapted or completely manual lens to the GX7<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Wi-Fi<\/h3>\n

The Panasonic GX7, like it’s older brother the GH3, features Wi-Fi connectivity that allows you to do a wide variety of tasks with a smartphone or tablet, as well as to a PC. \u00a0You can transfer images directly to a mobile device, wirelessly tether your camera to your computer to instantly store photos on your hard drive, and even take full control of the camera via a remote shooting application, complete with live view, image parameter adjustment and focus point selection.<\/p>\n

The GX7 is the fourth camera I’ve reviewed (the GH3, Fuji X-M1 and Olympus E-P5 are the others), and Panasonic still has the best Wi-Fi capabilities of any mirrorless camera maker that I’ve had the chance to use to date. \u00a0The remote control is full featured without the limitations that Olympus imposes, and the range of options is outstanding.<\/p>\n

\"Crossing<\/a>
Crossing the Street – Panasonic GX7 with Olympus 9-18mm, using electronic shutter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The only downside to the GX7’s Wi-Fi capability is that it’s a little awkward to get the camera to connect to a mobile device. \u00a0I did not have any luck connecting through my home wireless network, but the direct phone to camera connection worked well, though it is a little tedious typing in the long alphanumeric password on initial setup. \u00a0The second downside isn’t with the Wi-Fi, but that the GX7 doesn’t offer any in-camera RAW conversion capability. \u00a0Since the camera will not wirelessly transmit RAW files to your device, you need to shoot JPEG or RAW+JPEG to be able to transfer an image.<\/p>\n

Electronic Shutter<\/h3>\n

One of the great features of the GX7 is the electronic shutter, which is available when shooting up to ISO 3200 and when not using flash.\u00a0 The electronic shutter can be accompanied by an electronic shutter sound, or you can simply shoot the camera completely silently (provided you are shooting wide open…when stopping down, you can hear the aperture blades close).\u00a0 This is great for shooting events in quiet venues, or for street shooting where you don’t want the shutter to distract your subject and draw attention to you as a photographer.<\/p>\n

While I prefer hearing the mechanical shutter when shooting, the electronic shutter certainly has great value.\u00a0\u00a0 In one situation, I wanted to take a picture of my napping son, without risking waking him.\u00a0 The electronic shutter to the rescue!\u00a0 You do need to be careful, though, as the readout of the shutter can make shooting high-speed action create some interesting artifacts, and as mentioned, flash cannot be used with the electronic shutter, but overall, it’s a great addition to the camera.<\/p>\n

Other Key Features<\/h3>\n

The GX7 features an easy to use and access intervalometer, which makes taking time-lapse or star trail type images easy.\u00a0 You simply set the number of exposures you want and the interval at which they are to be taken, and then just start the sequence.\u00a0 The camera will continue until the number of requested exposures is complete.\u00a0 Very handy!<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The GX7’s scene mode selection – showing the ‘Relaxing Tone’ mode.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The GX7 also features a bunch of different filter and scene modes that cater to the more novice shooter, though some of the filters may be useful for the odd shot here and there.\u00a0 There are 22 total creative art filters included with the camera, which can do anything from a high contrast black and white to an artificial backlit sunlight, which even allows you to position and size the sun in the frame.\u00a0 Many of these are heavy handed and result in horrible color blotching, but at least half of them actually provide nice results.\u00a0 The black and white modes and some of the softer filters are pleasing.<\/p>\n

While many cameras feature modes such as ‘sports’ or ‘landscape’ which dial in certain settings to help a shooter get the shot they’re after, the GX7 goes in-depth, with a tremendous amount of ‘scene modes’ featuring very specific shooting situations like “Relaxing Tone” shown above.\u00a0 Many of these use the art filters in conjunction with other settings.<\/p>\n

Continue: Image Quality<\/a><\/h4>\n

<\/p>\n

Image Quality: Dynamic Range and Color<\/h3>\n
\"Sunrise<\/a>
Sunrise Reflection – Panasonic GX7 with Olympus 75-300mm f\/4.8-6.7 II<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The GX7 features a supposedly all new Panasonic designed 16 megapixel sensor.\u00a0 The camera can shoot from a low ISO of 125 to a high of 25,600.\u00a0 The sensor has excellent dynamic range, with especially notable ability for the shadows to be recovered with little to no color shifting, though noise is of course worse when recovering a lot of shadow detail.\u00a0 Overall dynamic range is similar to the GH3 and OM-D E-M5, which provides plenty of range to capture most any scene.<\/p>\n

The GX7 has an excellent color response, which by default is biased a little on the warm side.\u00a0 As I quite like a slightly warmer color palette, the colors out of the GX7 provide an excellent starting point.\u00a0 Other than being slightly warmer than some other cameras, the colors out of the GX7 are quite accurate.\u00a0 One of the most amazing things about the GX7’s color response is that there is no discernible color shift at higher ISOs.\u00a0 Most cameras I’ve used will have a shift towards magenta or green as the ISO rises to extreme levels.\u00a0 The GX7 gets slightly more muted at higher ISO, but stays accurate and carries no visible color cast, even at ISO 25,600.<\/p>\n

Image Quality: Noise<\/h3>\n
\"100%<\/a>
100% Crops of the GX7 and the Olympus E-M5. Click to Enlarge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The GX7 controls noise very well, and is in line with the other recent offerings by Olympus and Panasonic.\u00a0 Noise control is very slightly noisier than the Olympus E-M5 (though these differences would be imperceptible in a print or web reduction), except at 25,600, where the GX7 is slightly better.\u00a0 Click on the thumbnail to the left to see a 100% crop comparison for noise between the Panasonic GX7 and the OM-D E-M5.\u00a0 After enlarging, you will need to click the green arrow at the bottom of the screen to view the image full size.<\/p>\n

Noise is well controlled through ISO 3200, and even ISO 6400 is quite usable for 8×10 prints and screen usage.\u00a0 Even the higher sensitivities are quite usable for web shots or for situations where you absolutely must have the shot. One advantage, as mentioned above, is that the higher sensitivities maintain neutral color balance, so the ISO 25,600 shots can be used quite well for web use in a pinch.<\/p>\n

JPEG Quality<\/h3>\n

I am predominantly a RAW shooter, but I tested out the Panasonic’s JPEG engine to see how it performs.\u00a0 Unfortunately, I still think the high quality JPEG output on the GX7 is a little overly compressed, and the color reproduction isn’t as robust as on some of its competition.\u00a0 One very nice feature, however, is that you can carefully tweak the contrast curve and other parameters to fit your desired style for JPEG output.\u00a0 This allows you to take control of your JPEG images, though unfortunately this can’t be applied after the shot.<\/p>\n

Video<\/h3>\n

As mentioned at the beginning of the review, I am a stills photographer and am not particularly qualified to evaluate the video capabilities of a camera.\u00a0 The GX7 does offer multiple video recording modes, including 1080p\/60\/50 and the much desired cinematic 24p.\u00a0 Video quality is very nice, with no obvious artifacting and low noise even at moderately high ISOs.\u00a0 You can shoot in all the main program modes for video as well as full manual, and autofocus is maintained during shooting.\u00a0 Videographers will lament the inability to use the IBIS during video shooting and the lack of an external microphone input, but overall video quality is on a very high level.<\/p>\n

Continue: Conclusion and Image Samples<\/a><\/h4>\n

<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h3>\n

Pros:<\/h4>\n