Been getting a little more frustrated with the G80 recently. In some ways it's all the camera I need, and size-wise it's just about right, not too big, not too small, and the finger grip is perfect, it balances on my finger-tips securely and easily as I walk. I love the EVF, too. Some of the criticisms below are related to my specific example of the G80, but others are more general.
- The turn off-turn on error is getting more prevalent and annoys the hell out of me because it always happen just when there's an opportunity for a good shot (I mean, of course it does - if there's no shot to be had, I'm not using the camera so won't get the error). Sometimes this can happen half-a dozen times on the trot, other days it's half a dozen time across an hour. Once or twice it's been so frequent that the camera has almost gone into the canal...
- The on-off switch is broken so when I get the error in (1) I have to take the battery out - and when I reinsert the battery all the settings revert to what they were at some moment previously (no idea when), not how I've set them for that moment. So even if there's still an opportunity to get the shot, my ISO/SS/Aperture are often wrong,
- This time of year I tend to use high ISO - 1600 generally - and it's very noisy. Too noisy for my liking. Topaz Denoise helps a lot, but it still frustrates.
- The touch screen is great - I love Panasonic's option to set it for touch / focus / take which I use on the GX80 a lot with the screen folded out - brilliant for street. But on the G80, the EVF and my facial physiology means almost every time I raise the camera to my eye the focus point gets moved to a distant corner of the screen. I've turned the touch screen off to avoid this - but then it's a pain, when I do want to move the focus point... I've not noticed this issue on the GX80 so maybe a range-finder style is more suited to me?
- The battery spring seems to be losing it's strength - I have one after-market battery which must have very slightly dimensions to the Lumix original. It's been fine for years, but is now refusing to come out without the help of a slim blade. The original Panasonic battery is still fine.
- The focusing on subjects for action shots - BiF, particularly - remains very annoying. I lock onto a bird, the various focus squares around the subject turn green... and then the bird simply vanishes from the EVF. A moment later it will reappear, I've read about this issue and I think it's where the camera is trying to focus on the sky beyond the bird and hunts around for a second. I've tried focus-tracking, I've tried continuous focus, I've tried the custom zones, maximum shooting rate, etc, and any combination thereof, but the issue always remains. I could understand it hunting before it's found focus - but once it's identified the target and the target/focus boxes have gone green why can't it lock on? I assume because AFC and tracking was still in its infancy when the G80 was released?
- The hinges on the screen are held in place with tape - the screen still articulates fine, but I can't open the side panel to get to the four sockets there - only the USB is of any interest to me, but it's annoying all the same.
It's quite a list. I've always hankered after a G9 but I wonder if (3) and especially (4) would still be there for me? I've even read (6) can be an issue with the G9. I'm not about to change the G80 - I'm stuck with it for the moment, but maybe next year when the financial outlook is a bit clearer it might be time to change. I can imagine how much more fun a photographic walk would be without fighting against all of these issues. Meanwhile, I might try taking the GX80 out a bit more and seeing if that suffices for the time being - although I know the EVF will be the frustrating factor on that camera.
Derek
nextdoor.co.uk
