• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Advice on best camera/lens combo (3 Viewers)

Re the GH5, I think they have to have some AF improvement, but they may not be completely sure how far they can get.

Re price: I think that once early adopters have bought theirs, you can get a cheaper one, possibly price reduction or possibly secondhand or refurb.

Niels
 
I watched/read few more interesting reviews:

G80/81/85 by David Thorpe: https://youtu.be/jr0uPSOF0jE
EM1ii by David Thorpe: https://youtu.be/eWsSSFQCP4o
Long review on G80 by cameralabs (which frequently makes reference to the EM1ii too): http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Panasonic_Lumix_G80_G85/

My take from these and earlier reviews is that the G80 is very good at AF for birds, but that the Oly is even better at this and very close to DSLRs. Besides this, I did not see other very strong arguments in favor of the Oly (I'm almost set for the Pana 100-400 lens and still pondering about which body to go with it). But ff course, better AF performance is a very strong argument.
 
Last edited:
Hi Florian,
I'm in the very fortunate position of having married a photographer. This means that she carries a Nikon D810 with the Tamron 150-600 sport lens and all hand held! She doesn't carry bins, as I said she is primarily a photographer whereas I'm the birder, allegedly!

I know this isn't ideal for birders who are looking for a compromise, something that gives good results whilst being portable too. This set up is pretty heavy and really takes some practice to be able to wield the lens in this way but I'm amazed at some of the shots she gets that I never would.


Andy
 
Last edited:
I watched/read few more interesting reviews:

G80/81/85 by David Thorpe: https://youtu.be/jr0uPSOF0jE
EM1ii by David Thorpe: https://youtu.be/eWsSSFQCP4o
Long review on G80 by cameralabs (which frequently makes reference to the EM1ii too): http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Panasonic_Lumix_G80_G85/

My take from these and earlier reviews is that the G80 is very good at AF for birds, but that the Oly is even better at this and very close to DSLRs. Besides this, I did not see other very strong arguments in favor of the Oly (I'm almost set for the Pana 100-400 lens and still pondering about which body to go with it). But ff course, better AF performance is a very strong argument.

The G80 looks like a great camera. But for the extra money you do also get a better sensor with the E-M1ii, one that matches the best DSLRs in low light capabilities and also has a few more MP than the G80, which should give a bit extra room to crop.

https://www.dxomark.com/Cameras/Com...ix-DMC-G80-versus-Nikon-D500___1136_1118_1061

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=338343
 
But for the extra money you do also get a better sensor with the E-M1ii, one that matches the best DSLRs in low light capabilities and also has a few more MP than the G80, which should give a bit extra room to crop.

True. There a more arguments, but the main one to me is currently the AF capability. However, the extra money is 1000 bucks and I have a hard time to justify the investment for the G80+100-400 aready... :-C
 
I'm in the very fortunate position of having married a photographer.
Indeed fortunate, especially that she is joining you when going birding :t:

For me personally, the Pana 100-400 is about the maxium of camera gear I can see myself lugging around.
 
Indeed fortunate, especially that she is joining you when going birding :t:

For me personally, the Pana 100-400 is about the maxium of camera gear I can see myself lugging around.

I am very much in line with you there. I am also in doubt as to which camera to pair it with.

Niels
 
'For me personally, the Pana 100-400 is about the maxium of camera gear I can see myself lugging around'.

The classic conundrum, birders want great shots but don't want to carry the gear. More than a few have actually crossed over and become more photographer than birder in light of not wanting to compromise on the picture quality. It's a tricky balance to achieve.

Given the quality if images posted by the likes of Pete Morris of Birdquest, perhaps find out what he uses?


A
 
Here is a review from a swedish very credible site, the reviewer have lots of experience from different camera systems, DSLR etc. Test is done with Pana GX8.

http://www.fotosidan.se/cldoc/fotosidan-testar/test-panasonic-leica-dg-100-400.htm

The main points are (google translate):

"Panasonic Leica DG 100-400 mm f / 4 to 6.3 is a sharp and well built, yet compact and lightweight lens that performs throughout very good. It drops only slightly in the sharpness really long distance. It's not a cheap lens, but it delivers and gives the Micro Four Thirds photographers awaited a long and sharp telephoto lens."

"The only apparent weakness is the brightness at 400 mm. It is not enough to bird photo the earliest dawn or late at night. But as telephoto package to take with you on trips or walks Panasonic 100-400 gives an unbeatable mix of range, optical quality and light weight."

"Focusing is fast and works great and silent, that which limits this is rather to autofocus in Panasonic cameras are not quite so good at following moving subjects. It will be interesting to try these lens on the upcoming Olympus E-M1 II. Thankfully, the lens has a focus limiter that reduces chasing the times when the camera loses focus. The stabilization feels very efficient."

"Puffin on Runde in Norway. The sharpness and detail even at max aperture is lovely, bokeh is good but not great. The only thing we had trouble with this evening was the focus speed to catch the flying bird, but it's the camera's fault, not the lens. (Lumix GX8 with 100-400, at 300 mm, f / 5.9, 1/640, ISO 1600)."
 
Last edited:
Thanks for sharing. They mention testing the lens with the em1-ii -- do you know if this has happened?

Niels
 
Thanks for sharing. They mention testing the lens with the em1-ii -- do you know if this has happened?

Niels

No, I haven't seen any further tests. But I don't doubt that the E-M1 II have faster C-AF than the GX8. GH5 vs E-M1 II will probably be a closer call.
 
'More than a few have actually crossed over and become more photographer than birder in light of not wanting to compromise on the picture quality.

Well, you never know of course, but for now I certainly want to stay a birder foremost, and want just to be able to take better pictures of more birds. I certainly don't see myself sitting half a day in a camouflage tent with camara on tripod, I want to keep my walking around habits and be able to covering distance. Thus I'm almost certainly set on mFT as maximum of a format to get.

Just working on my tax declaration, and it looks as there might be some returns coming my way that may make financing of the new toy easier B :)

Still the question is if the G80 is good enough for my purpose or if I need/want to shell out 1000 € more for the EM1ii... From all I read, it seems that AF-S is very good in the Panasonic and on par with the EM1ii or better DSLRs. It's the AF-C and tracking, were the G80 still seems to be a bit behind.

Now, what I don't know, how important is AF-C actually in real life? With my bridge camera, I only use AF-S, because AF-C is useless. So for me, a fast AF-S would already be a big improvement, but of course I don't know how I'd use a camera with better capabilities.

Do you guys with capable DSLRs use AF-C as a standard for most situations or do you actually do a lot with AF-S as well?
 
I am already finding the G80 and 100-400 a better combo than G7 and 100-300 - I have not used the setup as much as I would have liked so far, but have already had more success with BIF than previous. This combo is a definite step up, and I am probably learning as I go along too, which helps also.
 
I am already finding the G80 and 100-400 a better combo than G7 and 100-300 - I have not used the setup as much as I would have liked so far, but have already had more success with BIF than previous. This combo is a definite step up, and I am probably learning as I go along too, which helps also.

Interesting please keep us updated,ime thinking i may change my GX8 for the G80
 
This Mute Swan was one of a string of shots that I took one day that highlighted to me the capability of the setup, focus locked on pretty quick, and was maintained for the string of 8 or so shots I took, which I don't think would have happened with the 100-300 so successfully - the initial lock on would have taken much longer for a start.

While not the best photo in the world (light was not the best) it has highlighted that I am now able to attempt BIF for the first time with m43 with some confidence of success - I would say a lot is down to the lens capability, together with the camera dfd etc, and lastly as I say I am gaining knowledge, so maybe am getting a better control of the kit's capabilities.

The Snow Bunting is my favourite shot so far with the setup, again light not so good, but still quite pleasing.

I understand the GX8 to be similar in resolution when directly compared, as the removal of the AA filter gets the G80 closer albeit with less pixels, but of course the magnetic shutter and IBIS are massive gains in my opinion, together with the ergonomics. While the EM1 mk2 is likely better still, I am satisfied that in good light conditions my G80 wouldn't be far off that, if not hard to split - maybe if fast action shots were my staple I would consider that camera, but then again APS-C and FF would be better still - I am happy with my compromise so far - 800mm so steady and compact is pretty amazing.
 

Attachments

  • _1000140.jpg
    _1000140.jpg
    147.8 KB · Views: 102
  • _1000447.jpg
    _1000447.jpg
    416.6 KB · Views: 117
While the EM1 mk2 is likely better still, I am satisfied that in good light conditions my G80 wouldn't be far off that, if not hard to split - maybe if fast action shots were my staple I would consider that camera, but then again APS-C and FF would be better still - I am happy with my compromise so far - 800mm so steady and compact is pretty amazing.

Thanks a lot for posting your experience. Looking forwards to hearing more as you grow used to the camera...
 
There is a good review of the pros and cons of the G80/81/85 here too https://youtu.be/XQfOD_wGwxk

The IS gain with dual IS I think would be fair to estimate at 1 stop over the lens only IS you would get on the EM1 mk 2 as of course lens IS is far more effective than IBIS at longer focal lengths. Obviously depends on holding skills but dual IS 2 I expect gets between 4 and 6 stops, which is none too shabby!

I understand the 300 f/4 with EM1 mk2 is the ultimate in m43 currently, that gets sync IS, but one compromise I took was the usefulness of a zoom, which also comes in a smaller lighter, and less expensive package.
 
Last edited:
....the EM1 mk2 has phase detect AF, but as that review, and my experience to date have concluded, BIF is possible with the G80, but if an absolute priority then maybe the EM1 mk2 could be more suited.
 
Warning! This thread is more than 6 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top