Panasonic GX80 review: A great and compact all-rounder
Responsive and feature-packed, the Panasonic GX80 ticks a lot of boxes and is competitively priced
Image quality
Photo quality is in line with other Panasonic G cameras. That means pleasing colours, reliable autofocus, seriously sharp details and expertly judged automatic exposure settings, but slightly higher noise than rival CSCs from Sony and Fujifilm.
That’s down to the 17.3x13mm sensors used by Micro Four Thirds cameras, which are about 60% of the size of Fujifilm and Sony’s APS-C sensors (by surface area). It’s not a deal breaker but it gives Panasonic a slight disadvantage for image quality.
^ Rich, smooth colours and pixel-sharp details on the sculpture, but there’s a hint of noise in darker areas of the sky. (1/640s, f/11, ISO 200, 44mm equivalent)
^ There’s lots of detail in the dense foliage in this wide-angle shot. Focus is a little softer towards the edges of the frame but there’s no sign of chromatic aberrations. (1/320s, f/5.6, ISO 200, 24mm equivalent)
^ This shot is at the long end of the zoom range, and focus is sharp across the frame. (1/320s, f/8, ISO 200, 64mm equivalent)
^ Another detail-packed shot with rich, lifelike colours. (1/60s, f/4.1, ISO 250, 34mm equivalent)
^ Shooting in low light at ISO 3200, there’s not much definition to hair textures but noise is kept in check. (1/60s, f/4.2, ISO 3200, 36mm equivalent, -1 EV)
^ This shot is a tougher test for noise handling. Hair and skin looks a little smeary and blotchy on close inspection but looks fine at modest sizes. (1/125s, f/5.2, ISO 2000, 50mm equivalent)
^ Manually setting the shutter speed to 1/250s to freeze motion (and stress-test noise levels), image quality is just about holding together for casual snaps. (1/250s, f/5.6, ISO 8000, 64mm equivalent)
Conclusion
There’s nothing particularly radical about the GX80, but I often find that it’s mid-range models like this that provide the best value. All in all, the GX80 is very similar to the Panasonic GX7 released in 2013, but with 4K video, a slimmer kit lens and a much lower launch price. Comparisons with the GX8 are inevitably not going to be in the GX80’s favour. It doesn’t help that the GX8 is available for just £575 body only, or £500 with a cashback offer until 1 June 2016. I expect the GX8 and GX80’s prices will settle down sooner or later and its Recommended award is based around this camera being priced below its larger sibling within a matter of weeks.
Compare it to the superb Fujifilm X-T10, and the GX80 looks extremely impressive with its superior autofocus controls, touchscreen, 4K video and wealth of exotic shooting modes. It’s up to you to decide whether these features are worth more than the X-T10’s superior exposure controls and lower noise levels.
Hardware | |
---|---|
Sensor resolution | 16 megapixels |
Sensor size | 17.3x13mm |
Focal length multiplier | 2x |
Optical stabilisation | Sensor shift and in kit lens |
Viewfinder | Electronic (2.7 million dots) |
Viewfinder magnification (35mm-equivalent), coverage | 0.7x 100% |
LCD screen | 3in (1.04 million dots) |
Articulated | Yes |
Touchscreen | Yes |
Orientation sensor | Yes |
Photo file formats | JPEG, RAW (RW2) |
Maximum photo resolution | 4,592×3,448 |
Photo aspect ratios | 4:3, 3:2, 16:9 1:1 |
Video compression format | MP4 (AVC) at up to 100Mbit/s |
Video resolutions | 4K at 24/25fps, 1080p at 25/50fps, 1080i at 25fps, 720p at 25fps, VGA at 25fps |
Slow motion video modes | N/A |
Maximum video clip length (at highest quality) | 29m 59s |
Controls | |
Exposure modes | Program, shutter priority, aperture priority, manual |
Shutter speed range | 60 to 1/4,000 seconds (1/16,000s with electronic shutter) |
ISO speed range | 100 to 25600 |
Exposure compensation | EV +/-5 |
White balance | Auto, 56 presets with fine tuning, manual, Kelvin |
Auto-focus modes | Multi, flexible spot, zone, pinpoint, face detect, tracking |
Metering modes | Multi, centre-weighted, centre, face detect |
Flash modes | Auto, forced, suppressed, slow synchro, rear curtain, red-eye reduction |
Drive modes | Single, continuous, self-timer, AE bracket, focus bracket, WB bracket, aperture bracket, 4K Photo, Post Focus, multiple exposure, Light Composition, time lapse, stop motion animation, HDR, panorama |
Kit lens | |
Kit lens model name | Panasonic H-FS12032 |
Optical stabilisation | Yes |
Optical zoom (35mm-equivalent focal lengths) | 2.7x (24-64mm) |
Maximum aperture (wide-tele) | f/3.5-5.6 |
35mm-equivalent aperture | f/7-11.2 |
Manual focus | Yes |
Closest macro focus (wide) | 20cm |
Closest macro focus (tele) | 30cm |
Physical | |
Lens mount | Micro Four Thirds |
Card slot | SDXC |
Memory supplied | None |
Battery type | Li-ion |
Connectivity | USB, micro HDMI |
Wireless | Wi-Fi |
GPS | Via smartphone app |
Hotshoe | Panasonic TTL |
Body material | Magnesium |
Accessories | USB cable, neck strap |
Weight | 500g |
Dimensions (HxWxD) | 70x129x70mm |
Buying information | |
Warranty | One year RTB |
Details | www.panasonic.com/uk |
Part code | DMC-GX80KEBK |