Cheap Lumix G7 kit on Amazon Prime sale

[Ross M]

I have a Nikon D750 and Nikon D7000 with both DX and FX lenses. I haven't used either for much video but have been dreaming of doing more casual video and wondering if I can justify a used mirrorless kit, despite promising myself a couple of years ago to cut back on acquiring more toys.

I've done some research sporadically over a year or so looking to buy used and have been a bit overwhelmed by the hugely varied tech available. I have been thinking that a "hybrid" camera that would serve as a more compact, lightweight camera that I would carry more often would be justified if it shot "acceptable" stills as well. I'll admit that defining acceptable is very personal and made worse by my admitting to myself that I might baulk at spending more on used lenses of a quality better than kit lenses. I don't carry the D7000 very much. (admittedly I should sell it and get a D7100). I wouldn't go too small because I like a decent viewfinder.

So, today I see listed on the Amazon sale a Lumix G7 with 14mm -42mm F3.5 - F5.6 and 45mm - 150mm F4 lenses for $525 delivered. Unless there are 2 levels of the Pana 14-42 lens that I am not aware of, JB Hifi is selling it for $449 alone. Of course, this sale ends in a days time, so it's a classic FOMO-pressure purchase scenario. I'm tempted but in the knowledge that a camera released in 2015 foregoes years of improvements. I realise that these lenses are pretty ordinary, but if I treat the camera as a video device and happy snapper or travel camera they may be acceptable.

I haven't found a compelling used camera of this calibre with better lenses advertised under $1000. I could probably budget to that much and maybe get at least one better lens later, but then I'm likely to dither much longer.

I'm intrigued by the possible usefulness of 4K Photo mode or 4K burst mode to capture stills in action scenarios as compared with fast/continuous shutter on my two Nikon DSLR's. I'm only really interested in 4K video to use it to capture stills or possibly crop video in the future. I don't even have a 4K TV or mobile phone.

I am also indecisive about going to 4/3rds instead of cropped sensor mirrorless. But I would use the D750 for low light etc situations.
I'm hoping I wouldn't want to crop in post heavily with the 16MP sensor of the G7 compared to 20MP models, especially with cheap lenses.

Some questions I have:

Does anyone have experience with this kit?
Does it play nice with other brands of 4/3rds lenses?
What is the shooting experience with Panasonic 4K Photo Mode like?
How much difference doe in-body stabilization make? I've learned that requirement restricts choice of brand, or to later releases and requires a bigger spend on the body.

[ameerat42]

They call it a "Prime" sale for a 2015 model camera..???

[ameerat42]

A couple of other points:
1) Isn't there a mirrorless NIkon that does 4K? (Yes, I'd guess dearer, but later, and possibly able to use your current lenses.)
2) I have an (now old) Samsung Galaxy S5 that does 4K video up to 30p (from memory). I only tried it once, and had to use
the limited internal memory because I didn't have a fast enough SD card. It was jittery on the (slow) card, and not noticeably
better than similar 1080p video, both of which I sent to a Sony 4K TV. It may have been because of the the small sensor size.
3) A good 1080p feed looks great on a (good) 4K TV, as do even the 1080i feeds from the HD TV channels*.

I'm not saying don't go 4K video, but that there might be better ways.

* Because 4K TVs can usually do a very good upscaling job on those feeds.

[Ross M]

A couple of other points:
1) Isn't there a mirrorless NIkon that does 4K? (Yes, I'd guess dearer, but later, and possibly able to use your current lenses.)
2) I have an (now old) Samsung Galaxy S5 that does 4K video up to 30p (from memory). I only tried it once, and had to use
the limited internal memory because I didn't have a fast enough SD card. It was jittery on the (slow) card, and not noticeably
better than similar 1080p video, both of which I sent to a Sony 4K TV. It may have been because of the the small sensor size.
3) A good 1080p feed looks great on a (good) 4K TV, as do even the 1080i feeds from the HD TV channels*.

I'm not saying don't go 4K video, but that there might be better ways.

* Because 4K TVs can usually do a very good upscaling job on those feeds.

Thanks for the info. Nikon changed the mount for mirrorless, so I would still need an adapter. At least the adapter would work well. I've been warned that adapters for different mirrorless lens brands don't always deliver good AF performance. Yes, Nikon came to mirrorless more recently and so are more expensive.

I do wish I had bought a better mobile phone, not that long ago, with a better camera. After all, that is the camera I always carry. Doh!

I originally was looking at both 1080 and 4K models and being guided by price, but then got drawn in to the capture stills from video capability and apparently 4K is an enabler. The fellow I bought my Nikon D7000 from, had bought the new camera with that in mind.

Yes, the Amazon sale tends to discount old products and their house brands the most. Typical.

[ameerat42]

If by capturing still from video you mean the ability take a still during the sequence, then OK.
Stills captured from moving video are not always - I've found, hardly ever - as sharp as just
normal stills. Also, they are (usually) just jpeg, unless you manage to capture raw video, and
then...

I didn't know about the need for an adapter (thanks to shorter flange-to-sensor distance) for
that camera.

Digression:
Also about cameras in late-model phones, I recently got (someone) an OPPO with a 48MPx camera,
not for the camera but for its excellent other necessities, like the dual-SIM slots, generous internal
storage, and the ability for external storage (SD cards). Hardly any good current phones offer SD
card storage

The (few) 48MPix shots that I tried are by no means awe-insping. -ly, I did not try the 4K video
on this phone.

Just as an example only and not to denigrate the otherwise good phone, its advertising states:
"...48MP* Ultra Wide Quad Camera..."
but it is NOT u-w at 48MPx... - That is only 8MPix. There are 5 cameras in total (incl. the selfie
camera of 16 MPx), and each of the other two is a whopping 2MPx only).
(This camera specs here.)
/Digression

[Ross M]

If by capturing still from video you mean the ability take a still during the sequence, then OK.
Stills captured from moving video are not always - I've found, hardly ever - as sharp as just
normal stills. Also, they are (usually) just jpeg, unless you manage to capture raw video, and
then...

I didn't know about the need for an adapter (thanks to shorter flange-to-sensor distance) for
that camera.

Digression:
Also about cameras in late-model phones, I recently got (someone) an OPPO with a 48MPx camera,
not for the camera but for its excellent other necessities, like the dual-SIM slots, generous internal
storage, and the ability for external storage (SD cards). Hardly any good current phones offer SD
card storage

The (few) 48MPix shots that I tried are by no means awe-insping. -ly, I did not try the 4K video
on this phone.

Just as an example only and not to denigrate the otherwise good phone, its advertising states:
"...48MP* Ultra Wide Quad Camera..."
but it is NOT u-w at 48MPx... - That is only 8MPix. There are 5 cameras in total (incl. the selfie
camera of 16 MPx), and each of the other two is a whopping 2MPx only).
(This camera specs here.)
/Digression

Yes, there are compromises in the quality of photos captured from the video, despite some clever technology. I should ask myself how often I would use this feature in the long run.