Panasonic GX80 or Sony RX100 for my needs?

[timmothy]

Me wouldand my girlfriend would like a new camera as our current RX100 mk1 is getting on a bit. The things we really wish it had is WiFi or Bluetooth. Our old Fuji had them both and it was so useful to just be able to get off a couple of photos into our phones for family or social media.

Other things we would really like on a new camera are decent video recording, electronic viewfinder and tiltable screen.

I have been looking at the GX80 which can be had for £300 and seems like it's well reviewed. I just wonder if its overkill for what we will use it for. 95% of the time it will be in auto mode and saving to jpeg. We use it while traveling and going out for walks so need it to be highly portable.

Do you think the image quality for how we use it will be better on the GX80 or are we better off going for a newer RX100 or equivalent?

Thanks

 

[EsaT]

While that 16MP sensor of GX80 and other 16MP M43 bodies isn't the best, it wins sensor of latest RX100 and tiny sensor of original RX100 is simply curb stomped at higher ISOs.
RX100 MkI's horrible blotchy noise doesn't show in out of camera pics only because of extreme NR.
High ISO RAWs are simply "fireworks of noise".
Bigger sensor of later RX100's improves that lot.

But RX100 definitely falls short in viewfinder.
Its simply insanely small, needing cramming eye very close, and like looking into keyhole.
It's more like bulletpoint engineering feature to get that claim into advertising than actual usable feature.
There simply isn't way around physics and its impossible to have proper viewfinder in such small camera.

But then again even with pancake zoom bigger sensor system camera can't be equally small:
https://j.mp/2zdYtlk
RX100s should be all identical or almost same size.
So you can use that to visualize difference in needed pocket size.

Though if some small bag is possible in traveling, then system camera would allow also have better reach lens to use then.
All the way to 18x zoom of Olympus.
This has images showing wide end view and then zoomed in:
https://www.photographyblog.com/rev...ital_ed_12_200mm_f_35_63_review/sample_images

Only latest RX100 VI and VII have more significant zoom range.
Don't remember now what Panasonic has.

 

[timmothy]

Well the gx80 arrived yesterday and it is far too big for our needs. It will not fit in a pocket and will be a nightmare to take on walks. Any other options in the £300 price range. The other things is the images seem no better than the rx100 and in low indoor light the rx100 is miles ahead with a more realistic bright image.

 

[Street]

The RX100 mk3 can be had for well under £300 second hand and the mk4 for around £300. I made the switch from a mk1 to mk3 a while back and it was a nice jump up in features. I loved the size of the mk1 and was reluctant to switch to anything bigger so the logical step for me was a newer RX100. The 3 has a better sensor and processor and a slightly wider and faster lens. I mainly use it climbing and outdoors so the EVF was a really handy feature as sometimes when it was bright, the screen on the mk1 was hard to see.

 

[EGuitarStar]

Just get one of the later revisions of the RX100.

I looked at a RX100 a few years ago and they are great cameras, feature packed and with a great sensor. I opted for the Panasonic LX100 in the end.

I have a GX80 as well and unless you start using the manual or semi manual settings you won't see the benefits. Image quality will look pretty much the same when viewing on a phone or HD TV unless you start pixel peeping and looking at noise.

 

[timmothy]

How does your lx100 compare to the gx80 on manual settings? They can be bought cheaply second hand with warranty.

 

[EGuitarStar]

Very little in it between these two cameras. The LX100 (mark I) uses a micro four thirds sensor, so same as the GX80 but it is limited to 12mp due to the different aspect ratios you can use. The fixed lens on the LX100 is very sharp. The kit lens supplied with the GX80 (12-32) is very good for a kit lens.

The biggest difference between the LX100 and GX80 is the ability to change lens and the articulating touch screen.

Not sure about the used market, I purchased mine brand new and still have them.

 

[Razor-BladE]

How does your lx100 compare to the gx80 on manual settings? They can be bought cheaply second hand with warranty.

If the GX80 is too big, then won't the LX100 be as well? It's basically the same size.

I'd agree with getting a more recent version of the RX100.

 

[timmothy]

It's been a few months so I thought I would update this. I almost RMAd the GX80, I got the return number and boxed it all up. I then had a change of heart and thought I would have another go at it.

Took it for a long walk and took some pics, absolutely fell in love with it. I'm not exactly sure why, the image quality in my not professional opinion is on par with the rx100 but not noticeably better. The low light performance is a lot worse as well. The size is larger than my usual cameras and it is a pain to constantly have to twist the lens to start shooting. Even with all this I have never enjoyed using a camera as much. I also tend to take a lot less pictures when out as I tend to choose more wisely now. The video quality is excellent, I would like a higher frame rate, 24fps is just not smooth in my opinion.

I have been pondering whether to get a prime, I almost purchased the 25mm 1.7 but ended up not getting it as it would add a lot of size to the camera. I really enjoy the compactness and don't want anything larger. Someone local is selling the 1.7 20mm for £130 which I am considering, it's a pancake so good for size. I'm just wondering whether it would give me a lot more than the kit lens and if I would miss the dual is.

Thanks for everyone's opinion who commented on my original questions.

 

[timmothy]

It's been a few months so I thought I would update this. I almost RMAd the GX80, I got the return number and boxed it all up. I then had a change of heart and thought I would have another go at it.

Took it for a long walk and took some pics, absolutely fell in love with it. I'm not exactly sure why, the image quality in my not professional opinion is on par with the rx100 but not noticeably better. The low light performance is a lot worse as well. The size is larger than my usual cameras and it is a pain to constantly have to twist the lens to start shooting. Even with all this I have never enjoyed using a camera as much. I also tend to take a lot less pictures when out as I tend to choose more wisely now. The video quality is excellent, I would like a higher frame rate, 24fps is just not smooth in my opinion.

I have been pondering whether to get a prime, I almost purchased the 25mm 1.7 but ended up not getting it as it would add a lot of size to the camera. I really enjoy the compactness and don't want anything larger. Someone local is selling the 1.7 20mm for £130 which I am considering, it's a pancake so good for size. I'm just wondering whether it would give me a lot more than the kit lens and if I would miss the dual is.

Thanks for everyone's opinion who commented on my original questions.