Panasonic has the best game in town for lovers of dSLR styled mirrorless bodies. The G5 was amazing, as was the G6. But Panasonic really stepped up the game with the G7, giving us 80% of what we wanted, but most importantly cranking up the image quality with the newer sensor.
And then came the GX85 and G85 and our minds were partially blown. But the prices started to get crazy too.
I purchased the G5 and G6 kits for around 600 to 700 cad. This was considered a bargain and everyone knew that they were punching above their cost.
The GX85 was kind of expensive at 900, but the camera is a gem and I still have that one, with all the rest sold off in my trip back to dSLR land.
The G85 really annoyed me because it came out not long after I got my G7 and I felt like an idiot
I ended up preferring the GX85 over the G7 by a country mile and that was that.
However, the G85 costs around 1200, double what the G5 and G6 were costing in their day. So I never bothered, since the GX85 is still terrific and it is very compact. The D7200 and D600 fill my needs when I want to do serious photography, and I paid 2/3 of the cost of a new G85 for each of those dSLRs, with both crushing the G85 in low light.
And now comes the G9 … everything that the GH5 was for stills, and even more brilliance. Apparently the viewfinder is the true OVF replacement. And I’m sure that there are many more wonderful features (how does 20fps at full size grab you?)
Yet the cost has again more than doubled and I am finally over my love of the Panasonic bodies. I just don’t care any more, as they are gouging now.
C’est la vie I suppose …
