Jock Elliott
Hall of Famer
- Location
- Troy, NY
I like this camera. A lot. It seems “right sized” to me . . . not too big, not too small. It fits in my 11” x 9” x 3” shoulder bag with the 12-32 attached and the 45-150 next to it with room to spare. The “rangefinder” form factor seems right to me as well. It’s designed in such a way – essentially a rounded-off brick with a lens attached – that I can pull it from the bag without it snagging on anything, or any wheels rotating and changing settings. The electronic viewfinder is at the upper left on the back of the camera body. Since I am left eye dominant, I turn off the touch screen so that my excellent nose doesn’t activate unwanted functions.
The GX85 has made me realize something about myself as a photographer. To wit: my approach is much more like Henri Cartier-Bresson than Ansel Adams. By that, I mean that my total attention is on composing the shot and taking the shot and not really concerned with how I am going to process the image after it is taken. It’s my understanding that HCB did not develop or print his own images. He said: “A photograph is neither taken nor seized by force, it offers itself up. It is the photo that takes you.” I agree. I am a wandering eye, looking for the next image that begs me to capture it. So long as I am getting results that are pleasing to me, I am content to let the camera make the decisions. The GX85 will allow you to treat it as a point and shoot, and so far, I am very happy with the results.
Just to complete the thought, I’ve seen interviews with Ansel Adams where he said that he knew how he was going to print the shot at the time that he made the exposure. Somewhere on the Internet, there is a video that shows the original negative for “Moonrise over Hernandez.” It is, in my opinion, thoroughly unremarkable. But then the video shows the printing instructions which transform it into the image we know and love. The point is that Adams had complete control of his entire photographic process, and he knew what he was doing from start to finish. I am not that guy. But if I ever want to become that guy, or attempt to become that guy, the GX85 has all the goodies to take control of the creative process.
In fact, as I have researched tips for setting up the GX85, it becomes readily apparent that the GX85 has more tricks built into it than a bridge tournament, including the ability to shoot 4K video and extract stills from it. If I am not mistaken, our very own John Flores used this capacity to shoot an image that became the cover of a magazine.
The GX85 has built-in image stabilization. The two lenses included in the kit I purchased also have stabilization, and the combo is designed that the two stabilization systems can work together.
The 12-32 lens is so tiny (you have to rotate a ring to get the working bits to extend) that it makes me want to tickle it under the chin and inquire: “And what do you want to be when you grow up?” My only complaint is that there is no manual focus ring. There is an in-camera work-around for manual focus with this lens, but it is clunky in the extreme.
Fortunately, autofocus with either lens is lightning quick in almost all situations. The 45-150 has a manual focus ring if you need it. And if you need more reach in a hurry, the GX85 has 2X and 4X digital zoom.
To date, I am happy with the results I am getting from GX85 with the 12-32 and 45-150. It is small enough, light enough, and handy enough that the small shoulder bag, with everything in it, sits on my desk, ready to go when the promise of photographic possibilities present themselves.
Cheers, Jock
The GX85 has made me realize something about myself as a photographer. To wit: my approach is much more like Henri Cartier-Bresson than Ansel Adams. By that, I mean that my total attention is on composing the shot and taking the shot and not really concerned with how I am going to process the image after it is taken. It’s my understanding that HCB did not develop or print his own images. He said: “A photograph is neither taken nor seized by force, it offers itself up. It is the photo that takes you.” I agree. I am a wandering eye, looking for the next image that begs me to capture it. So long as I am getting results that are pleasing to me, I am content to let the camera make the decisions. The GX85 will allow you to treat it as a point and shoot, and so far, I am very happy with the results.
Just to complete the thought, I’ve seen interviews with Ansel Adams where he said that he knew how he was going to print the shot at the time that he made the exposure. Somewhere on the Internet, there is a video that shows the original negative for “Moonrise over Hernandez.” It is, in my opinion, thoroughly unremarkable. But then the video shows the printing instructions which transform it into the image we know and love. The point is that Adams had complete control of his entire photographic process, and he knew what he was doing from start to finish. I am not that guy. But if I ever want to become that guy, or attempt to become that guy, the GX85 has all the goodies to take control of the creative process.
In fact, as I have researched tips for setting up the GX85, it becomes readily apparent that the GX85 has more tricks built into it than a bridge tournament, including the ability to shoot 4K video and extract stills from it. If I am not mistaken, our very own John Flores used this capacity to shoot an image that became the cover of a magazine.
The GX85 has built-in image stabilization. The two lenses included in the kit I purchased also have stabilization, and the combo is designed that the two stabilization systems can work together.
The 12-32 lens is so tiny (you have to rotate a ring to get the working bits to extend) that it makes me want to tickle it under the chin and inquire: “And what do you want to be when you grow up?” My only complaint is that there is no manual focus ring. There is an in-camera work-around for manual focus with this lens, but it is clunky in the extreme.
Fortunately, autofocus with either lens is lightning quick in almost all situations. The 45-150 has a manual focus ring if you need it. And if you need more reach in a hurry, the GX85 has 2X and 4X digital zoom.
To date, I am happy with the results I am getting from GX85 with the 12-32 and 45-150. It is small enough, light enough, and handy enough that the small shoulder bag, with everything in it, sits on my desk, ready to go when the promise of photographic possibilities present themselves.
Cheers, Jock