Panasonic Lumix DMC-G85M Kit with 12-60mm Lens (Black) with Lumix G 25 F1.7 ASPH HH025 (Retail Box, Black)

7 reviews for Panasonic Lumix DMC-G85M Kit with 12-60mm Lens (Black) with Lumix G 25 F1.7 ASPH HH025 (Retail Box, Black)

1. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   sd (verified owner) – 10 February 2024

   In summary, the Panasonic Lumix G80 is a good camera. Not the best, not the latest, but “bang for the buck” especially with the brilliant 12-60mm kit lens (accounting for at least half the current asking price, and will hold its value if looked after) it’s probably one the best deals out there at the moment. We bought it to replace a Lumix G2, having been wedded into the Micro Four Thirds (and particularly) Lumix ecosystem, and despite itself being half a decade old, it is a revolution in many ways over the G2, and I’m not sure the pace of development has been anywhere near as great since. Not a massively higher resolution sensor, but significantly better quality especially at higher ISO, making it much more versatile in practice, and megapixels aren’t everything in these 2000px social media days anyway. There are at least three stand-out upgrades over the old to specifically mention. First off, there’s the in-body image stabilisation, which effectively adds stabilisation to any lens (especially useful if interested in converting old glass to work) and works in tandem with the optical stabilisation in a number of recent Lumix G and Panasonic-Leica lenses to further improve image quality in trickier conditions by allowing longer shutter speeds without cranking the ISO. Then the various 4K modes which can be used for straight high quality video, to focus bracketing and all kinds of other dark arts I have yet to really explore. The 4K modes use a central 8 megapixel cropped area of the sensor so inherently zooms in a little, unlike on some other cameras, and are a bit clunky, but useful new functionality to try. Finally the electronic shutter option allows for much faster speeds than previously, as fast as 1/16000 second, which means wide-open apertures and sunny days can be friends for the first time! There are some inherent issues with electronic shutters when photographic moving subjects, so it’s good that the traditional mechanical options are there too, at the cost of wearing out the shutter rather more quickly if you’re taking lots of images, especially using the (incidentally) much improved non-4K burst modes. The controls on the G80 are pretty decent and mostly in about the right place for familiarity with the G2 and other models in the Lumix range. However both the various function buttons and dials now have a considerable degree of configurability, and it’s pretty likely you’ll want to deviate from the defaults in practice once you get a feel for what options you would most like at your fingertips. For example there is now a front and back dial, and although by default these both control shutter/aperture, it’s possible to reassign the front one to control exposure compensation which is lovely to use in conjunction with the very useful live peaking for avoiding blown highlights. Any downsides? Battery life isn’t amazing, and they’ve reduced the battery size (physical and capacity) from the G2 days whilst increasing the demands on the juice with new functionality. With some fine tuning of economy settings it’s possible to get somewhere near the longevity claims, but it’s still worth factoring in an additional battery or two – and thankfully we found a seller elsewhere with some genuine Panasonic ones at a fair price. We haven’t found the HDR mode that useful yet – it really doesn’t seem to do very much, and the auto-alignment usually fails badly; better doing your own bracketing then stacking on the computer. As mentioned, the 4K modes are a bit clunky, and although there is a composite mode, you can’t see the image building in real time – but remember, this is a half-decade old camera, so one of the earlier implementations of the technology. A bit more about the 12-60mm lens supplied: it’s brilliant! Sure, there are other considerably more expensive options with similar zoom range and wider apertures, but for a kit lens it’s a cracker. Most kits lenses especially on more budget DSLR and similar cameras top out at 3x zoom, but this offers 5x, starting noticeably wider than most and extending usefully more telephoto than most. Performance across the range is perfectly good for me, and although the f/3.5-5.6 maximum aperture isn’t much to write home about, with a close focusing distance of 25cm at telephoto, you can get in very close to subjects and throw the background out of focus regardless. It’s not quite true macro, but not far off, especially if you’re used to cropping in editing. The complexity of the lens does make for a few oddities in use, with the zoom range being not entirely linear, but one soon gets used to it and it’s no issue at all for still photography. The lens stabilisation works great in tandem with the G80 in-body stabilisation, as one would hope. (Attached images all taken with Panasonic Lumix G80 and 12-60mm kit lens, per this product listing) 14 people found this helpful

2. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   HowlingSharkBite – 5 April 2024

   I agonised over purchasing another interchangeable lens camera. For 4+ years now, my Sony RX(s) and iPhone have satisfied the gulf between learning imagery (properly at last, although much to still cover) and having fun. But this year I’d started to realise the more challenging things I planned were not being replicated well by these little pocket dynamos. I get the whole light thing, bigger sensor more light to play with. But I honestly don’t need the ability to ‘shoot in the dark’. Its great that the 5DA7II850(s) can, I was looking for something small with razor sharp proprietary glass. The G80 is a perfect fit for me. Small, pro build CSC, articulating screen. Well received 12-60mm kit glass, sublime LEICA glass choice (interesting focal lengths and superb quality). Does the G80 shoot the Canon jpg look in AUTO, no. Can this be tweaked in camera or post, yes. Ad nauseam for virtually every other feature feature of the competition, plus some unique ones thrown in. 4K of particular note and just about everything here to keep a video enthusiast very happy indeed. M43 v FF? No brainer for me, happily parted with £799 with excellent kit lens and sensor with no AA filter. Bar the GH5, the best hybrid / video shooter on the market. And I haven’t looked over my shoulder yet. This little guy has now been supplemented in my bag with the LEICA 25MM 1.4 / 7-14MM / 100-300MM. The Nocticron 42.5MM will be my final weapon, expensive but it will be worth it. Regards that bag, its small – a Samsonite Trekking rucksack which fits ‘under the seat in front’ no problem including iPad, cables, spare batteries and other nonsense. I love mine & am extremely happy with all aspects of M43 so far. My best purchase of the year. 48 people found this helpful

3. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   Sim_Simmer – 21 June 2024

   Had this camera for a while now, and whilst the picture and video quality is excellent in my humble opinion, the lack of GPS is really annoying and a serious design flaw. It can be difficult to remember locations when taking pictures and without GPS the PC cannot locate through maps, and I easily forget where the photo was taken. That is the reason for low overall rating, would have been higher with GPS. The price of official battery is ridiculous, luckily you can buy cheaper replacement; I purchased the Baxxtar Twin Port 1816/2 USB charger with two batteries. I have not purchased any lens for the camera, still using the supplied one so it maybe that pictures and video quality would improve dependent on location and lighting with a different lens. 2 people found this helpful

4. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Rostrocaptor (verified owner) – 4 September 2024

   My teenage daughter is a keen wildlife photographer, and was looking to move on from a bridge camera to an interchangeable lens system with a larger sensor for more depth-of-field control. She wanted something small and light, and micro-four-thirds seemed the right compromise. She’s very happy with her G80, which is an improvement in every respect compared to her previous camera. It has some problems in low light, but shots up to ISO 3200 or so are remarkably clean to our eyes (no pixel-peeping). Autofocus is generally reliable, but AF+MF remains the best way to go (with focus peaking to help get the shots right). It’s very easy to use in Manual Mode, with aperture on one dial, shutter speed on the other, and the camera choosing ISO. The burst is a good speed; she hasn’t played with post-focus or 4k as they don’t provide RAW files, and she has no interest in video. An extremely good buy for anyone looking to move up from fixed-lens cameras, and probably also good for people moving to lighter systems from APSC or full-frame. The shots below were taken with the Lumix Vario 100-300 mk ii. 27 people found this helpful

5. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   AshleyMelia (verified owner) – 3 November 2024

   I usually don’t write reviews. I never felt this amazed at a product. Just a summary of why I chose Panasonic G80. I was looking to buy a camera that can shoot 4K video and also capture audio using an external microphone. I already had a Panasonic FZ82 bridge camera that shoots brilliant 4K but did not have a mic input. I also evaluated mobile phone cameras. I found one thing that no one mentions in photography i.e. the sensor size. Megapixels dont equate to better image quality but larger sensor size does. Image quality is a factor of both the sensor size and the native image processing algorithm [in lay man terms; i am no way a professional]. Panasonic G80 has an amazing blend of a four thirds sensor and awesome image processing to produce professional quality images with just a click of the button. I am just using the default mode and am super impressed with the quality of the video/photo. The bonus that came with the G80 is a Dual image stabilisation which wasn’t on my radar of requirement but so happy to have it as a feature. 13 people found this helpful

6. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Phill Hambrook (verified owner) – 9 November 2024

   I sold my almost new Sony A7ii because my shoulder could no longer take the strain of the weight of the lenses. I wanted something compact and light which was also a quality camera at a reasonable price. I researched the market and came up with this. Just before a recent trip to Vienna I decided to get hold of the tiny 12-32 pancake zoom as a travel lens and I proceeded to trek for 5 days with this little beauty hanging round my neck with nary a twinge to complain about. I was just amazed at the quality of the pictures….OK I admit that the Sony is hard to beat for depth of field, but in all other respects the pictures were nearly all pin sharp, the stabilisation is fab allowing pictures taken inside churches and out doors late at night all in perfect focus. I have read that JPEG colour is lacking. For me rendition is just as I saw things. I have the kit lens which might give even better results and a 45mm Olympus to try out and i can’t wait to see the results. I suppose you could pay more for more megapixels but at fine quality and maximum magnification I cannot tell the quality apart from the Sony. Brilliant camera highly recommended. 10 people found this helpful

7. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   KiwiVda – 19 January 2025

   Firstly note I am not a power user mainly use for Phone and few basic apps. Bought the phone, after reading several online reviews, for 5G and Android 14 – with promised updates, and because of Gadget Trees intro discount offer and an additional £30 voucher, I note it is now £60 dearer. Pros. 1. Does everything I need, once set up is easy and quick to use – see Negs 2. Finger print sensor seems 99% – more than I have ever known 3. All the phone functions easy to use once set up 4. Not sure if the changes I had to over overcome from my old Android 10 phone were Android 14 changes or Xiaomis own interface mods but a couple of days experimenting and I am happy with its usability. Negs. 1. Wow I never knew there were so many adverts in the world. After a basic set up and easy data/apps transfer from my old phone this was virtually impossible to use as every other screen was an advert. 2. It took several hours of going through every setting and app to find a way of disabling the vast majority of the Adverts – still getting about 2 a day from I know not where. 3. There does not seem to a specific user manual available only a generic multi phone manual available from Xiaomi which is 166 pages long and confusing as it covers several different models without any way to select a specific model. A difficult read but it has help me find my way through several unfamiliar facilities. 4. There are several pre-loaded apps which look like data harvesting apps which you can not remove. 5. There is no proper Dark Mode – when you select the Dark Mode option it appears to simply reduce the screen brightness and changes the contrast slightly. Overall after several days of frustration getting the phone set up as I wanted it I am happy with its performance and usability. At the price I paid I would recommend it. 5 people found this helpful