Weird question for an unexpected situation. I impressed the right person and I got an offer for any Panasonic camera and lens (one). I know the person and it isn’t a scam, I just don’t know if there is a certain limitation. The ball is in my court.
I’m a Sony shooter and I’ve gradually built up to about complete dream collection for E mount. If I take them up on it a camera, I want to genuinely have a place and use for it. I primarily shoot sports but also family, portraits, flash/studio. I currently have an A9 III and I’m looking to add an A1 when I find the right deal on one.
I’ve always been a bit of a full frame guy, I don’t mind lugging around big lenses. When I travel, I usually take the 35-150 and maybe the ultra wide. I rarely shoot video and I’m not very good at it.
So with all that said, the Panasonic cameras look like they’ve come a long way, but with already having the camera and lens ecosystem I do, I’m trying to think of what would add value. The full frame lineup interests me the most, particularly the S1RII, but it seems like it just duplicates what I have and is slower, so it seems like kind of a waste of resources when I could have two Sony bodies to change lenses between freely.
I was thinking maybe I should consider something that would be different with micro 4/3 like the G9 II. Then maybe for a lens the LUMIX 100-400 F4-6.3. And maybe later I’d add the 12-35 F2.8 for a light weight travel wide and zoom and also not always have to carry such an expensive camera. I could also add a Godox trigger to play with my flashes but seems like if I’m lugging around flashes I’d just throw my big camera in.
Anyway, curious for anyone’s advice on what they might look at. It’s a weird thing to love cameras and have something so generous and not really know if or how I should take it up. Panasonic has never really been on my radar, but I know they perform pretty well.
I'm not seeing any reason to use Panasonic for stills but maybe rent some gear and see how you like it.
L mount has practically no long tele lenses so I would not even consider it compared to Nikon, Canon or Sony. They have only one type of 45MP camera and a bunch of others with low-res. There is no 61MP like the a7rV for example.
I'd be more inclined to upgrade and fill out the Sony system.
Well the one I’d like is the Sigma 300-600 F4 but I’m not investing that much in L mount when I already have my Sony ecosystem. The offer is only for Panasonic so the Sony upgrade is sort of a moot point. I’m also thinking of how I can give back to Panasonic if I take them up. I imagine I could throw out some good work on daytime action photos and creative flash photography which should both hold up well in micro 4/3 or full frame.
EB-1 wrote:
I'm not seeing any reason to use Panasonic for stills but maybe rent some gear and see how you like it.
L mount has practically no long tele lenses so I would not even consider it compared to Nikon, Canon or Sony. They have only one type of 45MP camera and a bunch of others with low-res. There is no 61MP like the a7rV for example.
I'd be more inclined to upgrade and fill out the Sony system.
Is there a quid pro quo expectation such as providing a gear review? Or is this purely a gift? Do you have some particular goal in mind?
Lumix doesn't really offer any cameras comparable to the a9 or a1 for sports. So it would be difficult to do any kind of apples-to-apples comparison with your current setup.
Perhaps this is an opportunity to try video? Get a GH7 and Pana-Leica 10-25mm F1.7 and try your hand at cine.
Sort of, they liked my photos and asked what I shoot and they work for Panasonic and said they could get me a camera and lens if I’d be interested and have some sort of follow up. It was a pretty casual conversation. I can usually talk cameras but Panasonic was about as off my radar since the GH4 so I didnt really have even a camera to say I’d want to try at the time.
jeffbuzz wrote:
Is there a quid pro quo expectation such as providing a gear review? Or is this purely a gift? Do you have some particular goal in mind?
Lumix doesn't really offer any cameras comparable to the a9 or a1 for sports. So it would be difficult to do any kind of apples-to-apples comparison with your current setup.
Perhaps this is an opportunity to try video? Get a GH7 and Pana-Leica 10-25mm F1.7 and try your hand at cine.
Honestly I’d go with the G9 II and 100-400. It gives you something completely different from your Sony setup. You’d still have great autofocus and speed for sports, but in a much smaller and lighter kit. The micro four-thirds glass gives you a lot of reach without having to carry a huge lens everywhere.
You could keep it as your travel or casual setup, then grab your Sony gear when you want that full-frame look. I’ve seen some really strong action and wildlife shots from the G9 II. It’s a solid body with a big performance jump over the older Panasonic models.
If this offer is meant more to expand what you can do instead of replacing your Sony gear, that combo feels like the best choice.
That's exactly the combo I was thinking for something completely different. Plus it would be nice to show off how a M 4/3 in the right conditions can come up with really nice results. Even better would be to have Olympus' 100-400 2.8, but I'm guessing that isn't in the cards lol. My only practical issue is after I picked up my 400 2.8 my 200-600 just sat collecting dust. It was a great sharp and flexible lens, I could just never get myself to leave my $12k lens sitting there to put it on instead.
For the full frame L mount side, the big value I could see would be to have a 2 lens kit that isn't as expensive to travel with me. The Sigma 28-105 would be a great all in one lens, but I'm not going to buy it. And I've heard great things about the new Panasonic 100-500 size, weight, minimum focus distance. But my 400 will still be sitting there, judging me .
Domako27 wrote:
Honestly I’d go with the G9 II and 100-400. It gives you something completely different from your Sony setup. You’d still have great autofocus and speed for sports, but in a much smaller and lighter kit. The micro four-thirds glass gives you a lot of reach without having to carry a huge lens everywhere.
You could keep it as your travel or casual setup, then grab your Sony gear when you want that full-frame look. I’ve seen some really strong action and wildlife shots from the G9 II. It’s a solid body with a big performance jump over the older Panasonic models.
If this offer is meant more to expand what you can do instead of replacing your Sony gear, that combo feels like the best choice....Show more →
.