Lumix G100 As A Stills Camera - Is It Any Good or Is It Only For Vlogging?

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[@pmradlz]

I've got *two* G100s: so I can use two lenses simultaneously (Events). I love them! 💙I bought them as stills cameras to complement/replace my GX80s. Manual shutter speed is perfectly fast enough for indoors with a prime wide open, no flash (in most cases today, you can't use eshutter indoors because most lighting today is LED, or else there'll be banding), but I always use eShutter outside anyway, with no problems (I don't do fast moving things, so no "rolling shutter" issues). Better dynamic range and low light performance than GX80s. Oh, and that bright backscreen and bigger viewfinder! 💙

[@bastian.michel]

So ist it a problem without mechanical shutter indoors? Do you get these stripes with the G100?

[@pmradlz]

@@bastian.michel I use mechanical shutter indoors. The big complaint is that the G100 shutter is only something like up to 1/500 second. But that's ample for me. Indoors I normally hover around 1/100 ISO200, in a decently lit room, using a nice prime like Olympus 45mm f1.2 or 25mm f1.8. I'm just not obsessed about things like noise either. Although it has to be *really* dark to go to an ISO where noise might become an issue to me. I did a whole shoot in candlelight earlier this year with no problems.

[@garyk4017]

Thanks for your review. I really like the small size of this camera with the 12-32 mm kit lens. I like that it has a good EVF, which is a must for me. I do wish it had IBIS, because then it would be a great body to use with my Lumix 20 mm f/1.7 pancake lens for low light situations (like museums).

[@bricsuc]

A small note about micro USB: That connector is rated for 10000 cycles, which is the same as USB-C. The design of the little latching mechanism in the plug instead of the socket moves the main point of strain to the cable, which is far preferable to replace in case of failure. Of course, I think everyone prefers the reversible style of USB-C, but otherwise the robustness is pretty good (notwithstanding feelings of wanting to give the thing a smack after trying to plug it in the wrong way for the hundredth time).

[@CameraCombo]

Wow, the colors coming off the shot at 15:10 with the ketchup bottle was amazing. Love it. Great work, Brian.

[@baggyjohnnybags]

That's not ketchup, it's Sarsons Malt Vinegar in a burgundy bottle

[@westegg]

I have G100 too. Your thought is the same as mine. Even though Panasonic says G100 is vlogging camera, I think this is a Still camera.

[@ggwildlife]

excellent i was looking at getting this 2nd hand for a holiday camera, save me lugging my EM1 mkIII or GH5M2.

[@kcphotogeek6207]

The only real disappointment for me was weather sealing, they did market it as the go anywhere vlogging camera originally. The only mft camera that fits the description of a go anywhere light vlog camera would be the EM5 MK III, but I prefer the menus and handling on Lumix in general.

[@colmclaurin9452]

Mate I really like the way you explains things in a non-biased format, very Fair Dinkum as we say in our brand of pure English, being directly opposite the B/S so many of these camera reviewers pushing for their cut from sales in their reviews. You make it so easy for us techno idiots to understand. Age could have something to do with that to as I've probably got far more than a hand full of years on you. I didn't realise the G100 didn't have in camera IS on stills when shooting with non IS lens until you explained it. I like budget Olympus lenses which due to their budget cost for the most part don't have IS, but most Olympus camera's I know of do have IS on still shooting non IS lens. However after your non biased Fair Dinkum G100 review old mate, I will have no problem purchasing a G100. Keep up the good work.👍👍👍

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

Thanks for the compliments. Before you do buy it I would still recommend trying it first, it’s not for everyone. If you are using it primarily as a video camera I’d say great, if mainly for stills then it’s still very usable but I’d rather go for a GX85 or a GX9. Having said that, it’s becoming mu most used camera at the moment.

[@willardkennedy6021]

I took a G100 on a 23 day trip to the UK in August. Used it a lot (even though I also had FF cameras with me). Very useful when you want a small light weight camera. In editing the photos (all shot in raw) I was surprised how good the dynamic range was. I tend to shoot everything bracketed and often edit the one that is one stop under to protect highlights. Had no issues at all. I use Topaz Denoise which worked well on these images.

[@Lepewhi]

Did you find that you were able to capture fast moving subjects?

[@willardkennedy6021]

@@Lepewhi Really did not try to shoot any fast moving subjects. Used it mostly for interior shots of some manor houses and museums. Used a 9mm f1.7 a lot and did noise reduction with Topaz Denoise. Very satisfied with the results. Later I took it to LSU where my grandson goes to college. Used it outside a lot for shots of the campus. Performed very well. I love the small size!

[@patrickmcfadden1689]

Another informative video, thanks. I do not Vlog but even if I did, this camera will certainly not be one I would choose to replace my aging G7 which also has no IBIS, or my GX85s, G95, EM10mii or EM10miiis. I just think Lumix made a real stinker of a camera, but then again, I am clearly not the intended user for this one.

[@artjohnson01]

Bought the G100 to complement my G7 and G9. Almost pocketable and takes all my M43 lenses. Very happy to have this.

[@toxophillus72]

I'm thinking of doing exactly the same, mainly because the G9 is getting heavier as I'm getting older. Are you still happy with the G100?

[@artjohnson01]

@@toxophillus72 AMAZING how that G9 gets heavier as we get older! Today when l want to go for a walk or hang out I’ll take my G100. If I’m taking a purposeful picture taking venture, or a trip I’m likely to take my G9.

[@willardkennedy6021]

One other comment--I was lucky to be able to get the new 9mm f1.7 Leica lens just before leaving--FANTASTIC lens. Also used the 12-32mm.

[@toxophillus72]

Thanks very much , if it does it will be a game changer imho even if it only goes to 1/500th.

[@stephenlumsden280]

Thx, thinking about getting one of these to put primes on and compliment my fz1000

[@louisekiner7324]

I’ve been looking into this camera as a smaller second camera as solely a stills camera (I currently have a cranky Canon T2i, which I love, but it’s kind of big to carry around day to day…) and your review was so clear. It’s told me all I needed to know and it will probably be the one I’ll be going for. Thanks!

[@kite6864]

did you go for it?

[@CameraCombo]

Good review, Brian. What camera and lens were you using for filming this video? Keep up the great content!

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

Lumix G9 with Olympus 17mm f1.8

[@jeffslade1892]

Looks good. But this is why I use my even smaller E-PL7 for stills (but not for video, Ollies don't really). Has IBIS and tilt monitor. When I do want video I still have my G7 (The VLogger), GH4 or G9. The G100, nice little camera. But is it an upgrade to one we might already have? The GM got incorporated into the GF series which are now the lesser GX (GX10 is GX800), confusing. It's nice to see one with a LVF in the G100.

[@photographyforenjoyment]

I'm going to have to get over my reluctance to try Panasonic cameras Brian! It's undoubtedly an age thing as I come from the film era when nobody would have dreamt that companies like these would enter the camera market. It looks like the G100 more than fulfils your requirements and although I can't see myself investing in that model, I do now have a hankering to try one of their older models like the GX80.

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

Give it a go, you won’t look back

[@MichaelGerrard]

The GX80 is a great option. I had one for four years. It has IBIS. The GX80 has the ability to edit raw files in camera, all the bracketing, connecting to a smartphone, all of it. The 16mpx sensor gives excellent photos. I now use the GX9, it has the 20mpx sensor but the difference from the 16mpx is not a lot.

[@barbgannon3252]

If you want a brilliant camera at around the same price - would recommend the Panny G9

[@jmtphotographymedia]

Nice camera but they did cripple it with the lack of IBIS and the mechanical shutter limitation. Would be a great vlogging hybrid otherwise.

[@titomiguelmarques5512]

Its a decent camera, but the lack of ibis hurts its overall versatility, both in stills with prime lenses, as well as video ( mandatory to use eis and subsequent crop). It really was a bad decision from panasonic. This, alongside with the lack of weather sealing, made me choose, after one of your videos (thanks for the em1 mk1 video), a EM1 mk1 that i now use as my daily driver for stills shooting. At least it gives panasonic the chance to come out with a g100 mk2.

[@ac6044cw]

One downside of most Panasonic 20MP sensor cameras *for video* is they have a more severe crop in 4k (about 1.25x) than with the old 16MP sensor (about 1.1x) - the GH5x & G9 are the only ones that don't have a 4k crop. (P.S. If you want to go really 'small and light' the GX800/880 - with the old 16MP sensor - is even smaller and lighter, but somewhat plasticky and has no viewfinder or stabilization).

[@philby1]

I have naver found a camera that has a dioptre adjustment that will go far enough for my eyes So I have to stick with the glasses. I am also left eye dominant so always sticking my nose on the screen . I Did have contacts for a while but find them to be a bit of a faff. On the GX80 I have I tend to use the screen most of the time.

[@NatsWright]

I think the irony with this camera, was that its actually better for stills than video! Its super compact and of course you can change lenses. I'm still happier with my Z-V1, as its very good for video, but surprisingly good for photos. Only the lack of a viewfinder is an issue, here the G100 is better.

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

I think that is also my conclusion too, it is a very good stills camera and a competent Vlogging camera. It’s interesting though reading the comments on the video review I did that people consider Vlogging to only be the walking while filming aspect of it which of course needs IS yet a vlog is any form of video log or video diary so putting the camera onto a tripod or fixed surface and doing a piece to camera is equally a ‘Vlog’ in that case the camera excels.

[@FabianASMR]

@@ThatMicro43Guy yessir, i’m looking for a camera to prop on a tripod and perform asmr. i think this might be the one

[@kcphotogeek6207]

If they angled the battery compartment 90 degrees would the BLF19 batteries have fitted I wonder

[@willardkennedy6021]

One last comment--one of your photos had a roadsign that said Carlisle was 9 miles away. Do you live near Carlisle? My family is from there. Wonderful little city.

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

Strangely enough I live 9 miles from Carlisle. This is my home town of Brampton I was shooting.

[@timothydrake1030]

For us left eye dominant folks the diopter is not a problem.

[@KuraiGames]

Do you have a settings video?

[@AoyagiAichou]

Hi Brian, just so you know, the G100 is basically a G90 (explains the micro USB) with a lot of corners cut. I am curious, what did you record this with?

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

Lumix G9 with Olympus 17mm f1.8

[@AoyagiAichou]

@@ThatMicro43Guy Thank you. I was pleasantly surprised with that AF performance. Clearly that new(ish) firmware improved it significantly!

[@trevorfentiman5283]

Always liked lumix pocket cameras and have a tz200 looking to get something small for travel and low light, what’s your experience with low light or would I be better off getting the gx9 ?

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

The G9 ‘should’ give better low light performance due to the superior processing power of its processor but I have not done a back to back test. However, where the G9 will win in low light every time is it’s IBIS which means you will be able to use a slower lens hand held or open up a fast lens even more at a slower shutter speed o allow more light in

[@MichaelGerrard]

I recommend the GX9. It is a wonderful camera. You get many of the features of the huge G9 in a smaller body.

[@trevorfentiman5283]

Thanks for the info, off today at our local camera shop in Canterbury for a gx9

[@lorenschwiderski]

@@MichaelGerrard I second that! These days I am mostly shooting with the GX-9 and a Canon RP. Take care and have fun everyday, Loren

[@rymdskrotet]

Hello. I am using the 14-140 lens on my g 100. The system is not very smart when it comes to choose aparture. On a sunny day, and in program mode, something like aperture fv.17 (high) or above is automatically choosen. That don't look very good on m43. How come the system is not smarter than that? I have to select aparture manually around f5.6 - 8. Annoying. I guess I could get nd-filter but the Lens is not that bright really.

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

A lot depends upon what mode you have the camera in and what iso is set.

[@davemorgan8349]

It's not so much the getting down that's harder, it's getting back up again.

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

Oh so very true

[@dublbude]

Do you need to readjust your evf often? I don't, I set it once, to my eyesight, then I would rather it not move AT ALL! That's why the camera makes it hard to move. The easiest way to set your evf is by reviewing a shot you already took. Don't try to set it while you are trying to focus an actual shot, you likely won't have much luck. Instead take a shot of anything you want (black typing on white paper works great!) Then review the known in focus image, through the evf, and zoom into about 5x, make your evf sharp to the focus point. Now when you go back to live view, to take pics, now when you are in focus through your lens, you should be perfectly in focus through the evf as well.

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

No, I don’t readjust often but I do like to be able to do it easily in the first place. I don’t use the image to adjust my diopter, I use the display information around the image, that should be razor sharp as the through lens image may itself be out of focus.

[@dublbude]

@@ThatMicro43Guy i have a vf-2 from Olympus, has a nice easy to turn adjustment dial. So easy to turn, it can turn in your bag. Imagine you need to adjust it multiple times, all the sudden easy to turn becomes easy to always require turning. I guess for me, having it hard to turn hard in the first place, protects it from accidently turning, which unknowingly adjusting it, seems like the worste case scenario in my opinion.

[@pauls8456]

Might be finger size, I find the G100 viewfinder wheel easy to set, do it once and never have to change it seems fine to me.

[@toxophillus72]

I know I'm late to the party but I have a question. If I put an external flash onto the G100s hot shoe and use HSS will the flash speed go up to 1/500th ? I guess the e shutter kicking in above that would stop any higher SS. Thanks for any reply.

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

I don’t know, I’ll try it tomorrow. I don’t think so though as it’s a purely electronic shutter

[@toxophillus72]

@@ThatMicro43Guy Here's a thought Brian. If by chance HSS does work on the g100 you could do a new video on how it works and the results you got.

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

@@toxophillus72 well, that was fun. Using my G100 and Godox V1O flash it maxes out (as I already knew) at 1/50 on normal TTL. However, go into HSS TTL mode and it syncs perfectly up to 1/500 just as you suggested. So the answer is yes. Nice

[@toxophillus72]

@@ThatMicro43Guy On a different tack Brian , someone criticised your music on a different video.Dont listen to him the music was very enjoyable, your presentational style suits your personality perfectly. Miles better than a lot of the machine gun mile a minute presenters.

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

@@toxophillus72 thank you. Appreciated

[@mazzfotovideo]

wich camera do You use for film this video?

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

Lumix G9

[@Visual_Ghoul]

You've helped convince me to buy one of these, if i wanted a smaller second camera to house a second lense what would you suggest?

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

There’s not actually much smaller. If I were suggesting something I’d say a used GX7 as it’s small but, I feel, better for stills

[@Visual_Ghoul]

@@ThatMicro43Guy sorry which is better, this or gx7?

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

@@Visual_Ghoul ah, I see what you are asking, sorry. Before I answer that I wasn’t to know what you intend using it for most of all. Stills or video, do you want it for vlogging (videoing yourself) or general video, will you be wanting to plug in an external mic? What sort of photos and lenses?

[@Visual_Ghoul]

@@ThatMicro43Guy mainly wide angle photos, looking at the leica 9mm to take pictures of friends when we are out, i had the 12-35mm f 2.8 on a gx9 in the past but it wasnt wide enough and distoreted at 12mm. the 9mm is aspherical with in camera corrections so i'm set on the lens. maybe a 20mm 1.7 as well.

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

@@Visual_Ghoul in this case I wouldn’t suggest the G100. A GX9 is a far better option or an EM5/3. As for the lens if the 12mm isn’t wide enough then the 17mm certainly won’t be. To be honest all wide angle lenses will distort, they have to to fit everything onto the sensor, everything below around 20-25mm on M43 will show distortion, and from a distortion point of view the 12-35 Lumix is hard to beat. Personally I would be looking at how I achieve my composition, my closeness to the subject and what I’m trying to achieve. To remove the likelihood of distortion I’d be much further back and using a longer lens but this is a compromise as longer lenses introduce compression. Also it’s really worth making sure that the camera is level both horizontally and vertically. A camera pointing slightly up or slightly down with a wide angle lens can have a dramatic effect on how the lens appears to distort vertical reference points and lines. Personally, I’d persevere with the GX9 and 12-35 f2.8 but maybe reassess how you take the photos themselves. The camera and lens really are superb.

[@raffaelegio]

Does the IBIS work for stills? I mean with a no-stabilized lens

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

No, there is no IBIS as such, it’s a digital stabilisation for video

[@jeffslade1892]

LMOS Sensor (not CMOS, yes there is a difference ;) )

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

You are correct. I have 2 lumix originated sites one saying cmos the other lmos

[@SuperCern]

This one vs GX8 vs GX9? Primarily for stills.

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

GX8 or 9 both great. I prefer the gx8 as I think it fits in the hand better but it is larger. Image Quality wise there’s no difference

[@SuperCern]

@@ThatMicro43Guy Thanks! So, GX8 is better for stills than G100 in your opinion? Is that difference big?

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

@@SuperCern in my opinion yes because the G100 only has an electronic shutter and so on fast moving still images is susceptible to the ‘jello effect’. It’s a great little camera and ideal if you want to hide it in your pocket but so is the GX9 and it has a mechanical/electronic shutter. I also think the physical controls such as the thumb wheel are better to the GX8 & 9. Both the GXs lose out in one way or another though either in size (gx8) or lack of tilt swivel screen & mic input (gx9). In honesty, there is no perfect camera for all but I still think for an absolute beginner who is trying everything the G100 is a good compromise for pocket sized still AND video (not still OR video though)

[@howardchud9097]

How about if I buy you a cup of coffee in person? Where are you?

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

I’m in North Cumbria, East of Carlisle but I usually have coffee in Carlisle. If you are close then I’d be more than happy

[@howardchud9097]

Micro USB where?

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

Under the rubber flap on the side

[@MichaelGerrard]

But the G100 is ugly, isn't it? It doesn't inspire me.

[@petercollins7848]

It is a camera not an ornament! I have never owned a camera that was ‘pretty’ and that is over nearly 70 yrs! 😅

[@MichaelGerrard]

@@petercollins7848 ok. For some of us it is different.

[@vermontmike9800]

@@petercollins7848agreed. No camera is pretty. The only aesthetically pleasing camera ever produced as the Leica M3.