I can't decide. LUMIX G7 vs Canon 70D. Help me.

[thewoz]

I'm going to buy my first good entry level camera. I sold my Sony A5000. I have a YouTube channel with tech related content and some reviews. I want the camera not only for my personal camera for pictures but use it for video. I want the video to be crisp and professional but without breaking the bank.

So I can't decide between the LUMIX G7 (4k) or the Canon 70d. Both good for video and ok for pictures and from what I can gather both come with pretty decent usable kit lenses.

G7 shoots 4k at 100Mbps. But the Canon shoots All-I 1080p at 90Mbps.

I also thought of the little RX100 M3, but it looks like it could break at any moment. And it's as expensive as the G7.

So any suggestions? I just held the G7 and I must say it felt great. Good build quality and fits in the hand perfectly. Havent held the 70d yet.

[Tronhard]

Hi Thewoz:

Can I suggest you go into your profile and add your name so we can offer you the respect of calling you by name - we're all very friendly here!

You are asking which body you should buy but frankly I think you need to answer some other questions first. New bodies come out with monotonous regularity and one brand gets ahead of another for a while and then loses ground again. The thing that doesn't change very much is glass. When you decide on a body you pretty much lock yourself into a brand of lens, so you need to decide on the lenses that will best suit your purpose.

So... what kind of photography do you want to engage in? When i was considering a brand I deliberately chose a lens which I considered the best for my purpose, and I also looked at reviews on sites like DPreview.com and other review sites for the lenses in particular. I see you are apparently looking at both video and stills. OK, but are your subjects going to be close-up or distant? The lens configurations will be dramatically different. While the camera may quote specs for resolution and frames per second, the lens is no less critical.

What is your budget? The fact that you are prepared to fork out for a decent body (the 70D is not really entry level - that would be the 750d or 760D) of whatever brand suggest you are prepared to invest quite a bit. Make sure that you are investing in a brand whose lenses you consider a long-term investment. If you decide to continue you will probably want to buy better lenses and you are already locked into a fair investment with whatever brand. You may well find that you spend far more on your lenses than the body - I certainly have.

What are you prepared to carry? There is no point getting a great quality lens and body if you are not prepared to carry it - resulting in wasted money and lost opportunities.

What output do you want? The bigger and more detailed the output, the greater investment in equipment. If you want to make smaller prints (say up to A3 or so) or simply produce electronic output, you can work with a much more modest investment.

I have Canon gear, and I could tell you how much I like the stuff and how I love working with it, but you will find equally emphatic support for other brands. I have also used Nikon gear and have a great respect for it too.

We should not be telling you which body to buy, we should be getting you to answer the questions above so you know what kind of photographer you want to be and that will define a list of benefits you want, and they will point to the features you need...

[davidedric]

I would echo what Trevor has said.

However, both are good mid-range, maybe pro-sumer, cameras, and will be able to do a good job over a wide range of conditions. I would suggest that the G7 has the edge in video (and the 4K adds a couple of interesting stills options), and the 70d in stills. In either case, it's determined more by the lens as the body. Here, Canon plus third parties offer a huge range, but the m4/3 range is also pretty complete and with some very good (and not cheap!) glass available.

The biggest differentiator is the size and weight of the camera and lens combination, and the handling. You've already tried the G7, now try the 70d, if possible side by side. My suggestion is to choose the one that feels best, because as image making systems either should satisfy you for years to come.

Dave

[rpcrowe]

I realize that 4/3 systems are now the thing! However, I am old school and prefer a through the lens mirror equipped DSLR camera. I dislike electronic viewfinders but, they do beat only having an LCD as a viewfinder.

The size of this camera is very nice but, again, I am old school enough to prefer a larger camera.

I suppose if you plan on sticking to the kit lenses, then the rather slow f/range of the G7 kit lens would not be anything to worry about since that is also the range of the Canon kit lens.

However, if you anticipate upgrading to better glass in the future, the Canon selection of OEM and 3rd party lenses beats the Lumix hands down. And, yes I know that there are adapters to limp along with Canon lenses on the Lumix.

OTOH, many people are totally happy with the G7 because it suits their needs at a relatively reasonable price and is light weight enough to carry anywhere.

[Manfred M]

However, if you anticipate upgrading to better glass in the future, the Canon selection of OEM and 3rd party lenses beats the Lumix hands down. And, yes I know that there are adapters to limp along with Canon lenses on the Lumix.

Not as accurate a statement as it was six or seven years ago. All mft Lumix. mFT Leica (Panasonic built) and Olympus as well as a few third party lenses (Samyang) work on the Lumix body. If you have the cash, there is a lovely f/2.8 7 - 14mm lens that runs at half the cost of what a FF equivalent would.

I also have a Nikon to mFT and Leica-R to mFT adaptor, and with focus peaking, focusing manual lenses is a whole lot easier than with most entry level to mid-range DSLRS.

While I prefer shooting a DLSR, traveling with my mFT is a lot easier.

TheWoz - I suggest you head to a bricks & mortar camera shop and try out the two bodies side by side. When I got my first DSLR, ergonomics drove my buying decision. One brand fit my hands a lot better than the other.

[Tronhard]

One other thing to consider would be the suitability of the software interface: ease of access to oft-used features, customizable buttons, control ergonomics etc. I know people who fell in love with the hardware but hated the interface...

[thewoz]

Well, I just said Kit Lens but just for now. Maybe next year I'll look into lenses.

The Micro 4/3 has plenty of lenses also. The lenses I've been interested in have both Nikon, Canon and M 4/3 mounts. For example the Cine 35mm 1.5 Rokinon. There are plenty of primes for both.

It's really a tough choice. I think it's because I haven't actually used them personally. I mainly want a good quality file when I make a video. I've been told by film makers that the G7 really gives you great video.

But I can't deny the Canon 70d. I don't want to go too entry level as selling them is a pain in the butt. I want to get something good and then invest in good lenses later on.

I don't think I'll ever be a professional videographer or anything, but I want something more than just entry level.

Originally I wanted the 70d and then skip the kit lens and get the 17-50mm 2.8 Sigma. But then people who used cameras for video steered me to the G7. Canon lenses are everywhere but it seems that Micro 4/3 and mirrorless are the thing now for videos. I think every tech channel now has gone 7rII.

If I was going to photographs I would go Canon. But the more I talk to people the more I lean to the G7.

One real difference I see is battery life. The Canon kills the G7 for that. The EVF doesn't help. But I'm not a professional photographer so I don't think that will bother me.

[thewoz]

One other thing to consider would be the suitability of the software interface: ease of access to oft-used features, customizable buttons, control ergonomics etc. I know people who fell in love with the hardware but hated the interface...

Right away I can say that the LUMIX interface isn't easy. But I'm a geek, and I got used to Sony. I was able to sit with the G7 and figure out how to change things as soon as I sat down. But I can tell it'll require some getting used to.

[thewoz]

Hi Thewoz:

Can I suggest you go into your profile and add your name so we can offer you the respect of calling you by name - we're all very friendly here!

You are asking which body you should buy but frankly I think you need to answer some other questions first. New bodies come out with monotonous regularity and one brand gets ahead of another for a while and then loses ground again. The thing that doesn't change very much is glass. When you decide on a body you pretty much lock yourself into a brand of lens, so you need to decide on the lenses that will best suit your purpose.

So... what kind of photography do you want to engage in? When i was considering a brand I deliberately chose a lens which I considered the best for my purpose, and I also looked at reviews on sites like DPreview.com and other review sites for the lenses in particular. I see you are apparently looking at both video and stills. OK, but are your subjects going to be close-up or distant? The lens configurations will be dramatically different. While the camera may quote specs for resolution and frames per second, the lens is no less critical.

What is your budget? The fact that you are prepared to fork out for a decent body (the 70D is not really entry level - that would be the 750d or 760D) of whatever brand suggest you are prepared to invest quite a bit. Make sure that you are investing in a brand whose lenses you consider a long-term investment. If you decide to continue you will probably want to buy better lenses and you are already locked into a fair investment with whatever brand. You may well find that you spend far more on your lenses than the body - I certainly have.

What are you prepared to carry? There is no point getting a great quality lens and body if you are not prepared to carry it - resulting in wasted money and lost opportunities.

What output do you want? The bigger and more detailed the output, the greater investment in equipment. If you want to make smaller prints (say up to A3 or so) or simply produce electronic output, you can work with a much more modest investment.

I have Canon gear, and I could tell you how much I like the stuff and how I love working with it, but you will find equally emphatic support for other brands. I have also used Nikon gear and have a great respect for it too.

We should not be telling you which body to buy, we should be getting you to answer the questions above so you know what kind of photographer you want to be and that will define a list of benefits you want, and they will point to the features you need...

I want the one that will give me the best video. Second pictures. Compact body is also important. But it doesn't have to be too compact. Just not enormous. I sold a watch and my A5000, so I only have to spend about $280 out of pocket for either one. I'm not looking to print pictures or become a professional photographer.

I also like the burst 4K picture mode in the G7.

I think for photography I would go Nikon D5500. But the video there isn't so great.

[Manfred M]

If you are planning to do a lot of video work, I would suggest that they Pany is probably the right way to go. Panasonic was building video cameras well before they got into still cameras and the video people love their cameras because of superior video.

I personally do not like shooting video with a still camera, as its shape is not really that good for video work and the small cameras don't handle the phantom powered audio input, that you find on the better video cameras. I picked up the GX7 because I had two lenses I was using with my AG100 video camera. I shot most of my video with a video tripod and a fluid head, so I'm a bit spoilt.

[DanK]

I have a hunch you won't find anyone here who has shot video with both of these cameras. Google "lumix g7 canon 70D video" without the quotes, and you will find a long set of comparisons.

Can you please add your location and name, as Trev suggested? We use real names here.

[davidedric]

Right away I can say that the LUMIX interface isn't easy

Once you get your head around how it's organised, you won't have a problem with the menus (all Panasonic's work much the same way, I have 3, including the G7).

90% of the settings are set and forget. For the rest, you should be able to get almost all the things you want on the G7's buttons, and anything left over on the Quick menu. Things that do require menu settings such as post-focus in 4k video, cane be assigned to a custom mode. You should rarely need to go menu diving in the field.

Now that you have said video is top for you, there is really only one answer, and carrying a couple of spare batteries is hardly a problem.

Dave

[davidedric]

If you do decide on the G7, this article, and two following, may be useful http://cameraergonomics.blogspot.co....t-1-basic.html

I have set mine up differently, but I think his approach is good.

Dave