I Bought My Dream $300 Street Photography Camera

The Lumix GX7 has been on my wish list for a few years and finally, I have one. I'm a fan of Micro Four Thirds mount lenses and this street photography camera feels like a match made in heaven. I have experience with the Lumix LX100, the Lumix GX1 and the Olympus OM-D E-M10, all of which I want to compare with this Lumix GX7. The touch screen tilting LCD display of the Lumix GX7 with it's fast autofocus make it a no-brainer for street photography.

📽️ My Gear:

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0:00 - My Next Camera for $300
0:51 - Stabilisation
1:19 - Viewfinder
1:47 - Shutter
2:11 - Autofocus
2:42 - RAW Images
4:09 - Edited Images
5:09 - GX7 vs E-M10
7:08 - GX7 vs New Lumix

#streetphotography #camera

[GeorgeHolden]

Check out MPB here and grab a used camera deal!

[Nicool]

This has captured my life for the last 11 years. Family, travel, fun shooting, a photography class…everything. Almost 20k actuations and running strong. I have several lenses but use the 20mm 1.7 most of the time. Btw the viewfinder effing sucks. And if I turn off the screen and then turn the camera off and back on again, the screen turns on again. What a pain. Outside of these two things, it’s awesome.

[lumixographer]

STYLE!! I recently bought a mint (1502 shutter activations) GX7 with its original 14-42mm lens. Unlike the many other Lumix and Olympus cameras I've owned, the GX7 design is beauty to hold. It definitely is not a BBB (Big Black Brick) like most "modern" cameras. The feel and even the shutter sound hearken back to the film era with the panache of a Leica! Lumix new cameras have sacrificed style of the GX7 for the "professional" BBB look. After using the GX7, it's a really capable camera that will serve me well for travel and street photography.

If Lumix engineers would pay attention to style as an important part of marketing, a new GX7 using the original case design and modern innards could capture the eye of new generation users who don't need a BBB. My "dream" GX7 would update using the G100 viewfinder, articulated screen, 20mp sensor, 4K photo/video. The "dream" GX7 would have full stabilization and dare to dream, in camera LUT and PDAF like the G9ii. Add some colorful skin options to allow owners to express their style without resorting to spray paint. Keep the cost under $1000 and Lumix could have a camera that people would love to hold, shoot and be seen with!

[TomCalton]

The shot of the dude with the glasses is a banger! Nice one George 🙌🏻

[deydododontdedoh.]

I like how you show RAW from the camera and then the edited ones as so many 'look at this under appreciated street camera' from you tubers often just show wurh their 'presets' that seem to make any old camera look good.
I just want to see what the camera does, so yay here!

Also I like it was just you talking about the camera as you present really well, on some previous posts I've watched, I've found the comedy whisper background moments distracting and ended up not completing the review.
I know we all like a bit of humour and maybe many love it and I normally do too but for whatever reason it has been a distraction so glad you dropped it.
Just a personal preference I know.
Just long as comedy whisper guy stays away. 😁

[juliette-mansour]

Nice, George! I have the GX9 -- the younger brother. The GX7 though is so great at a knock around, every day, street camera. I do prefer the Panasonic over the Olympus menu system. Also, the images SOOC on the Lumix is fantastic! I am in love, actually with Panasonic digital rangefinders! Have fun with it!

[RaiderRed]

George, seriously adore your content. Please keep going! Just bought an Olympus EM-10 IV because of you.

[jeffslade]

I have offered to upgrade my wife's GX7 several times but she refuses. She has my Lumix 14-140 glued to it. Yes it has 2-axis body stabilisation good for 2 stops. This is good with unstabilised short lenses e.g. primes. If you use a Lumix OIS lens, it will use Lens-IS, not both. It cannot do Dual-IS, and we are not given the option to choose. A Mega-OIS might go 3 stops and Power-OIS a stop more and significantly better at sensing movement. The lens you have there is the 14-42 f/3.5-5.6 Mega-OIS kit lens, a decent lens but can be slow on the uptake to AF. These lenses are practically all designed to be soft wide open, faster than optimum; never use them wide-open but put 1/3 to two stops into them. This also gets rid of the problem of them changing f-stop as you zoom. Personally I'd pop the PZ14-42 pancake onto it as I do with my E-PL7 which is sibling to the E-M10ii, only smaller.

[MicroFourNerds]

I must not buy a gx7 I must not buy a gx7 i must not buy-

[georgemahlum]

I used a GX7 for several years ...loved it...Nowdays a pair of GX9 bodies does it all...I am not a fan of dangling side flip rear screens...being an old medium format film shooter...
I prefer looking down at the screen...Cheers
M43 rocks!!!

[lichtloper]

reg. 4:11 One important reason why I use mFT is exactly the 4-by-3 image ratio in the VF (and the final image):
it yields not the 'flat' 2-by-3 ratio, with its missing vertical dimension, but a much more balanced perspective.
It's a matter of preference, I think.

[Daymien]

I got this when it first got released and I have loved it till today as a travel camera.

[DesoloZantas]

I used to have this camera. Ahhhh nostalgia.

[MrsiR]

The evf swivel is a really interesting feature.

[gav_derbyzen]

I just bought this camera based on your review, so far I'm loving it and have a London trip planned in a few weeks. Great content and shots...

[christofabt]

A GX7 with a 1, 7 20mm, a 1, 7/15 and a 45-150 is always in my backpack. It still is a capable camera and the stabilizer allows shutter speeds of about 1/8 or 1/4 of a second. This is enough to be able to shoot at dusk or dawn with a fast 1, 7 prime and ISOs of not more than 800.

[MrsiR]

Great looking images! I got the a6400 recently and noticed the evf felt lacking. Wild that this old camera has better res.

[bwc]

GX7 is what I have! It's been a fantastic little workhorse and it's still going strong and does practically everything I need. The only reason I'd ever want full frame is to use vintage film lenses at their full field of view. Also interesting how you in the UK have the American version (black and silver) while I in the States ended up with the European version (all black).

[jupiterman]

I have a gx85 and em5iii but preferred the em5 for EDC and street I can handhold up to 5 seconds. I shoot allot of night shots/ low light, I always shoot 4x3 and crop in post... Both are great but I do prefer the menus on the Panasonic. I finally decided to have the gx85 converted to IR so we shall see how I like it when I get it back..

[matrixdzab]

I had the GX7 years ago and I am thinking about buying it again.