I just got that anonymous message (Thanks to the source!). He wrote:
“Panasonic will soon release new firmware update about end of November. The new function will be post-focus. It works just like 4K Photo as a photo mode. Camera shoots short 4K MP4 video and user can touch on any area to change focus point and save as JPG.”
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35 Responses
Could it be “touch an area and camera would find a frame where it area is in focus”?
Sounds a bit useless
You can rate it FT5, I met a product manager at “Le Salon de la Photo 2015” in Paris and he said that the update will come in December on G7, GX8 and FZ300.
A new era of old focus tricks? One of the measures of photographic joy is how many keepers your new camera gives you compared to the old one. With all these focus touch-up features rolling out, you might get the wrong impression that existing focus technologies do not work very well. When I examine keepers and throw-aways nowadays, mistakes on my part are the sole blame. If you are doing bugs and spiders on macro, however, the automation to eliminate bokeh in post (stacking and bracketing) are very effective. Are we there yet with automation to INCREASE bokeh in-camera? Or are well selling gizmos to the “P” setting crowd? 4K video shoots 8 megapixel frames. Not my cup of tea for great stills shots.
Bokeh means the character (a way) of out of focus areas, not amount of the out of focus depth. That is covered with own word.
Give me exposure compensation with auto ISO in all modes and real time DoF and exposure preview in all modes as per Sony. My A7 has all these things and they make my Panny’s feel so primitive.
Pretty sure you can get exposure preview in all modes easily. At least you can with the GX1 and GX7, so I’d be shocked if the GX8 can’t.
The lack of exposure compensation with Auto ISO and M mode is probably the single biggest operational oversight on the GX8, I totally agree.
However, I do find that the lack of a touchscreen on the A7 series makes them feel primitive compared to my Panasonics. It was the biggest dealbreaker for me, and combined with the worse manual focus aids, what led me to get the GX7 instead of the A7.
What I do with Oly is I set to M, Lock shutter and aperture and then I just use front dial to change ISO…. I have a better control that way than fight with auto-exposure and use some spot metering.
Let me reassign the Exposure Compensation dial for something useful like ISO.
Can they please make the video button another Fn button, too.
DOU and shutter speed effect are available at the touch of a button in all PASM modes. I have it assigned to the button next the the finger grip at the front and it works really well.
That’s what they said in the video where the price of the 100-400 Panasonic lens was “leaked” as well, “in about one month” for the models above and some time in the spring for the GH4 (as the function is dependent on the depth-from-defocus technology).
I want a firmware update to fix the always visible focus rectangle, that currently cannot Ever be made invisible in the GX8 viewfinder. VERY annoying, the white box clutters the great EVF view, (even when in manual focus mode, etc) with no way to turn it off.
If its the focus rectangle mine is only ever visible in manual focus mode. If the frame box around the viewfinder image it’s under custom settings “live view display style”. One will display info outside the picture area leaving a white box border the other has the info inside the picture area without a border.
I mean the focus rectangle, yes. It cannot be tuned off whenever in Manual Focus, or 1-Area autofocus, or anytime in Any setting when any manual focus lens is mounted, or an Oly lens with manual focus pull-back ring is activated for MF (no matter what AF mode the camera is set to).
I need this issue fixed by Panasonic. My GH cameras did not do this, and there is no good conceivable reason for it.
This is the only really blatant mistake or glitch I’ve found with the GX8 so far. But it’s a visual distraction that is Not supposed to be there all the time -is the GX7 like this with the AF rectangle when in MF or with a manual focus lens mounted???
It’s really a shame, a little nagging design flaw in an EVF that is so Good for manual focus!
Btw, I previously owned an E-M5ii, which I found far worse in other ways, sadly. To me that camera seemed riddled with confusing and inconsistent behavior. Certainly not as straightforward as I would’ve liked! Plus my E-M5ii example had at least a couple of bonafide operational bugs (incl intermittent control wheel response), so between those difficulties and the Oly menu maze, I found myself completely lost a few times…
Weird! I don’t have this on mine. It must be in the settings somewhere. As soon as I got mine I changed all the settings to match my ex-GX7 as closely as possible so I didn’t pay much attention to the existing details.
And when is panasonic releasing a focus bracketing/stacking feature ? Really want that one and don’t feel like going the Oly way !
True Lytro-style post-focus should be impossible, if this is true it’s gonna be some kind of post-processing effect
No, Olympus is doing focus stacking for macro shots with the new firmware.
This could be quite the same. So it’s happening in real-time. It just takes multiple frames at different focus settings.
For stills sure, but this is said to be for video, so it doesn’t really make sense
It says: ‘just like 4K Photo as a photo mode’.
So, you take a video… within the video the camera focusses from near to far. After (post) taking the video, you select the frame from the video where you think the focus is just right. Or perhaps even take two grabs, one where the foreground subject is in focus, one where the background subject is.
It’s not ‘for video’. It’s ‘for stills’ by the means of taking a multiple frames. You could go for an 11 fps stills burst or something, but as the camera can do 4K 30p video… you might as well use that.
I suspect it is taking multiple frames as in focus bracketing but in 4K video resolution (& frame speed) which I believe will produce an 8 MP jpeg image with some smart software to select the frame that corresponds to the area selected to be in focus. Why not? It sounds like a nice extension to using the 4K video ability.
Ps. If anyone with a GX8 has discovered how to make the white focus box in the viewfinder go away, please post it as a reply to my post!
Quite a blunder on Panasonic’s part, a mistake that’s visible for every second the camera is powered on.
whoa…reading below…sounds like the GX8 has some serious bugs..Not a camera I would buy…but is does look kind of sexy in it’s little leather outfit! 🙂
Sounds like it is a very capable camera for the most part. Funny how so many manufacturers (Adobe comes to mind) mess with basic features that are perfect and should not be f’ed with!
Don’t listen to nitpicking whiners!
It’s really a great camera! The best M4/3 camera I’ve had so far!
Like any camera, it takes a little time to get familiarized and do whatever tweaking you like, but I’m really pleased with mine so far!
Do you find the focus box annoying???….sounds like it would be….
It’s no secret that I am an Oly guy…but you are right…it does take time and tweeting to settle in to these feature-rich cameras….that is a positive thing.
you are Oly guy that find problem on Lumix M4/3 for what?
Are you crazy?
please,come to Thailand,Olympus camera found any Problem every 7 camera body had 1 problem such as bad LCD, shutter dead ect.
Stop. There are benefits to both manufacturers and downsides.
I am just admitting to what I own. 🙂 Can you feel the love?
There are a few weirdnesses I’ve noticed.
– The focus box thing, but only with the LCD. It stays put and doesn’t want to move.
– Some Fn button assignments change when switching between manual and electronic lenses. Maybe it’s mad that I have a 12-40mm instead of a 12-35mm. ?
– I can’t disable the EVF eye sensor.
I chalk this stuff up to version 1.0 firmware bugs.
“(Maybe it’s mad that I have a 12-40mm instead of a 12-35mm. ?)”
Than’s FUNNY!
Yes my OMD’s are aggravated every time I snap on my 15mm and 42.5mm Nocti….They shun the beautiful focus rings that Panasonic made for the lenses. Um…I do not think any firmware fix is coming soon from Olympus.
Those things you cited sound like something that Panasonic “should” make a firmware fix for though, right? Instead you get “post-focus”!
Typical. LOL!
What about the lx100?
It has not had a firmware update since is release.
Just received my GX8 and the focus is SO much faster than my X-T1 and X-E2. My only qualm is the you can’t use the exposure comp dial in manual mode w/ auto iso on. Fix this and I’m in love.
Activate Constant Preview (M mode only) and you won’t need the EC dial… you can SEE what your exposure is. Full-time, real-time live view!
Is there a way to put iso directly on a dial, i’d be satisfied with that as well.
If you press the button in the center of the power button it toggles the aperture and shutter speed dials (front & rear) to ISO and White Balance.
A nice trick, but a dedicated ISO dial would be quicker and far more useful.
My first thought was that I could see forgetting to toggle back and messing up ISO or WB when really wanting to adjust aperture or shutter speed.
It’s a nice trick that Olympus first brought to the E-P5 & then E_M1 & later to the E-M5 II with the switch lever doing the same thing (as well as giving further options to selection buttons on the E-M1 top left).