**My Experience with the Panasonic G7: A Review**

I recently purchased a Panasonic G7 camera and have been using it to shoot daily videos for my projects. The card I use is a Lexar 128GB 633x UHS-1 SDXC card, which provides ample storage space and fast enough performance to meet my 4K recording needs. However, the file splitting mechanism of the camera can be frustrating at times, as it splits files every 4GB or so, resulting in black frames or two where it stops and starts recording. This has been particularly noticeable when syncing up files with my externally-recorded audio track.

Despite this issue, I have found the menu system to be relatively easy to navigate, customize, and use. Panasonic's system is user-friendly, which is a big plus for me. However, there is some confusion with the autofocus system, which has led to issues with my self-shot videos. The camera features a switch to switch between manual focus, continuous autofocus, and autofocus set or autofocus face modes, but this has created conflicting menus that affect both the AFS AFF mode and the AFC mode. This has resulted in pulsing autofocus issues when recording my face, which can be frustrating.

Fortunately, the autofocus performance is still leagues better than my old T3i, so I'm happy with it. Additionally, the camera features WiFi capabilities, which have been a game-changer for me. Using Panasonic's Image App on my phone to focus on myself and quickly adjust settings has been incredibly convenient, and much better than the USB adapter tablet setup I used with my T3i.

The camera is a Micro Four Thirds mount and sensor, which provides a range of creative possibilities. My only two native Micro Four Thirds lenses are the kit lens that came with the G7 and the Rokinon T2.2 12mm cine lens, which I picked up when I got the camera. The included 14-42mm kit lens is actually quite impressive for a cheap kit lens, while the cine lens is amazing when I need a wide aperture or wide field of view.

One of the benefits of the G7's mirrorless design is that adapting lenses to the camera is a super easy and awesome experience. I've recently picked up a few vintage film lenses, including my Helios 44-2 58mm swirly bokeh lens, which adds a unique creative element to my videos. The Panasonic has also been paired with some third-party speedbooster lenses, such as the Roxsen speedbooster for my Canon 28mm lens, which allows me to shoot at wider apertures.

Low light performance is one of the huge benefits I've gotten from the G7, which may seem counterintuitive given that most reviewers and photographers would say mirrorless cameras are generally not great in low light. However, my old T3i was incredibly noisy at almost all ISOs and couldn't handle low light well at all, so getting the G7 right has really opened up new creative possibilities for me. This has led to a significant improvement in my content and has made it possible for me to push the limits of what I could do before.

While the G7 is an excellent camera, there are still some limitations that may be frustrating for some users. For example, it's not possible to take photos in video mode like on my T3i, and auto modes don't save to RAW. However, these are minor complaints compared to the overall performance and capabilities of the camera.

In conclusion, I'm extremely happy with my Panasonic G7 camera and have found it to be an excellent tool for my content creation needs. The autofocus may not be the fastest or the best, but it's leagues better than my old T3i, and the WiFi capabilities are a major convenience. With the right lenses and a bit of creativity, I've been able to produce high-quality videos that exceed my expectations.

**Additional Information**

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"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enIt seems like every few months, a new camerais breaking down barriers in terms of resolutionand frame rate.While it’s fun and all for us to drool overthe Red Epic Weapon 8K, it’s not realisticfor your budget YouTuber.It’s certainly not a realistic purchasefor me any time soon.What I did end up with, however, is what Ibelieve to be the best budget camera if youwant to shoot 4K video: The Panasonic LumixDMC-G7.Or just the “G7” for short.This lightweight little body packs a lot ofvalue for the price, especially compared toFor context, in 2012 I spent about $800 onmy Canon EOS Rebel T3i body and kit lens.I was new to the camera scene, didn’t knowhow great the used market was, and saw thisas a great beginner’s option.It was, and it served me well for the past5 years.But this past November I spent a mere $500on my G7 on a Cyber Monday deal and got amuch better camera - at least when it comesto video.The G7 is generally around 600 to 700 dollarsnot on sale, which is still a great priceto pick it up at.Or you can pick up a decent used deal fromall of those who just upgraded to the GH5.The Panasonic G7 is a small mirrorless cameracapable of shooting 4K video.It takes decent photos, too - but I honestlystill prefer my T3i or my Minolta 35mm camerafor stills, so this will be a mostly video-focusedreview.The body is lightweight and compact.This makes it great for packing on the goand taking it with you, but the lightweightnature of it can actually add a lot of instabilityto your shots.It’s a lot easier to keep my heavy T3i stablethan the G7 just due to weight alone.The screen fully articulates and flips outfor self-shooting, which is very importantand something I just find hilarious when moreexpensive cameras don’t include this.*Cough* Sony *cough*.The screen is also a touch screen which addsto the overall navigational pleasure of thiscamera.There are 4 knobs and quite a few functionbuttons on this camera.Most of the buttons are assignable to whateverfunctions you want.This, combined with the touch screen and quickfunctions menu on it make any important settingjust a tap away.I love it.Way easier to control than my T3i.I do have a couple nit-picky complaints aboutthe physical form factor.Firstly, the camera strap hooks are thesekeychain-like triangles on each side of thecamera, which flap around and make obnoxioussounds when you move the camera.I would have much preferred embedded hookslike my T3i - but I guess I might have totake the Neistat approach to these.Also, the SD card slot is next to the batteryon the bottom of the camera.This isn’t inherently bad, but can be ridiculouslyinconvenient to remove or swap SD cards whenthe camera is mounted on a tripod or rig.This is probably just a manufacturing flawwith my unit, but the camera mode knob seemsto be glitchy.I primarily keep it in video mode, but sometimesit’ll sit there switching between videomode and a photo mode back and forth untilI power cycle it or rotate the knob a fewtimes to lock it back into place.I guess it’s possible the switch that detectsthe mode selection is a little loose.Lastly, the microphone input jack is randomlythrown on the opposite side of the rest ofthe camera’s IO.Why?I mentioned the battery slot cover - it’seasy to use and doesn’t turn off the cameralike my T3i.Good to go there.I use two of the Lumix BLC12PP 1200mAh batterieswith a Watson dual charger.With this combo, there has never been a situationwhere I’ve been unable to shoot with thecamera.Even when constantly shooting 4K video, thebatteries last a crazy long amount of time.That was one of the first things I was blownaway by - the batteries just last so long.Under a secure flap, the G7 features a remoteshutter jack, micro HDMI for 4:2:2 video out,as well as a AV Out and Digital out port,along with the microphone jack over on theleft.This isn’t a perfect setup - you can’trecord in-camera while previewing via HDMI,which rules out using an external monitorunless it’s also a dedicated recorder, too.Also, there’s no turning off Auto Gain Controlon the microphone jack, and it sounds prettycompressed when I try using it.Dual system sound all the way for me!The video quality is, well, obviously quitenice.It records standard UHD 3840x2160 at 24 or30 frames per second - no DCI 4096x2160, though.It also records 1080p at 60 FPS, which isnice.There is an extra crop applied when shooting4K.This isn’t something I think about muchsince I almost exclusively shoot 4K with thiscamera, but the couple times I did need toshoot 1080p60 I was thrown off by the extrawidth.It records at 100 megabits per second, a prettynice bitrate.I use a Lexar 128GB 633x UHS-1 SDXC card toshoot on daily.It’s big enough to support all the shotsI need, and fast enough to keep up with the4K needs.You can only record up to about 30 minuteswithout manually stopping and starting dueto the legal nonsense.It splits the files up every 4GB or so - whichwouldn’t be a problem, but then when I syncthe files up to my externally-recorded audiotrack, there’s always a black frame or twowhere it stops and starts recording.Very frustrating.The menus are fairly easy to navigate, customize,and use.I LOVE Panasonic’s system.There is some confusion with the autofocussystem, though.You have a switch to switch between manualfocus, continuous autofocus, and autofocusset or autofocus face.BUT there’s a menu option for “ContinuousAutofocus” too.This seems to affect both the AFS AFF modeand the AFC mode.So I keep having to toggle that or else myAFF recordings of my face keep pulsing autofocusand if I leave it off, AFC mode doesn’tcontinuously autofocus.So what’s the point of having the switch??This has lead to a lot of issues with my self-shotvideos.Very frustrating.Overall, the autofocus isn’t the fastestor the best, but leagues better than my T3i,so I’m happy with it.Also, this camera has WiFi!I’ve not used much WiFi features in a camera,but using Panasonic’s Image App on my phoneto focus on myself and quickly adjust settingsfor my a-roll shooting is quite handy, andmuch better than the USB adapter tablet setupI needed for my T3i.LOVE it.The camera is a Micro Four Thirds mount andsensor, of course.My only two native Micro Four Thirds lensesare the kit lens that came with the G7 anda Rokinon T2.2 12mm cine lens I picked upwhen I got the camera.The included 14-42mm kit lens is actuallyquite impressive for a cheap kit lens.The cine lens is amazing when I need a wideaperture or wide field of view.Since it’s a micro four thirds mirrorless,adapting lenses to the camera is a super easyand awesome experience.I’ve picked up a lot of vintage film lensesfor the camera.I’ve got my Helios 44-2 58mm swirly bokehlens, a beautiful Nikon Nikkor 35mm F/2 lens,a nice Olympus 50mm, and then I picked upa Roxsen speedbooster for my Canon 28mm lens.I’ve just recently ordered a couple morespeedboosters - for my Helios and the Nikon- too, but they won’t arrive from overseasfor another month or so.I’m excited to reclaim my swirly bokeh.Low light performance is actually one of thehuge benefits I’ve gotten from the G7, whichmay sound confusing since most reviewers andphotogs would probably say mirrorless camerasare generally not great in low light.That may be true, but my T3i was incrediblynoisy at almost all ISOs and couldn’t handlelow light well at all, so getting the G7 rightas I was building my new studio has reallyopened the doors for my creativity, and Ihonestly feel my content has pivoted in amuch better direction as a result.Gear may not “matter,” but getting theright gear and studio upgrades when you’vepushed the limits of what you could do beforedoes make a difference.All of this video stuff aside, I honestlyprefer the shots and shooting experience ofstill images on my T3i.So my T3i and Minolta 35mm will be my mainstills bodies for now.It does annoy me that I can’t take photosin video mode like my T3i, and that Auto modeshots don’t save to RAW.But that’s about all I have to say aboutstills.But for video, just about everything looksgreat on this camera, and I’ve had a blastshooting on it over the past 6 months.This camera has really turned things aroundfor my content, and I’m grateful for thatCyber Monday sale.I still drool over the GH5 and would do…a lot… to get my hands on one, but I’mhappy with my little G7 for now.This is my first formal camera review.I think it went pretty well, what about you?I’ve got affiliate product links for thiscamera on both B&H and Amazon in the descriptiondown below, please use them if you want tobuy it.Otherwise, hit the like button if you enjoyed,get subscribed for more awesome videos likethis, and I’ll catch you next time.\n"