The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX85 is a mid-range interchangeable lens camera that can record 4K video and has a 16MP Four Thirds sensor. The GX85 is called the GX80 in markets outside of North America. In Japan, it is called the GX7 Mark II.
The GX85 fits right below the top-of-the-line GX8 and is made for amateur photographers and videographers. It doesn’t use the new 20MP Four Thirds chip that we saw in the GX8. Instead, it uses the same 16MP sensor that many other Micro Four Thirds cameras use. It also doesn’t have the GX8’s tilting EVF, weatherproofing, or microphone input.
[content-egg-block template=offers_logo hide=price]Specifications
- Resolution: 16.00 Megapixels
- Sensor size: 4/3 (17.3mm x 13.0mm)
- Kit Lens: 2.67x zoom 12-32mm (24-64mm eq.)
- Viewfinder: EVF / LCD
- Native ISO: 200 – 25,600
- Extended ISO: 100 – 25,600
- Shutter: 1/16000 – 60 sec
- Max Aperture: 3.5 (kit lens)
- Dimensions: 4.8 x 2.8 x 1.7 in. (122 x 71 x 44 mm)
- Weight: 17.6 oz (498 g) includes batteries, kit lens
Where to get Panasonic LUMIX GX85 camera?
The Panasonic GX8 is still the best Micro Four Thirds camera in terms of sensor resolution, with 20 megapixels, but the new Lumix GX85 has a 16-megapixel Live MOS sensor, like the GX7. Panasonic has never done this before, but there is a catch: there is no optical low-pass filter. With the new Venus Engine image processor and the GX85’s sensor that doesn’t have an AA filter, each pixel is sharper.
As we’ve seen with a number of newer cameras, the lack of an optical low-pass filter can lead to better resolution. But there is a higher chance that moiré and other aliasing artefacts will show up in images of some things, like fine lines and meshes that repeat, certain fabrics, and other man-made structures. These are often hard to get rid of in post-processing, so it’s important to be aware of what you’re shooting.
It’s interesting to see that cameras that don’t have an optical low-pass filter are making their way into more and more general-use cameras instead of niche models that are more expensive and have a higher resolution. Panasonic says that the Venus Engine image processor in the GX85 was made to help fight moiré, false colour, and other aliasing artefacts. In our tests, we found that it did a pretty good job of doing this, though depending on the subject, some aliasing artefacts are still visible. This is what you’d expect, though, since other cameras without an AA filter show the same thing.