Customer Ratings & Reviews

I primarily got this camera for video production, and for the price you can't find many other options out there that shoot 4K. Love the other video features (focus peaking and zebra striping) that make it a real winner. I've also used it for still photography and the images it produces are phenomenal. Battery life is also great compared to similar Sony options (a6000 and a6500), but sometimes the autofocus can be touchy during video. Definitely recommend if you are in the market for a budget mirrorless camera that packs a lot in a small and affordable package.

I am not a professional photographer/videographer. I have used a Sony A200 for pictures and a Sony HDR-UX10 for video for the last 10 years or so. It got to the point where I felt that the pictures and video on my Galaxy phone were of similar quality to my dslr/handycam...so I started looking for a new interchangeable lens camera that shoots video. I was drawn towards a mirrorless camera becaue of its size and the fact it had a hot shoe and microphone port. I will admit that the ability to shoot 4K video was a key factor that motivated me to purchase the Lumix G7 with 2 lens kit. I am not going to try and describe or critique all of the features of the camera as I would be talking out my backside. What I will do is highlight the things I really like about the G7 and what I wish I had known before I bought the camera. What I wish I had known... I whish I had known that the camera was not splash/dust proof. I wish I was aware that the G7 does not have a 5 Axis stabilization. I wish this camera had built it geotagging (You can geo tag by creating a gps log on your phone and then matching it to the pictures on the camera, but I have tried multiple times and so far I have not been successful in getting the data matched...screen says it completed, but the geo tagged data does not appear to be attached to the images). I wish I head read more about the G7 autofocus abilities. The autofocus is slow...I cannot sugar coat it. I am having terrible issues while shooting videos keeping things in focus...things go in and out of focus and sometimes it is PAINFULLY long for the focus to be reacquired. After doing more research I found this to be a very common complaint with the G7...especially if the user is attempting to zoom in. Combine that with the stabilization issues and the video is not that great unless I have mounted the camera on a mono/tripod. The last thing which is not a huge issue, but I wish I had known has to do with video length...the video length is limited to 30 minutes. On to the good: I like the feel of the G7, it is much lighter than my Alpha. The G7 feels as if it is constructed well. The buttons and nobs appear well placed. The photographs are decent, but I would say thay are on par with my Alpha, not really an improvement. I tend to shoot a lot of interview style videos, which is where the 30 minute limit has hit me, and the camera mic is pretty good. I have ordered a new Rode mic which will utilize the shoe and the mic in port. My takeaway, the G7 was launched in 2015, and the technology is reminicent of its age. As I started second guessing my purchase I found multiple options that contained all of those features that I wish the G7 had...but at the same or minimally higher price points. What prompted me to write the review today is the multiple hours I have invested into trying to fix the autofocus issues in my videos and the simple fact that it appears to the camera driving them.