Mirrorless Photography, Mark Toal and the GX85

Click on Mark's headshot to visit is website

Intro by Skip Cohen
 
The best thing about this industry is all about the friendships that come out of everyone's love for the craft.

Meet my buddy Mark Toal, part of Panasonic's Lumix Team, an artist, writer and educator. Mark's also part of the team at Mirrorless Photo Tips with two other pals, Joe and Mary Farace. Their blog is loaded with outstanding content every day along with lots of helpful material in their archives.

The second best thing about our industry, is the amount of supportive content available and the willingness of so many artists to help you raise the bar on your skill set! Mark, Joe and Mary are three of those people, working every day to help us all become stronger artists.

In talking about the LUMIX GX85 in this post from a few months back, Mark, as always, ties in a few educational elements. To find out more about how Panasonic is "Changing Photography" check out Mark's site, then visit "Mirrorless Photo Tips" and don't forget to wander over to the LUMIX Lounge and meet the Luminary team. You'll never be disappointed in the images and support they share. Even better, follow the event schedule and catch up to them live when they're teaching in your community!

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By Mark Toal

One of my favorite cameras is Panasonic’s Lumix GX7. The size and feel of the GX7 combined with its image quality made it a pleasure to carry. I loved it so much that when I moved on to the Lumix GX8 I had my GX7 converted to Infrared so I could keep using it.

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Click on the GX85 to learn more.

When I heard about the brand-new Lumix GX85 my first thought was that with its 16-megapixel sensor I would still prefer the GX8’s 20-megapixel sensor. 

The GX85 like the GX8 has combined in-body and lens stabilization, 4K video, 4K photo mode and post focus so why would I step backwards? The answer is the camera’s overall fit and finish along with the lack of an anti-alias filter plus the addition of 4K video stabilization.

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The lack of an anti-alias filter produces sharper images with more detail. The anti-alias filter was originally added to digital cameras to prevent what’s called Moiré, which is why you don’t let someone wear a pin-stripe jacket when posing for a portrait.

Without the filter, close together straight lines like screens, chain link fences and pin-stripes can turn into a eye-straining mess.

Camera companies have figured out how to deal with this in the camera's processor so the need for an anti-alias filter is less than it might have been in the recent past. A camera without the anti-alias filter will give you sharper images with the lenses you already own. Between its small size and extra sharpness the GX85 is more than likely going to be my carry everywhere camera.