GH5 and G85 Dual IS compared

The Lumix GH5 is the first GH series camera to have IBIS, in body image stabilization. This means that even prime lenses without any OIS feature can be stabilized, in both photos and videos. But how does it compare with the Lumix G85, which offers the same function at a much lower price?

In this article, I put them head to head. I have compared them using the Lumix G 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 II lens, which is capable of Dual IS.

Both cameras are mounted to a Desmond stereo bracket here. They are both recording in 1080p resolution, with 60FPS framerate. I have both set to max aperture, 180 degrees shutter, and using continuous autofocus. Here is the comparison:

A note about the autofocus speed of the Lumix GH5. In this video, I set both the AF sliders to max, "AF Speed" and "AF Sensitivity" on both cameras.

I think the effectiveness of the Lumix GH5 image stabilization is better. The G85 exhibits some jerkiness while panning, and the GH5 generally achieves a more smooth motion.

But this was a rather extreme test, and you are likely to move your camera more carefully than what I have done here for real life use.

The autofocus performance is quite similar. The GH5 aims to avoid misfocusing, and does not change the focus as quickly, even with the AF sliders set to the max. This can be an issue for people who are using the camera for youtube blogging (vlogging), where they want to show and object in front of the camera and expect the focus to change instantly. But for most other real life use, it is mostly a good thing.

Here is another example video using a pair of Lumix G 20mm f/1.7 pancake lenses:

This was done in very low lights, f/1.7, 1/120s, 60FPS, ISO 1600-3200.