I have failed. My aspiration was to use my first camera until it was 10 years old. I am talking about the Panasonic G85. The reason was that even back then, I was aware of the ability of marketing to convince buyers to persistently upgrade their cameras. I get it, it’s a business. What I was hoping to prove by not upgrading, was that older cameras are still valuable.

As I say goodbye to my faithful G85 (it’s been five years, ok? I’m emotional) I want to reflect on all the ways it is better than it’s successor (Fuji X-T5), despite it being older and a cheaper model:

Panasonic G85 cost me $800 in 2019 (with two kit lenses)
Fujifilm X-T5 cost me €1800 in 2023 (body only)

(USD to EUR is more or less the same)

The Grip

Panasonic’s grip is designed for my mind. I have a medium to large hand size. The grip fits so comfortably that the camera becomes an extension of me, coupled with a prime lens, it’s imperceptible; both in weight and to others.

Leica Glass

Leica is one of the longest running and most expensive brands when it comes to their cameras and glass. Leica is also very good friends with Panasonic, they help Panasonic make good glass and in exchange; Panasonic help Leica with their sensors.

This is an advantage to anyone looking to get a cheaper camera but great image quality. Image quality comes 80% from the lens. Here’s my article on picking your first lens. I would take a cheaper camera with a great lens than vice-versa any day.

By adopting Panasonic (and Olympus’) MFT range, you get access to beauties like:

Pana Leica 25mm f1.4 ii

(no better image quality at this size & weight)

Pana Leica 12-35mm f2.8 ii

(standard zoom that produces images like prime glass)

Pana Leica 10-25mm f1.7

(cine level lens with an analogue-like out-of-focus areas)

Decent Dynamic Range under ISO 400

According to Photos-to-Photos, the DR of the MFT G85 at ISO 400 is almost equivalent to the APS-C X-T5 when the latter is ISO 400. Both are around 8 stops:

Panasonic G85 @ ISO 400: 8.1 stops of DN
Fujifilm X-T5 @ ISO 400: 8.8 stops of DN

You might want more if you are a landscape enthusiast, but I’ve been quite satisfied with 8 stops for everyday shooting. Matter of fact, during the dreaded German winter, I lock my X-T5 to ISO 400.

Credit: Photons to Photos. Available here

Build Quality

To my displeasure, I must say the G85 feels sturdier. Here are three ways the Fuji cannot hold a candle to the Pana. Both are marketed as being weather-resistant models.

Metal Upper and Lower Plates

Is the X-T5’s body metal or plastic? It seems the internet cannot agree. It feels like plastic to me. The G85 is clearly metal and feels like solid metal, too.

The Flaps

Although the battery door on the G85 is the cheapest feeling component of the entire camera, it has the nicest feeling SD card slot in the world. You know when you close something and it feels secure and satisfying? You get to experience that pleasure twice each time you import your photos.

Likewise the I/O ports are covered by a rubbery and flexible shield which means no matter how many times it gets accidently pulled or pushed when open - it will stay on the camera.

These better be patented otherwise manufacturers who don’t have these have no excuses.

Unfortunately the X-T5’s card slot cover feels cheap. Everytime I open it, I am uncertain of its ability to survive the slightest push past its intended range of motion. Even when it’s closed, the indignation continues as it produces a squeak as you hold the camera by it’s intended grip.

On the I/O ports, the X-T5 commendably worse. I hope they are as marketed: weather-resistant. Although I cannot see any rubber edging to make me believe that. When you purchase a €40 I/O cable protector for your €80 camera cage, you know you don’t have confidence in the flaps. One tier worse would be being proud that the flaps actually stay connected to the body. Not great for the 5th generation of this model.

Solid Dials

In the five years I’ve had the G85, I have seldom managed to accidentally bump the dials in an undesired position. Never, when it comes to the drive dial. Even today it feels rock solid, with each change being a forceful yet intentional adjustment.

Bumping the drive dials on the X-T5 is sadly a common occurrence, enhanced by the design that the Single mode (a single photo being taken upon trigger press) is not at one end of the drive option’s range. The HDR mode takes that place. Having Single on either of the furthest positions would half the amount of accidental changes.

Handling

You could very successfully argue that the reason I find the G85 more comfortable is because I have had it for five years, versus six months for the X-T5. I hope so. It’s one of the reasons why I recommend against changing cameras too often - your hand needs to learn the camera’s body so that operation becomes muscle memory. The poetic ideal is that during operation - the camera disappears and all that is left is you, and your subject.

Here are four things I appreciate about the G85’s design.

Focus Mode Selector Positioned Under Thumb

When you hold the G85 by the grip, the focus modes are intuitively switchable. Not only is it easy to develop muscle memory for them, you can see them because they are on “your-side” of the camera.

In contrast, the X-T5’s modes face away from you, as they are on the front side of the body. I have still managed to develop muscle memory for them.

Great position for the focus mode selector

Lens Release Button

What is the best strap for holding a camera? Your hands. As you walk and eventually tire of the default grip, holding the camera in the other, non-shooting hand is an essential part of resting your fingers. No, you cannot shoot that way but it means that the camera is still ready to take a shot.

I find the lens release button more out of the way on the G85 when resting my shooting hand whenever I'm holding the camera in my left.

Menu Scroll

The menu’s of both cameras are divided into categories(photo, video, settings, etc) and options. For example within the Photo category; you’ll find options like resolution, aspect ratio, metering, etc.

Operation wise, when you enter a category, you would use the up+down keybindings to scroll through the options for that category.

For the X-T5, moving past the last option within a category moves you into the next category. For the G85, moving past the last option brings you to the beginning of the current category. This is more useful as you can quickly access the latter options within a specific category by entering a category and pressing “up” to bring you quickly to the last on the list.

Calendar View in Playback Menu

Zooming out sufficiently within the playback menu on the G85 brings you to a calendar view where you can easily enter the day you want to start viewing photos from. I do this a lot when on holiday and I want to see the photos that I’ve taken that day, starting from the first photo of the day. On the X-T5 I have to scroll through all the photos until I have found the first one I remember taking.

Why I Changed System

Starting a YouTube business means a lot of being in front of cam. I needed reliable face tracking AF for video. Were it not for Panasonic’s insistence to be the only manufacturer not to have Phase-Detect Auto Focus, I would have probably stayed with their MFT system. Granted Olympus has had PDAF since 2014, so I could have also gone to them and kept compatibility with my existing lenses.

In 2023, Panasonic released the giant G9 mark II for the price of an equally sized and priced X-T5. I talked a lot of shit about the X-T5 today, but it is the right camera for me, at this time in my photography journey.

What’s next is to sell my G85 and all my MFT glass. I know it will make someone - very happy. I hope by reading you have reflected on your own needs so that you always make a reasoned choice (when buying/upgrading) instead of being swayed by trends.

Let me know if there was anything unclear, I would be happy to help.

Mid-Range 2016 Panasonic Beats a High-End 2022 Fujifilm