Panasonic GX8 Half Case CGK33

GX8 with CGK33 fitted

January 2016:  Right now Panasonic is offering its customers some frustrating and to my mind decidedly unappealing Micro Four Thirds camera choices.

In the enthusiast/mid range G/GX section of the market you can have the G7 or the GX8. I bought both.  I kept the GX8 and sold the G7.

The G7 is said to have the same (or very similar) sensor as the GH4 and most of that camera’s functionality at about half the price. That sounds like a really good deal and it is but with two caveats:

1. RAW files made with the E-Shutter are only 10 bit depth. With the Mechanical shutter you have 12 bit depth.

It is often necessary to use the E-Shutter to avoid shutter shock with some lenses.

The 10 bit files are very prone to developing a mottled green appearance in dark tones pulled up in Photoshop or other RAW converters.

2. The G7 is mostly well designed with generally good ergonomics except for the 4 Way pad (a.k.a. “Cursor Buttons’ in Pana-speak) which is badly designed. The buttons are flat with a bevelled edge which makes them difficult to find and operate by feel.

For me these two issues are deal breakers for the G7.  

I often want to pull up dark tones in Adobe Camera Raw and I use the E-Shutter most of the time for general hand held photography.

I use the ‘Direct Focus Area’ function with the Cursor Buttons and often move the active focus area around the frame.

Rear view

The GX8 has the newer, presumably Sony made sensor which gives 12 bit RAW files with the E-Shutter and has  better designed Cursor Buttons with raised edges which are easier to find and operate by feel.

That sounds pretty good and it is but…….

Most aspects of the GX8 ergonomic realisation are poor.  The handle is a strange, non  anatomical shape with no notch for the middle finger. The front dial is small and not optimally positioned. The rear dial is too high and too far forward. The Exposure Compensation dial is un-necessary (its function would be better allocated to the front or rear dial), it is hard to reach, it displaces the Drive Mode dial which would be a better use for that module and its presence forces other user interface modules such as the Focus Mode lever and the AF/AE-L button into suboptimal positions.

Oh, yes, and the strap lug digs into my hand with great frequency. And I keep bumping the Disp button accidentally.

In an attempt to improve functionality of the GX8 I bought and fitted a Panasonic CGK33 Leather half case as shown in the photos.

This is quite well made (in Vietnam). It is attached by screwing into the tripod socket of the camera with a coin.

Once fitted with the half case the camera can be tripod mounted normally.

There is a flap which opens to give access to the battery/memory card hatch. Getting the card out is a bit tricky, I had to tip the camera upside down to get it out, but at least you don’t have to remove the half case.

The half case increases the height of the handle (and the camera) by 10mm. It also increases the handle width by about 5mm and depth by about 3mm. This might not sound like much but the overall effect is to provide a taller, fatter handle which is easier to hold.

It also reduces accidental pressings of the Disp button and reduces the number of times the strap lug digs into my hand.

**Update 27 January: Even with the half case I find I am still frequently hitting that Disp button accidentally when I pick up the camera. 

The CGK33 does not magically transform the poorly designed GX8 handle into a paragon of ergonomics. It does however provide a modest improvement to the user’s ability to get a decent grip on the thing.

Underside

Recommendation  If you are a GX8 owner and are perfectly happy with the camera’s handling then don’t bother with the half case.

But if you are like me and many other reviewers and owners and find the handling of the GX8 not to your liking, I do recommend the CGK33.

I got mine from B&H in New York, shipped out to Australia.

There are some thing about this business which really annoy me.

* Panasonic makes the half case. This means they already know the GX8 has compromised ergonomics. So why not make the camera with a proper anatomical handle in the first place ?

I don’t know the answer to this question but can only assume the basis for the GX8 design is a styling conceit.

* Right now you can have the new, good sensor with the 12bit RAWs all the time (and 20 Mpx and IBIS and other stuff) but only in the ergonomically deficient GX8…..OR…

* You can have the ergonomically good (apart from the unsatisfactory Cursor Buttons) G7 but only with the older, 10-bit-with-e-shutter sensor inherited from the GH4.

I think Panasonic would do their customers and eventually themselves a great power of good by doing the job properly. Put the good sensor in the good body and present one product which gets everything right.

Is that too much to ask ???

Apparently so.