Panasonic Lumix GX85 (GX80)

The Lumix GX85 is a compact mirrorless camera from 2016, built around the Micro Four Thirds mount. At 122 x 71 x 44 mm and 426 g, it is light and easy to carry in a small bag.

With the shared Micro 4/3 mount, you can fit different lenses to suit the shot, and the small body keeps the whole kit manageable when travelling.

It suits travellers, families and casual filmmakers who want interchangeable lenses and 4K recording in a camera that disappears into a bag rather than dominating it.

Stills come from a 16-megapixel Micro Four Thirds CMOS sensor, with images processed by the Venus Engine. The ISO range runs from 200 to 25600, so you can keep working as light fades rather than stopping at dusk. Sixteen megapixels also keep files manageable, which helps when storage and editing space are tight.

In-body stabilisation is the defining stills feature. It reduces camera shake rather than subject movement, so handheld shots at slower shutter speeds stay usable in dim rooms or late evening. The practical benefit is leaving the tripod behind more often.

For action, burst shooting runs at up to 8 frames per second, which covers short sequences such as a child running across a garden. Autofocus offers 49 points for placing focus, and the shutter speed reaches 1/16000 for freezing quick movement.

Framing goes through an electronic viewfinder with roughly 2.76 million dots, giving a clear and detailed preview. Since it shows the exposure you are about to capture, you can fix settings before the shot instead of reviewing mistakes afterwards.

Video is well covered. The maximum resolution is 4K, and frame rates go up to 60fps, which suits moving subjects and smooth motion. Recordings save as MP4 or AVCHD, so you can choose between two file formats.

A built-in timelapse function rounds out the video tools, letting you capture sequences without external remote gear. Stabilisation helps on static scenes by smoothing out camera shake between frames, which keeps the resulting clips steadier.

The video score of 83 rates as very good, and the camera sits around the middle of cameras in our database for Video. In practice, it covers the core formats that most projects ask for without stretching beyond them.

A 3-inch touchscreen handles framing and menus, with about a million dots for a crisp display. You can tap to place focus, and the screen flips for low angles and self-framed shots.

WiFi is built in, giving the camera a wireless connection option. Bluetooth and GPS are both absent, so there is no Bluetooth pairing and no built-in location tagging.

Lighting is covered from both directions: a built-in flash handles dim rooms, and external flash units are supported when you want more power.

The features score of 57 is modest, reflecting full credit for the touchscreen and live view alongside missing weather sealing and Bluetooth. Without sealing, there is no protection against dust or moisture, so the camera needs care outdoors.

Storage runs through a single SD, SDHC or SDXC card slot. With one slot, the practical habit is carrying spare cards and offloading during a long shoot rather than counting on in-camera space.

The DMW-BLG10 battery is rated at 290 shots per charge. That figure is a rating rather than a promise of real-world endurance, so a spare battery is worth packing.

USB charging lets you top the battery up between shoots, which softens the endurance limit without removing it. The storage and battery score of 29 is limited, shaped by the single card slot and the modest battery rating, though USB charging earns full credit.