BEST Camera for Adventure Travel - Panasonic Lumix G85

Guys, today I want to talk to you about my favorite camera for outdoor adventure travel, the Lumix G85. Now, I've been using this camera for about eight months. I got it right before my trip to Spain last August. I've taken this thing through rainforest, cloud forest, torrential rains, desert, forest, mountains, you name it. I've taken this camera through it, and it has performed like a champ. I put a couple little adventure kisses into it right here. I slipped and busted my ass on some mossy rocks in Costa Rica and broke this little plastic ring here where the lens cap goes, but it didn't damage anything else on the camera. So I want to go over the main reasons why I bought this camera and why I recommend this camera and why I think it's so great. The first big reason I got this camera was the weather sealing. The weather sealing on this camera is fantastic. I couldn't ask for anything better. Like I said, I've had it in torrential rains. I've been right up next to huge waterfalls. I've actually dropped this thing halfway submerged into a puddle, and it was fine. I pulled it out real quick and dried it off real quick. When it says weather sealed, this has totally surpassed my expectations. What I'm looking for in an adventure camera, something to capture and document my adventures, the primary thing was weather sealing because I'm doing a lot of outdoor adventures where it's rainy, it's wet, it's misty, it's mossy, whatever the deal is, or high winds blowing desert sand and dust. And so I wanted to make sure that if I'm going to drop close to a thousand bucks on a camera, the first thing I want to do is make sure it's going to be able to withstand the elements and all the adventure I'm going to put it through. The second thing, the second main reason why I decided to get the G85 was it takes an external mic. So the caveat to that is when you plug in the external mic, you have to remove this rubber strip that protects the mic and the remote input here. And so they say that when this is open and when you have an external mic plugged into it, it's technically not fully weather sealed because this is open. That being said, I've had this open with my Rode VideoMicro plugged into it in torrential, in all the conditions I just mentioned, torrential rain, dust, all that stuff. And it hasn't been a problem. So as far as taking an external mic, big thing for me, because a lot of times if I'm in a high wind area or big rushing water, loud water, something without an external mic is not going to capture my voice if I want to talk to the camera directly. You've seen some of my recent Costa Rica videos. I'm standing in front of a giant waterfall behind me and it's loud. And if I didn't have that external mic, my, what I was saying would totally just get washed out. So the external mic for the type of stuff that I do, the external mic is so important. The third thing I was looking for when I was shopping for an adventure camera, fully articulating LCD screen. Again, we call that an adventure kiss, okay? And when I say we, I mean me. The LCD took a licking, it's still ticking, probably not weather sealed now, but I mean, I beat the crap out of my equipment, guys. I'm jumping off cliffs, I'm slipping on rocks, I'm sliding down gorges. So I'm out there. My primary focus is the adventure and I try to document it as well as I can for you guys. The fully articulating LCD, the flip out fully articulating. And not just for vlogging, not just for looking at the camera and framing my shot, but also for when I frame the shot up where I'm dangling this off of a tree or I have it connected in some weird way where I can flip the screen out and check the focus and check the way the shots lined up. Really important, especially if this is at a weird angle that I can't climb up and get around to look at the LCD. So those three main things, the weather sealing, the external mic, and the fully articulating LCD screen, those are the main reasons I bought this. The other reasons that are kind of secondary, I wanted to go 4K. Now I don't render my videos in 4K, but I wanted that option down the road if I wanted to start rendering stuff out in 4K, I have that option. So this shoots 4K at 30 frames a second, it does 60 frames at 1080. So if I want slow-mo, I'll just switch it over to 60 frames a second at 1080. Another good thing, now I'm not a camera guy, I'll be the first to admit it, I am not a camera guy. So in terms of like the technical, a lot of the intricate details about this camera, I'm not your guy. There's plenty other people out there that will give you their take on what the best settings are and stuff like that. But I, from using this for eight months, this grip is awesome. Like it's so ergonomically designed, you know, half the time I'm running through the jungle just holding on to this grip and it does a great job. Tons of customizable buttons, there's a lot of preset modes that you can shoot in. For people that like to color correct their footage, they have something called, I think it's a CineLog D, which is a more of a flat profile. So you can shoot in that and then color grade afterwards. They also have another mode called CineLog V, which is for if you don't want to color grade stuff. That's actually what I shoot in. I shoot in the CineLog V, gives rich color. But what I absolutely love on this thing are the macro shots, the close-up stuff of insects and plants and flowers. The macro stuff is absolutely beautiful. The amount of detail and color and the bokeh that gives you is stunning. Totally beautiful. And also this kit lens. I got the the kit lens because I read a lot of good reviews about this. As far as kit lenses go, again I'm not a camera guy, but the reviews I read were really great on this lens and I gotta say it lives up to the hype. People will buy the kit and I've seen them just take the brand new kit lens and sell it for $300. That's how good of a lens it is. It can stand on its own. So I haven't upgraded yet to another lens for this. I'm looking into other weather sealed lenses. That's the other important thing is that the lens is also weather sealed. So the body's weather sealed, the lens is weather sealed, the auto focus on this is great too, just in case you're worried about that. Great package kit comes together. The zoom range is not that great. It's a 12 to 60. So you don't, I can't get like really far away. So for wildlife stuff it's not that great. I mean I have been able to get some good wildlife shots with it. So I got this because I wanted to upgrade what I was using. I had been shooting videos in a GoPro and GoPros and other cameras like that, you know, they're known as action cams and GoPro sets the standard for what an action cam is, right? But with my channel I call it adventure travel, right? So with adventure I want to tell more of a story than just the action. GoPros are great for just mounting them on a motorcycle or a bike or a surfboard and just doing your action. But in terms of like delivering dialogue to it or getting different close-up shots, different angle shots, the GoPros aren't very good at that. So as far as capturing just raw action, they're great. In terms of telling a story where you have dialogue or you want to capture background sounds or you want to get macro shots to fill out more of an adventure video, the GoPros are somewhat limited. So that's why I wanted to upgrade to a different camera. And when you're talking about adventure travel, for me, for the type of stuff I do where I'm in harsh conditions, this weather-sealed Lumix G85 is just absolutely beastly. I know I roll with the big Joby Gorillapod and the Rode VideoMicro. It's a great setup. It's not as low profile as the GoPro, but the quality of footage that I can get is exponentially better. So if you're in the market for a camera, take it from me. I'm not a camera guy. It was very easy to learn. If you're looking to upgrade your camera, if you're shooting on a cell phone or a GoPro Now or maybe a point-and- shoot like a G7X, highly recommend considering the Lumix G85. External mic, fully articulating LCD, and the biggest amazing thing which lived up to the hype, the weather sealing on this thing. And I can attest to it. Even on our recent trip to Costa Rica where we went to Rio Agrio, which is actually a slightly acidic waterfall due to volcanic minerals in the water, this thing has held up. It's not showing any signs of corrosion or anything like that from the acidic mist from Rio Agrio. So whether it's dust, sand, mist, moss, dirt, whatever, torrential rains, like I said, I literally dropped this halfway into a puddle. This thing is withstanding a beating. I am putting a beating on this thing. I'm not intentionally putting a beating on it, but my priority is always the adventure. And if I can capture exactly what I'm doing and the thrill and share that with you guys, that's a close second. But for me, the experience is always there. Because if I get home and the footage doesn't look that great, I still have that experience. So I'm not always 100% focused on being safe with my camera. I hope this inspires you to get out there, find your adventure. And you know, you don't need a camera like this. I'm shooting this video on my cell phone. You can shoot stuff on your cell phone. That's how I started out. Just get out there, find your adventure, shoot stuff on your phone, on your GoPro, whatever you have. When you get a chance, you can always upgrade it. If you're in the market for something new, highly recommend the G85. I'm sorry I can't get more technical on what the camera does, the aperture and all that crap. I'm not a camera guy. I'm learning. I'm learning. But I am an adventure guy. So take it from one adventure guy to another. This thing kicks ass, pumps out some great video. And if by some miracle this video has convinced you that you want to actually buy one of these, I'm going to throw an affiliate link down in the description. It would help the channel out if you bought it through my affiliate link. I'll also link my GorillaPod and my microphone in the description. If you're in the market for any of those, please buy it through my affiliate link. Helps the channel out, helps offset the cost of some future adventures. Get out there, find your adventure, and be infamous. Infamous.