GX85 Battery Display?

[snegron]

After having been away from m4/3 for a few years due to disappointments with an Olympus epl9 and a Lumix G3, I decided to give it a 3rd try. I Recently purchased a new GX85 and I really like it (so far).

My question today is about the battery display. Is there a way to see what the exact percentage of power I have left on the battery other than the little battery icon?

In addition to the two kit lenses it came with (12-32mm and 45-150mm), I also purchased a 14mm f2.5, the optional body grip and the "travel charger kit" that comes with a wall charger and an extra battery (my GX85 only came with the little charging cable, so I'm assuming this is Panasonic's way of squeezing an extra $100 out of us).

My intended use for the GX85 was to have it as a compact, almost pocketable camera with a semi wide prime lens (the 14mm roughy equals a 24mm in larger formats I usually use), so I attached a Panasonic optical viewfinder I had for that focal range. Yes, my oprical finder lines up almost perfectly to the view of the 14mm lens. The objective was to save battery life during long days of shooting by not having to use the rear display as much. I set the display to be viewed only through the eye level viewfinder (no option to select external optical viewfinder that I know of, but at least, in theory, it sucks up less battery than by using the rear lcd in live view).

It would be great to know how much (numerical percentage) of power I have left in my battery.

 

[Egregius V]

Unfortunately, this isn't available on the GX85. You can estimate run times from the CIPA figures on page 24 (of the USA user's guide), but it all depends on how you use the camera. And if you use a non-Panasonic battery in your camera like I do, the battery life indicator becomes very unreliable.

 

[Bif]

I've read that there is so little real battery power consumption difference between rear LED display panel and the EVF so I don't even consider it. I just go by the battery 3 bar icon and shortly after seeing it go down to one bar left, I consider a battery change.

On 3rd party batteries, I generally only trust the Watson brand sold by B&H. I feel they perform so close to OEM as to show no appreciable difference.

I have two GX85's and use them more than the G85, GH5, and GX8 due to convenience of size. It is easier to have with me.

 

[Replytoken]

My understanding is that the EVF's on a lot of mirrorless bodies consume more power than their rear screens, so I am not sure how much battery life you are really saving. Personally, I would just carry a second battery and a small power bank that can recharge the battery in the camera when it is in your bag.

Good luck,

--Ken

 

[snegron]

Thanks everyone!