The Panasonic Lumix GX880 is Panasonic's update to the GX800. The GX880 is a minor refresh of the camera, with a few tweaks here and there, designed to make it a better camera. One thing that has definitely stayed the same, or even improved, is the price, with the GX880 available for just £329 with 12-32mm kit lens. This means the camera offers excellent value for money, as one of the cheapest mirrorless cameras available that can also record 4K video.

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Panasonic Lumix GX880 Features

The Panasonic Lumix GX880 features a 16 megapixel Micro Four Thirds sensor, 4K (UHD) video recording, a 3inch touch-screen, and numerous scene modes, as well as intelligent auto shooting to help make the camera easier to use for beginners. There are manual shooting modes, as well as raw capture, for more advanced photographers. The camera is available with the compact 12-32mm pancake zoom lens. As part of the Micro Four Thirds system, it is compatible with all Micro Four Thirds lenses.

The GX880 is also known as the GF10 and GF90 in other markets. Panasonic says the GX880 is "the one for the fashion blogger."

The camera has a number of selfie modes with options including soft skin, filter effects (depending on mode), background control, slimming mode, night self-shot, and self-timer options. The screen tilts 180 degrees, and the camera has face shutter (takes a photo when it detects a face), buddy shutter (takes a photo when two faces are detected), all designed to make taking the "perfect selfie" possible. In addition, the Fn3 button can be used as a shutter button in selfie mode. 

The GX880 doesn't feature built-in (in-body) image stabilisation, so instead you'll need to rely on your lens having optical image stabilisation, and thankfully, the 12-32mm kit lens that comes with the camera has Mega O.I.S. (optical image stabilisation) built-in. This will help keep your shots steady when using slower shutter speeds, for example in low-light conditions.

There are numerous shooting modes, including intelligent Auto, creative effects, scene modes (portrait and children positions available on the dial), auto panoramic shooting, HDR, as well as P, A, S, and full manual controls

Wi-Fi is built in to allow the setup of Wi-Fi connections with smartphones. The smartphone can be used as a remote shutter control, or set up for instant transfer so that photos will automatically transfer to the smartphone after shooting. Wi-Fi can also be used to set up auto backup of photos and video to your computer. 

4K video is included, letting you record 4K UHD (3840x2160) resolution video, which looks great on a 4K TV. You can also record FullHD video at 60fps, and the camera has stereo microphones built-in.

The camera has Panasonic's 4K photo features, that now include:

• 4K photo - burst shooting (30fps, 8mp), burst start/stop, and pre-burst
• Post Focus - select or change the focus point after shooting, or use focus stacking to combine images

Key Features

• 16mp Micro Four Thirds sensor (w/o LPF)
• 3inch tilting touch-screen, 1040K dots
• 4K Photo at 30, 25, 24fps
• 4K UHD video with stereo sound
• ISO100 to ISO25600
• 5.8fps continuous (mechanical shutter), 10fps with electronic shutter
• Built-in pop-up flash (GN5.6, ISO200)
• Post focus/focus stacking
• HDR, Panoramic shooting
• Wi-Fi connectivity
• Silver/black, Black/black (all-black), Tan/silver

Panasonic Lumix GX880 Handling

The camera is made of plastic with a textured leather-effect coating on the front of the camera. The grip on the back of the camera has a soft rubber texture, however, it would be nice if this protruded slightly, to aid grip further. There's a new grip at the front, resolving one of our complaints aimed at the GX800, and this definitely helps give you a firmer grip of the camera. The plastic has a "spackled" effect, giving a better look and feel than smooth plastic.

Despite the plastic body, the camera feels well built, with parts of the camera using metal where needed, for example, the lens mount, around the battery compartment, tripod socket, strap loops and on the back of the screen. 

On top of the camera is where you'll find the mode dial, which will make selecting modes easy, as well as the sweep panoramic mode, that will automatically stitch the photos together as you pan the camera. Surrounding the shutter release button is the on / off switch. There's also a 4K photo button and an Fn3 button that is set as the Post-Focus button on default settings. There are a good number of external controls, with quick access to exposure compensation, white balance, drive mode, and focus.

The camera uses an electronic shutter over 1/500s, which is worth noting when shooting in artificial light. The shutter is very quiet. The screen is very clear and has good viewing angles, with additional controls that can be found on the screen.

The GX880 weighs 270g with microSD card and battery,  the 12-32mm lens (excluding caps) weighs just 70g, giving the combination a combined weight of 340g. This camera and lens combination can quite easily be pocketed in jacket pockets.

The menus are easy to navigate, with separate sections for photo, video, and more advanced options, and there is built-in help to explain each option. The Q. menu button gives quick access to settings on the rear screen, so you don't need to always go into the menus to change settings. You can use the touch-screen to select different options, however, the menus haven’t benefited from the same refresh as the Panasonic Lumix GH5.

There are 49 focus areas, face/eye detection, as well as AF tracking. You can even set up custom focus areas, which is something you don't normally expect to see on an entry-level camera. 

The built-in Wi-Fi connectivity lets you remotely control the camera using the Panasonic Image App on a smartphone or tablet, and is available for iOS and Android devices. There are a large number of options and settings that can be accessed and changed, making the app extremely useful, there are also time-lapse options, and you can view and share images, as well as tag photos with GPS information. 

Battery life - Battery life is rated at 210 shots according to Panasonic / CIPA test results, which is quite low for a mirrorless camera. The camera does benefit from MicroUSB charging, which helps, although we'd recommend a spare battery just in case.