Panasonic Lumix G9

Reading this blog on a regular base you know that starting with the Lumix G6 i got myself a Lumix G81. And now there was a bargain to get to get a Lumix G9.

Introduction

After getting to know the Lumix G81 better it was my wish to get the top modell from Panasonic for photographers the Lumix G9. A couple of weeks ago in combination with a Cash-Back pretty low prcied offers i took the chance and got myself a Lumix G9. For under 1.000,– € this is very much camera.

Die Lumix G9 offers more AF fields, a higher resolution and a lot better video capabilities like for example 60fps in 4 K resolution.

I was pretty happy with the Lumix G81 but with the improved capabilities and mainly with the firmware update to version 2.0 the Lumix G9 got some features from the GH5. And of course this is mainly 10-Bit video including VLOG and the improved AF in combination with animals.

Configuration

The Lumix G9 offers a display on top of the body, which is very seldom in this category and comparable like the one built-in the Canon 6D MK II. The display offers all needed informations about battery, settings and it can be illuminated.

Other features like fps in photo mode, 6K images and the improved capabilities for video capturing made the decision for the Lumix G9.

The camera offers 2 slots for memory cards. Now i must admit that this is my first camera with 2 slots for the SD cards. Of course it is very convinient depending on the settings to have a backup of your images on the second card. I configured the camera to store JPEG and video clips on one card and raw images on the other.

The Lumix G9 offers a lot more buttons which can be configured to personal needs and most important a joystick to move the fucs area while looking thru the viewfinder. The most important options like ISO, white balance and exposure corrections are located near the shutter release.

And the mode selection wheel, which can be locked, is an improvement compared to the Lumix G81.

Image quality

In contrast to the Lumix G81 the Lumix G9 offers a sensor with 20Mpix resolution and with qualitiy lenses like the 2.8/12-35mm or the 2.8/35-100mm you get very detailed and sharp images. Until i carried both systems, the mFT and my Canon 6D MK II equipment,  like on vacations and every time i compared the images i got the result that the qualitiy differences between the mFT system and images from a full frame camera are marginal. I posed my experiences on my article about full-frame.

The difference in the picture detail is due to the 30MPix resolution from the Canon 6D MK II. But i could print from the Lumix image to 50x70cm without notivcing a difference. The main difference is if have to push up the ISO setting.

A comparism at ISO 1.600 there is quite a difference. And at least the Lumix G9 offers the HiRes mode. In this mode the camera generates a  80MPix RAW with the dimensions of 10.368×7776 pixel. This HiRes or superresolution can be done via Photoshop and almost any camera. These 80Mpix raw out of the camera look a little bit better and there is a huge reserve for printing the image.

Conclusion

I’m looking forward to check out the camera in practical situations. Mainly the new video features like 4k at 60fps and 10-bit video and the Vlog option from the GH5 are waiting for practical usage. And also capturing stills i’m expecting better results than with the Lumix G81, even though the Lumix G81 still is a good camera.

The other features, like more AF points, higher framerates and 6K images are further useful options of the Lumix G9.

ciao tuxoche