A couple questions for g9 users, from an olympus only shooter

[millhoud]

Hello!
The specs of the om-d em5 mark III just forced me to think about a pany body once again. I have searched much but there are a few questions that also reading g9 manual couldn't solve. People familiar with em5 mark II as well as the g9 really appreciated.
1- setting the focal length for a manual lens for IBIS: is it true one can only have three presets?

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I use a lot of vintage glass (usually on a speedbooster) and if altering the focal lenght is much fussier than with an oly SCP that would be a problem.
2- in camera focus stacking: i reckon i could use my oly 60 macro for it? As i understand it, the g9 does the focus stacking from photos after you select them, so i could also use a vintage macro lens on a rail and still do an in camera focus stack?? Is this possible? Or is the focus stack only possible from the 6k photo bursts (from the manual i got this . Yes, reading the manual is pretty frustrating)?
3-focus bracketing: i am pretty sure oly lenses shold work for the focus bracketing, else this is a deal breaker, unfortunately. Will they for sure?
4-a live-composite substitute: i like to photograph lightning, so since the g9 misses the wonderful oly option, i was wondering if using time lapse shots and then simply adding them in pp would provide the same or even a better output (sometimes i just forgot the camera running and the shot got too bright) or would i miss precious moments between each shot? Imagine 1 to 4 seconds shots, what time would it take for the camera to fire the next? Or am i just missing something altogheter?
Thanks in advance to anyone that helps!

 

[retiredfromlife]

With regard to focus bracketing either brand of lens will work with either brand of body.
But focus bracketing works differently with both brands.

With Panasonic it is part of their video modes 4K/6K, and only produces a jpeg image and you cannot adjust the way the camera takes to stack and is not very good for say fine stacking an insect. Works better for large objects where your aperture DoF fills the gaps so to speak. Great for when you have a person in the foreground and you want the foreground and back ground in focus.

For Olympus focus stacking as far as I know only works on EM1.2 EM1x and EM5.2 EM5.3 lines and only with certain pro lenses, but does a really good job on insects etc. Also some Olympus flashes can be set to fire with the camera for stacking and bracketing. Olympus does not allow as many steps in their stacking as they do in bracketing. Your 60mm macro will be work ok.

If you want to do a lot of in camera stacking of small objects to me Oly is the better bet.

Unfortunately I cant comment on the focal length questions

 

[ScottinPollock]

Panasonic cameras ask you for the focal length when a manual lens is attached. The only issue is that it does not allow you to input a discreet number. Instead, it provides a number of values that are reasonable. But if you have a 9mm lens, you're forced into deciding whether 10mm or 8mm setting is best. Same for other focal lengths that Panasonic doesn't see as "standard".

As for focus stacking/bracketing, Panasonic can do both. With the former being a 4k/6k to jpeg in camera stack, or bracketed shots (RAW or jpeg) that can be stacked in post. The big gotcha here is a stupid limitation with flash. Panasonic cameras disable bracketing when a flash or flash trigger is mounted, so focus bracketing is not possible with flash, even though you "could" use it by setting a shutter delay for the time it takes your flash to recycle. This is not a deal breaker with the G9 as it has a PC-synch socket that will fire a flash without the limitation described above. But you're dead in the water in this regard with any Lumix camera without a PC-synch socket.

I only have one Oly lens (the 30mm Macro), but it works fine with stacking and bracketing on G9, G85, and GX85.

 

[Stanga]

With regard to focus bracketing either brand of lens will work with either brand of body.
But focus bracketing works differently with both brands.

With Panasonic it is part of their video modes 4K/6K, and only produces a jpeg image and you cannot adjust the way the camera takes to stack and is not very good for say fine stacking an insect. Works better for large objects where your aperture DoF fills the gaps so to speak. Great for when you have a person in the foreground and you want the foreground and back ground in focus.

Just a correction to two points that you mentioned:
1. Focus bracketing and focus stacking are two different things, and a critical point to remember with the Panasonic cameras. Focus stacking is jpg and bsed on a 4K (6K on the G9) video file.
2. Focus bracketing is based on both jpg and RAW, depending on which one the user picks.
3. It is possible to take acceptable insects pics with focus stacks from the 4K video with very little effort. The picture below is a 4K focus stack taken with a GX8 in a hurry. It is uncropped and unprocessed for reference purpose. So some stacking errors can be picked up, some of which are due to the breeze that was blowing the leaves about. With a bit more care, such as being able to get closer to the subject, a lot better can be achieved with the 4K stacking I would think.

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[millhoud]

Thanks a lot to everyone!
Ok, i'm fine with the stacking issues, it is weird about the flash, i must say.
The focal lenghts setting, according to @ScottinPollock seems to be similar to olympus settings, but the screenshot of the g9 manual i posted above says "a focal lenght from 0.1 (?????) to 1000mm can be used". Well i don't think i'll ever see a 0.1mm lens ?, so there must be some mistake in the manual.
Hope someone could answer the time-lapse delay between shots doubt i have, since not being able to photograph lightning decently would be an actual letdown for me.

 

[gwydionjhr]

Thanks a lot to everyone!
Ok, i'm fine with the stacking issues, it is weird about the flash, i must say.
The focal lenghts setting, according to @ScottinPollock seems to be similar to olympus settings, but the screenshot of the g9 manual i posted above says "a focal lenght from 0.1 (?????) to 1000mm can be used". Well i don't think i'll ever see a 0.1mm lens ?, so there must be some mistake in the manual.
Hope someone could answer the time-lapse delay between shots doubt i have, since not being able to photograph lightning decently would be an actual letdown for me.

Keep in mind, entering the focal length of your vintage glass is there to allow the IBIS to function properly. So, if you're on a tripod, just ignore it as you should have IBIS turned off anyway. It's also probably why it's done in 2mm steps, .5 or 1mm steps probably don't make enough difference to bother.

 

[ScottinPollock]

so there must be some mistake

My mistake. Picked up the wrong camera to check and assumed it would be the same. It wasn't.

 

[D7k1]

IMHO the G9 is one of the most under-appreciated cameras ever (as is the Gx8). While large for a M43 its build and the amazing amount of things it will do make it a the choice (compare the best video out of any Oly to the G9 and I think you'll agree bit rates (especially variable ones) are not the only way to judge video. This said I am thinking of replacing my Gx85 with the Oly OMD5 III. You can't really buy a bad camera now days. The G9 and the Oly 60mm is a killer macro combination. I always through the Pany 14 in a pocket and am set for a good day of imaging.

Don't underestimate the things that 6K (18 mpx) can be used for besides stunning video. Panasonic has very good jpeg's and good tools for adjusting them to your own liking. I wasn't going to get a G9 but wanted to try 6K video (h265 codec, takes a powerful desktop to process) but after about 10K of birds have barely touch the opportunities for imaging this camera presets. Maybe I am old, but having the Gx8/G9 combination brings back to the rangefinder/SLR days of the past.

Good luck in your choice, it is a difficult one but either camera is likely to fit your specific needs.

 

[millhoud]

IMHO the G9 is one of the most under-appreciated cameras ever (as is the Gx8). While large for a M43 its build and the amazing amount of things it will do make it a the choice (compare the best video out of any Oly to the G9 and I think you'll agree bit rates (especially variable ones) are not the only way to judge video. This said I am thinking of replacing my Gx85 with the Oly OMD5 III. You can't really buy a bad camera now days. The G9 and the Oly 60mm is a killer macro combination. I always through the Pany 14 in a pocket and am set for a good day of imaging.

Don't underestimate the things that 6K (18 mpx) can be used for besides stunning video. Panasonic has very good jpeg's and good tools for adjusting them to your own liking. I wasn't going to get a G9 but wanted to try 6K video (h265 codec, takes a powerful desktop to process) but after about 10K of birds have barely touch the opportunities for imaging this camera presets. Maybe I am old, but having the Gx8/G9 combination brings back to the rangefinder/SLR days of the past.

Good luck in your choice, it is a difficult one but either camera is likely to fit your specific needs.

i was waiting for the em5 mIII, (my mark 2 has a couple broken parts, i immediatly felt it was even flimsier than the mark I), now finding they have still shed weight i decided to change drastically. 400 grams is really not enough for heavier lenses, and the smaller battery is another thing. Only thing i'll have to learn to delve through menus again.
Would you happen to know if there is (and how much) a time to wait between shots on a time lapse? Maybe they keep a 1 second minimum ? I'll really miss the oly live composite when or if i switch

 

[D7k1]

Time lapse is one second. But if you want jpeg's you could use the 6K video at what ever exposure per second you want and then select your own timing sequence in post processing (in a video editor you could process the number of frames per second to what you want (say down from 3o fps to 10 or 5 or whatever to get the effect you want. 18 mpx is a lot of data.

 

[ScottinPollock]

Would you happen to know if there is (and how much) a time to wait between shots on a time lapse?

You can't take a one second exposure every second (it will miss almost every other frame). But IIRC giving it about 1/3 to 1/2 second between frames will let it keep up

 

[D7k1]

You can't take a one second exposure every second (it will miss almost every other frame). But IIRC giving it about 1/3 to 1/2 second between frames will let it keep up

You can not do this (shorter than a second between) frames as the shortest period between frames in the panasonic setup menu is 1 second.

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[millhoud]

You can not do this (shorter than a second between) frames as the shortest period between frames in the panasonic setup menu is 1 second.

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thank you! So, if i got this right, if 6k is 18 mpx then the frames should be barely distingushable from the 20 mpx in camera jpegs? Math always puzzles me??

 

[ScottinPollock]

You can not do this

I was referring to increasing shutter speed, not reducing interval.

 

[D7k1]

thank you! So, if i got this right, if 6k is 18 mpx then the frames should be barely distinguishable from the 20 mpx in camera jpegs? Math always puzzles me??

Yes the resolution at 6K is so close to 20 mpx you won't see the difference in a jpeg shot at 20 or 18 mpx even pixel peeping.

 

[D7k1]

"I was referring to increasing shutter speed, not reducing interval. "
"But IIRC giving it about 1/3 to 1/2 second between frames will let it keep up"

Really?

 

[dirtdevil]

Panasonic cameras ask you for the focal length when a manual lens is attached. The only issue is that it does not allow you to input a discreet number. Instead, it provides a number of values that are reasonable. But if you have a 9mm lens, you're forced into deciding whether 10mm or 8mm setting is best. Same for other focal lengths that Panasonic doesn't see as "standard".

As for focus stacking/bracketing, Panasonic can do both. With the former being a 4k/6k to jpeg in camera stack, or bracketed shots (RAW or jpeg) that can be stacked in post. The big gotcha here is a stupid limitation with flash. Panasonic cameras disable bracketing when a flash or flash trigger is mounted, so focus bracketing is not possible with flash, even though you "could" use it by setting a shutter delay for the time it takes your flash to recycle. This is not a deal breaker with the G9 as it has a PC-synch socket that will fire a flash without the limitation described above. But you're dead in the water in this regard with any Lumix camera without a PC-synch socket.

I only have one Oly lens (the 30mm Macro), but it works fine with stacking and bracketing on G9, G85, and GX85.

The difference in stabilization effect on a 8, 9 or 10mm lens is probably not even noticeable if you don't select the correct focal length since they're so wide lenses. I see a small difference with telephotos (I have a 400mm lens, and sometimes I left the setting at 600mm like when I use the teleconverter).

 

[millhoud]

The difference in stabilization effect on a 8, 9 or 10mm lens is probably not even noticeable if you don't select the correct focal length since they're so wide lenses. I see a small difference with telephotos (I have a 400mm lens, and sometimes I left the setting at 600mm like when I use the teleconverter).

do you own a g9? Can you confirm about the focal lenght settings being similar to oly om-d (like 8-10-12-16-20....up to a 1000.) or as i undestand from reading the manual one can insert some discreet numbers (it says only 3 lenghts) ?

 

[ScottinPollock]

Really?

Yes. As I said, you can't set the shutter speed the same as the interval as it will drop frames, so you need to give the camera some extra time between frames.

For instance, on a one second interval, setting a shutter speed of 1/1.3 will ensure all frames are recorded.

 

[D7k1]

Yes. As I said, you can't set the shutter speed the same as the interval as it will drop frames, so you need to give the camera some extra time between frames.

For instance, on a one second interval, setting a shutter speed of 1/1.3 will ensure all frames are recorded.

Ok, I did not read it that way but it is the correct way to do it.