Panasonic G9 Reviews & Experiences

[Ziggy]

I would be prepared to take the G85 on a multi-day bushwalk but not the G9. As posted earlier, it's bigger than my old K3 though 150g lighter.
The G9 with PL100-400 fits into the old holster bag thankfully but not the medium F-stop ICU, and that's a pity as that used to slip nicely into a rear-opening 40l backpack.
For walking with that rig at the ready I suspect the supplied strap won't cut it (or will!) and it may be a matter of returning to a sling.

 

[Ziggy]

Manuals
With the G85 David Thorpe put out a guide to the menu system which was handy. It came in ebook and printed form. Due to copyright restrictions the ebook wasn't available in Australia (gotta love 'free trade') and the hard copy cost me around $30 sent from the US.
I would say there'd be a market for a similar title covering the recent Lumixes.
I have an ebook guide to the Pentax K3 written by a photographer and it's not very good. Technical writing is a separate skill from shooting, and expert shooters are drawing on unconscious competence which isn't a good basis for writing about the why and the how of camera use.

 

[Robstar1963]

I pre ordered the G9 twice !
I had it on order early on and got cold feet but then reordered it on the last day for pre orders to qualify for the free Grip last week
The camera wasn't in stock so I had time to ponder a bit more
Nothing seemed to jump out at me with regard to the use I'd put it to ie Motorsports with lots of high speed panning shots
There have been no reviewers tasked with Motorsports photography to prove how good it might or might not be for high speed CAF so in the end I cancelled again
I have instead bought an EM1 mk1 as previously discussed which I will make do with until later in the year when the Motorsports season is in full swing
I will know by then hopefully whether I have missed an opportunity or avoided an expensive mistake when (hopefully) more experience has been gained by others with the camera
I'm interested to see how Simon (srhphoto) gets on with his new G9 as he often does fast panning Motorsports - I've seen a couple of shots from the Jack Frost stages on this thread but this gives no clue as to how reliable CAF is for these shots
As I've (at least temporarily) 'downgraded' my body from an EM1 Mk2 (via a short lived GH5) to a much cheaper Mk1 I felt I could justify buying a 300mm f4.0 PRO which I got at a great price during a promotion
I feel that this will benefit me more than a G9 for what I do and now that I have that as well as the 40-150 PRO I am considering returning to an EM1 2 eventually - im hoping that the G9 will push the price of the Mk2 down later this year and that Olympus will bring out significant firmware upgrades to improve the issues previously discussed
The issue of weather seal compatibility discussed elsewhere on this forum is also a consideration for me with these two Olympus lenses and the EM1 2 (and EM1) will also provide Sync IS compatibility with the 300 which is absent from the G9

 

[retiredfromlife]

Manuals
With the G85 David Thorpe put out a guide to the menu system which was handy. It came in ebook and printed form. Due to copyright restrictions the ebook wasn't available in Australia (gotta love 'free trade') and the hard copy cost me around $30 sent from the US.
I would say there'd be a market for a similar title covering the recent Lumixes.
I have an ebook guide to the Pentax K3 written by a photographer and it's not very good. Technical writing is a separate skill from shooting, and expert shooters are drawing on unconscious competence which isn't a good basis for writing about the why and the how of camera use.

Good chance he will do a manual for the G9 as well. Wish he would do a PDF.
I also purchased his G85 book, and put it through the scanner at work to get a electronic version. Did not do the book any good but sort of held together later.

 

[Ziggy]

I pre ordered the G9 twice !
I had it on order early on and got cold feet but then reordered it on the last day for pre orders to qualify for the free Grip last week
The camera wasn't in stock so I had time to ponder a bit more
Nothing seemed to jump out at me with regard to the use I'd put it to ie Motorsports with lots of high speed panning shots
There have been no reviewers tasked with Motorsports photography to prove how good it might or might not be for high speed CAF so in the end I cancelled again
I have instead bought an EM1 mk1 as previously discussed which I will make do with until later in the year when the Motorsports season is in full swing
I will know by then hopefully whether I have missed an opportunity or avoided an expensive mistake when (hopefully) more experience has been gained by others with the camera
I'm interested to see how Simon (srhphoto) gets on with his new G9 as he often does fast panning Motorsports - I've seen a couple of shots from the Jack Frost stages on this thread but this gives no clue as to how reliable CAF is for these shots
As I've (at least temporarily) 'downgraded' my body from an EM1 Mk2 (via a short lived GH5) to a much cheaper Mk1 I felt I could justify buying a 300mm f4.0 PRO which I got at a great price during a promotion
I feel that this will benefit me more than a G9 for what I do and now that I have that as well as the 40-150 PRO I am considering returning to an EM1 2 eventually - im hoping that the G9 will push the price of the Mk2 down later this year and that Olympus will bring out significant firmware upgrades to improve the issues previously discussed
The issue of weather seal compatibility discussed elsewhere on this forum is also a consideration for me with these two Olympus lenses and the EM1 2 (and EM1) will also provide Sync IS compatibility with the 300 which is absent from the G9

I guess we all agonise over these choices but all the bodies are well beyond sufficiency as Ming Thein notes.
Some of my most effective pictures owe far more to content and composition than to the technical side of IQ.

 

[Danny_SWE]

First ever (?) long-term review

 

[Armanius]

Long term? Already? Look forward to viewing it.

 

[Ziggy]

Don't (look forward).

 

[Ziggy]

Better than the average run down...

 

[Ziggy]

Panasonic G9 Field Test I: Can the Micro Four Thirds camera keep up with large-sensor competition?

 

[Armanius]

How large is the G9 buffer while shooting at 20 fps cAF? It'd be nice to be able to maintain a 5 second burst.

 

[srhphoto]

I pre ordered the G9 twice !
I had it on order early on and got cold feet but then reordered it on the last day for pre orders to qualify for the free Grip last week
The camera wasn't in stock so I had time to ponder a bit more
Nothing seemed to jump out at me with regard to the use I'd put it to ie Motorsports with lots of high speed panning shots
There have been no reviewers tasked with Motorsports photography to prove how good it might or might not be for high speed CAF so in the end I cancelled again
I have instead bought an EM1 mk1 as previously discussed which I will make do with until later in the year when the Motorsports season is in full swing
I will know by then hopefully whether I have missed an opportunity or avoided an expensive mistake when (hopefully) more experience has been gained by others with the camera
I'm interested to see how Simon (srhphoto) gets on with his new G9 as he often does fast panning Motorsports - I've seen a couple of shots from the Jack Frost stages on this thread but this gives no clue as to how reliable CAF is for these shots
As I've (at least temporarily) 'downgraded' my body from an EM1 Mk2 (via a short lived GH5) to a much cheaper Mk1 I felt I could justify buying a 300mm f4.0 PRO which I got at a great price during a promotion
I feel that this will benefit me more than a G9 for what I do and now that I have that as well as the 40-150 PRO I am considering returning to an EM1 2 eventually - im hoping that the G9 will push the price of the Mk2 down later this year and that Olympus will bring out significant firmware upgrades to improve the issues previously discussed
The issue of weather seal compatibility discussed elsewhere on this forum is also a consideration for me with these two Olympus lenses and the EM1 2 (and EM1) will also provide Sync IS compatibility with the 300 which is absent from the G9

All I can say so far about the G9 for motorsport, is that it felt better and way more confident than my GX8. However, the conditions I shot the rally in were awful - freezing cold, strong gusty wind and a blizzard. I’d also say that I went straight down to the shutter speeds I’d usually use ie circa 1/60s and less. At these shutter speeds, my technique will have at least if not more impact on the number of sharp shots that I got. I hadn’t shot any motorsport since September, and won’t shoot any more until March so I’ll be a while before I get to draw any firm conclusions. However, motorsport is but a small part of what I shoot, so even if it isn’t up to D500 standards (and I’m not expecting it to be), I’m confident it will be more than good enough for what I need.

Cheers,

Simon.

 

[Armanius]

Don't (look forward).

Haven't yet ... but that bad eh? Yikes .

 

[The Grumpy Snapper]

Long term? Already? Look forward to viewing it.

Yeah, that's hilarious. They must have had a production model months before any other reviewers.

I suppose in that case I should do a long term review of the memory foam shoulder pad that arrived in the mail yesterday. It sure looks good. I haven't used it yet but comfort doesn't matter when it looks good.

 

[Ziggy]

How large is the G9 buffer while shooting at 20 fps cAF? It'd be nice to be able to maintain a 5 second burst.

50 shots. I count up to 17 before writing finishes. You can resume single shots at least during writing. P. 116 of advanced manual.

 

[DynaSport]

Yeah, that's hilarious. They must have had a production model months before any other reviewers.

I suppose in that case I should do a long term review of the memory foam shoulder pad that arrived in the mail yesterday. It sure looks good. I haven't used it yet but comfort doesn't matter when it looks good.

It’s almost as hilarious as people who criticize videos they haven’t watched.

 

[Ziggy]

Or people who criticise posts without reading them through.

 

[DynaSport]

Or people who criticise posts without reading them through.

Oh, I read the whole post. That’s what makes it so clear that he didn’t watch the video. He compares the video to him reviewing an item he just received, but hasn’t used. If he had watched the video he would know the reviewer had used the camera since October if I remember correctly.

 

[The Grumpy Snapper]

Oh, I read the whole post. That’s what makes it so clear that he didn’t watch the video. He compares the video to him reviewing an item he just received, but hasn’t used. If he had watched the video he would know the reviewer had used the camera since October if I remember correctly.

Then it wasn't a final production model so any test is irrelevant. And as far as I'm concerned 6 months is the minimum for a long term test.

 

[DynaSport]

Then it wasn't a final production model so any test is irrelevant. And as far as I'm concerned 6 months is the minimum for a long term test.

You don’t even see the irony do you? As far as I’m concerned, you should watch a video before criticising it. Lol.