Please excuse my voice on this one. I’ve been battling a cold recently.
My first impression is that this camera has a ton of features! Seriously, setting up a new camera is a process. I have a tech background and forgot how many little settings can get squeezed into the menus.
Thankfully, the G9 has clearly labeled physical buttons or switches for the most common tasks. This helps out a ton. I have a feeling this camera will become my new favorite based on that.
My primary body is currently an Olympus E-M1 Mark II and I’ve been using a Canon RP for my portrait shoots as well. Based on my super limited experience with the G9, I have no doubt it will become my top choice for video. While the G9 was initially thought of as the photography or hybrid option for Panasonic, that is more than enough to be my best camera for video now.
The G9 is the largest of the three mentioned cameras. Not by a huge margin, but it is enough to notice. The build is tough and rugged. It even has a full-size HDMI out is a nice touch.
The Olympus E-M1 Mark II and III are often compared to the G9. These cameras are some of the best values for a professional camera in general and certainly in the Micro Four Thirds system. I paid just over $600 for the G9 in excellent condition. That makes it about $50 more than an EM1 Mark II in a similar condition and at least $300 cheaper than the EM1 Mark III.
I took the G9 out to a local arboretum. It’s a beautiful location that I’ve been to many times. The first thing I noticed was my shutter, aperture, and ISO changes were not reflected on the screen or viewfinder. That got me back into the menu system. It was easy enough to find the live view setting and turn it on, but there were so many settings in the menu.
I’ve heard a lot of talk about how Panasonic menus are superior to Olympus and much easier to read. I’ve been using Olympus cameras for over three years now and have gotten used to the menu system. Sure there are some weird things in the menu and tons of settings. The same could be said of Panasonic. For example, I’m looking at stabilization settings and see something that appears to be a hand icon. No clue what that means, but I’ll eventually find out. As with any camera system, this will take some time to learn and Google is a great resource for getting some answers. Out of the three brands I now own, it is clear that Canon has the most user-friendly menu system to pick up and just start using. That said, Panasonic and Olympus both throw out some pretty innovative features that could add more complexity to the menus.
I haven’t used the camera enough to comment on image quality. I’m sure it will be similar to Olympus. The colors seem to have a nice pop and the unedited images seem slightly cooler than that of Canon or Olympus. I’m excited to test this out more and will do an update video after I have more time with this camera.
My limited experience revealed the need to do some research on the autofocus options of the G9. The results were super sharp when it was accurate. My hit rate was lower than with the Olympus or Canon bodies. I don’t blame this on the camera at all. It was user error. I was trying to figure everything out on the fly. My gut tells me the G9 might actually have the best autofocus for photography out of my three cameras. This will have to be tested more and is something that will be included in the update.
The 6k photo mode is one of the features I’m interested in exploring more. It actually records a video file. I’m mostly doing videos for stock photography submissions at this point. Having the ability to record a video file with 18 MP screen grabs is pretty cool. This adds a nice flexibility and will probably even streamline my editing since I generally remove the audio before submitting footage.
I’ve only had the G9 for a few days. It feels like a professional camera that is still up to date on technology. Guessing this is a reason it remains in the Panasonic lineup nearly five years after being released.
I’ve barely scratched the surface of what this camera can do in my limited time with it. The G9 got me excited enough to share my initial thoughts. This is a fairly biased take as I’m a huge fan of Micro Four Thirds cameras. You can expect a more detailed update once I have more time with the camera.
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Til the next time…
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#microfourthirds #panasonic #olympus #camerareview