Animal Detect Autofocus - initial thoughts on this feature issued with the Panasonic G9 firmware 2.0

The release of the firmware 2.0 for the Panasonic Lumix G9 saw the introduction of many new features and in the words of many it felt almost like we were getting a new camera.
One of the features I was most curious to try out with the G9 firmware 2.0 was "Animal Detect AF" but given Panasonic's track record with AF in videos I was understandingly a little skeptical.
So how will this new Animal Detect AF mode compare to my usual methods of focusing when doing wildlife photography?
Is it a game changer or just a gimmick?
Let's find out.

[@toxictabasco]

Great illustration of the Animal Detect AF. My thoughts on it are exactly like yours. And thanks for that tip on the switch to 225 AF points when there is no animal in the frame. And, using a small custom focus area for the fast moving stuff. I'll give that a try the next time out birding. Thanks for presenting real world results, and they are mighty fine pix.

[@PaulBawby]

Thank you for your good words. Since putting this video out, when in Animal Detect AF or other modes, I've been experimenting with using AF Near and AF Far by assigning them to the two front function buttons (that I wasn't using that much) with some interesting results (more testing is needed). Cheers

[@cyvan1750]

Paul, in those instances when it lost focus, instead of focusing on something large you could have used a button configured for AF Near. That would immediately nudged the focus off the background and have it search for something closer. I've configured my two front buttons beside the lens for near and far.

[@PaulBawby]

Hi Dale, Thanks for taking the time to share you thoughts and experiences it's very much appreciated. I didn't want to make my video longer than it needed to be, so I didn't go into the details of all that I tried. I did try using the AF Near, but it didn't seem to make a significant difference which I thought was odd. I will try assigning AF near and back to the front buttons as you suggested. When you assign AF near to a front button do you press once to toggle on and press again to toggle off or do you need to keep pressing all the time you want AF near? Cheers

[@cyvan1750]

@@PaulBawby Yeah there's a lot of confusion about how AF Near/Far work. It has no effect unless you assign it to a button and press it. It sort of works like a half-press shutter but when you press the button it first nudges off whatever its focused on to defocus and either focuses out further or closer depending on which you chose. It'll keep hunting until it finds something in the specified direction or until you release the button. If it reaches the end of the range, ie max focus or min focus it'll bounce back and go the other way. If you release AF near/far and then press the shutter it will try to focus again but w/o the defocus nudge. Usually it finds what AF Near/Far was locked on before and then it'll take the pic. If you press the shutter while holding down the AF Near/Far button it acts like a back button focus and releases the shutter right away instead of trying to refocus. It's basically automating into a single button press what u did to get the birds back in focus , defocus from the current subject (the background in your case) and focus on something closer so that it finds the birds again.

[@PaulBawby]

Hi Dale, Thank you very much for this detailed explanation, it's truly very helpful. I wish the G9 firmware 2.0 manual was this detailed. I spend part of the evening yesterday setting up scenarios in the hallway (it was pitch black and raining outside) to test this and acquire a better understanding of how it works. I had AF Near assigned to the AE button, but your suggestion of using the two front buttons for AF Near/Far is way more useful. Can't wait to go out and try this with Animal Detect AF. Did you figure all of this true testing or did you have such a function on another camera? BTW contributions like yours are exactly what I would like this channel to be about, photographers helping photographers, so again thank you very much for your comments. Cheers

[@janvanveluwen2583]

@@PaulBawby Hi Paul, I use back button focus and have this put on "AF-On" (meaning AF/AE Lock button set to AF-On), besides that I have put the Fn Button Set (in Rec-Mode of course): the Fn17 (the left arrow on the wheel) set to AF-On Far and the Fn19 (the right arrow on the wheel) to AF-Near. This is meaning than when I focus with Animal Detect and it is not working good or quickly enough, I simply can switch to either Af Near or Af Far by simply pressing the arrows as an alternative...

[@PaulBawby]

@@janvanveluwen2583 Hi, Thank for taking the time to share your tips on button assignments. I've remapped my buttons to include AF near and AF far and it does make a nice difference. These cameras are so customizable it's amazing!! Your button mapping sound like it could work for me as I also use AF-on on the BBF, so I might just give your customizing tip a try in the near future. Again thank you. Cheers

[@Stone1108]

Impressive demo Paul, entertaining to (the birds and the music). I think that you've demonstrated this tech very well and I too am hopeful this is something that will benefit from Panasonic's tech orientated outlook. The G9 is certainly a fully loaded TechBeast. I'd place money (not a gambler BTW) on the AF Auto Focus benefiting from a lot of development and feedback such as yours will certainly contribute to this. Thanks

[@PaulBawby]

Hi Andrew, Thank you for your positive feedback. This latest (pretty much unexpected) firmware update is a major improvement to an already very good camera. I agree with you, I hope that companies like Panasonic watch the KZbin videos and read the comments section talking about their products, because sometimes the simple things can make a huge difference in the user experience. So Panasonic if you're reading this, we like what you're doing, but don't stop there please, we want more ;-) Cheers

[@MrNorain49]

Have the G9 and recently added100-300 mm and the 2.1 firmware update this morning. Anxious to see the results, thank you for your presentation.

[@PaulBawby]

Hi Ralph, I'm happy to hear that you found value in the video. I'm working on a follow up video based on a much larger sample of photos, but it's a lot of work. Hopefully it'll be out in the not too distant future. Best of luck with you gear and I hope you have a lot of fun and take many memorable photos. Cheers.

[@happytraveller3052]

Thank you for sharing. I am a panasonic G9 user and I love this camera for both video and photo.

[@PaulBawby]

Hi, Thank you for the positive feedback it's always appreciated to know that viewers are finding value in the videos. Cheers

[@koolkutz7]

Thanks for showing the results. It appears that using the 5 point custom AF gives the best results for photos. The animal detect AF seems to keep up reasonably well for video but I prefer to use single point AF roughly where the birds would come & get the seed and leave it locked at that, so the AF does not 'hunt' so much.

[@PaulBawby]

Hi Steve, Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences, it's always appreciated. Like I said to other viewers I never take anything for cash, I always want to test things out for myself and share the results with viewers, because together we have more combine experience and it reduces the chances for bias and methodological errors. This video was a lot of fun to make but the best part is reading what viewers think of this new feature, some would call this a game changer whereas others see this as a marketing tactic. A viewer reported he was shooting egrets and the camera would only draw a box around the body of the bird completely ignoring the head. The lakes are frozen over here and the herons and egrets long gone so I won't be able to replicate his findings anytime soon unfortunately. But if what he said his true, which I have no reasons to doubt, it would indicate that Animal Detect AF doesn't know to focus on the eye of the animal or bird, which would make it way less interesting as far as I'm concerned. So at this point in time I would say that I generally agree with you. I'll be doing more testing in the near future with all modes, but one thing I'm happy with is that Panasonic took the time to bring this feature to the G9. It's a good first step and hopefully they keep improving the feature in the near future. Cheers

[@garybrown9719]

I have the 45-200mm on my g9 can't seem to get any sharp images Not the lens because it works great on my Olympus em1x

[@jeffslade1892]

Which 45-200? If that is the mark-1 then it is only Mega-OIS and you may get better results from an Ollie with their simpler focus mode set up. I use the mark-1 in the E-M5ii and the mark-2 on the G9, no problems whatsoever - it is Power-OIS and goes Dual2. The stabilisation helps you frame the shot and aids focusing. If you are not getting tack sharp images from the 45-200ii on the G9 you are using the wrong focus mode. Ollies do tend to default to what works but for the AFC on the G9, there are four customisable focus modes and the default is for shorter lenses.

[@Ferda1964]

I find this lens very soft beyond 160 - 170 mm .Good light with f8 and not more than 3200 iso will produce decent results.

[@wcbibb]

I have the G9 and the Panasonic-Leica 100-400mm. I enjoyed your video but haven't tried the update yet.

[@PaulBawby]

Hi William, Thanks for the update. If you do or when you, get a chance to try out the Animal Detect AF don't hesitate to share your thoughts on this new feature and comparison with your normal approach to focus selection. Cheers

[@DAVY793]

Hi, I used to use a G9 for birds but gave it up for the Olympus EM1 Mk3 - it too has its drawbacks but I then tried the Olympus EE-1 Dot Sight. I tried the Dot Sight out today on the G9 without blurred vision problems. Need to give it a lot more testing. Hope this helps some people.

[@PaulBawby]

Hi David, Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and experiences, it's always appreciated to hear from other photographers. I'll have to look into this Dot Sight. Cheers!

[@agrafernando]

Nice review. I confirm that I get better results with small box focusing. Ok reckon it's a bonus for video. I am def more excited about the focus peaking in all AF modes

[@PaulBawby]

Hi Potatoe Hero, Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts. I never take anything for cash, I always want to test things out for myself and share the results with viewers because together we have more combine experience and it reduces the chances for bias and methodological error. At this point in time I would say that I agree with you. I'll be doing more testing in the near future with all modes, but one thing I'm happy with is that Panasonic took the time to bring this feature to the G9. It's a good first step and hopefully they keep improving the feature in the near future. Cheers

[@jeffhalebopp]

At 6:17 I believe I see moire all over the squirrel. It is the rainbow colors on the hair. I have a G7 and when I bought a GX85, it had sharper pictures and video due to the removal of the low pass filter on the sensor. I'm not so sure this is a good idea. I also found that when I take 4k footage on the gx85 of buildings with a lot of sharp edges, the moire can be pretty apparent. When I took the same 4k video with the G7 it was much less pronounced. I love both cameras for different reasons. The GX85's IBIS with prime lenses is just awesome - the 20mm pancake etc. But with the GX85, I have to keep in mind of how moire prone it can be. Anyway, this is just some observations that I noticed. Thanks for the videos. I just found your channel.

[@ileonex1ileonex195]

You could use near shift focusing when the focus stuck at distance.Don't know if it is specific for m4/3 but focusing close is harder than focusing far.

[@PaulBawby]

Yes, I agree. At the time the video was made (more than 3 years ago), the near/far focusing feature had just been added through the firmware update, and I had not yet set up the camera to fully take advantage of this feature. I now use it, and it does help somewhat.

[@pinushooterphotography]

Very nice video. Thanks for sharing. I am really torn between Panasonic G9 and Olympus EM1 ii. Can't decide which one to go for. G9 is quite capable camer as it seems from your pics but it has no phase detect autofocus. Can you please make one comparison video between these two?

[@PaulBawby]

Hi, I totally understand your dilemma. I would say that you've identified the real weakness of the G9, its contrast based AF. It is very fast, but unfortunately in low light, back lit (think back lit bird in a tree) or low contrast situation (think black bear in a dark forest,...) it can struggle and that can be troubling if you're used to a confident phase detect AF... I would love to do a comparaison between the G9 and EM 1 ii and I've been looking to buy a gently used EM 1 ii for awhile but without much luck. It would seem that EM 1 ii users aren't in a hurry to part with their camera... Cheers,

[@rafaellewis1263]

Just tried taking pictures of wild rabbits with a tree and grass in the frame. Animal Detect kept placing a box around some grass. The rabbit was wide eyed and in profile. So frustrating.

[@PaulBawby]

Hi Rafael, I agree it's very frustrating, but you can mitigate this to some degree. With the G9 you can configure the two front function buttons (between the grip and the lens) to AF near and AF far. This way you can nudge your focus towards your subject by gently pressing on the appropriate function button. I hope this helps you. Cheers

[@dwiawijanarko5300]

Great job! Thankyou so much for this review :)

[@JoeS5263]

I do have a G9, but I have to say that people like me who cannot hope to put a single point AF on top of the eye of a moving bird, or even hope to keep a 5 point cross in the right spot, animal autofocus gives us MUCH better results. If I could train myself to shoot as you do, perhaps I would feel as you do. But since I am really just an amateur I think Animal autofocus is a remarkable improvement.

[@PaulBawby]

Hi Joe, Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts on the subject matter. I'm old enough to remember shooting with a 35mm film camera with totally manual focusing. Getting a good photo of a moving wildlife subject, well composed and in focus was quite a challenge back then. Things have improved immensely since then, cameras are now small computers and the give us features that not so long ago were not possible. So all this to say that I agree with you, this new Animal Detect AF is really good and to some it may seem like a quantum leap forward, for me it's a really good step forward and I dare dream of what is coming next. The whole idea behind the Field Note series is not about me telling you what to should or should not use. It's about me taking my gear out in the real world, trying out things, sharing my results as well as my opinion and getting a conversation started on various photography related topics so that we can all share and learn from each other. Again, thanks for taking part in the conversation, hope to "talk" with you again. Cheers

[@petercarlsson3179]

Sitting/standing birds has never been a problem really. When there is time to use single point AF the results have always been excellent. That said, I think the animal detect does a good job and is actually better than single point when in rush or the bird is moving too much for keeping the single point on the eye. The big difference, however, I think is for birds in flight where I have had frustratingly low success rate with G9/100-400 before. Yes, I have tried a number of different settings and, yes, I have many shots that are razor sharp, but I think that too many shots where I have been able to follow the bird well, nothing obstructing, well lit etc, have been "almost sharp" but not crispy. In the testing I have done so far the success rate has been much imroved with animal detect AF. I am particularly pleased with the camera focusing on the eye, rather than on a wing tip or other part of flying birds, something that is almost impossible to acheive with a small focus area. I also noted that once the AF had locked on a flying bird it was very good at staying with it even when branches appeared in front, contrast rich background appeared (huge problem before), and when it grew gradually smaller in the distance. Game changer? I don't know, but clearly a major improvement for birds in the air. Also very happy with AF Near; quick push of the button and the AF is back to the front.

[@PaulBawby]

Hi Peter, Thank you very much for taking the time to share a detailed account of your tests. Your contribution give me hope that perhaps Animal Detect AF is even better than I could have hoped for. Because I was initially very skeptical I thought reasonable to start with fairly easy subjects and scenarios. Because of the good results I thought it would be interesting to share them on the channel and get the discussion going. My real day job and family obligations leave little time for testing and making videos but I'm passionate about nature and photography so eventually I should be posting a follow up. Also, I shoot in a variety of wildlife scenarios, other than sitting/standing birds. Warblers (very small birds that rarely stand still) are of a particular interest. Even when you do manage to get your single point AFC on them and acquire focus you never manage more than a few shots before they move on. Though they aren't necessarily "In flight" their continuous jumping from branch to branch makes them a hard subject to capture well and the scenario tested here was an attempt to replicate that (warblers won't be back where I live before early May). Contributions like yours are exactly what I would like this channel to be about, photographers helping photographers, so again thank you very much for your comment. Cheers

[@gsansoucie]

Wow. I completely get what you are showing here. The technical limitations aside, I thought you did a great job demonstrating the new capabilities. The shots you showed were very good. The video clip that was SOOC made me wonder if you had set the camera to manual focus so you had the correct DoF for the area where the seeds were located on the railing, if you you would get the same results.

[@PaulBawby]

Hi, You make a valid point, but I really wanted to show how the this new Animal Detect AF worked, so that we could have a discussion on it benefits and limitations. I almost never shoot wildlife subjects over "bate" (seeds or otherwise) so for me using manual focus is not really that appealing. I guess you could say that I've done that too often when I started photography as a young man back in the "good old days" of film photography ;-) Again thank you for taking the time to share you thoughts and comments, because this is what this channel tries to be, a forum for discussion and sharing ideas to collectively improve our photography skills. Cheers

[@ИльнурБеркутов]

You are like a sniper, it is very interesting to watch the shooting process, you can learn from your examples!)

[@JoeMaranophotography]

From my own tests it's a game changer but depending on how you use it. In video I find it the most reliable option for filming all sorts of animals. I have had good results with birds, dogs, cats, deer, and even seals! In photo it's a bit situation dependent. If the subject is fairly close and not hugely fast moving then I am happy to use it. If its stationary or very fast I would use another mode an example being a stationary rabbit for example. Nothing beats a single point placed on an animals eye in fact I usually use the AFS pinpoint focus for this.

[@PaulBawby]

Hi Joe, I'm ok with users feeling so strongly about this new unexpected feature that they would feel it's a game changer. Personally I hesitate to call this new feature a game changer, because at times it just can't find and focus on the bird (when it's in plain sight) and because I'm not sure that it knows to focus on the eye of the subject. But in my mind it's a very significant step forward and I really hope that Panasonic will continue to work on this feature and will find ways to make it even better. I agree with you, single point focusing is, so far, the best all around mode for me. For roosting birds and slow moving animals nothing, in my mind, beats single point AFC/AFS. When dealing with contrast based systems (like the G9) it's sometimes necessary to do manual focusing in poor lighting or low contrast situations. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the subject. If at one point down the road you have more suggestions or pointers don't hesitate to drop in and leave a comment. Cheers

[@JoeMaranophotography]

@@PaulBawby I don't tend to do a great deal of bird photography but have found that birds seem to be the hardest subject I guess because they are so small. Still it's fascinating to see a relatively old camera now have tech beyond the latest which is always welcome news! Will do!

[@borisbold3477]

Thanks, Paul, I,m thinking of getting this camera for film school.

[@PaulBawby]

Hi Boris, Choosing a camera for film school must be at the same time exciting (because of the learning and growing opportunities that come from going to film school) and challenging (because of all the options on the camera market). Are you already in film school or are you starting soon? What are you most interested in filming? Cheers,

[@unclejerry486]

cool review. and what stabiliser options do you use? there seems to be a lot of possible combinations (dual IS, frame lock, ex tele conv, electronic stabe assist)?

[@PaulBawby]

Hi Jerry, Good question. Stabilization wise I use Dual IS and E-Stabilization for wildlife subjects that move significantly with respect to the frame of the image. If the subject is not moving much and I'm not on a tripod then I use I.S. Lock feature. I use EX. Tele Conv when the subject is far away and I'm at my max focal length. I hope this information is useful. Cheers,

[@TheGregWallace]

I just bought the 9g, when I do the firmware updates, do i need I update the firmware updates from oldest to newest according to what is already on the camera or just update with the latest firmware and that one will have all the other update as well?

[@PaulBawby]

Hi Greg, Congratulations on your purchase, I hope you have lots of fun with your new camera. You ask a very good question and I must say I've not found any indications either way on the Panasonic's website. I would suggest you verify the firmware version in your camera. There have only been four upgrades that I remember 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 and now 2.0. I'm pretty sure mine came with version 1.1 and since then I've installed version1.2 an 2.0 If you do decide to install all the version sequentially, you must make sure to put only one firmware update file at a time on your memory card. I hope this is ueseful. Cheers

[@TheGregWallace]

@@PaulBawby Thank you!

[@Ferda1964]

excellent video , thanks

[@jettysplash]

Thank you for this video Paul. Occasionally I get very sharp pictures of birds with peaking and manual focus. It takes a lot of work and practice. I prefer single point focus to get the best focus. I'm not sure I want to abandon my efforts and let the camera take over. My biggest problem is missing the depth of field and getting branches or sand/dirt/stones in perfect focus immediately in front of a bird's feet and losing "perfect" focus on the bird itself. Have you found this feature reduces that problem (if you ever had that problem that is, like me, LOL)?

[@PaulBawby]

Hi, Like I said in the video I hesitate to call this new feature a game changer, because at times it just can't find and focus on the bird (when it's in plain sight) and because I'm not sure that it knows to focus on the eye of the subject. For roosting birds and slow moving animals nothing, in my mind, beats single point AFC with phase detect. When dealing with contrast based (like the G9) it's sometimes necessary to do manual focusing in poor lighting or low contrast situations. I think Animal Detect AF in it's present form will, for me, be more interesting for birds in flight and fast moving subjects that are far enough to have a decent depth of field... Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the subject. If you try it and have suggestions or pointers don't hesitate to drop in and leave a comment. Cheers

[@drillthrallable]

Nice and detailed video, much appreciated. I have the GH5 and shoot birds and insects exclusively. Sure wish they had Animal Detect for the GH5 as I'd like to compare it to what I usually use, which is either 1-Area or Pinpoint, though I should now, after watching your video, try that small 5-area method you showed, especially, for flittering and fluttering moths and butterflies. I only have the GH5, but might have to pick up a G9 just for macro insect work and keep the 100-400 on my GH5 for birds. Lots to think about. Thanks.

[@PaulBawby]

Hi, Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences, this what this channel is all about. There are so many combinations of cameras and lenses out there that it's hard for one person to know everything there is to know... but by sharing info we all can collectively benefit. The G9 has been on sale on and off at various price for some time now (a great deal) , which makes me wonder if there's something else in the works for Panasonic in the MFT format for 2020.... Also Olympus, it has been reported, should be announcing the new E-M1 mk IIl within a month or so and who knows what it will bring... Fascinating times to be into photography... Cheers

[@tim1398]

This feature came out the day after I got back from Costa Rica, of course. Could have tested it plenty there. But I did get some test shots in the last week or so. It's great at drawing an outline around the bird, less so at actually focusing *on* the bird. In on particular case I had a bald eagle large in frame, but every time I took a shot the focus grabbed a branch passing in front. Could not get the bird in focus until I switched to single spot AF. On BIF I though it would come in more useful, and it did a little, but still focused on the background frequently. Even when I had a distant BIF in focus and was following it with the shutter half-pressed, it would frequently hunt out into the clouds making it impossible to keep tracking the bird. As Paul said, it's a good first step but needs to do better to be truly useful.

[@PaulBawby]

Hi Tim, Costa Rica would have been a great place to test this out, but then again if you're like me you probably would have preferred to concentrate on getting the unique "Costa Rica shots" and leave the testing to later. I'm glad I put the video out, because I'm getting a wide variety of reactions, some love Animal Detect AF, some don't like it and others like you and I choose to see it as a good first step. Bottom line it's a great occasion to exchange wildlife photography techniques with others. On the topic of exchange tips, since putting this video out, when in Animal Detect AF or other modes, I've been experimenting with using AF Near and AF Far by assigning them to the two front function buttons (that I wasn't using that much) with some interesting results (more testing is needed). Give it a try and let me know if you think it helps. Cheers

[@ivortomana]

Great video with excellent shots ! Many thanks for your video. I'm just choosing between cameras Panasonic Lumix G9 and Fujifilm X-S10. Firmware 2.0 for G9 takes Lumix to the next level ... My question: You would still buy a G9 today ? ( 50% photo, 50% video )

[@PaulBawby]

Hi Ivor, Excellent question! I got the G9 months after it came out and paid the full price back then. Recently the G9 has been on sale at a steep discount making it an even more compelling camera. The main issue for me with the G9 is the contrast based Autofocus. It can really struggle at times and it has made me miss out on shots that a Phase Detect AF camera would most likely have gotten. Situations like trying to focus on a black bear in a dark forest, on a backlit subject,... which are not that rare in wildlife photography can prove to be a real challenge. As much as I like my G9 (and I think I've proven it can take great photos) if Panasonic were to come out with a Phase detect "G10" I would probably upgrade in a heart beat. Now this is not to say that all is bad with the current AF, it's just that it can be frustrating at times. I've heard great things about the Fujifilm X-S10 but I haven't had enough hands on time to be able to do an honest comparison. Cheers,

[@ivortomana]

@@PaulBawby Thank you very much for your response. So far I have had two devices, a camera and a camcorder. I'm not a professional, so it's hard to carry two devices. There are many moments when I would like to quickly change the video and photo when recording .... That's why I'm looking for a suitable hybrid. I am grateful for any opinion regarding AF and AFC. The owners of Fuji do not have a clear answer either: cca 12:00-14:00 kzbin.info/www/bejne/g4aqaatuqtmdfK8 , cca 14:00-15:00 kzbin.info/www/bejne/gJWwqGyihrmBpMU , cca 11:00-14:00 kzbin.info/www/bejne/p6HOn52CiMiVebc, etc. I think the most important part of the camera is the finger that presses the trigger of the device. And so I follow the final work, which many times says more than the technical parameters of the device.... Your photos and videos are excellent !

[@stumpfwinklig298]

I was very diaspponted of the animal af. I tried it for Cats and in most of cases it failed

[@PaulBawby]

Hi, It's far from perfect and the fact that the AF is contrast based can also have a significant impact on the results. Let's hope that Panasonic keeps improving on this technology. Cheers,

[@ИльнурБеркутов]

I bought a compact Lumix TZ 200 with 15x magnification and I liked photographing birds so much, it was delayed, now I want a more powerful tool) - G9

[@PaulBawby]

The G90 and G9 are good cameras but they use a contrast based auto focus that can struggle in low light situations (for example shooting a black bear in a dark forest) or in back-lit situations. Now there's been rumors that Panasonic is working on the successors to the GH5 and G9... this can mean either better newer cameras or lower prices on existing models. Cheers

[@hindesite]

Great video. My experience with this feature isn't great - sure, the camera will (mostly) detect animals and birds and put a box around them, but it doesn't seem to be particularly accurate about where it actually focuses inside the box, for example with birds the focus won't always be where it needs to be and the overall result isn't as good as normal custom area AF. Although images look OK when reviewing on the camera, once you look in detail there is a relatively low success rate. It might be more effective for video (where focus tolerance might be a bit more relaxed) but otherwise, I consider this is more of a marketing tick box than a really persuasive feature. If you are already competent at focusing using other methods, you won't see much benefit from this feature. However, I haven't tried this with focus bracketing, that might be interesting.

[@PaulBawby]

Hi RJ, Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts in such a detailed way, it's always appreciated. I never take anything for cash, I always want to test things out for myself and share the results with viewers, because together we have more combine experience and it reduces the chances for bias and methodological errors. Reading through the comments I notice some would call this a game changer whereas others see this as a marketing tactic. A viewer reported he was shooting egrets and the camera would only draw a box around the body of the bird completely ignoring the head. The lakes are frozen over here and the herons and egrets long gone so I won't be able to replicate his findings anytime soon unfortunately. But if what he said his true, which I have no reasons to doubt, it would indicate that Animal Detect AF doesn't know to focus on the eye of the animal or bird, which would make it way less interesting as far as I'm concerned. So at this point in time I would say that I generally agree with you. I'll be doing more testing in the near future with all modes, but one thing I'm happy with is that Panasonic took the time to bring this feature to the G9. It's a good first step and hopefully they keep improving the feature in the near future. Cheers

[@hindesite]

@@PaulBawby I've used this feature with shags (cormorants) and dotterels. I would consider shags to be somewhat similar to egrets in terms of size and shape. The camera would identify the entire bird on both cases but the smaller bird was more likely to produce an acceptable result. In many shag photos the head wasn't quite in focus. Maybe at distance the camera just isn't capable of identifying the eyes (or even the head) to focus on, or perhaps it was never intended to do so and I have unrealistic expectations. The other comment I'd make relates to the 100-400, it might be tempting to use the aperture to increase the DOF for better results, but I find the bokeh very harsh and striated when I do this, depending on the background of course. For example, on a shingle beach in bright sun, at f8 and on, the bokeh is just horrendous.

[@PaulBawby]

Hi RJ, The only difference I could see is that egrets and great blue heron have longer necks when fully extended... Would that be enough to make a difference with Animal Detect AF? Like I said, lakes are mostly frozen here and egrets long gone, so I won't be able to test it out for another 5 months or so. I'm with you, if it doesn't reliably find and focus on the eye, it's an interesting first step but maybe not so useful in the field. Cheers

[@w0lfyovi294]

I would love to see how well it works with animals when they are less than 70-50% of the frame, for example using lenses like Panasonic Leica 50-200mm (or the older 45-200mm) or the Panasonic 100-300mm. I am torn between getting the Panasonic G9 and the Olympus E-M1 Mark II because the Olympus has better AF for wildlife but the Panasonic has the better IQ (high ISO, shadow recovery and from my own experience Olympus has banding/grid-like issues in some images, I am working on confirming this problem as I suspect it might be from the Phase Detect sensor on the sensors). I was thinking maybe we could use the Back Button AF method as a one-button activation for Animal Detection AF so you could have the benefit of the small or group AFC in normal half shutter press and quick Animal Detect AF when you have the Back Button pressed.

[@PaulBawby]

Hi Wolfy Ovi, Those are excellent questions. I'm working on a follow up to my first video and I'll see if I have examples that could help out, (but it will come out in the new year as I have two other videos in the work and a project with a December 31 deadline). Generally speaking, the Animal Detect AF (ADAF) will find animals shapes even if they are small less then 50% (even 30%) of the frame (it will also find some false positive, branch, group of leaves, cattails,...). The ADAF can be assigned to the rear Back Button AF (BBAF) and it works. After discussing with a few viewers I decided to also try assigning Near AF and Far AF to the two front function buttons, that seems to help to guide the AF when it gets confused (mostly low contrast situations). The main issue, for me, remains that I'm not 100% convinced that the ADAF knows to focus on the eye of the bird or animal it's tracking. I understand about being on the fence between the Panny and the Oly, they're both two great cameras with somewhat different strengths. If you're not in a hurry perhaps consider waiting a little, because from what I hear the E-M1 MkII could be one of the next Olympus camera to get an upgrade (but when exactly I don't know). I hope this is useful. Cheers

[@w0lfyovi294]

@@PaulBawby Thank you for the information. I was thinking of holding up until summer to see if Olympus or Panasonic will come to up with a successor yet, especially if Olympus can manage to come out with their own AI Animal Detection and bring Hand-Held HRS from the E-M1X to something smaller in size but that leaves me stuck of not being able to commit to more Panasonic lenses (just the PL 50-200mm at the moment) because Olympus has some of the best features locked to Olympus lenses (Pro Capture L, Sync IS, Focus Stacking). I was looking to get the PL 12-60mm and its price is 680£ while the G9 with PL 12-60mm is 1100£ so I could get the G9 for basically 420£. If I am to commit to Olympus, which I wouldn't mind doing it, I will get the PRO versions of their zooms even if I prefer the smaller size of the Panasonic Leica lenses because of the feature-locks that the E-M1s have

[@PaulBawby]

@@w0lfyovi294 Given the current pricing of the G9 and of G9 kits it's very tempting. I would love to have a second camera and I find it very tempting, but on the other hand I wouldn't mind seriously trying out the Olympus ecosystem... especially if the new E-M1 gets most of the new features of the flagship E-M1X. We live in some very exciting times where technology is rapidly bringing new and useful features to cameras, but sadly I can't t have and test all the cameras and lenses out there... Cheers

[@markyg1964]

Just bought a G9 mainly as a wildlife camera but I must admit it's disappointing, I too have the 100-400 lens and I find it struggles in anything but the best lighting conditions, the camera feels good in the hand, a quality piece of kit if you must but for wildlife it's not a touch on my Nikon D500 for autofocus, I love the light weight of the G9 but I think I'll just be using it as a handy lightish Camera that I can carry on my motorcycle without too much hassle. I did look at an OLYMPUS but they seem to have issues too judging by what you can read between the lines on YT, I've come to the conclusion that if you want really pins sharp wildlife images straight out of the camera you really need a high end crop sensor or a Full frame DSLR, gutted really as I realy wanted the MFT combo to be the end of lugging around heavy DSLR gear.

[@jeffslade1892]

You are probably using the wrong focus mode for the extra-long lens. My down and dirty test of capability of camera/lens system is will it focus on a cloud quickly, and it will. As for low light AF, it will focus on a black cat in the coal hole at midnight, - the Nikon D600 takes lovely photos but it won't do that, when you cannot see anything but black through the Nikon OVF it won't AF. If you are used to Nikon the system may be challenging. The PL100-400 is effectively an 800mm to you and needs using as such. For wildlife 1/1000s or faster, sharpest around f/8 but you can let the G9 go up to ISO 6400. There are two animal detection systems and they are not quite the same, you can concentrate the AF by reducing the area it looks at (as has to be done with a Canon). For AFC/AFF there are four customisable follow focus modes, default is rather everyman, certainly not best for BIF. Best time to AF lock is 0.04s, as good as Sony can manage.

[@gerben4875]

@@jeffslade1892 so based on your post I might conclude that the g9 is certainly capable of wildlife photo en videography? Any experience with the panasonic 100-300? I am thinking of buying that one

[@jeffslade1892]

@@gerben4875 I only have the Mark 1 100-300, have for a long time and well used. Now I tend to swap between the lightweight 45-200ii and the PL100-400. The 100-300ii is probably far better. So far bird video limited to bird song with the Panasonic DMW-MS2 shotgun mic. I have no problem in lowish light with the PL100-400. It does want f/8 and I do let the ISO go up to keep a fast-ish shutter, slower than I might like and less keepers. Where I do have an issue is inevitably trying to use it with the subject too far away. It is very good at 10 metres and effective at 20-30 metres, 50 metres depends on the size of the subject. I have taken shots at half a mile but really not the best results. This is not the PL100-400, all extra-long lenses are like this, it is the distance.

[@paulmcwilliams8641]

I photograph small song birds near my home with an Oly EM1 and Pan G9X. Both fail to focus on subjects closer than 3 or 4 metres. There is quite a lot of foul language used when nobody else is about. I have to focus on something close to the required distance then try to catch the birds in frame. I have bought the G9 for myself for Xmas, have you tried the close/distant setting yet. I mainly bought the camera for this option, so I hope it is worth it.

[@PaulBawby]

Hi Paul, I have had generally a good success rate while using single point autofocus continuous with birds roosting and slower moving animals even at close distances (the AF sometimes does go astray, but not too often). For bird in flight my traditional approach has been smallest possible five square cross. I'm now experimenting with Animal Detect AF and generally liking it. The focus near/focus far is not super well documented in the firmware update section of the manual so I've had to do a fair amount of testing around the house. I'm at a point where I feel confident enough to take outside and test it with birds or animals. As suggested by one of my viewers I've assigned Focus Near and Focus Far to the two front function buttons, that should work better than assigning it to the AE back button. My pet peeve with the G9 is that it's contrast based and in low light and low contrast subjects it struggles more. I'm old enough to remember using film cameras that didn't have AF (completely manual focusing), so even though AF can get frustrating at time it's still way better than what I started with. I some of this is useful. Cheers

[@LetsGoOutdoors]

Do you set your ISO to auto?

[@PaulBawby]

Hi Micheal, That's an excellent question. I'm old school, I'd rather have a grainy photo than a blurry one, after all certain videographers even add grain to their videos because it gives a more "cinematic look". So for sport and wildlife photography, because of the often fast changing conditions, I rely mostly on manuel settings for aperture and speed and use Auto-ISO with an appropriate amount of exposure compensation (depending on the metering mode). Even though I use Auto-ISO, I'm continuously monitoring my ISO and I will adjust the speed if I feel I need to. For landscapes and portraits generally prefer full manual, but will sometimes use Auto-ISO as well. I hope you find this useful. Cheers

[@LetsGoOutdoors]

@@PaulBawby Thank you for your reply and comments I certainly use manual settings for all my video projects. However when it comes to wildlife photography I am really struggling with getting tack sharp photos I try and shoot auto focus as much as possible for the simple reason things happen quickly. Are there any other settings that I should be exploring on my G9 to help dial-in the focus issue thanks so much for any tips you may be able to provide

[@cal2ibsy]

Lumix !!! Animal Eye-AF like Sony Pls. TwT

[@PaulBawby]

That would be very nice!!

[@cristi-the-great]

Poor review I have to stop after the first minute. Yet more to learn about reviews