Bring the Bokeh on your Lumix G9II

What is the secret to getting maximum bokeh out of your Lumix G9 Mark II, or any other MFT camera? In this video we’ll talk about the beauty of bokeh and just how much of a full-frame look you can squeeze out of smaller sensors.
00:00 Intro
01:09 Why Bokeh
04:01 The Lens Does The Work
07:41 Fast vs Convenient
10:51 In Your Hands
12:58 Bonus Bokeh
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[@heymikeriley]

this is super helpful, glad you made it! I recently sold my canon system and had been shooting a 50 1.2 and 135 1.8. Admittedly I mostly shoot birds, but when I'm shooting family stuff, I've been struggling with some of the slower m43 lenses. I picked up the 10-25 1.7 and am loving it but have been really wondering if I should keep a FF setup for portraiture. I hate the idea of having two kits though and was really on the fence for the 25-50. I've got mobility issues and don't like tripping around with a prime. I prefer to plant my feet and be able to zoom a lens and I've wasted a lot of time agonizing over the 25-50 vs full frame or the 42.5 1.2. Looking at your images makes me feel silly. yes, the full frame lenses can work a bit harder for you. but you can still definitely get those results with some planning on m43. great video Ewen!

[@EwenBell]

Thankyou so much for this comment Mike, has made by day :)

[@pragmaticfilmmaking]

Get both! You can pick the 42.5 1.2 dirt cheap now, and it definitely has its place alongside the 25-50.

[@ianrolfesouthernlightscapes]

Loved this Ewen. Bokeh is something I don't incorporate into my photography all that often, and it's really great to watch a master of this genre, explaining how good it is to work with, especially in micro 4/3rds systems and lenses. Love your take on this subject, it's clear and very helpful, and your beautiful photographs that showcase this type of photography in your presentation as well. A great youtube presentation!

[@EwenBell]

Thanks so much Ian :) The MFT format is often overlooked but in fact delivers so much joy.

[@JoeMaranophotography]

Its pronounced "Toneh"

[@EwenBell]

:) One of the truly great internet references of our time!

[@Democratiser]

Too funny! Kasey might not have more subscribers than some other YTers but he is the most unique and influential in many ways. Who else can change photographic vocabulary?! PS - Love my Panny Boy G9! 🤣

[@SteveHolmlund]

If I recall correctly, Kasey really wanted to see the lake in the background...

[@ZakariKha]

Definitely a bokeh fan myself and some lovely images shared Ewen

[@EwenBell]

Thanks Zak :)

[@bingbong4848]

Good stuff. You have great presentation skill. I'm now subbed to 4 Aussies. Not sure how much more I can take :) 10-25 is the best lens I've used personally.

[@EwenBell]

I try to keep my accent dialled down to 1 for the sake of humanity :) That 10-25mm is just a unicorn. Nothing else like it anywhere.

[@mordenohare2550]

You have some really beautiful work. I have M43 (G9), FF (S1r) and MF (645Z) and use all three depending on how I feel or what I am doing. I really love M43 for its size especially when paired with small fast primes from Lumix and Laowa. I've used it for both street/travel photography and for landscape photography and the results are great albeit at a smaller resolution than my other cameras. Have subscribed, will watch. Thanks.

[@EwenBell]

Great to meet you Morden and lovely to see the 645Z get a mention. What a great camera. I got a chance to review that for a magazine and absolutely loved it. Really showed what quality pixels can do, it's not just "how many pixels".

[@katesavage2001]

I have the 25-50mm 1.7 and love it. One of my other favorite lenses is the 200mm 2.8. I tend to take the 100-400mm out more but everytime I take the 200mm out, I love it. In fact, I had originally rented the 200mm and couldn't bear sending it back so I purchased it.

[@EwenBell]

Oh yes that 200mm F2.8 is just lovely isn't it. I also tend to take the 100-400mm out more often. Probably because the birds I like are too small and I'm rarely brave enough to leave the longer lens behind :)

[@gordon3988]

I’m not that big of a bokeh fan in most cases. That said, these are absolutely wonderful photos and a well done video! And that 10-25mm is amazing.

[@EwenBell]

Thanks Gordon, glad I could nudge a little bokeh into your life today :) That lens is a cracker though.

[@zaddy6960]

Excellent video. terrific studio lighting, concise info, beautiful photos demonstrating your point. You deserve 100K subs by the end of the year.

[@EwenBell]

So far the algorithm is a little shy of my style so not sure I'll ever hit 100K but happy to have some nice people enjoy the videos and photography. Thanks for the kind words.

[@Democratiser]

I agree! 100,000+

[@Democratiser]

@@EwenBellThe other frustrating thing with YT is it is often only by chance that one finds a channel like this. Like I did.

[@AbdonPhirathon]

What an amazing body of work! Thank you for sharing your insights and experience. You have a new subscriber.

[@EwenBell]

Thankyou and I hope you'll enjoy future videos too:)

[@azjoe_6310]

You are so true--it is the lens and not the sensor. Too many people are doing unnecessary math ("Let's see...it's a 25mm lens, which is a 50mm on m43, f/1.8 times 2 is 3.6..."). For me, if I want the same effect as a 70mm 2.8--that's what I shoot in M43: 70mm 2.8. Of course I have to move back more but with one camera, that's all part of the game.

[@EwenBell]

Macro also is great for bokeh but so many people fight it and try to get everything sharp instead :)

[@MyLifeFrAiurGaming]

What

[@haploguy]

There's also zooming in for more bokeh or shooting the subject towards the front or the back of the DoF depending on scene: 1. branches in front, subject should be right at the front edge of the DoF 2. stuff in the back, subject should be right at the back of the DoF 3. in the middle, zoom in if possible or move closer

[@DangAlvinFilms]

Beautiful photos sir

[@EwenBell]

Thankyou!

[@108u9]

Hi Ewen, could you do a video overviewing your experience of the dual 1.7 zooms, especially with regards to working with them in field (about working with them in hand, any quirks you’ve discovered, packing them etc). Also would love to hear how you find them vs the slower zooms E.g. the 12-35, 12-60, and the overall package vs FF (noticed you did a video on the Sigma 50 f1.2) given a couple of the FF options are in and around the M4/3 price range. Thank you!

[@EwenBell]

Can't promise it'll happen any time soon, but thanks for the suggestion. It's good to get an idea of what information folks are looking for. Your suggestion is a good one too. In general, literally zero complaints about the 10-25mm F1.7 and the 25050mm F1.7. Both are equally solid, and equally chunky! Great pieces of kit if you don't mind the size and weight. I've used the 12-35 F2.8 a lot for helicopter shooting (the 24-70 equiv range is often ideal for heli shoots). The 12-60mm variants appear on my workshops very very often and are hard to beat. For folks who aren't looking for very fast glass, it's just a sweet lens and so modest in size. Makes it hard to justify the 12-35mm F2.8.

[@johnphillips519]

Yeah my 50mm f1.2 fixed is my favourite lens, As it gets my creativity going, My other lens get a little boring, Its not that i dont like them, Its just that i have much more fun doing bokeh, But thats just me i guess, Everyone has their own likes.

[@EwenBell]

Bokeh is a drug of addiction :)

[@pragmaticfilmmaking]

After extensive research, I opted for Voigtlander F0.95 lenses over speed boosting when I purchased the GH4. This choice is the primary reason why I'll likely stick with MFT. I then bought the Olympus 1.2 prime lenses for the autofocus, but after getting the 1.7 zoom lenses and the 42.5 f1.2, I sold the Olympus glass and now I'm satisfied.

[@EwenBell]

Do you think you'll be tempted by the new GH7 we're hearing rumors about?

[@pragmaticfilmmaking]

​@@EwenBell I'm thinking of holding off on this one. I already have 2 GH6s, and if PDAF was important to me, I would have gotten the G9ii. This new model just seems like a G9ii in a GH6 body. I have the budget for one, so you never know.

[@BrentODell]

I had the 10-25 for a while and sold it to lighten my kit, replacing it with the 9mm/1.7 and the 25mm/1.4. I regret selling it, and will probably pick up another one at some point. That said, maybe I'll pick up the 25-50, instead, since I don't shoot wide too often and I don't really have a 'portrait' length lens, which the 25-50 should cover nicely.

[@EwenBell]

Too many options! It's not easy to choose is it. You've also reminded me that I need to make a video about why portraits should avoid telephone lenses :)

[@BrentODell]

Yeah, I think the camera adding ten pounds and the love of 70-200 2.8 lenses just might be connected... lol I like 25(50) for portraits, sometimes a little wider

[@chrsjswg]

Hi, which settings did you use when taking these beautiful shots of the night sky in Australia? I have tried doing some of those shots myself (obviously the sky wasn't as clear as in the outback but still quite clear) but I am not really satisfied with my tries...

[@EwenBell]

I have a detailed blog on my website that explains my star trails technique, and the variation in settings... ewenbell.com/blog/Stars_Over_Uluru If you want the Milky Way you need to keep the shutter speed down to about 10sec, so a very fast wide lens is useful. The 10-25mm F1.7 for example, or Laowa have a great little 7.5mm F2 that I would recommend. MF lens that one too. Faster the lens the less you're pushing ISO. Number one cause of noise is when you underexpose at high ISO. Better to push to higher ISO and clean up nose in Capture One or Lightroom.

[@chrsjswg]

@@EwenBell thank you very much for the detailed answer

[@IronChefShellie]

looooove me some bokeh

[@EwenBell]

:)

[@MichaelGerrard]

You don't need to break the bank. Get the Oly 45mm f1.8 for example. If you are ok with manual focus, get a TTArtisan lens, there are many at f1.2 and f1.4. Even zoom lenses can give great results. I like my Lumix 35-100 f4-5.6 lens for bokeh. Yeah, it is f5.6 at 100mm, but that's a long focal length, get the positioning right and the bokeh is beautiful.