G9 Long Term Review

[@MrFirstdance2000]

I knew I had a jewel when I bought my G9. As I have improved and listened to pros like yourself, it has proven its worth over and over! Now, that said, I also purchased about a year later the EM1 mk ii because it does produce a great picture but, I use the combo of the IS for the 12-100 and 300mm and that makes the camera very valuable. I like the touch screen much better than the Olympus. In the end, Both are quality but the G9 is very much a rare jewel, still, in 2022~ Ps. Thank you for your hard work and consistency of production. It is greatly appreciated. Enjoy that cup of coffee, initials S.B. 🙂

[@GregBrammah]

The reason you might be disappointed with the clarity of the image when chimping is the embedded jpeg in the raw files is what gets shown unless you shoot raw+jpeg. Raw + jpeg fine shows pretty well up to about 8x magnification. It's a waste of space I know but at least it helps confidence levels when out and about.

[@mudgie069]

I currently have g9 with battery grip, Em1 mk II and GX9 and all three of these cameras are more than enough for my needs. I'm a strong believer that you only need to upgrade a camera or system when the current gear doesn't fulfil what you need it to do. As long as my current gear carries on working I have no intention on purchasing the latest and greatest gear. Very nice review Brian.

[@toke7560]

As well as the G9, i also have olympus m1 mkiii and m5mkiii. The G9 is far away the nicest camera i have handled.

[@RedFrameTech]

Great video! Great camera! As a G9 user that main shoots video, I think you missed one of the greatest additions through firmware: linear focus! This for me was a game changer when it comes to using MF in video

[@karlrichards]

It's a brilliant camera for its price, I don't think it can be beaten. Viewing your photos to see your focus, you need to shoot with RAW+Jpeg. If you shoot just raws the viewing you get is a low resolution photo preview.

[@Cubasenet33]

Good thing to know. Thanks!

[@keithnisbet]

I love my G9. So many times I’ve been tempted to replace it with a FF or APS-C. But nothing compares with the features or build quality for anywhere near the money. I recently got a beautiful Pana/Leica 15mm f1.7 used in pristine condition for less than 1/2 price. What a gem. It’s like not having any lens on the camera. So sharp too. Also got the battery grip after 3 years. It transforms the feel of the camera. I’m done worrying about smaller and ever more small bodies. I have human hands and enjoy actually having something to hold with comfortable control placement. G9 was way ahead of it’s time and it’s going to be some time before it’s irrelevant, if ever.

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

Absolutely! The grip does make a noticeable difference. I did a video a few months ago about the G9 grip.

[@MayhemJack]

Thanks for this review, uncle! I actually enjoyed listening to you talk about this camera until the end! And you have helped me decide to purchase this camera! I've been a filmmaker who has exclusively used a Blackmagic for the past 10 years, and it's been great...until it finally gave up last month. Of course, I didn't want my MFT lens collection to just sit on the shelf, so I had to go MFT. I don't really make films anymore, I work in multimedia now and based on all reviews I could find-this appears to be the best MFT camera for my needs. I can't wait for delivery day!

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

I really hope it is great for you. Best wishes

[@dunnymonster]

Whilst I'm primarily a Nikon FF shooter I can say without a doubt my G9 has the best user interface of any camera I've ever owned ( and I've owned many cameras from different brands over the years ). I truly believe if Panasonic had released a FF version with good phase detect they might be gunning for a high market share today. It's my go to camera when I don't want to lug my FF Nikon bodies and lenses.

[@dunnymonster]

@Shariq Ahmed🌎💙 This is a difficult question to answer for a number of reasons. First of all, FF doesn't gain you any stops, that is to say if you meter a scene at ISO 200, f1.7 at 1/60th sec that exposure setting will be the same for both my Nikon FF camera and my G9. The size of the sensor in and of itself has no bearing on this. My G9 has a base ISO of 200, my Nikon D750 is ISO 100 and my D850 is ISO 64. The FF Nikon's already have an advantage in terms of producing cleaner noise free images because they start from a better position. If all the sensors were equal in every way but size, the Nikon's would have a dynamic range advantage purely because they have a lower base ISO to work from. We can extraperlate from this that the D750 should have one stop better dynamic range than the G9 and the D850 should have a stop and a third improvement over the G9.....however that isn't the case. We also have to take into account the pixel density and how that affects " gain ". The G9 has 20MP, the G85 has 16MP I believe. The Nikon D750 has 24MP, the D850 has 45MP. Consider that the FF sensors are physically the equivalent of 4 micro four thirds sensors in size! Based on pixel density your G85 should have better dynamic range than my G9 and indeed that might be the case. The G9 whilst having more megapixels ( and so smaller pixel sites ) than the G85 likely outperforms it in terms of dynamic range despite this. This is because sensor tech keeps improving, signal to noise algorithms keep getting better too. So even comparing the G9 to the G85 isn't comparing apples to apples despite both being M43 sensors. Going back to your question regards comparing the G9 to either of my Nikon FF cameras I can in fact give not only a subjective opinion but also an objective one. I say this because I've created camera sensor profiles specifically for my Sekonic lightmeter for all three cameras so can produce a dynamic range graph in sekonics DTS software. Needless to say my Nikon D750 has the greatest dynamic range, slightly beating out my D850, only slightly though. The D750 has huge pixel sites, getting close to four times larger than those in my G9! The D850 being 45MP has smaller pixel sites than the D750 however it's a backside illuminated sensor in addition to having a third stop improvement in base ISO over the D750's ISO 100. These two aspects bring the D850's dynamic range impressively close to the D750 despite having pixel sites nearly half the size. Whilst the D750 and D850 are close in dynamic range the D750 really trump's it in terms of highlight recovery, it takes a lot to blow out the D750's highlights. The G9 whilst impressive by M43 standards isn't even close. My subjective opinion is that the D750 exceeds the dynamic range of the G9 by two stops, marginally less than that for the D850 but it's not far off. Given the age of the D750 that's some accomplishment. I think the only camera of recent times to beat the D750 in pure dynamic range is Sony's A73. It too sports a 24MP sensor but of a much more modern design. So you can see why it's so difficult to give specific answers when comparing any camera to another let alone ones with different sensor sizes and pixel densities across different generation's 😊 This is why people often say " FF sensors gather more light". They don't " gather " any light, the sensor size isn't what makes them better, well it sort of is because the bigger sensor can accommodate larger pixels and it's for that reason they give better performance. If you had an 80MP FF sensor fabricated in the same factory that produced the G9's M43 sensor then both would be very similar in terms of dynamic range ( all other things being equal ). If a FF sensor is the same physical size as 4 MFT sensors then do the maths, 4 x 20MP = 80MP. Just because the FF sensor is bigger it won't perform any better than the 20MP MFT sensor in this example because the pixel sites are the same size and this is what determines the " light gathering " capability ( correctly termed gain ). Hope that rather lengthy answer helps ☺️

[@hedydd2]

Bought my G9 used about a month ago. Still in the early stages of learning all its functionality as yet. Only two slight disappointments and those are 1. the lack of pop up flash. 2. The lack of in-camera Panoramic mode which earlier cameras has, including the G6 and which I used fairly regularly to get really wide or tall pictures. Luckily I still have my GX80 which has both.

[@jerzysilberring3220]

I own G9 for more than 3 years. It is, indeed, an excellent camera, predominantly for stills. I have great pictures and can easily print 30 x 40cm or even 50 x 70cm. Lenses are excellent and the entire MFT system is relatively cheap and light. Shooting in low light conditions is more difficult and trying various focus areas helps sometimes. The problem arises while shooting moving objects and wildlife. There are too many missed opportunities but if I am lucky, some 75% are of fine or excellent quality. Recently, I bought Sony a7 iv full frame, and I must say this is completely another level of photography, mostly because of an amazing AF. It behaves as it is glued to the object. It is really hard to miss a shot with this camera. Hope Lumix will find a remedy to the problem. I still keep it (e.g. for macro with better depth of field and for street shooting) and don't plan to sell it.

[@ekki782]

... I love your videos. And I love my G9 each day more! One year with it. Thank you!

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

Thank you and I’m really pleased you are enjoying your G9. I do too.

[@markanderson3376]

Good video. I've been thinking of buying a second G9 body at the current prices.

[@gordon3988]

Have the g9 and enjoyed, but find it too big (do long hikes) and have been tempted to replace with either a used Olympus Mk 11/111 or the Oly. OM 5 III. One of the smaller Sony 6000 series could work too (love the AF), but would miss the IBIS. Appreciate the long term review!

[@johnbradshaw5900]

Great review! I also think the real size benefit of MFT is the lenses, telephoto lenses are much more compact and lighter than FF especially. And if using something like a 100-400 I like a meaty body with a good grip to help get a good balance. The small bodies like the M5 are brilliant for more normal lenses but I find my M1X much more comfortable with big telephoto lenses. I also like a vertical grip and extra battery capacity. I have actually been thinking of buying a G9 as my second more compact body as there are some cracking offers now. Something I have noticed is that there are big discounts on the body, or body + Lumix lens, but the body + Leica lens is nothing like as discounted. I have been offered the body + Lumix kit with an official dealer stamped warranty card (much more important in Asia than in Britain) for S$1200 which is about £750-ish.

[@snugsonblitz]

I am thinking of picking up a used camera but am torn between the EM1 Mark II ($423), Lumix G9 ($469) or Em1x ($602)...do you find the X is worth the extra $200?

[@Miguel-nf1lf]

Thanks for sharing

[@rayjennings3637]

Quite agree with you about specs. Useful to compare between alternatives but that's all. The spec for a 1½lb ball-pein hammer is 13" Ash handle and a typical design and construction for a head. But the spec doesn't make it a good hammer by any means, nor does it mean that the user can employ it correctly!

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

Great point!

[@BenFeldmanBass]

The playback will be blurry if you shoot raw only - it generates a really small preview. If you shoot raw+jpeg it fixes the issue but not everyone will want to

[@ggwildlife]

I am actually thinking of buying this 2nd hand it's always appealed to me.

[@hedydd2]

I’ve recently done just that, but I sold a ten year old G6 and eight year old G7 to justify it [to she who must be obeyed]

[@AprilClayton]

I have my eye on the G9. After having very shaky footage on Sony ZVE10, and not wanting to use Catalyst Browse to fix it, I am craving IBIS.

[@timothe5198]

Hey i thought of a videos idea in which you compare and explain the differences to say of all the lumix g series (g, gx, gf..) and the same for some brand who make micro four third 😁

[@markschneider3915]

I find a big difference in AF performance with the 12-60 F2.8-4 as compared to slower zooms or even faster but cheaper primes, This is especially true with especially with Olympus lenses. Overall I enjoy my G9, I hope they update the G9 with phase detect AF and pass on some of the GH6 video capabilities.with a G9II or whatever they decide to call it. I'm pretty tempted by the GH6, as I'm doing way more video lately. And you can have AF and sound in many of the slow motion formats, I might just get it. I did notice the OM-1 is at the top of the list at DPReview on the readers poll, but the GH6 isn't evn on the top 10. I think it deserves better but, the market rules.

[@sdhute]

I no longer shoot Panasonic however the Panasonic menu system is the best I have ever used. Even today the g9 is the best camera for the price. Amazing camera. I do miss my g9 and g95. I wished the g95 would have received the same focus updates as the g9. I've had gx85, gx9, g95, g9

[@hedydd2]

Why did you stop using Panasonic?

[@sdhute]

@@hedydd2 I received your reply when I was just looking at another Panasonic. The grass is not greener on the other side. Debating on another g95/g9 I or going full frame with a S/SIi

[@sdhute]

@@hedydd2 if you were looking at the original g9 the prices are amazing right now. Almost worth buying two. I’ve seen new body only ones selling for 700’s

[@hedydd2]

@@sdhute Ha! Good timing to my question then. I have several brands of camera including full frame, just because its my delight, but my favourites are M4/3 and Panasonic.

[@leerothman7570]

Sure if one is not birding or dealing with fast moving subjects (pets, kids, sports) the G9 is indeed a brilliant camera. If Panasonic ever incorporates phase detection they will be dangerous. The current OM-1 spanks Panasonic in general.

[@swheeler6848]

Agree the OM-1 surpasses the g9. It had better at more than 2x the price if you buy new. For the $, the g9 can’t be beat.

[@YourOwnAdventure]

Have you, or anyone in the comments had issues with battery grips causing a battery error?

[@wojciechczupta]

have you tried out the trick to remove the recording time limit in G9? (permanent service mode or something) does it work in practice?

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

No, I know it’s possible as you can purchase an upgrade but I’m not aware of how to do it or how safe it is

[@wojciechczupta]

@@ThatMicro43Guy looks like 1 min button pressing sequence, reversible: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZqLdc4qalr5paZY ; I wonder how it works in practice, if this doesn't disturb in everyday use

[@gingergreen4647]

Hi. Do you think that G9 is Good for Wildlife? Im using it with 200mm 2.8 +tc2.0 and as a beginner I'm not sure if this was a smart move. Can you advise?

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

I think it’s “ok” but many of the wildlife photographers (which I’m not) criticise the effectiveness of the af

[@jackq1926]

I'm no professional but i shoot mostly wildlife and I recently switched from the g9 to em 1 mkii and i have already notice the different in focusing and i have less frustration with my pics. The G9 Still an lovely camera packed with many great features but a bit too bulky for what i want in a m43 camera. I'm still using my panny 100-300mk 2 with my olympus so you could always hold onto the lens and tc combination and just change bodies.

[@gingergreen4647]

@@ThatMicro43Guy thank you

[@gingergreen4647]

@@jackq1926 thank you

[@jeffslade1892]

The G9 will go Dual-IS on pretty much all the Mk.1 Lumix Power-OIS lenses. Dual-IS does not seem to like Mega-OIS much. For Dual2 that seems to need the newer or Mk.2 versions, My Mk1 12-35 and 35-1200 only go Dual-IS, but they don't really need Dual2. After all their Power-OIS worked fine with no body-stabilisation. Buffering - the GH4 seems to have an unlimited ability to buffer stills, I got bored waiting for it to slow down somewhere over 300. The G9 not so good. I've only ever managed to fill a 64Gb SD shooting movie all evening on the GH4 (and they're UHS-1, so slower). I somewhat fail to see the point of two slots. Top panel LCD, never look at it, a waste of power. Movie? I would still use the GH4 for that except for run and gun. I rarely shoot 4K, very pretty but takes up a lot of space and nearly all viewers have nothing to watch it properly on, most likely to be on a phone. FHD is quicker and easier to edit. Picking a movie mode can depend on the audio quality you want, I may well record live music. Compared to the GH4, the G9 eats the same batteries like they're going out of fashion. The G9 is not perfect but it's the best camera I have.

[@eb20675]

I bought this in 2009 1:16 😀 old camera bro!

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

Lol

[@ddsdss256]

Agreed on the battery grip--the lack of that (and other photo-centric features) is why I don't plan to buy a GH6. Specs aren't all that important, and MFT reigns supreme as the best alternative for stills photography for most photographers at any level (whether they realize it or not). The smaller, lighter lenses and other features enable you to carry a complete, full range of lenses to meet any photographic challenge. That's simply not practical with any larger sensor system and MFT has other advantages, such as greater DoF (a plus, not a minus as some "FF fanboys" seem to think, plus it's easy to get shallow DoF when you want it), superior IS, and faster performance. All of this without sacrificing IQ even for large prints. It simply makes no sense that MFT doesn't out-sell all other formats (it does in Japan, but much of the RotW is suckered in by effective marketing from the "big boys"). At this point, the serious photographer not buying into false narratives to the contrary, would do well to ignore the hype and buy into the system that will give them the best chance of getting he best images, and that's MFT. The OM-1 may have slightly greater capability, but I prefer Lumix ergo (and I have mostly Lumix/Leica glass) and the G9's more than good enough. The GH6 is also arguably a "better" body, but it's too video-centric. I'll wait until a true G9 successor emerges before buying a "next-gen" camera, but for now, the G9 rules! Other notes: The deeper EC-4 eyecup is a huge upgrade and highly recommended--it completely blocks out ambient light (at least in landscape mode). It should be standard. Also, I use the electronic shutter most of the time and I've had no problems with DfD focus. It works very well most of the time and any real photographer doesn't hesitate to use manual focus when the situation dictates. Also, I never charge in body, as I rotate multiple batteries.

[@T.M.G2014]

hi does the g9 have screen tap[ focus shooting like some of the olympus

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

It does, yes

[@T.M.G2014]

@@ThatMicro43Guy how do I activate it lol sorry I just got it and it’s charging up , didn’t expect a reply so fast

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

@@T.M.G2014 in the main menu select the C spanner option then monitor/display then touch settings and set the touch screen on, touch tab on touch AF to either AF or AF+AE. The touch AF will now work. To get it to activate the shutter release look on the right hand side of the screen and you will see a tab marked

[@T.M.G2014]

@@ThatMicro43Guy will that still allow back button focus to work also while handheld

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

@@T.M.G2014 it should do, yes

[@jeroenb100]

when will lumix come out with a successor to the g9. it takes too long. with the result that me and more and more people are switching to another brand. i have a feeling mft is dying. first the compact cameras now mft.

[@photomaker4502]

Worst camera I ever owned. I’m back with Olympus and haven’t been happier.

[@rymdskrotet]

Want to know more! Please explain... =)

[@hedydd2]

Most peculiar. I have two Olympus, a M10 MkII and M1 MkII plus two Panasonic, the GX80 and G9. They are all different but apart from the form factor differences they all. have different strengths and weaknesses. I love them all and must say that until recently my most intensively used camera has been the GX80. Now it tends to be the G9 and M1 in equal measure and both have battery grips for the most intensive or several days moderate use between charges. Not always used with battery grips though and both are superb cameras.

[@100cygnus]

Also I'd say in general that the sensor has a limited use range. Poor dynamic range, low tolerance for generating noise. A friend of mine has two - and shooting on a gloomy day revealed image quality issues even when used with fast lenses. Pulling back the shadows is a risky business indeed. But images look nice enough in good light - similar in quality to my camera phone

[@kingdom777866]

Phew.. I’m sorry Brian but I have just unsubscribed from you.. Why is it that you talk at 200mph ? I thought I’d got the video on fast speed by mistake, I don’t know why but it seems a “trend” these days to copy the Americans who talk like that, us British don’t ! When you go on stage to perform do you sing, or speak, at triple speed I think not, when you watch the news on TV is the newscaster talking at high speed.. of cause not or nobody would be bothered with it ! I have the G9 camera and just wanted to hear what your thoughts were about it, but about 15 seconds in I turned it off, your voice was like a drill in my ear, i can’t digest what your saying speaking that fast it’s ridiculous ! A lesson.. take a look at “T A Fishing show” on here, the guy has been making film & video for over 40yrs, listen to him talking, and operating cameras and microphone’s at the same time pulling in a huge shark, but he still speaks so natural and calm !

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

I’m not sure where you live but you may have noticed a Geordie edge to my accent, that’s because I was born and raised just outside of Newcastle upon Tyne. Last time I looked I was British for at least 10 generations (admittedly with a bit of Irish and Swedish 3 generations ago). Geordies do talk quickly, almost all of them, in fact I talk much more slowly than many of my peers. As an accent it’s grounding is considerably older than that considered as ‘King’s English’.. no, I am not following a ‘trend’ of copying the Americans (many in the Southern states in particular talk VERY slowly). However, I am happy for you to unsubscribe as I would hate to think I was ‘drilling’ your ears or cause you to be subjected to someone so ‘ridiculous’ who ‘nobody would be bothered with’. As for my stage act then you would have to ask my audiences, many of whom return many times to hear me. Best wishes

[@kingdom777866]

@@ThatMicro43Guy Brian thanks for your reply regarding “high speed talking “ Brian it has nothing to do with your accent, I’m not bothered about that, you may think I have a weird accent, I’m from the Northants.. No it’s about the constant fast gabble that’s going through KZbin like a plague, and I think you’ve been infected ! I’ve watched a lot of your videos for the last 2yrs, in fact it’s why I changed to m4t camera’s.. what I meant was about copying the Americans is the videos they upload on here.. this country tends to copy the Americans in most things they do, and this “fast speed gable “ I think is one of them ! One of your videos where your sitting in your caravan, talking about the Om1, your talking quite normal for 15min, every word could be absorbed and a few of your other videos two.. I’m not picking on you Brian, there’s many more with the disease including the guy on “The art of photography “ ? Good luck with your endeavors..

[@RobinCawser]

@@ThatMicro43Guy no issues for me, love the Geordie accent and not sure what this crazy fella is on about "disease" of talking fast. Love the video, trying to decide on a used g90 or g9 to upgrade from my gx9 mostly for weather sealing. Complete hobbyist, but leaning towards g9 atm

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

@@RobinCawser if you can stretch to a G9 it’s worth it. A brilliant bit of kit

[@gcprost]

I have two GH5s and one GH5 Mk2. I have been consider buying a G9. I shoot a lot of multicam video. A G9 would give me one more camera and something that I can use for travel. The my other cameras are equipped with cages, monitors and other gear which makes them a little awkward to get out to shoot some stills and if I'm travelling you want something stripped down. I must admit too the price of the G9 is very appealing.

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

Your only limitation may be record time limits. You can but the upgrade licence to overcome this (depending upon where you live) but then that makes the g9 a much more expensive proposition.