Lumix G9 vs S5 High Res Battle

[@DocBoA]

Just received my G9 yesterday. Great timing on this comparison

[@mattisulanto]

Enjoy your new camera!

[@lonnieharmond9400]

You are going to love it!

[@fosiko123]

expecting mine tomorrow lol, cant wait, got a $1000 US + $150 worth of accessories added , upgrading from G7, have pan 20mm, 14-140 , 100-300mm

[@bromptonspotter]

Another great video, Matti. I love my G9 and am keeping it, but I also have a shiny new S5 arriving tomorrow. Very excited!

[@mattisulanto]

Thanks! I'm sure you'll like the S5.

[@Rogerdouglasjames100]

Thanks!

[@mattisulanto]

Thank you!

[@michelvincent7620]

Thanks for this video. I love my G9.

[@mattisulanto]

Thanks for watching!

[@MrFirstdance2000]

Every time you share information , I am so glad I listened to you over a year ago and purchased my G9! Thank you for taking the time to help us in our own thoughts regarding comparisons for the potential of new purchases with videos like this. I'm now very interested in that 25 f 1.4 as a result....not to mention the Manfrotto Ball Head you're using! :)

[@mattisulanto]

Thanks! I have a review of the 25mm mark two. Have you seen that?

[@MrFirstdance2000]

@@mattisulanto I have now :) Thank you

[@alantuttphotography]

Thanks for doing this test and showing the results. The difference I see here is very similar to the difference I've seen between the hi-res mode and regular mode on a single camera/lens combo.

[@mattisulanto]

Thanks! The difference is there, but it's not a big difference.

[@veganpotterthevegan]

I'd love to see a speed booster for L-mount to m43s. It's totally possible to do. If they could keep all the AF metrics the same, I'd buy L-mount lenses before even getting an L-mount body. FF F1.8 primes on a G9 would be killer. As would FF f2.8s.

[@dalescher]

could you please explain the purpose of this? I'm curious. There are already fast lenses on MFT (1.2, 1.7 etc) and you gather as much light on MFT than FF for the same aperture. The only difference will be on the depth of field which is impacted by the crop factor. So why having FF lens on the G9 would make a difference for you?

[@MyNorthAmetican40]

I’d love to see this same comparison but not in high res mode.

[@EJGentleman]

Great Video and comparison. I have been learning to use my G9 more and more effectively, and have achieved some excellent results. This just confirms my direction of going with the G9 for my needs/wants.

[@mattisulanto]

Thank you!

[@JRFilmsAMStudio]

Best informations To Both cameras thanks big bro

[@Rogerdouglasjames100]

Having sold FF and APS-C in favour of the G9 for what seemed like very good reasons.... but been tempted by the S1, I think you just saved me from that misadventure!

[@rjjohnson292]

Sulanto, I feel you did this just for me! Now I think I want both cameras, but for now I have to stick with my GH5 which I really like as well..Hi res will have to be a future prospect for me for sure. It would be interesting to see a comparison with the G9 and your 45mm f2.8 Leica macro lens and a similar quality L mount lens like the sigma 70mm f2.8 macro lens. Both of these lenses are fairly sharp I hear. Your point of very little difference between the two cameras is well taken, thank you.

[@mattisulanto]

Of course I made this for you😀 If I can borrow the Sigma I might do the the comparison.

[@rjjohnson292]

@@mattisulanto I am looking forward to it, thanks.

[@yizhe7512]

Thanks for the video and comparison. Both pictures look good. Without any zooming-in, it's clear to me that s5 image looks better/cleaner. G9 is still great considering it's current price. Cheers!

[@mattisulanto]

Thanks!

[@3runjosh]

I remember seeing a sony a6000 vs a7(first gen) side by side of a waterfall both at base ISO, tripod with a sharp lens each. It was impossible to tell the difference between each photo. This was when I first got into photography and that is also when I realised that image quality is based on settings, MP count and a sharp lens rather than sensor size. Dynamic Range was good enough years ago and is good enough on all current gen sensors. Sometimes I wonder what people mean when they say image quality. Perhaps they think it's a super thin DOF? Because if that is true that is worse image quality for my taste haha

[@mattisulanto]

Thanks for your excellent thoughts. What is image quality really? That is an excellent question and maybe I'll make a video on that.

[@josephkukulka7736]

Anyone have their g9 freeze up if you pull the camera away from your face so the evf auto switch turns off the evf then press playback button to review pictures? With the screen closed. I have to remove the battery to reset the camera.

[@doctormock1]

Very good review as usual, but I have one request. When you show side by side comparisons of images from both cameras, please give us a bit more time to inspect them before moving on. In some cases I don't feel like I can check out all of the details. Thanks.

[@mattisulanto]

Thanks for your feedback. It's always a balance between video length and other things, but you can always pause the video. However, I'll see, if I can find another solution in my future videos.

[@djketzel]

Great comparison but I miss the low light battle or nightphotography battle. I know the G9 is good because I own one, but lacks a bit at night handheld.

[@mattisulanto]

That might be a topic for the future. Thanks.

[@ruuddirks5565]

Another indication that cameras have almost reached the limits where differences can be distinguished. What could future cameras have that makes them better than the ones we have now?

[@mattisulanto]

Considering where most of us share or publish our photos, there is not much to improve, really.

[@nazghul_6042]

Maybe it is there that most improvement is needed in the ease of sharing your pictures instead of the image Quality...

[@dwiawijanarko5300]

Computational, like in smartphone maybe?

[@ray32825]

Hi Matti, Could you confirm that the G9 and the S5 take 8 pictures and not four in the high res mode and is it a single pixel shift or half pixel shift, I keep getting conflicting information on the topic. Also, why did Panasonic restrict us to 1 second on the high res mode on the G9 and not give us the ability to go to 8 seconds like on the S5 after the firmware update?

[@mattisulanto]

Both cameras take eight pictures on the high res mode. I'm not sure about the shift, but for example, the normal file from the S5 is 4000x6000 and the hight res is 8000x12000. I have no idea why the longest exposure time is one second, but there has to be a reason for it.

[@ray32825]

@@mattisulanto Is it because of the processing power? The G9 has the Venus 10 engine, does the S5 have the same? It just says "beautiful Venus engine" on their website. LOL

[@mattisulanto]

@@ray32825 Like I said, I don't know. I suspect very few people know for sure.

[@stevep2111]

I would love to see a normal image from the S5 and a hires image from the S5 using the kit 20-60mm lens as I could afford a Panasonic G9 with Leica 12-60mm or stretch to an S5 with the kit 20-60mm?

[@mattisulanto]

DPR has an excellent comparison tool on their web site. The S5 has better image quality, but whether you can see that depends on where you plan to use or publish you photos.

[@Centauri27]

Maybe a bit off topic, but it'd be a dream if Panasonic could invent a "reverse SpeedBooster" and allow MFT lenses to work on their FF, with a two stop loss. I'd be perfectly happy using my 12-40 PRO as a "f/5.6" zoom in such a setup... (That would supercharge their FF sales I'm sure, but maybe kill off the m4/3 cameras...)

[@Biosynchro]

Not a bad idea. You could test this by putting a 2x TC on a Micro 4/3 lens and mounting it on an L mount camera. The flange focal distance isn't exactly the same but it's close enough for testing.

[@Centauri27]

@@Biosynchro Yes, but the only thing is: a m4/3 to L-mount adapter doesn't exist! (But you can probably mount L-mount lenses on a m4/3 camera).

[@Biosynchro]

@@Centauri27 For basic testing of the concept, you don't need an adaptor. But, if it works, maybe there is some inventive there to make a special TC for L mount. 👍

[@garybrown9719]

Just print one on a 3d printer

[@Centauri27]

@@garybrown9719 This would need more than a mechanical coupling-it’d need some fancy optics to magnify the m4/3 image circle to fill a FF sensor.

[@openeye126]

can't you do handheld ?!?

[@comptoirdugeek7213]

There are so many more choices in MFT lenses... but i love Lumix Series S

[@nappandocumentary.9926]

Спасибо! отличный обзор!

[@steveforde7475]

Interesting comparison. It would be nice to see the histograms, the G9 images appear to be slightly brighter, not over exposed but brighter and have probably lost some contrast as a result. I love my G9, I wish it had better low light performance but other than that image wise I'm very happy with it. I certainly won't be going full frame from Lumix. I moved to MFT from Canon APSC with FF lenses. I'm not going back to that weight of kit again. If Panasonic don't develop the photo side of MFT then it'll be Fuji for me when the G9 dies.

[@mattisulanto]

I think one of the problems is, or has been, that there are not many usable new sensors for MFT cameras, but I'm sure Panasonic will come up with something.

[@steveforde7475]

@@mattisulanto Yes I'm sure the lack of MFT sensor development is an issue. I think they should use an oversized sensor to allow multi aspect ratio shooting to minimise the loss of pixels when cropping. I think an APSC sensor would probably be big enough and there's more development in that area. Also I think using a dual gain architecture, with the current MFT chip would probably give the low light performance a sufficient boost to be really useful. An MFT sensor will always be weaker than a FF but, it's more a matter of how good is good enough. If MFT can match today's better performing APSC by using dual gain, for me that's good enough to be usable in all reasonable circumstances.

[@mattisulanto]

@@steveforde7475 Interesting points. Let's see what we get, when the next camera will appear.

[@rafa.p8384]

I think your test protcol is wrong : you should test with every lens at their sweet point (between f5.6 and f8) to avoid possible softness due to the lens. For instance the leica 25mm f1.4 is obviously softer @f2.8 than the Sigma 45mm @f5.6 so this could explain the slight difference. Probably the same thng happens with the zoom lenses. A comparison is only relevant if it's made "everything else equals".

[@mattisulanto]

There are so many ways to do things the wrong way, as many as there are commenters😀

[@rafa.p8384]

Just wandering : why not shooting with all lenses at the same aperture ?

[@mattisulanto]

@@rafa.p8384 Because MFT sweet spot is around F2.8-4 and FF around F5.6-8. The Leica 25mm is not as sharp as the Sigma 45mm.

[@tobiasdavid3096]

The Lumix S5 is really tempting. Especially since I considered the S5 + the Sigma 45mm to be a very nice combo and now they sell the S5 as preorder, with the Sigma for free! But I love my MFT stuff.

[@mattisulanto]

Indeed, especially, if you don't need many lenses or long lenses. Thanks for your comment.

[@Bakin]

Matti; this may seem like a strange question but is there an adapter that would allow a Panasonic micro 4/3 lens to be used on an S5 body? If this was available it might allow Micro 4/3 users to migrate more easily to the full frame body. It appears from other videos on Sony cameras that this is possible; you get a cropped picture and is reported to also work for videos.

[@mattisulanto]

The sensor to mount distance on MFT is shorter than on L mount, so it's not possible to make an adapter. I also think the 2x crop would be too much and it would not be popular to use MFT lenses on full frame.

[@Bakin]

Thanks; that makes the decision to upgrade to FF very expensive! Given the size differences I think the original decision to go with MFT is still valid for me.

[@mfreider]

One more reason to stick with G9 :) But S5 is tempting, really tempting. Frankly speaking Panasonic S series is only reason for me to look on FF. I just waiting for f/1.8 primes to arrive :) May be I am only one but I do see lots of sense of Panasonic sticking with they DFD autofocus and I think G9's object, face recognition is still ahead of many rivals.

[@mattisulanto]

Thanks! You are not alone. I'm also happy with the AF system, nothing to complain really, and I'm not saying this because I'm a Lumix ambassador😀

[@mfreider]

@@mattisulanto Ha! On other end - m43 is so good! I really do love excellent optics - Panasonic Leica, Olympus PRO Primes and everything in such compact package. Let's see how GH6 will look like :) No plans for switch but never say never again

[@hauke3644]

Well done, quite interesting! It's always nice when observation meets theory. Which highres mode did you use on the G9? I know that it has one mode where motion blur is removed. Obviously, that needs more computation and might introduce artifacts.

[@mattisulanto]

Thanks! I used the normal mode (Mode 1), because I was only interested in the resolution.

[@madswohlk1170]

Hi Sulanto I'm a faithful Viewer of your great KZbins, thank you very much indeed. I'm a happy owner of G80, it is so inspiring to use, its touchscreen itself is a joy, and it fits perfect in my hands. More wish for more though, and I have for a long time had my eyes om G9 mostly because og its big viewfinder untill today where I had the oppurtunity to hold it in my hands in a shop in Berlin where I'm om holliday: It's to big for my hands e.g. the joystick for setting the focuspoint will make my thomb stretch way to much, and in general it felt uncomfortable compared to my G80

[@mattisulanto]

Thanks! The G9 is not the smallest camera and if it feels uncomfortable, you have to find another model, if you want to upgrade from the G80.

[@ray32825]

I was a FZ user and had the 100, 200 and finally the 300. Then I got both the G85 and G9 within one week of each other about 3 months ago. I have large hands and even though I like the size and weight of the G85, I do not like the fact that my little finger is below the camera and I cant stand the buttons on the rear, specially the cursor. The grip of the FZ300 seems the best between all three and the buttons are much better than the G85 as well. The G9 does feel a bit large, heavy and not as ergonomic as the FZ300, but I have held a GH series camera in a store once and they feel much more comfortable to hold. Presently I am not using the G85 at all except as a backup camera for an important shot and I think I may have to buy the cheap battery grip by Neewer to force me to actually use the camera. LOL

[@p.io7]

No camera is perfect. Just master the photography with what you've got or afford or like using.

[@jeangoupil8129]

Thank you for the comparison, do you have a crack in your G9 screen ?

[@mattisulanto]

Thanks! It's not a crack, it's a reflection😀

[@yenaurapourtoulmonde]

Good video thanks. But the very little difference cannot justify the price and weight diffrence. All in all MFT wins!

[@mediamannaman]

You are paying about $400 more to jump to full frame from M43. Many would say that is a good deal. The S5 is probably the most cost effective full-frame mirrorless camera on the market. While the G9 can match its quality in daylight (in my opinion), the S5 is the better choice for low light. It also makes it easier to get shallow depth of field when you want it. I own the G9 and just bought the S5, mainly for the low light benefit.

[@JoeMaranophotography]

The G9 is such an amazing camera it could only be better if it was the same size and weight as my second camera the G80.

[@mattisulanto]

It is one of the best Panasonic has ever made, but I agree, it could be a tad smaller, even though I've said many times it's the right size😀

[@JoeMaranophotography]

@@mattisulanto Don't get me wrong it's great but whenever I pick up the G80 I just think it feels so right. The problem is I soon remember it doesn't have half the features I want 😁

[@pavelperina7629]

@@JoeMaranophotography I have G80 and G5 so I don't know what I'm missing not having G9 :-) And G5 to G80 seems as a huge step in weight. One feels like a plastic toy., but G80 is way better in invisible details (ibis, weather sealing, manfrotto tripod plate does not block battery or card door, way better touch screen, ability to use phone as remote controller, much more silent mechanical shutter with optional electronic shutter, large buffer ...)

[@ju2705s]

When you rename the EXIF Data from S5 to S1 you should be able to open it in LR 🤔

[@mattisulanto]

Yes, I have done that in the past, but now I'm too lazy and can wait😀 Especially in this case, when I know the IQ is 98% the same. Thanks for the tip anyway.

[@ju2705s]

@@mattisulanto you're welcome and it's correct... the IQ should be the same

[@juanv1400]

How do you rename the EXIF data?

[@mattisulanto]

@@juanv1400 You need an app, like Exif Editor.

[@seanbreslin5836]

I've traded in my GX8 and a few lenses for the S5 and kit lens which I'll pick up tomorrow. I'm keeping the G9 until it becomes clearer what Panasonic are planning regarding micro four thirds for photography (I'm less interested in video) but honestly, switching back to full frame for the way I shoot seems more appealing since the S5 was announced so I might sell my G9 and remaining lenses too. I'll mostly use a 35mm Zeiss lens for M-mount with an adapter and that way there'll be hardly any difference between the weight and sizes of the G9 and S5. Of course, if I were shooting wildlife or sports it would be a different story. I'm torn though. The G9 is still superb.

[@mattisulanto]

Thanks for sharing. Use the S5 for a while and then you can decide what to do.

[@ggdfggdfgdffgfddg34]

странно я думал что G9 будет лудше!

[@AnandaSim]

Matti, you have way too much gear on your table. I will help you clear your table if you send them to me.

[@mattisulanto]

Unfortunately not all that gear is mine and I can't send it to you. Besides, you'd have pay tax and duty, which might be too much😀

[@ruuddirks5565]

@@mattisulanto I don't have to pay tax. So if you have no use for the 15 mm or the 8-18mm call me ;)

[@mattisulanto]

@@ruuddirks5565 Well, I happen to use those lenses still😀