I just wanted to add, that the the G9 does allow for motion compensation in HiRes Mode. I think it was added through a Firmware update after the Release.
Nick
August 7, 2023 3:20 am
The G9 served me well for so long, and still does alongside my Z7ii. If you are comfortable with the sensor size it really is the complete package. Best ergonomics of any camera I’ve used and packed with features. I hope they make a successor but I don’t see how they can match the value this provides.
Excellent review, Nicholas!! I have been using the G9 for years now, and I enjoy it very much. Overall, I think $900 USD is still an awesome deal today even though it is now 6 years old in terms of camera technology. Below are my thoughts on the G9.
Size: it is quite large for a M43 camera, but the grip fits my large hand perfectly and comfortably. Before the G9, my main camera was the Olympus EM5ii. Yes, the EM5ii was very compact. However, I found it very difficult to hold, and ended up getting the vertical grip for it.
Build Quality: It is built like a tank, it survived downpours and snowstorms with me. Just make sure you attach a sealed lens to it. As a long time Nikon DSLR shooter, the top display panel is simply a nice touch. Like Nicholas had mentioned, the rubber skin is also falling off mine at times. I use crazy glue to re-attach the skin to the body whenever that happens, and keep on shooting.
Handling: it is one of the best cameras that I’ve had in the past 20+ years. It is extremely customisable, and has a good number of physical buttons, dials, and joystick. All of them are pretty much at the right locations too.
UI: The menu layout is very intuitive. The Q.Menu is also much more useful than I thought it would be. Touch screen control is surprisingly good too (The EM5ii’s touchscreen implementation was so bad that I simply had it disabled the whole time). With the G9, I mainly use the touchscreen to change the position of the AF point. Being able to quickly change the AF point’s position with the touchscreen even when my eye is on the EVF is just fantastic. The joystick can do this job too, but just not as fast as the touchscreen. I only use the joystick to move the AF point when I need precision. Otherwise, the touchscreen is brilliant in this regard.
Auto Focus: AF-S is lightning quick and accurate when there’s enough light. On the other hand, AF-C is definitely the Achilles heel of this camera. Without PDAF, it is just not good with fast and erratic moving subject(s). However, AF-C is not as bad as some users make it out to be as it is still usable in some scenarios. I mainly use Olympus/OM lenses with my G9 (DFD not available with Olympus/OM lenses). I still manage to use animal AF to shoot pictures of my dog at F1.8, as long as she is not doing zoomies. Most of the time the hit rates are excellent, if not perfect. My only complaint with the G9’s animal AF is that there’s no indication whether it is focusing on the animal’s eye. It only has a big yellow rectangle on the whole animal. However, when you open the files on a computer, you would notice the G9 had actually been focusing (or attempting to focus) on the animal’s eye the whole time. I heard the animal AF on the new Panasonic S5ii also has this issue of not showing a focus point on the animal’s eye. Panasonic should really address this with a firmware update.
Image quality: You can’t compare the high ISO noise level to those of full frame cameras. Otherwise, the image quality is great overall for a M43 camera. If the high ISO noise bothers you, just purchase a copy of Topaz Photo AI for $199 USD (often goes on sale for $159). I have a copy, and it does magic to the G9’s images!! I tend not to go above ISO 6400 even with Topaz, but YMMV.
Image Stabilisation: Excellent. Probably not as good as Olympus EM1x, and Olympus OM1. But still very capable and dependable when I’m without my tripod.
My Gripes with the G9: One gripe that I have with the G9, and Panasonic M43 cameras in general, is that it cannot do Sync IS with Olympus/OM lenses. Panasonic and OM ought to work together to make their lenses fully compatible with each other’s cameras. Another gripe that I have with the G9 is the image reviewing speed. I’m not sure if it is just my camera, or if it is happening to every G9. I did Google about this, and did come across some forums (or fora) with users mentioning about this issue too. When I press the review button, the camera takes a little while before the image would show up on the rear LCD. It is not a very long wait, but enough for me to state this here. I’ve tried faster SD cards, but the issue persists. It seems to be the camera, but not the cards. If anyone has any input on this, I would greatly appreciate it. I also have the latest firmware on my G9 too FYI.
My Verdict: As long as you don’t need AF-C to shoot moving subjects, it’s an excellent camera for $900 USD even in 2023. I would recommend purchasing a copy of Topaz Photo AI and an extra battery with it, and then go out to enjoy photography for years to come. It is one of those cameras that would let you focus on taking great shots, instead of being a hindrance.
Mark Laidlaw
July 20, 2023 12:17 am
Aside from price, I really don’t see the appeal of a G9 over an OM-1. It’s an inferior product in just about every way in 2023. When this camera came out (6 years ago!) in 2017, it was going up against the E-M1 and E-M1mk2…
The pincushion distortion of the viewfinder optics I find inexcusable. On top of an AF system that although works, doesn’t look it when shooting, I just find the whole experience of using the G9 pretty… terrible.
Panasonic knows their only reason of existence in Micro 4/3rds is for the GH-series. Otherwise they’d have released a G9II and III 4 and 2 years ago, respectively.
I do see where you are coming from, but “aside from price” is hard to dismiss. The OM-1 is a $2100 product versus the G9 at $900 dollars, so I think it’s expected that the OM-1 is superior. It’s more than twice as expensive!
Also, on another note, it’s hard to overemphasize just how nice the G9 is to use as a camera. For photography that doesn’t require a lot of fast AF, the G9 could be a perfect camera…and in such situations I’ve never felt the AF lacking.
Finally, I have heard of the pincushion distortion thing, and I’ve really tried to look for it even on my G9, and honestly I cannot see any distortion at all (maybe on the smaller setting it’s more apparent?). It seems perfectly straight to me and overall it’s a much better viewfinder than my Nikon Z6.
Jason, I agree with your impression of the viewfinder. I only see pin cushion on the smaller setting. The viewfinder is one of the best I have ever used.
I just wanted to add, that the the G9 does allow for motion compensation in HiRes Mode. I think it was added through a Firmware update after the Release.
The G9 served me well for so long, and still does alongside my Z7ii. If you are comfortable with the sensor size it really is the complete package. Best ergonomics of any camera I’ve used and packed with features. I hope they make a successor but I don’t see how they can match the value this provides.
I agree with that! The method to adjust exposure compensation and change ISO is much better than the way Nikon does it on my Z6!
Thanks for the detailed review. Are you familiar enough with the Olympus EM1mk3 to compare it to the G9?
This might be useful. Cheers :)
mirrorlesscomparison.com/previ…asonic-g9/
Excellent review, Nicholas!! I have been using the G9 for years now, and I enjoy it very much. Overall, I think $900 USD is still an awesome deal today even though it is now 6 years old in terms of camera technology. Below are my thoughts on the G9.
Size: it is quite large for a M43 camera, but the grip fits my large hand perfectly and comfortably. Before the G9, my main camera was the Olympus EM5ii. Yes, the EM5ii was very compact. However, I found it very difficult to hold, and ended up getting the vertical grip for it.
Build Quality: It is built like a tank, it survived downpours and snowstorms with me. Just make sure you attach a sealed lens to it. As a long time Nikon DSLR shooter, the top display panel is simply a nice touch. Like Nicholas had mentioned, the rubber skin is also falling off mine at times. I use crazy glue to re-attach the skin to the body whenever that happens, and keep on shooting.
Handling: it is one of the best cameras that I’ve had in the past 20+ years. It is extremely customisable, and has a good number of physical buttons, dials, and joystick. All of them are pretty much at the right locations too.
UI: The menu layout is very intuitive. The Q.Menu is also much more useful than I thought it would be. Touch screen control is surprisingly good too (The EM5ii’s touchscreen implementation was so bad that I simply had it disabled the whole time). With the G9, I mainly use the touchscreen to change the position of the AF point. Being able to quickly change the AF point’s position with the touchscreen even when my eye is on the EVF is just fantastic. The joystick can do this job too, but just not as fast as the touchscreen. I only use the joystick to move the AF point when I need precision. Otherwise, the touchscreen is brilliant in this regard.
Auto Focus: AF-S is lightning quick and accurate when there’s enough light. On the other hand, AF-C is definitely the Achilles heel of this camera. Without PDAF, it is just not good with fast and erratic moving subject(s). However, AF-C is not as bad as some users make it out to be as it is still usable in some scenarios. I mainly use Olympus/OM lenses with my G9 (DFD not available with Olympus/OM lenses). I still manage to use animal AF to shoot pictures of my dog at F1.8, as long as she is not doing zoomies. Most of the time the hit rates are excellent, if not perfect. My only complaint with the G9’s animal AF is that there’s no indication whether it is focusing on the animal’s eye. It only has a big yellow rectangle on the whole animal. However, when you open the files on a computer, you would notice the G9 had actually been focusing (or attempting to focus) on the animal’s eye the whole time. I heard the animal AF on the new Panasonic S5ii also has this issue of not showing a focus point on the animal’s eye. Panasonic should really address this with a firmware update.
Image quality: You can’t compare the high ISO noise level to those of full frame cameras. Otherwise, the image quality is great overall for a M43 camera. If the high ISO noise bothers you, just purchase a copy of Topaz Photo AI for $199 USD (often goes on sale for $159). I have a copy, and it does magic to the G9’s images!! I tend not to go above ISO 6400 even with Topaz, but YMMV.
Image Stabilisation: Excellent. Probably not as good as Olympus EM1x, and Olympus OM1. But still very capable and dependable when I’m without my tripod.
My Gripes with the G9: One gripe that I have with the G9, and Panasonic M43 cameras in general, is that it cannot do Sync IS with Olympus/OM lenses. Panasonic and OM ought to work together to make their lenses fully compatible with each other’s cameras. Another gripe that I have with the G9 is the image reviewing speed. I’m not sure if it is just my camera, or if it is happening to every G9. I did Google about this, and did come across some forums (or fora) with users mentioning about this issue too. When I press the review button, the camera takes a little while before the image would show up on the rear LCD. It is not a very long wait, but enough for me to state this here. I’ve tried faster SD cards, but the issue persists. It seems to be the camera, but not the cards. If anyone has any input on this, I would greatly appreciate it. I also have the latest firmware on my G9 too FYI.
My Verdict: As long as you don’t need AF-C to shoot moving subjects, it’s an excellent camera for $900 USD even in 2023. I would recommend purchasing a copy of Topaz Photo AI and an extra battery with it, and then go out to enjoy photography for years to come. It is one of those cameras that would let you focus on taking great shots, instead of being a hindrance.
Aside from price, I really don’t see the appeal of a G9 over an OM-1. It’s an inferior product in just about every way in 2023. When this camera came out (6 years ago!) in 2017, it was going up against the E-M1 and E-M1mk2…
The pincushion distortion of the viewfinder optics I find inexcusable. On top of an AF system that although works, doesn’t look it when shooting, I just find the whole experience of using the G9 pretty… terrible.
Panasonic knows their only reason of existence in Micro 4/3rds is for the GH-series. Otherwise they’d have released a G9II and III 4 and 2 years ago, respectively.
I do see where you are coming from, but “aside from price” is hard to dismiss. The OM-1 is a $2100 product versus the G9 at $900 dollars, so I think it’s expected that the OM-1 is superior. It’s more than twice as expensive!
Also, on another note, it’s hard to overemphasize just how nice the G9 is to use as a camera. For photography that doesn’t require a lot of fast AF, the G9 could be a perfect camera…and in such situations I’ve never felt the AF lacking.
Finally, I have heard of the pincushion distortion thing, and I’ve really tried to look for it even on my G9, and honestly I cannot see any distortion at all (maybe on the smaller setting it’s more apparent?). It seems perfectly straight to me and overall it’s a much better viewfinder than my Nikon Z6.
Jason, I agree with your impression of the viewfinder. I only see pin cushion on the smaller setting. The viewfinder is one of the best I have ever used.