Where's the battery section?

I've owned an E-M1 mark II for nine months and love it... apart from one thing.

The camera randomly crashes and can only be revived by ejecting then replacing the battery.

The problem is, I mostly shoot without using either the viewfinder or the LCD screen and don't realize when the camera is dead and that I am wasting my time's trying to shoot with a brick.

On this basis I'd now choose the G9.

I'm surprised value for money wasn't a consideration here. One costing 18% more than the other would seem a salient consideration when otherwise differentiating between the two comes down to "splitting hairs".

Wow. Two great cameras.

Have owned the M1 II for six months and tested a G9 for a week. I am a bird shooter and my standard lens is the Oly 300mm f4.
I found the Oly AFC performed better than the G9 with the 300F4. And while the EVF on the G9 is a bit larger the Oly has better clarity and brightness at the standard brightness setting. I cranked the G9 EVF to the max and it was still dimmer than the Oly with less clarity. I am also pretty sure the Oly has better battery life than the G9 . The 300mm F4 is a power hog.
For BIF after some months of use my keeper rate has improved dramatically . I have found the 5 pt AF pattern works best in AF-C mode . I would say my keeper rate for BIF is equal to the 7DII w/100-400mm II but it took some practice and some slightly different settings to get to this point.

Allison-

You may want to check the buffer info. I believe the EM1ii's buffer is larger than the G9. Thank you for the article.

Oh dear, more DPR 'click-bait'. Ho-hum! Isn't the conclusion absolutely, blinding obvious? They're both wonderful, clever, machines with minor differences. Yada-yada-yada.

Want a more meaningful comparison? Take a look at the respective groups on e.g. Flickr and ask yourself whether and why the images (as a collection) differ. You'll need some actual insight into photography and photographers, not just cameras/lenses... DPR won't be any help. Spend some time on this and you may discover some things (maybe about yourself... ).

I'm not sure how they could only get to 1/5 second at 200mm when 2 seconds is possible at 300mm on the Oly and does the Pani shoot RAW at 60fps? I saw no testing of burst shooting above 18fps & 20fps??
Push them to the limits pleeeeease.

This comparison didn't mention that the Olympus EM1-II received a gold award rom DPR and the Panasonic G9 received a silver award. I think that should have been mentioned in the conclusion as it is a key difference in the detailed reviews.

I've had the Pen-F since it came out and last summer was shooting the Waterfront Blues Festival (for the festival organizers) and rented the M1ii. I loved the burst mode and many other features.

But at the end of the day, I simply love the way my Pen-F handles and I'm holding out for the Mk II version of that. It handles like a modern version of my old Leica M2R that I had for years in the 70's.

If I had an unlimited budget, I would get the M1ii, but I would rather spend the money on more lenses.

I was really pondering between these too, when I decided to upgrade my em5 a few weeks ago. Even the price was about the same, due to Olympus cahs back campaign. I chose G9 because, well I use Pana 100-400 a lot, and believed it would work better with the pana (dual IS etc). It did not work very well with EM5. I found the G9 a bit more interesting, with extra features, such as loading the battery through a Powerpack or in a car, 6K mode. But I have been extremely happy with all the _easy_ customizability it offers (on holiday, I set the front dial knob to shift between Raw/jpeg, for instance, and the zoom button for MF focusing on the other side etc.) It is surprisingly easy to use.

It does not have live composition, which EM1 does.

The difference between G9 and em5 is like moving from compact camera to DSLR. Really. So if anyone is wondering, upgrade. IQ does not increase much, but

I am very sorry to say that EM1.2 Single AF and indeed C-AF have tendency to focus at the back or front seemingly randomly. You, dpreview, have noted this in your own review. Now G9 I don't know but I do know my GH4 is much more reliable in S--AF and does not have this behaviiour at all. If G9 is the same, the G9 is the better focusser.
Why no words on the Em1.2 since there is no FW update for this cam (which I own). All is the same as when you reviewed it.
Also HiRes on the EM1.2 is really better implemented than the G9, which for landscapes etc and longer exposures can be a huge benefit. So may be quite niche in its use, but for someone like me a decider.

There are some minor differences which might be important when choosing one over the other
- HighRes: G9 uses the electronic shutter for this, so using strobes or flashes is not possible. Oly uses the mechanical shutter.
- ProCapture/PreBurst: G9 generates jpg's only
- Long exposures: No LiveComposite for G9
- I have read a lot of reviews where the reviewer states that the live feed during an AFC shooting is jiggly (due to the DFD technology). Although the results are formidable with usually 90% keepers, during shooting the user feels like nothing is in focus. You need to learn to trust the camera in this, instead of your own, real time, sight.

As I am not into video, the first three points push me towards the Oly, although I really like the button layout, the top LCD screen and the menu's on the G9.

Both camera's are still great, it depends on what niche option you need the most besides regular daily photography

Two peas in a pod really. I'll stick with Oly, not because I think it's better but because it's what I have.
It's a given that a smaller sensor is always at an IQ disadvantage to a larger one but putting that aside, I don't see why m4/3 cannot match industry best AF. m4/3 matches or exceeds best practice in other respects but always seems to lag in AF. Why?

Even if it were true that the G9 was only playing catch-up to the EM1 II (I don't believe this to be the case, by the way), the fact that it was announced at $1699 as opposed to $1999 should have alone warranted a gold award. Or is value no longer taken into consideration?

Thank you for posting this. As an owner of a copy of both camera bodies, this is a useful post. If one is better than the other in something, I am good to go. Now as to the third variable, the shooter, well not much can be done about that.

What I see in this article is to flame a small scale civil M43 war...

I shoot the larger SHG Olympus and Panasonic 4/3 lenses plus the larger m4/3 rd lenses always with the secondary battery grip on my EM1 MII. Why would I want to change to a heavier larger camera that cannot even shot half of my lenses properly?

This article seems to lack the intellectual rigor and level-headedness I associate with dpr staff articles. The attention to detail is off and the priority of subjectivity above objectivity is uncharacteristic. This article is what I would expect to find on an advertorial blog.

Another review. Another reason to buy the G9! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IuujU-LtyM

"both 60 fps and 120 fps refresh modes"

why wouldn't you want to use 120 fps always?

Quite a lot of errors in the initial review that were corrected by people who seem to have actually spent a decent amount of time with both to be able to form an opinion. Makes me wonder why I come here, surely not the comments :P

Without reading the review yet, my gut says for real world action like birding Olympus would do better.

Panasonic will eventually dump DFD or at least dump it as the only AF. Already patented new PDAF system.

The OLYMPUS OM-D E-M1 Mark II has Live Composite feature which the Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 does not.
The Live Composite is an awesome feature in my opinion, and enough to choose the olympus over the panasonic

Another two great cameras.

Oh...one other difference: DP Review thinks the Olympus EM1 Mark II is fantastic and well deserving of a Gold award. Whereas the Panasonic G9 is just mediocre and gets a Silver. Geesh.

Focus stacking -

On panasonic, you can use any AF lenses, even adapted Fourthird lenses

On olympus, only certain olympus Pro lenses

Am I wrong?

Tested both AF taking shoots in dark area with G9 and pana 35-100mm f2.8 vs the em1.2 with my 40-150mm f2.8 and the af speed and success rate is a lot better on the olympus. The difference is usable vs unusable when really dark.

When you put a olympus lens on the g9 the AF suffer in speed a lot but when you put a pana or panaleica lens on the em1.2 the AF doesn't suffer any lost. Since I prefer olympus zoom and pro lens but I like small pana primes, going with the em1.2 make more sense to me. The G9 win in menu system and use of the touchscreen no doubt. The em1.2 in hand feel is better no doubt.

I'm surprised with the IBIS comparison results, In hand 150mm seems a lot more reliable on the olympus than the panasonic at 100mm. I often use 1s exposition on medium telephoto with the em1.2 and couldn't get that on the G9. Maybe dual vs sync give different results but when using ibis alone in real life I'm really surprised the G9 gave you better results.

Good grief! Neither camera is significantly better. This is like kids arguing about whose dad is better! I'd be thrilled to own either of these.

Let me summarise this, after reading everything and taking into account what real users have said about the cameras and their corrections to the mistakes in the review:

The E-M1 II is better for those who own 43 lenses and those super expensive Olympus lenses.

There are considerations in some subjective things like colour rendering, looks, size and handling, and particular needs for some users like G9's OLED EVF and LCD, that can be significant in an evaluation.

In just about all other areas where there's a material difference, in terms of performance and features that are important to photography, stills or video, the G9 is the better camera.

(I used Olympus cameras for 50 years and never had a Panasonic camera.)

The G9 also has a 40K hi res option.
Gordon Laing has done some comparisons and found the 80K choice adds little.

The G9 has a couple of preburst options to compare with the Oly Pro Capture, one producing RAW files and the other using the 6K/4K photo modes producing 18/8 MP JPEG stills.

I have the GH5 and the OMD EM1ii.

The OMD EM1ii is a far better stills camera IMO. I’m guessing the G9 is pretty similar to the GH5 here.
Using the 12-60 & GH5 and the 12-100 & EM1ii (or swapping), the AF is simply much better on the EM1ii. The EM1ii’s IS is a lot better, too. GH5’s contrast detect AF is a bit ‘hunty’ in real life, if you ask me. There doesn’t seem to be any mention of the 60 fps RAW shooting on the EM1ii here, or other great features like Live Composite. However, a given shot using either camera using the same settings, lens, etc, there’s not much in it.

I’d much rather be in a storm with the EM1ii & the 12-100 than the GH5 & the 12-60. A single battery lasts much longer, on the EM1ii, too.

The GH5 is a fuller video camera, I like it. However, the EM1ii is a ‘tighter’ travel package, is a lot better for hand-held video, & can pan beautifully on a long lens without the ‘lumpy’ sensor movement look that plagues many IS systems.

Again, these are just my findings!!

"If you're very picky and base ISO JPEG rendering is a priority, we think the E-M1 II holds a slight advantage"

I totally disagree!

The G9 JPG rendering is much better compared to the EM1 mk2 IMO! The G9 has visibly much better detail and nicer colors too, even at base ISO settings.

If the touchscreen is not important or is not obsessed with chimping one can flip the g9's screen inside and use the top lcd for the settings. Nice :)

If you are into thunder-lightnings and fireworks you are in Olympus and live-composite mode ;)

Wait a second - 2 things.
Doesnt the G9 also have a procapture? Where it pre-buffers some frames.
Also, sure...the EM1 mark 2 COULD go up to 237mbps. But it's not a constant bit rate. Some Youtubers have reported bit rates of only 100mbps or even less.

Have you made a new AF test with E-M1 latest firmware, or you are just referring to a year old test? I guess Olympus could get better since that time.

excuse my Googe English
G9: the option to set my Q. Menu, the option to set 19 Fn + Fn lever, the option to have MY MENU (23 option), the option to save 5 settings to C1, C2, C3-1, C3-2, C3-3, the option to save 10 settings to a file on an SD card, the option to save 10 other settings to a file on smartphone
EM1-2: C1, C2, C3, Fn1, Fn2, Fn lever

Misses the two main reasons I picked the G9 over the E-M1 II:

1. The G9 has USB charging, so I can charge it from a multi-outlet charger alongside my other devices and top it up from a portable charger if needed.

2. The G9 maintains a Bluetooth low-energy connection to my iPhone for instant geotagging of images. No need to record a separate track log and merge later. The E-M1 II lacks Bluetooth entirely.