A quick user experience Panasonic G9 review

[eno2]

I just received the Panasonic G9 that I've preorderd some time ago.

It's hack of a camera!

The first impression was, WOW this stays so good in the hand that I don't what to let it go. Leaving th jokes aside, I think it has the best ergonomy I've ever laid my hand on, period!

Then I looked through the viewfinder: WOW again! This is huuuge (an cinema like experience). It's sharp from center to the corners, very bright, with very accurate colors and great resolution. I also couldn't spot the dots, so it's life like.

Then I tried to take the first image with my Leica Noctocron: WOW for the third time! It has a blazing fast AF. It's hard to tell how fast it is, course it's that fast.

Image quality it's like expected: to my taste up until ISO 3200 very god and ISO 6400 good. In utter emergency I'd maximum go until ISO 12800.The JPG quality is fantastic and I will definitely use this camera in RAW + JPG mode, for best quality and convenience.

Being able to test the camera myself I've found that Panasonic utilizes NR even in RAW files. Interestingly the best results I've got (in RAW) with -5 setting for NR (so minimum NR in the camera). At -5 NR, the noise structure is the most granular and by going up in the NR values I could spot small blotchiness of the pixels and a magenta cast in the deep shadows, which is not present at -5 NR setting.

My real life measurement found a maximum of 2 and 2/3 DR stops in the highlights and 5 DR stops in the shadows, besides the usual 8 DR stops in the corrected exposed image. Resulting in a 15,6 total DR stops. For my taste I would call a 4 stops of shadows DR very usable and above 2 DR stops in the highlights, a little bit over 14 very usable stops of DR. The measurements where done at ISO 100.

OBS: I did not measure the DR as DXO does. I simply underexposed one stop after another then recovered the shadows in post. The same in highlights but with more precision after 2 full stops of overexpose (in 1/3 to 1/3 increments) + the default 8 stops found in the correct exposed image.

The video quality is beyond expectations. The 4K is very detailed, with great colors and nice DR. Up until ISO 3200 It's hard to spot the noise and at ISO 6400 you see it but it's low. I can definitely use this camera up until ISO 6400 (included) without any worries in the noise department. The maximum ISO I would use is 10.000 cause at maximum 12800 value I see some color shifts which I tend to avoid.

Stabilization seams to work very well with the Leica Noctocron but I was not so interested in finding it's limits, yet.

In short, the Panasonic G9 is a great pleasure to use.

 

[Franz Weber]

Hey Eno, thank you for your review. May I ask you which camera you had before?

 

[Albert Valentino]

Sounds like it gets your personal Gold Award

 

[eno2]

Hi @Franz Weber

I'm glad you enjoined reading it.

I had a Panasonic GH4, Nikon D800 together with Panasonic and Nikon lenses.

Now I sold all my Nikon gear and went completely m4/3.

 

[eno2]

Like any camera, it still has some minor quirks (software related) but it's definitely a "Gold Award" for me.

 

[horsth]

"I've found that Panasonic utilizes NR even in RAW files"

What's your foundation for that statement? Can't see that in my G9 Raw files...

Horst

 

[eno2]

Look closer.

 

[jrsforums]

"I've found that Panasonic utilizes NR even in RAW files"

What's your foundation for that statement? Can't see that in my G9 Raw files...

Horst

It is my understanding that the -5 NR setting ‘eno2’ adjusted is for the jpeg processing, along with sharpening, etc.

usually if any noise reduction is done on RAW, it is done “under the covers”....and most people, such as myself, do not like it.

 

[horsth]

Look closer.

Where ??

 

[eno2]

I'll dig some more unto the subject and return with the findings.

 

[Pete Berry]

"I've found that Panasonic utilizes NR even in RAW files"

What's your foundation for that statement? Can't see that in my G9 Raw files...

Horst

It is my understanding that the -5 NR setting ‘eno2’ adjusted is for the jpeg processing, along with sharpening, etc.

usually if any noise reduction is done on RAW, it is done “under the covers”....and most people, such as myself, do not like it.

Check out this ISO 3200 RAW res. comparison I've up-sampled (bi-cubic, plain) to 200% in PS. The GH9 holds clear linear structure past 3400 L/PH where the E-M1 II breaks down by 3100; GH5 by 3300.

The contrast and clarity of the G9's seems to rule out any baked-in RAW NR, but this has been suspect at higher ISO's in Olys in the past,





Gold star to the G9 in this tough stress test!

Pete

 

[eno2]

Hi guys,

I did some comparison shots today. Unfortunately it's snowing (only for the test it's not so good, cause I'm very happy it does ).

The test was made at ISO 100, exposure, focus matched and WB matched. The files where underexposed 5 EV stops from what the camera stated it was the correct exposure (a little bit tot dark for my taste), so I dallied 6 EV stops of light in ACR. The images on the left are with -5 NR setting (the minimum possible in the camera) and the images on the right have the NR value at default 0.

I see some minor differences in the noise pattern, nothing severe but the biggest difference can be seen in the read noise: with NR at -5 there is a stronger magenta cast on the image in the deep shadows and on 0 NR it's greatly reduced and colors better preserved.

I also uploaded only the read channel for one of the images to batter evaluate the noise structure between the different NR values.

I don't know what Panasonic does or doesn't do to it's G9 RAW files but I like the results. :-D

 

[horsth]

Strange, that there is even a small change in the Raw-file because of NR. Normally the NR settings should only affect the jpg images and never the Raws.

 

[Chris Noble]

Being able to test the camera myself I've found that Panasonic utilizes NR even in RAW files. Interestingly the best results I've got (in RAW) with -5 setting for NR (so minimum NR in the camera). At -5 NR, the noise structure is the most granular and by going up in the NR values I could spot small blotchiness of the pixels and a magenta cast in the deep shadows, which is not present at -5 NR setting.

Really? Very surprised. Are you sure? That they apply NR in camera and that the user can control how much?

(PS after posting: Just saw the posts above mine. Still not clear).

 

[eno2]

Totally agree that it's strange!

I found this by chance only when I was testing the -5 NR in video mode and those settings also got ported in photo mode I was using later.

 

[eno2]

I tipple checked the settings used to take the last shots. Apparently there is something (very small) going on the RAW files as well, when moving the NR slider in the camera.

The first time I experimented with the G9, I got the best results with minimum NR dialed in camera for the RAW files. )

Other Panasonic G9 users can also try this and share their findings with us if they desire.

 

[Pete Berry]

So this in an equivalent of nomal exposure at 6400, it seems - ISO 100 pushed 6 stops. It sure seems mighty noisy for this, unless these were long exposures, sharpening &/or clarity pushed, or these are 200+% views.

Would be interesting to eliminate the chroma noise, which is generally non-destructive to detail, and see what's left in luminance noise and detail.

Pete

 

[Roger Engelken]

Thank you for sharing an early review of the camera. I have ordered a copy of the G9 and look forward to receiving it...whenever it comes.

 

[eno2]

Here are the same images with 25 color NR applied in ACR.





The 6 EV stops was a very high push in the shadows, made to illustrate the differences between -5 NR and 0 NR settings.

The G9 image looks very good at ISO 100 if pushed up to 4 stops in the shadows and 2 stops in the highlights.