Robin Wong G9 Review - Thoughts?

shinndigg wrote:

Holistic Photog wrote:

bluevellet wrote:

slartz wrote:

• "There is no easy way of saying this, but I dislike the color profile of the G9. The default JPEG color and the white balance engine don’t work for me. I find the reds unnatural with strong hints of magenta and the green channel is off as well. Skin tones don’t look close to real life and the overall balance is not pleasing. Perhaps the problem is not with the camera, but my own preference." - This is also very weird as ALL other reviews claims this camera has finally great JPGs. Any ideas?

Robin Wong is a long time Olympus user, he's used to those Olympus colors. I can relate. The WB and some of the colors on my GM1 drive me nuts. Raw processing can help, but not always.

With that said, the photos in the review look great, although a bit more unsaturated than usual for Robin Wong.

They actually look a lot better to me than anything he's ever done before. When I go back and look at the skin tones he's had previously and compare them to these skin tones, there's no comparison. I just don't like the skin tones he's gotten from processing in Olympus Viewer. They look artificial to me.

These are the most realistic and punchy shots he's done. Just IMO.

Maybe I'm in the minority, but I honestly don't get how people see it the other way around. What's very clear though is that it's pretty easy to tell what was done by Oly and what was done by Panny, especially when different RAW processors are use. The difference might disappear if the same RAW developer is use. Not sure though.

It's simply a matter of taste. I personally prefer the Olympus color tones. To say "I don't get how people see it the other way around" demonstrates clear bias on your part.'

It's the same viewpoint the Olympus guys spew forth ad libitum without anyone telling them it's a matter of bias. So, I don't really understand why someone gets criticized for not liking Olympus colors but not the other way around. Please explain. My point was I don't get why everyone is criticizing Panasonic colors, when they just clearly look better here.

I'm not sure I would categorize it as bias as much as just not liking the color schemes. They look garish to me. The Panasonic colors are more subdued, but, more importantly, more accurate and true to life.

IMO, it's perfectly fine to have a more saturated look for objects, landscapes, and other non-human subjects. But for people, accuracy and realism is important. You can make images more punchy with higher macro and micro contrast and higher levels of details, without overdoing the colors

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shinndigg
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