GX9 vs GX80 impressions

photofan1986 wrote:

- I don't like and won't use the exposure compensation dial, so that's just a waste and a nuisance in some way. I always found Fuji's top dials not practical in use, and they feel like a nostalgic relic to me. Panasonic could have found a better use for a dial. Oh well...

Likewise. They should've made it user-programmable. I would've preferred to use it as an ISO selector. I much prefer the standard front/rear command dials.

- when I first got my G9, i was very surprised and at the same time disappointed to notice that the touch screen was much less smooth and was laggy in operation compared to my G80. Well, the GX9 takes this to a whole new level: it's absolutely horrendous. I'm not saying it doesn't work, but trying to drag your focus point on the screen brings you back to 2008 era smartphones! It's even worse when using the Evf and the screen as a touch pad. It's so laggy it becomes practically unusable as it feels much less accurate than the good ol' GX80.

Yours is laggy when moving the AF point around with your finger? I don't have a GX80 but after reading what you wrote I compared my GX9's screen to my GX7's and G85's. My GX9's screen cursor is fractionally slower than the other two cameras. Had I not compared side-by-side I wouldn't have noticed. I also tried my GX9 using the EVF and touch/drag AF and it seems absolutely fine to me. I wonder if there's an issue with your particular camera?

- I use the electric shutter most of the time ( and it's 12 bits compared to the Gx80's 10 bits, YAY!). But when you power the camera on, it always displays a flashing red message "electronic shutter" with a crossed flash for a few seconds. WTH? I can't seem to find a way to disable it.

It's to remind you that the e-shutter is on because you won't be able to use the flash. I find it annoying and useful at the same time. OTOH its display is in the top-left so it doesn't obscure the finder and it displays for maybe 2-3 secs or, if you half-press the shutter release, it disappears instantly. In other words it doesn't impact the camera's start-up time at all. (I mention this for the benefit of people who don't have a GX9.)

- for whatever reason, Panasonic dropped the fourth contact pin on the hot shoe. This is a big deal for my use of the camera, as the GX80 is my go to indoors camera for family pictures with the P15 1.7 and the Olympus fl-lm3. And incredibly powerful tiny combo! I will not be able to use this on the Gx9. Bummer!

Yes, that really is too bad. I used the little FL-LM3 with my LX100 so it was handy to have that 4th pin.

- the battery door... The one on the Gx80 opened laterally, the on the Gx9 opens in the other direction, making it VERY difficult to remove the SD card without dropping it. Why in the world did they change this?

I agree that it's a less than ideal location/orientation of the card slot. But if you use the little lip at the edge of the SD card, or grab it by its corners, it isn't difficult to remove it (IMO). Personally, I've never dropped the card when removing it. OTOH I don't have large hands.

- all buttons are slightly larger and this actually makes the camera much nicer to use.

I hadn't noticed. Speaking of buttons, I'm not enjoying how Panasonic is moving the Playback and Display buttons around.

- last but not least, I remember reading a while back complaints regarding the GX9 IBIS. Well, I'm noticing the same thing unfortunately. Ibis seems much less effective in live view but it's also much less effective when taking pictures. But this doesn't seem consistent. Sometimes I get about 3 to 4 stops, sometimes I have a hard time getting just one ! My other Lumix' behave perfectly, even the older GX85 is perfectly consistent. Weird thing is that video stabilization seems very good. Are there other users who noticed the same?

I notice that my G85 seems to have better IBIS than the GX9 but looking at the specs/review I was expecting that. OTOH the GX9's IBIS is WAAAY better than the GX7 which I treat as having no IBIS at all.

-IQ? Not much to say here, really. I was surprised when I got the G9 and compared it to the G80, the difference was very small. Ever so slightly more detail, and slightly better dynamic range mostly in highlight (which is welcome). Noise is about the same. Really, I wouldn't advise anyone to upgrade for that reason alone, you would be disappointed.

I agree. The only benefit I expected from the 20mp sensor was a little bit more cropping room. I mainly wanted a GX7 which had good IBIS and that also played well with the OIS on my 35-100/2.8.

BTW I do like some of the small ergonomical improvements they made such as how pushing in the rear dial brings up a menu with direct access to exposure bracketing. And how the EVF is auto disabled if you fold out the rear screen; this is great for waist level shooting using the rear screen in a horizontal mode. With my GX7 used this way, the eye detect sensor next to the EVF would "see" my body and assume I have my eye up to the EVF and therefore disable the rear screen. So I had to either flip up the EVF or press the LVF/Fnd button. I use waist level shooting a lot when street shooting which is why I prefer the GX series as my street camera and this feature makes it even easier.

All in all, my feelings are mixed. On one hand, I really like how the camera feels and looks. The screen is gorgeous and it makes the camera look like a product in his time (like compared to a hq smartphone display). Also, I really like the image quality ( including noise reduction, which is not the case for the G9 for me). But on the other hand, Panasonic has made a few steps back in important areas. Touch screen had become desperately laggy, the new battery door is a pita and more importantly, IBIS is not on par with what it used to be ( well maybe on par with the gx8...). And for my use, dropping the fourth contact in the hotshoe Is a shame.

If I can't figure out the IBIS problem, I'm pretty sure the Gx80 will stay and the new kid on the block will have to find a new family.

If you're able to try a GX9 in a shop, I'd be curious to see if it acts the same way that your does. My experience with the touch screen is different from yours but whether that's due to an actual camera difference or expectation difference is hard to say. Same with IBIS. With my G85 and EM5.2, IBIS was never something I found to behave with 100% consistency. Whenever I shoot handheld with long exposure times I would shoot multiple frames because I know some willd be blurred. Either way, if you're not getting along with your camera, then there's no point in keeping it. BTW is your GX9 used or a refurb?