G9 still worth it in 2022?

Interceptor121 · Feb 12, 2022

unhappymeal said:
Interceptor121 said:

unhappymeal said:

It's an excellent and incredibly feature-rich camera. Just prepare to manual focus if you want to use it for video.

Click to expand...

Not true

Click to expand...

Maybe you've had better luck than the rest of the photographic community, but I found it hunted too much for my tastes in C-AF. It was pretty easy to rectify though with manual focus and sufficient depth of field.

I use the camera since a few years focus hunting is not an issue more than it is on any other camera

if you use a single area and place it on a white wall lr a black object every single camera on the market will hunt including sony olympus canon

Most people do not understand that there needs to be something on the focus points at all times or the camera will refocus

have a look at my youtube channel there are deer rutting shot in autofocus as well as pans in autofocus as well as with fixed focus because pointing the camera to the sky or an empty landscape will of course make it look for focus

this doesn’t mean you need to work in manual focus all the time as long as you understand what the camera does and this is not specific to panasonic

Interceptor121 · Feb 12, 2022

itsallBb2me said:
Interceptor121 said:

Tyrbiter said:

The firmware updates from 2.0 onwards have been very nice and improved the camera a great deal.

Click to expand...

But yet if you don’t get the camera almost in focus to start it is a problem on small birds

Click to expand...

Still true for most cameras, I think, recent AF advances notwithstanding. What kills me is when the camera nails AF on frame 1 but then loses it 3 frames later…and regains it on frame 7. I still think it’s the “Defocus Moment” in DFD.

Member said:

but then for me small birds are not exciting so I still have the camera and works well for most of my use cases while I sold the olympus

Click to expand...

ursamajorRO · Feb 12, 2022

Trevor Carpenter said:
Trevor Carpenter said:

I won't tell you that the G9 is better than the EM1-II for BIFS but I will tell you it's as good and I am happy to demonstrate and match anything you can show me. I will concede that the EM1-III with the 300mm has better IQ than my G9 & PL100-400 but I'm not prepared to sacrifice the zoom

Click to expand...

I will never understand the fan boys... what I tried it was to offer the (better) alternative to topic starter. And E-M1.2 it is.

I read a ton of reviews, saw tons of photo samples, read about performances of exactly G9 and E-M1.2. I chosen the EM1.2 because it is better regarding AF and it's smaller/portable (G9 it's also ugly, by my standards). Plus, some extra features. I admit that G9 has also some extra features (such as post focus or animal AF) completely inutile for me or having substitutes in M1.2.

PS: and regarding me, I'm not fan boy... for example, I chosen Panasonic 100-300II instead of Olympus 75-300II because I found it better.

I also own Panasonic 25mm f1.7 and I'm happy with it.

PPS: EM1.3 it's even better, but also more expensive.

Harold66 · Feb 13, 2022

ursamajorRO said:
Trevor Carpenter said:

ursamajorRO said:

I won't tell you that the G9 is better than the EM1-II for BIFS but I will tell you it's as good and I am happy to demonstrate and match anything you can show me. I will concede that the EM1-III with the 300mm has better IQ than my G9 & PL100-400 but I'm not prepared to sacrifice the zoom

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

I will never understand the fan boys...

Really ? I am surprised because parts of your post does not seem to be very objective

ursamajorRO said:
what I tried it was to offer the (better) alternative to topic starter. And E-M1.2 it is. I read a ton of reviews, saw tons of photo samples, read about performances of exactly G9 and E-M1.2. I chosen the EM1.2 because it is better regarding AF and it's smaller/portable (G9 it's also ugly, by my standards).

First of , anyone who chooses looks over ergonomics sounds more like a nerd than a photographer

If the Olympus em1.2 is the camera which works for you , great

. But

ursamajorRO said:
Plus, some extra features. I admit that G9 has also some extra features (such as post focus or animal AF)

so kind of you but you are , purposely or not , ignoring the bigger picture. The G9 ergonomics are vastly superior to the olympus’ and the camera is much easier to use
Not to mention better EVF and LCD, UHS-Ii compatibility..

and for this it is not a question of release date since the G9 on this score supersedes the EM1.3 model, despite the Olympus 3 model being both more recent and more expensive

ursamajorRO said:
PPS: EM1.3 it's even better, but also more expensive.

see my point above

There is no current MFt olympus model i would choose over the G9.... I have been using Olympus digital ILC for a decade before switching to the G9 so I have the experience to make a valid comparison

ursamajorRO · Feb 13, 2022

Harold66 said:
First of , anyone who chooses looks over ergonomics sounds more like a nerd than a photographer

Size is part of ergonomics. Ergonomics, grip are perfect at EM1.2. Then why to have a MFT if it's bigger than a dSLR? :-D

Harold66 said:
so kind of you but you are , purposely or not , ignoring the bigger picture. The G9 ergonomics are vastly superior to the olympus’ and the camera is much easier to use
Not to mention better EVF and LCD, UHS-Ii compatibility..

See above... Olympus cameras are deeply customizable (the dream of photographer?

), once made the customization you only have to press the shutter button.

Harold66 said:
see my point above

There is no current MFt olympus model i would choose over the G9.... I have been using Olympus digital ILC for a decade before switching to the G9 so I have the experience to make a valid comparison

Lol, speaking about objectivity... end of story.

And for the topic starter, yes, G9 still worth in'22, but the better choice is an EM1.2, at the ~same budget.

unhappymeal · Feb 13, 2022

Interceptor121 said:
unhappymeal said:

Interceptor121 said:

unhappymeal said:

It's an excellent and incredibly feature-rich camera. Just prepare to manual focus if you want to use it for video.

Click to expand...

Not true

Click to expand...

Maybe you've had better luck than the rest of the photographic community, but I found it hunted too much for my tastes in C-AF. It was pretty easy to rectify though with manual focus and sufficient depth of field.

Click to expand...

I use the camera since a few years focus hunting is not an issue more than it is on any other camera

if you use a single area and place it on a white wall lr a black object every single camera on the market will hunt including sony olympus canon

Most people do not understand that there needs to be something on the focus points at all times or the camera will refocus

Nah, I mean simple videos like when I was at an outdoor venue in Toronto (oh how I long for those days...) and the lens was steady on a singer. It would constantly go in and out-of-focus on a person who was not changing the depth she was at. You also see it too for stills photography using C-AF. Trying to track my dog and you'll see the focus in the viewfinder constantly pulse in and out. I have no such issues with the E-M1 III, Z7 or A7R III.

That doesn't mean the camera is unusable, but I found myself less willing to trust the C-AF of the G9's DFD.

Harold66 · Feb 13, 2022

ursamajorRO said:
Harold66 said:

First of , anyone who chooses looks over ergonomics sounds more like a nerd than a photographer

Click to expand...

Size is part of ergonomics. Ergonomics, grip are perfect at EM1.2. Then why to have a MFT if it's bigger than a dSLR? :-D

this is not serious . The biggest difference is the grip size. Depending on the photographer hands size and the lenses used , it is normal to prefer one over the other

by the way , looks like the grip on the coming Olympus model is going to be deeper than the current EM1 model ...

look at the other parts of the ergonomics and then it is a different story

ursamajorRO said:
ursamajorRO said:

so kind of you but you are , purposely or not , ignoring the bigger picture. The G9 ergonomics are vastly superior to the olympus’ and the camera is much easier to use
Not to mention better EVF and LCD, UHS-Ii compatibility..

Click to expand...

See above... Olympus cameras are deeply customizable (the dream of photographer? ), once made the customization you only have to press the shutter button.

BOTH cameras are very customizable. Please look at some reviews and see how many are saying the olympus menus are as clear as on the G9

Go ahead ... you might get some valid feedback

ursamajorRO said:
ursamajorRO said:

see my point above

There is no current MFt olympus model i would choose over the G9.... I have been using Olympus digital ILC for a decade before switching to the G9 so I have the experience to make a valid comparison

Click to expand...

Lol, speaking about objectivity... end of story.

And for the topic starter, yes, G9 still worth in'22, but the better choice is an EM1.2, at the ~same budget.

very funny. When comparing the G9 with the later em1.III model, dpreview were almost getting a draw so the majority is not on your side

Harold

Interceptor121 · Feb 13, 2022

ursamajorRO said:
Harold66 said:

First of , anyone who chooses looks over ergonomics sounds more like a nerd than a photographer

Click to expand...

Size is part of ergonomics. Ergonomics, grip are perfect at EM1.2. Then why to have a MFT if it's bigger than a dSLR? :-D

ursamajorRO said:

so kind of you but you are , purposely or not , ignoring the bigger picture. The G9 ergonomics are vastly superior to the olympus’ and the camera is much easier to use
Not to mention better EVF and LCD, UHS-Ii compatibility..

Click to expand...

See above... Olympus cameras are deeply customizable (the dream of photographer? ), once made the customization you only have to press the shutter button.

ursamajorRO said:

see my point above

There is no current MFt olympus model i would choose over the G9.... I have been using Olympus digital ILC for a decade before switching to the G9 so I have the experience to make a valid comparison

Click to expand...

Lol, speaking about objectivity... end of story.

And for the topic starter, yes, G9 still worth in'22, but the better choice is an EM1.2, at the ~same budget.

I don’t think the EM1MKII is a better choice it has only 3 things the G9 doesn’t have and only one doesn’t have a workaround

there are instead many things the G9 has that the EM1MKII doesn’t have. The EM1MKII is now really dated after the last g9 2.4 firmware and following

Trevor Carpenter · Feb 13, 2022

Interceptor121 said:
Trevor Carpenter said:

Interceptor121 said:

Tyrbiter said:

The firmware updates from 2.0 onwards have been very nice and improved the camera a great deal.

Click to expand...

But yet if you don’t get the camera almost in focus to start it is a problem on small birds

Click to expand...

I concede that pre focusing helps but I have always put that down to being a mirrorless camera issue rather than a Panasonic issue. If I point my G9 at a bird in the sky there is a good chance, that because it has an EVF, there is a good chance that I can't find the bird because the EVF is unfocused. I have often wished for an OVF at times like this. This is not a problem with auto focus it is a case of finding the bird. Now maybe wrongly I have assumed that all cameras with an EVF will have exactly the same problem. Are you saying that with an EM1 or another mirrorless camera this problem doesn't exist. I don't understand how this can be because there will be a difficulty in finding a bird with any unfocused EVF.

Click to expand...

You set a focus limiter range the camera does not go all the way zero to infinity so it finds it much faster and if it does not you know you were not interested in that shot

It works better despite the lack of detection as it finds it quicker

Interesting. I often wished for a focus limiter and this shows it could be beneficial. This is definitely a bigger problem for me than focusing.

Harold66 · Feb 13, 2022

Trevor Carpenter said:
Interceptor121 said:

You set a focus limiter range the camera does not go all the way zero to infinity so it finds it much faster and if it does not you know you were not interested in that shot

It works better despite the lack of detection as it finds it quicker

Click to expand...

Interesting. I often wished for a focus limiter and this shows it could be beneficial. This is definitely a bigger problem for me than focusing.

I agree .. this is super useful , especially for long tele lenses ..

Harold

Trevor Carpenter · Feb 13, 2022

itsallBb2me said:
Interceptor121 said:

Trevor Carpenter said:

Interceptor121 said:

Tyrbiter said:

The firmware updates from 2.0 onwards have been very nice and improved the camera a great deal.

Click to expand...

But yet if you don’t get the camera almost in focus to start it is a problem on small birds

Click to expand...

I concede that pre focusing helps but I have always put that down to being a mirrorless camera issue rather than a Panasonic issue. If I point my G9 at a bird in the sky there is a good chance, that because it has an EVF, there is a good chance that I can't find the bird because the EVF is unfocused.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

3 words: Red Dot Sight.

I have used red dot sights in the past but I found that the problem was my camera would tell me I'd focused but I'd find that I had focused but not on the bird. Using the EVF I can see that I have focused on the bird in addition to getting the confirmation beep.

olrett · Feb 13, 2022

olrett said:
ThePalindrome said:

For a planned trip to Africa I thought about getting the 100-300 Panasonic for wildlife photos.

Click to expand...

The 100-300 is not a bad lens at all, but if I were to buy a long lens now, I'd skip the 100-300 and go for the 100-400 directly. Especially with a trip to Africa planned.

olrett said:

My local shop offers a new body with the Leica kit zoom for 1500 or with the standard zoom for 1200 Euros.

Click to expand...

I would get a used body and a used PL100-400. Would cost you somewhere around 1500-1700 euros.

olrett said:

Would still consider this a worthwhile hardware even though the body is already 4 years old?

Click to expand...

Yes, without a doubt. Seven months ago I bought a second G9. A tremendously capable camera for comparatively small money.

PS: Also consider this: The G9 now is not the same as 4 years ago. The various FW updates have greatly improved its capabilities. The hardware (ergonomics) has always been fantastic.

If you can wait a bit until after the GH6 launches, second-hand prices may even drop a bit more.

unhappymeal · Feb 13, 2022

Interceptor121 said:
ursamajorRO said:

Harold66 said:

First of , anyone who chooses looks over ergonomics sounds more like a nerd than a photographer

Click to expand...

Size is part of ergonomics. Ergonomics, grip are perfect at EM1.2. Then why to have a MFT if it's bigger than a dSLR? :-D

Interceptor121 said:

so kind of you but you are , purposely or not , ignoring the bigger picture. The G9 ergonomics are vastly superior to the olympus’ and the camera is much easier to use
Not to mention better EVF and LCD, UHS-Ii compatibility..

Click to expand...

See above... Olympus cameras are deeply customizable (the dream of photographer? ), once made the customization you only have to press the shutter button.

Interceptor121 said:

see my point above

There is no current MFt olympus model i would choose over the G9.... I have been using Olympus digital ILC for a decade before switching to the G9 so I have the experience to make a valid comparison

Click to expand...

Lol, speaking about objectivity... end of story.

And for the topic starter, yes, G9 still worth in'22, but the better choice is an EM1.2, at the ~same budget.

Click to expand...

I don’t think the EM1MKII is a better choice it has only 3 things the G9 doesn’t have and only one doesn’t have a workaround

there are instead many things the G9 has that the EM1MKII doesn’t have. The EM1MKII is now really dated after the last g9 2.4 firmware and following

I think the G9 is objectively the better camera if you don't need PDAF or don't have a slew of Olympus lenses (in-camera focus stacking and ProCapture won't work with Panasonic lenses). I think the E-M1 III and E-M1X are better than both the G9 and E-M1 II, but that's a completely different price class and you're getting into diminishing returns at that point.

unhappymeal · Feb 13, 2022

olrett said:
olrett said:

ThePalindrome said:

For a planned trip to Africa I thought about getting the 100-300 Panasonic for wildlife photos.

Click to expand...

The 100-300 is not a bad lens at all, but if I were to buy a long lens now, I'd skip the 100-300 and go for the 100-400 directly. Especially with a trip to Africa planned.

olrett said:

My local shop offers a new body with the Leica kit zoom for 1500 or with the standard zoom for 1200 Euros.

Click to expand...

I would get a used body and a used PL100-400. Would cost you somewhere around 1500-1700 euros.

olrett said:

Would still consider this a worthwhile hardware even though the body is already 4 years old?

Click to expand...

Yes, without a doubt. Seven months ago I bought a second G9. A tremendously capable camera for comparatively small money.

Click to expand...

PS: Also consider this: The G9 now is not the same as 4 years ago. The various FW updates have greatly improved its capabilities. The hardware (ergonomics) has always been fantastic.

If you can wait a bit until after the GH6 launches, second-hand prices may even drop a bit more.

If Panasonic ever adapted PDAF or had more accurate subject detection I would never shop from another camera brand again. They nail everything else (ergonomics, features, UI, support, lens catalogue) so damn well.

Harold66 · Feb 13, 2022

unhappymeal said:
. I think the E-M1 III and E-M1X are better than both the G9 and E-M1 II, but that's a completely different price class and you're getting into diminishing returns at that point.

well each to his own . For my work , even if both those olympus cameras were the same price as the G9, I would still choose the G9 over the Olympus for many many reasons including of course the MUCH BETTER ergonomics ;-)

imho, in what matters the G9 is still the best cropped sensor ILC for stills :-D

Harold

rsmithgi · Feb 13, 2022

unhappymeal said:
Interceptor121 said:

ursamajorRO said:

Harold66 said:

First of , anyone who chooses looks over ergonomics sounds more like a nerd than a photographer

Click to expand...

Size is part of ergonomics. Ergonomics, grip are perfect at EM1.2. Then why to have a MFT if it's bigger than a dSLR? :-D

unhappymeal said:

so kind of you but you are , purposely or not , ignoring the bigger picture. The G9 ergonomics are vastly superior to the olympus’ and the camera is much easier to use
Not to mention better EVF and LCD, UHS-Ii compatibility..

Click to expand...

See above... Olympus cameras are deeply customizable (the dream of photographer? ), once made the customization you only have to press the shutter button.

unhappymeal said:

see my point above

There is no current MFt olympus model i would choose over the G9.... I have been using Olympus digital ILC for a decade before switching to the G9 so I have the experience to make a valid comparison

Click to expand...

Lol, speaking about objectivity... end of story.

And for the topic starter, yes, G9 still worth in'22, but the better choice is an EM1.2, at the ~same budget.

Click to expand...

I don’t think the EM1MKII is a better choice it has only 3 things the G9 doesn’t have and only one doesn’t have a workaround

there are instead many things the G9 has that the EM1MKII doesn’t have. The EM1MKII is now really dated after the last g9 2.4 firmware and following

Click to expand...

I think the G9 is objectively the better camera if you don't need PDAF or don't have a slew of Olympus lenses (in-camera focus stacking and ProCapture won't work with Panasonic lenses).

There is the issue for many. For years I needed PDAF for sports. In addition, I have the 12-40 Pro, 40-150 Pro, 60mm macro, 17mm, 25mm, 45mm, and 14-150mm.

I would need a guarantee that switching to a Panasonic isn't going to condemn me to sub-par performance and features because I don't plan on swapping all of my lenses. In other words the G9 would need to be better for MY uses. It is irrelevant to me if it is better in the abstract.

unhappymeal · Feb 13, 2022

rsmithgi said:
There is the issue for many. For years I needed PDAF for sports. In addition, I have the 12-40 Pro, 40-150 Pro, 60mm macro, 17mm, 25mm, 45mm, and 14-150mm.

I would need a guarantee that switching to a Panasonic isn't going to condemn me to sub-par performance and features because I don't plan on swapping all of my lenses. In other words the G9 would need to be better for MY uses. It is irrelevant to me if it is better in the abstract.

Yes, each person's use case is going to affect their decision making. I won't lie, as much as I love the PL 200mm f/2.8, it was really hard to lose ProCapture/PreCapture when I switched to the E-M1 III.

Interceptor121 · Feb 13, 2022

unhappymeal said:
Interceptor121 said:

unhappymeal said:

Interceptor121 said:

unhappymeal said:

It's an excellent and incredibly feature-rich camera. Just prepare to manual focus if you want to use it for video.

Click to expand...

Not true

Click to expand...

Maybe you've had better luck than the rest of the photographic community, but I found it hunted too much for my tastes in C-AF. It was pretty easy to rectify though with manual focus and sufficient depth of field.

Click to expand...

I use the camera since a few years focus hunting is not an issue more than it is on any other camera

if you use a single area and place it on a white wall lr a black object every single camera on the market will hunt including sony olympus canon

Most people do not understand that there needs to be something on the focus points at all times or the camera will refocus

Click to expand...

Nah, I mean simple videos like when I was at an outdoor venue in Toronto (oh how I long for those days...) and the lens was steady on a singer. It would constantly go in and out-of-focus on a person who was not changing the depth she was at. You also see it too for stills photography using C-AF. Trying to track my dog and you'll see the focus in the viewfinder constantly pulse in and out. I have no such issues with the E-M1 III, Z7 or A7R III.

That doesn't mean the camera is unusable, but I found myself less willing to trust the C-AF of the G9's DFD.

How long ago was that?

unhappymeal · Feb 13, 2022

Interceptor121 said:
unhappymeal said:

Interceptor121 said:

unhappymeal said:

Interceptor121 said:

unhappymeal said:

It's an excellent and incredibly feature-rich camera. Just prepare to manual focus if you want to use it for video.

Click to expand...

Not true

Click to expand...

Maybe you've had better luck than the rest of the photographic community, but I found it hunted too much for my tastes in C-AF. It was pretty easy to rectify though with manual focus and sufficient depth of field.

Click to expand...

I use the camera since a few years focus hunting is not an issue more than it is on any other camera

if you use a single area and place it on a white wall lr a black object every single camera on the market will hunt including sony olympus canon

Most people do not understand that there needs to be something on the focus points at all times or the camera will refocus

Click to expand...

Nah, I mean simple videos like when I was at an outdoor venue in Toronto (oh how I long for those days...) and the lens was steady on a singer. It would constantly go in and out-of-focus on a person who was not changing the depth she was at. You also see it too for stills photography using C-AF. Trying to track my dog and you'll see the focus in the viewfinder constantly pulse in and out. I have no such issues with the E-M1 III, Z7 or A7R III.

That doesn't mean the camera is unusable, but I found myself less willing to trust the C-AF of the G9's DFD.

Click to expand...

How long ago was that?

About two years ago and then I tried again with firmware 2.4. The pulsing, even with the PL 200 f/2.8, was just never confidence inspiring.

ursamajorRO · Feb 13, 2022

Interceptor121 said:
there are instead many things the G9 has that the EM1MKII doesn’t have. The EM1MKII is now really dated after the last g9 2.4 firmware and following

If EM1.2 is dated, G9 is outdated, but it's not the case for both cameras. I'm not a consumerism fan and I can see the reality.

When I decided to upgrade my EM10.2 I wanted to buy another MFT body and I had to choose between G9 and EM1.2, both in my budget. A photographer friend of mine, owner of a G9 (I tested it for a while) who adviced me to take EM1.2 instead of G9. And because I know his capabilities in the field of photography/cameras I believed him. Simultaneously, I informed myself and chosen EM1.2. I chosen it because I wanted better AF. For stills EM10.2 was/is enough for stills. Wasn't needed for me to spend a ton of money for G9 to have another still photo camera.

Just look where G9 is in this comparison. Lol, 9fps? 18 good frames in 4 seconds?

For conformity: https://mirrorlesscomparison.com/best/mirrorless-cameras-for-birds-in-flight/

G9 still worth it in 2022?

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