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First reviews of the G9ii are already out

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rashid7 said:
Phantasm said:
Well, color me disappointed.

I love my G9 and had hoped any updates would have included fixes to the short comings of the original, not a completely different camera!

How is this a G9II? They should have just called it something else.

The only physical change I would have loved to seen of the G9 would have been a small pop-up flash for quick infills. The rest could have been internal, better sensor, AF, etc. which the G9II seems to have added. Why the major physical change?

I've had very good luck with the robustness/sealing of the G9 body, putting it through tough conditions canoeing/Mt biking/camping/etc. One of the main reasons I chose it in the first place.

I really don't need better video, I want better and faster AF and low light capacity, not a larger body with all new layout.

Time will tell if the complete change of the body is worth keeping the set of lenses I have, or time to consider dumping MFT all together for APS-C.
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HHHR is a nice feature i have on my Oly. Not much advantage for rez, but for low light work, stationary subject, it can really improve DR and reduce grain at hi ISO (kind of leaning against a wall while i stabilize the cam)
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and is mode 2 avail w/ HHHR? That should go a ways to fix moving elements, but not a perfect fix!
 
Keit ll said:
BackToNature1 said:
Messier Object said:
I don’t understand why the Northrups needed to do a comparison with the R7.

Anyway, for a much more informative review (just my opinion) switch to Gordon at Camera Labs


Peter
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The Northrups review of the G9ii was more of a Comedy Show as opposed to a actual Camera Review. Plus they aren't even good comedians.

Most:-) Reviews I have watched are saying this basically takes top Rank over the GH6. That the IBIS is beyond stellar.

I look forward to more reviews concerning the actual Photo quality since in the GH6, that was cause for concern. So how much did Pana overhaul the sensor for use in the G9ii. That's my focus. Gordon is one of my favorite reviewers.
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Gordon's review is very comprehensive I just wish that he would speak a little more slowly. :-)

Is it possible to subscribe to his output?
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I was disappointed in his lack of a beanie in this review.

his reviews are great. His web reviews are good too.
 
nunyab said:
Keit ll said:
BackToNature1 said:
Messier Object said:
I don’t understand why the Northrups needed to do a comparison with the R7.

Anyway, for a much more informative review (just my opinion) switch to Gordon at Camera Labs


Peter
Click to expand...
The Northrups review of the G9ii was more of a Comedy Show as opposed to a actual Camera Review. Plus they aren't even good comedians.

Most:-) Reviews I have watched are saying this basically takes top Rank over the GH6. That the IBIS is beyond stellar.

I look forward to more reviews concerning the actual Photo quality since in the GH6, that was cause for concern. So how much did Pana overhaul the sensor for use in the G9ii. That's my focus. Gordon is one of my favorite reviewers.
Click to expand...
Gordon's review is very comprehensive I just wish that he would speak a little more slowly. :-)

Is it possible to subscribe to his output?
Click to expand...
I was disappointed in his lack of a beanie in this review.

his reviews are great. His web reviews are good too.
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I was going to watch it until you said no beanie
 
phenix jc said:
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I watched this yesterday and I doubt most of his results are camera issues. Also they seem too concerned with *est all the time and less about just showing how to make great photos/videos.
phenix jc said:
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I simply cannot watch this annoying fool.
phenix jc said:
Unfortunately, still not the best AF for wildlife... An improvement, but that was "easy".
The Olympus OM-1 rules, but I don't see any bright future with OM.
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NowHearThis said:
phenix jc said:
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I watched this yesterday and I doubt most of his results are camera issues. Also they seem too concerned with *est all the time and less about just showing how to make great photos/videos.
NowHearThis said:
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I simply cannot watch this annoying fool.
NowHearThis said:
Unfortunately, still not the best AF for wildlife... An improvement, but that was "easy".
The Olympus OM-1 rules, but I don't see any bright future with OM.
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Well, the annoying fool was definitely positive about the G9II. And he did a great demonstrative comparison.

That's Camera Conspiracies. I found it very entertaining. And informative.

 
James Stirling said:
phenix jc said:


Unfortunately, still not the best AF for wildlife... An improvement, but that was "easy".
The Olympus OM-1 rules, but I don't see any bright future with OM.
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A clickbait channel based on drama and a freely admitted comedy channel are not necessarily the most reliable of sources :-)
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Actually I have found that the comedy channel has more real world useful analyses than other purportedly serious channels. Camera Conspiracies is one of the first places I go to for well thought out critiques when a new product is released.

I wish someone like Rob Trek could also get his hands on new equipment as his assessments are really useful.
 
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NowHearThis said:
phenix jc said:
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I watched this yesterday and I doubt most of his results are camera issues. Also they seem too concerned with *est all the time and less about just showing how to make great photos/videos.
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He was using body focus, and then commented about eye focus. It's a complete user error.



e0b00ced4d2847988e7cd72670a268bf.jpg.png
 
john isaacs said:
NowHearThis said:
phenix jc said:
Click to expand...
I watched this yesterday and I doubt most of his results are camera issues. Also they seem too concerned with *est all the time and less about just showing how to make great photos/videos.
john isaacs said:
Click to expand...
I simply cannot watch this annoying fool.
john isaacs said:
Unfortunately, still not the best AF for wildlife... An improvement, but that was "easy".
The Olympus OM-1 rules, but I don't see any bright future with OM.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Well, the annoying fool was definitely positive about the G9II. And he did a great demonstrative comparison.

That's Camera Conspiracies. I found it very entertaining. And informative.

Click to expand...
I like his stuff too, he does reviews focusing on his areas of interest, and layered with his comedy. It's hard to watch if you want cold facts as fast as possible, but for entertainment while picking up the things he has to say, it's a good watch.
 
nunyab said:
john isaacs said:
NowHearThis said:
phenix jc said:
Click to expand...
I watched this yesterday and I doubt most of his results are camera issues. Also they seem too concerned with *est all the time and less about just showing how to make great photos/videos.
nunyab said:
Click to expand...
I simply cannot watch this annoying fool.
nunyab said:
Unfortunately, still not the best AF for wildlife... An improvement, but that was "easy".
The Olympus OM-1 rules, but I don't see any bright future with OM.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Well, the annoying fool was definitely positive about the G9II. And he did a great demonstrative comparison.

That's Camera Conspiracies. I found it very entertaining. And informative.

Click to expand...
I like his stuff too, he does reviews focusing on his areas of interest, and layered with his comedy. It's hard to watch if you want cold facts as fast as possible, but for entertainment while picking up the things he has to say, it's a good watch.
Click to expand...
I'm regularly disappointed his name is normal and not something like...Ichabod
 
Sam Bennett said:
xaviergut said:
Sam Bennett said:
S5II and the G9II they're nearly identical (including using the same battery).
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same battery, extra-grip, cage and gymbal...
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Wasn't sure about the grip, but if so that's fantastic and really smart of Panasonic's behalf.
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During the launch event Panasonic USA marketing and business relations reps said that the S5II and the G9II teams colluded on the body design. So, this was intentionally done at the very start of the projects, I would guess maybe 2-3 years ago.

They made a very big point of declaring all the cross-compatibilities.

I wonder if this is to try and approach the lack of a common mount, like RF, Z, E, mounts have with APS-C by giving similar bodies across lines.
 
nunyab said:
Sam Bennett said:
xaviergut said:
nunyab said:
S5II and the G9II they're nearly identical (including using the same battery).
Click to expand...
same battery, extra-grip, cage and gymbal...
Click to expand...
Wasn't sure about the grip, but if so that's fantastic and really smart of Panasonic's behalf.
Click to expand...
During the launch event Panasonic USA marketing and business relations reps said that the S5II and the G9II teams colluded on the body design. So, this was intentionally done at the very start of the projects, I would guess maybe 2-3 years ago.

They made a very big point of declaring all the cross-compatibilities.
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That was my assumption, so great to hear that validated! Really smart move.
nunyab said:
I wonder if this is to try and approach the lack of a common mount, like RF, Z, E, mounts have with APS-C by giving similar bodies across lines.
Click to expand...
Sure sounds like it. Unfortunately the L Mount alliance shot themselves in the foot by having it share the same 20mm flange back distance as MFT, since it makes it nearly impossible to adapt the lenses to one or the other.
 
phenix jc said:


Unfortunately, still not the best AF for wildlife... An improvement, but that was "easy".
The Olympus OM-1 rules, but I don't see any bright future with OM.
Click to expand...
Tony didn’t even look at the af modes and the new af subject detection modes. I wonder if he did shoot in afc for phase detection also. There are better reviewers for af tests on YouTube.
 
ttbirds said:
Camera Conspiracies is one of the first places I go to for well thought out critiques when a new product is released.
Click to expand...
I second that. And I hardly do any filming. But Emily from Micro Four Nerds is also great.
 
john isaacs said:
Top issues with Nikon UI:

1. Bracketing. No one button bracketing. The number of control steps required to set up bracketing is ridiculous. And, you can't set release mode in a User Mode, so that doesn't help. Pansonic does it best, by connecting release mode to the bracketing setup. Olympus has a one button mode, and with the OM-1 it now uses e-shutter.

2. Custom (User) modes. First, Nikon has two approaches: User Modes and Banks. I always wind up with Nikon bodies that use each, and they are worlds apart. Panasonic tends to have 5 Custom Modes (great), but the same limitation as Nikon in that you can't recall the settings. Olympus does it best; you can recall the settings, determine whether the settings are static (Nikon User Mode) or dynamic (Nikon Banks) for each setting, and use a function button to activate the setting (much faster than using the dial).

3. Speaking of Custom Modes, the only way to access custom modes with Nikon is on the mode dial, and that is on the left. I can't switch custom modes while keeping the camera up to my eye and holding the lens stable.

3. Arrow Pad vs Joystick. Redundant functionality, both Olympus and Panasonic allow assignment of different functions to the Arrow Pad. Panasonic is even more flexible than Olympus. But Olympus is more flexible at assignment to labeled function buttons. This gives Olympus and Panasonic a lot more assignable function buttons than Nikon.

4. Image review. The way Nikon displays review images is jarring and time consuming. After taking an image, Nikon resumes live view and then brings up the review image. This is slow, and I really dislike having live view resume before the review image is displayed.

5. Highlight/Shadow in Live View (also called Zebras when just looking at highlights). With Olympus and Pansonic, I can see where highlights will be blown, and either adjust EC or switch to bracketing to deal with it. With Nikon, you have to take the picture and review it. Waste of time and loss of opportunity. I have created a custom profile that blacks out blown highlights, but that ruins JPG images.

6. My Menu. The OM-1 has killed it with their implementation in the OM1. So much so, that I ruled out upgrading to the OM-5 because they didn't do the new menu system. I can stuff it with all the major settings I use. Nikon is a big flat list with settings and organization controls combined, which means I wind up scrolling a ton to get to what I want.

And, just for kicks, the Nikon Z9/Z8 have a version of Pro Capture called Pre-Release, but it is JPG only! Which makes it a toy mode in my opinion.

Not saying there aren't things I really like.

+ I really like that Nikon flags menu items that have been changed from the default. I like that Nikon can save settings to a card (as can Panasonic) but they should allow selection of which card in the save/load settings function. One of the reasons I upgraded my Z7 to a Z7ii was to use SD cards to store settings.

+ I like that Nikon kept the on/off switch and menu button on the right, and wish Olympus had the same design. But then, they left the playback button on the left, ignoring the fact that the best way to playback images is using the EVF. Same problem with Panasonic.

Basically, I don't like left-hand controls because my left hand is holding the lens and my eye is watching my subject or using the EVF to see the controls. Olympus also put AF selection and drive mode on the left, but I can access them on the right using function buttons so I never use the ones on the left. And my one big complaint about Olympus is that I can't access Menu on the right.

This is one of my main shooting scenarios: I'm shooting a bird in a tree using my BOB settings (Bird On Branch). Basically slow shutter, slow continuous or single shot, small AF point, maybe subject detection, maybe manual focus. Then I want to quicky switch to my BIF settings (Bird in Flight). Fast shutter, high speed continuous, Pro Capture, large AF area, subject detection. I can do this with OM1 with the press of a button and without having to take my eye from the EVF or left hand from the lens and lose track of where the bird is. And switch back if the bird doesn't look like it's ready for flight. For me, this scenario overrides any other considerations.
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I think you make a lot of valid points, and the workflow improvements you describe are really important.

I am not a bird photographer primarily, and I have not really used bracketing in years so I dont really encounter any of the issues described, but I certainly agree with the importance of having the ability to change settings without having to look at/for the buttons, or dig in menus for 5 minutes each time.

The little Nikon joystick is indeed a bit of a joke, as implemented on Z7/7.2. I'd love that replaced with the G9 version for sure.

Thanks John.
 
john isaacs said:
NowHearThis said:
phenix jc said:
Click to expand...
I watched this yesterday and I doubt most of his results are camera issues. Also they seem too concerned with *est all the time and less about just showing how to make great photos/videos.
john isaacs said:
Click to expand...
I simply cannot watch this annoying fool.
john isaacs said:
Unfortunately, still not the best AF for wildlife... An improvement, but that was "easy".
The Olympus OM-1 rules, but I don't see any bright future with OM.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Well, the annoying fool was definitely positive about the G9II. And he did a great demonstrative comparison.

That's Camera Conspiracies. I found it very entertaining. And informative.

Click to expand...
I can watch positive reviews from other people far less annoying and far more informative.
 
One of the highlights of the G9 ii is its use of phase detection autofocus. Yet, in the prototype model, they still have difficulty focusing on birds in a complex background.
 
DailyPlanet said:
One of the highlights of the G9 ii is its use of phase detection autofocus. Yet, in the prototype model, they still have difficulty focusing on birds in a complex background.
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How is this really any different then the other higher end Cropped Camera and other FF cameras. We have seen multiple threads that have complained about these types of things, outside of MFTs. Some reviews has stated differently by the way.

Most if not all camera are not going to initial lock on to your subject when impeded each and every time in certain case usages. So why would this Pana be any different. These camera don't perform miracles. Many times, human interaction is still required, regardless of Brand or Camera.

Plus many times, one has to customized the settings, in order to get the proper results. No reason to trust that many of these testers are even capable of that when it comes to Wildlife shooting in those complex type of settings.
 
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