E-M5 II owner looking for upgrade. G9 or E-M1 II w. 12-40 and 40-150 lenses.

Hi guys,

Please help me make a decision regarding an upgrade i am trying to make this week.

I bought E-M5 II last year to get started with the mirrorless system and now i want a faster camera for my lenses...I would love to make for action photos as well.

I have the 12-40mm 2.8 and the 40-150mm 2.8mm + TC 14 which are very sharp and i love their build.

I know that the E-M1 II is an wonderful camera, perfect for this lenses. The reason that i am thinking more of G9 is due to the fact that i want to do also some more videos in the future (70% of the time stills).

Also i like the idea of charging the camera with a power bank.

From what i read on the internet the TC-14 is not working ok with the G9 which is a bummer because i just bought it used yesterday..But it`s not that critical for me i think.

I already saw few forums and looked at few videos on Youtube regarding this two cameras.

Some people say/prefer the EM1.2 for Oly lenses...Some prefer EM1.2 with Panasonic lenses and G9 with Oly lenses...and some prefer the G9 with Panasonic lenses..

The main advantages i see for me with the G9 are maybe the size and the physical buttons (maybe an easier menu also), better video, power bank charging, better dual card support...Also looking at a youtube video with a deep comparison between this two cameras..seems that the G9 is faster in focusing (AF-C) and the rate of sharp photos with 40-150mm is better than with the EM1.2

If you guys own this cameras/lenses could you please let me know your thoughts regarding this two cameras and this two specific lenses?

Price wise..I would buy the G9 with 1425$ new and the EM1.2 slightly used (2000 shutter count) for 1230$.

If i would choose the G9 would i lose a lot of benefits that i would have with the EM1.2?

Thank you very much!

alex_ene wrote:

Hi guys,

Please help me make a decision regarding an upgrade i am trying to make this week.

I bought E-M5 II last year to get started with the mirrorless system and now i want a faster camera for my lenses...I would love to make for action photos as well.

I have the 12-40mm 2.8 and the 40-150mm 2.8mm + TC 14 which are very sharp and i love their build.

I know that the E-M1 II is an wonderful camera, perfect for this lenses. The reason that i am thinking more of G9 is due to the fact that i want to do also some more videos in the future (70% of the time stills).

Also i like the idea of charging the camera with a power bank.

From what i read on the internet the TC-14 is not working ok with the G9 which is a bummer because i just bought it used yesterday..But it`s not that critical for me i think.

I already saw few forums and looked at few videos on Youtube regarding this two cameras.

Some people say/prefer the EM1.2 for Oly lenses...Some prefer EM1.2 with Panasonic lenses and G9 with Oly lenses...and some prefer the G9 with Panasonic lenses..

The main advantages i see for me with the G9 are maybe the size and the physical buttons (maybe an easier menu also), better video, power bank charging, better dual card support...Also looking at a youtube video with a deep comparison between this two cameras..seems that the G9 is faster in focusing (AF-C) and the rate of sharp photos with 40-150mm is better than with the EM1.2

If you guys own this cameras/lenses could you please let me know your thoughts regarding this two cameras and this two specific lenses?

Price wise..I would buy the G9 with 1425$ new and the EM1.2 slightly used (2000 shutter count) for 1230$.

If i would choose the G9 would i lose a lot of benefits that i would have with the EM1.2?

Thank you very much!

It's a case of horses for courses, both are best at slightly different things.

I have had the G9 for four months now and I bought the EM1 Mark ii from Olympus Outlet a few weeks ago. I've only had two opportunities to use them back to back for my grandchildren's soccer, and that hasn't been enough to decide which to keep. There are aspects of both that I like a lot. My keeper rate isn't very different between the two for continuous AF, and the image quality is very similar.

There are more things about the EM1 ii that annoy me, such as the lack of micro usb charging, less control over the AF area you want to use, and less settings that can be programmed to the various buttons. The Mark ii, however, is a bit smaller and weighs less. The G9 is a bit too big for my preferences.  Also, I don't like the G9's "front" control wheel placement at all.

I still haven't decided which I will keep, or if I will keep both, but it seems like a waste of money to keep both because they are so similar and the money would be better spent on a lens.

dinoSnake wrote:

alex_ene wrote:
Some people say/prefer the EM1.2 for Oly lenses...Some prefer EM1.2 with Panasonic lenses and G9 with Oly lenses...and some prefer the G9 with Panasonic lenses..

This is absolutely true due to supported features on each brand.

Panasonic is improving their continuous AF performance with their DfD technology... which is only supported with select Panasonic lenses. If you mount Olympus lenses, they work but you won't get the DfD-enhanced C-AF.

I agree that this is an important consideration - though not indicative that Olympus lenses can't perform well on the G9.

OTOH the Olympus EM1.2 has Pro Capture and Focus Stacking... which is only supported with select Olympus lenses. If you mount a Panasonic lens, they work but you won't get Pro Capture nor Focus Stacking functionality.

With firmware 2.0 and above (the latest is 2.2), the EM1.2's Pro Capture is not limited to select Olympus lenses (in one of the two P.C. modes).

So, which will it be?

Thank you very much for taking the time to reply.

Could you please tell me if you used the G9 with Oly lenses as well and if you noticed any issues?

I understand that i will not take advantage of the DFD but as few people said they did not notice any big differences using the Oly lenses on the G9.

What is very appealing for me on the G9 is the usb charging, better dual card support and the fact that it has better video options which i would like to use in the future.

When i started with the mirrorles system last year i bought olympus because i always wanted one, i really liked the construction and the capabilities of the Pro lenses and also because i could mix cameras and lenses from both brands without too many issues.

rashid7 wrote:

play w/ them. G9 EVF = immersive (-: Ergo may be better, and definitely UI. I reckon that they are a wash for IBIS and SAF (on Oly lens) but Em1ii has better rep for BiF.

Quality/reliability is another Lumix advantage (in spite of appearances), and in USA they extend warranty to 3yr, if u apply.

Ergonomics and U.I is not only subjective, but also relative.. the em1:2 is the highly logical choice.. similar ui, similar but vastly improved ergonomics, and common terminology.

the total flexibility of custom controls in only lets you have multiple cameras operating in very similar ways... I have ep5 and em1:2 setup similarly, and my gf em 5:2 the same..

family resemblances count a lot.. and like I would not recommend em 1:2 to a pana owner vs g9 I can't suggest that g9 is a better choice to oly owner.

I also looked at David Thorpe`s video channel and blog and i saw he is also using the G9 with the 40-150mm.

I went also today to a shop just to see the difference in size between the two of them.

The G9 is indeed bigger but i think fits slightly better in my hand. I like the fact that the EM1.2 is smaller but i feel it a little bit coming out of my palm..The G9 is a little bit higher which i like..but i don`t like the fact that is wider than the EM and feels a little bit bulky.

It`s hard to make a decision. All they i changed my mind between them..but i lean a little bit to the G9 due to the fact that feels a little better in hand and that i have more options than with the EM. I know that the Oly it`s an amazing camera but seems like the G9 is a compromise to have more and newer features.

I looked also on some french forums and few people said they are using the G9 with Olympus lenses and they are happy with the results.

In the future i would like to try to make also more wildlife photos and i will probably buy the Panasonic 100-400 which is more affordable and more flexible than the Oly 300mm.

Also i read some posts regarding some problems with the EM1.2 and the 100-400 Pana. Some photographers said that they had problems with the lens coming of the body by itself or some grinding problems..

Since the 2.0 firmware, my Olympus EM12 shines with all my lenses, whether Panasonic, Olympus or Sigma. My G9 struggles at acquiring focus in many everyday situations. I admit that the G9's physical controls are excellent, which is why I bought it, but its inability to find initial focus can be quite maddening. I am hoping that Panasonic will improve its performance with firmware updates.

rashid7 wrote:

my favorite blogger, Kirk Tuck (visualsciencelab) uses Oly pro zooms on his GH5, and absolutely loves em

Yep, and in yesterday's blog he mentions that he added the G9 to his rather large stable of gear.  Kirk's main lenses are the 12-100mm and 40-150mm, but I'm not sure he has the TC.

OlafOleOlaf wrote:

Something to consider, but others need to chime in on this: It's my understanding that an Olympus firmware update information speaks of supporting this or that Panasonic lens, it means it supports that lenses inbuilt image stabilization.
Oly themselves currently have two stabilized lenses but they stabilization is currently not supported on Pana bodies.

Olympus cameras since the introduction of the original E-m5 mark I have an option that says use sensor shift stabilization or use lens based stabilization.  I believe the E-m1 mark II will support using both the 12-100mm's and 300mm's stabilization along with the sensor shift stabilization.

However, Olympus doesn't support using both sensor shift stabilization and the lens stabilization found in many Panasonic lenses.  I presume it would fall back to the option of which stabilization method you choose (i.e. sensor shift only or lens only).

My G85 will use dual stabilization when I use Panasonic lenses with stabilization.  The G85 doesn't have an option to choose between sensor shift stabilization and lens stabilization like the Olympus cameras have.  I believe it uses the lens stabilization over the body stabilization.  I recall from reading Kirk Tuck's blog that the GH5S (which has no sensor shift stabilization) will work well with the 12-100mm.