GX9 vs GX80 impressions

Recently, I could grab a mint condition GX9 for a great price, and even though I love my gx80, well you know... 😀

I wasn't planning to upgrade my GX80, which serves me very well as a compact carry always camera , but I couldn't pass on the great deal.

After testing the camera, here are my observations.(in random order)

- the body feels nice. Nicer than the GX80, even though they look similar. The top seems like metal (aluminium?) whereas the GX80 was plastic. Kind of reminds me of the GX7. But most importantly, the tiny change in the thumb grip makes it much more secure to hold.

- 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...

- the screen is stunning! Wow, all my other cameras feel so meh in comparison. Shame, even the G9 screen is meh in comparison. This kind of makes up for the still pretty lame EVF.

- 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.

Oh and this can be felt even more when you take a vertical shot and then try scrolling through it. Yuck! Really, on a 2018 camera? And moreso when the older model did pretty well?

- I like the new menu. It's more pleasing but other than that, it's no big deal.

- 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.

- JPEG processing... Ok this is interesting. Processing is a combination between the G9 and the older GX80. What I mean is that you get G9 colors with Gx80 detail rendering and noise reduction. Ok this is extreme pixelpeeping... As I'm not a fan of the G9 agressive noise reduction but I like the color, that's a good thing. The G9 is at his worst at iso400 where noise reduction is too strong, even at -5. The GX9 maintains much better fine texture.

- 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!

- 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?

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

- 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?

-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.

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.

Thanks for reading 😀

Thanks for posting!

I was tempted to upgrade my GX85 to the GX9 because I wanted the tilt-up EVF and 20MP sensor. The reality is that I rarely use the EVF anyway - I prefer to tilt the screen out and shoot from the mid-riff.

So I am glad I saved my money. I am hoping the next GX-line camera has some better ergonomics. I'd like it to be just a little larger (but not GX8 sized) and perhaps improved ergonomics, e.g. slightly bigger button with better (easier to see) labels.

I also have both, and used them extensively for 1-2 years..

The screen of GX9 is stunning, best in class, and I don't feel any laggy.. It's a bit hard for me to go back and use lower-res screen now, well, most of mid-range cameras have only 1,040k screen res including Oly, Sony (even A73 has poor 700k), Fuji (except XA7), Canon, Nikon .. IBIS is rated just 4 stops, so I would go as low as 1/10 or 1/5, but not 1-3 second like Oly.. (Hybrid shooter reviewers say even Lumix 4-stop IBIS is more stable than 5-stop Sony's..)

The things I like more from GX9 over GX85 are many = better JPEG color (especially blue and green are the best to my eyes, IMHO), min shutter speed, new menu, IS lock, EC adjust in M mode, MF lever (I use MF in video), 20% more pixels, etc etc.. But the two main reasons of my switch from GX85 to second GX9 are JPEG output and the screen..

GX9 can be better in IBIS, CAF, quick mode switching between photo and video (like Nikon's), and many other areas.. Oh, wish for weather seal too..

and thank you for it. There is nothing better than the real life experience.

photofan1986 wrote:

-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.

On the GX9 ISO 100 is perfectly usable whereas on the GX80 I had to be very careful with highlights. I'd recommend giving it a go as I find there is much less noise doing this.

Thanks for the review. I just picked up a gx85 and seriously considered the gx9. Based on what you experienced I have to say I am feeling better about my choice.

The concerns you had sound like things that would probably bug me, except for the exposure comp dial. But being able to reprogram it does seem like an easy way to make it more appealing to a broader base.

Yep, sold GX9, had GX80 in past, and just ordered GX80 again because I miss it. Higher resolution screen is fine but not at the expense of laggy touchpad AF point selection. Also the articulating EVF is actually a weak point and makes it less pocketable. etc.

GX80 it is for me too, again! 😀