My New Toy but not Sigma

As I drift towards ease of use, I received this as-new yesterday:

Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 with Carl Zeiss Jena Flektagon

Bought mainly for my legacy lenses.

Pros:

IBIS, assisted manual focus, excellent OLED 120 fps EVF, Fully articulated LCD, top LCD w/ backlight, 5184x3888px images about the same as my DP2 when downsized 50%.

Con:

No flash - not that I use flash much - must dig out the Metz.

Plan being to use it for all general purposes and to keep just the SD15 configured for FS/IR.

Jeffry7 wrote:

xpatUSA wrote:

As I drift towards ease of use, I received this as-new yesterday:

Bought mainly for my legacy lenses.

Pros:

IBIS, assisted manual focus

What does assisted manual focus amount to?

High contrast edges show a blue outline and one can select a magnified view in steps up to 20X either full screen or picture-in-picture.

xpatUSA wrote:

As I drift towards ease of use, I received this as-new yesterday:

Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 with Carl Zeiss Jena Flektagon

Bought mainly for my legacy lenses.

Pros:

IBIS, assisted manual focus, excellent OLED 120 fps EVF, Fully articulated LCD, top LCD w/ backlight, 5184x3888px images about the same as my DP2 when downsized 50%.

Con:

No flash - not that I use flash much - must dig out the Metz.

Plan being to use it for all general purposes and to keep just the SD15 configured for FS/IR.

Ted,

Looks good, first step of permanent move away from Sigma.?

S

Ceistinne wrote:

xpatUSA wrote:

As I drift towards ease of use, I received this as-new yesterday:

Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 with Carl Zeiss Jena Flektagon

Bought mainly for my legacy lenses.

Pros:

IBIS, assisted manual focus, excellent OLED 120 fps EVF, Fully articulated LCD, top LCD w/ backlight, 5184x3888px images about the same as my DP2 when downsized 50%.

Con:

No flash - not that I use flash much - must dig out the Metz.

Plan being to use it for all general purposes and to keep just the SD15 configured for FS/IR.

Ted,

Looks good, first step of permanent move away from Sigma.?

S

Well I'm certainly going to keep the SD15 for FS/IR. The DP2 hangs in the balance until I know more about the G9 - right now trying to follow the menu system is beginning to irritate ...

I still want one, but I've put that on the back burner for some reason Ted. Maybe I'll get an FZ-1000 instead, for now, because it's so much cheaper, and comes with an o.k. lens. I look forward to seeing some of your testing info. I should spend some time checking out the 4Kp60 video samples and reviews. That camera seems o have almost everything one would want in a camera, except portability and resolution. The S1R took my mind off it, but I still like the idea of that G9. Maybe some day I'll try one.

Are you happy with the speed of shooting and dynamic range and what not Ted?

Do you shoot video?

Scottelly wrote:

I still want one, but <>. I look forward to seeing some of your testing info.

If I compare it with a Foveon, I might post such here.

<<> That camera seems o have almost everything one would want in a camera, except portability and resolution.

It is significantly larger than my G1 and GH1. As to "resolution", it's 20MP and does have an 80MP mode (pixel shift) - probably not enough for your good self ...

Myself, I cut the 5184x3888px captures down to 5MP:

The S1R took my mind off it, but I still like the idea of that G9. Maybe some day I'll try one.

Maybe.

Are you happy with the speed of shooting and dynamic range and what not Ted?

Still learning basic operation, Scott.

Do you shoot video?

So far, only by accident! I found half a dozen MP4s on the card today.

xpatUSA wrote:

As I drift towards ease of use, I received this as-new yesterday:

Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 with Carl Zeiss Jena Flektagon

Bought mainly for my legacy lenses.

Pros:

IBIS, assisted manual focus, excellent OLED 120 fps EVF, Fully articulated LCD, top LCD w/ backlight, 5184x3888px images about the same as my DP2 when downsized 50%.

Con:

No flash - not that I use flash much - must dig out the Metz.

Plan being to use it for all general purposes and to keep just the SD15 configured for FS/IR.

Quarter format Bayer in Sigma Camera talk?

xpatUSA wrote:

Scottelly wrote:

I still want one, but <>. I look forward to seeing some of your testing info.

If I compare it with a Foveon, I might post such here.

DP2:

raw to JPEG SPP 5.5.3

G9:

Carl Zeiss Jena 35mm Flektagon lens, OOC JPEG

Both Auto WB, default settings, G9 downsized 50% Lanczos3 in FastStone

xpatUSA wrote:

As I drift towards ease of use, I received this as-new yesterday:

Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 with Carl Zeiss Jena Flektagon

Bought mainly for my legacy lenses.

Pros:

IBIS, assisted manual focus, excellent OLED 120 fps EVF, Fully articulated LCD, top LCD w/ backlight, 5184x3888px images about the same as my DP2 when downsized 50%.

Con:

No flash - not that I use flash much - must dig out the Metz.

Plan being to use it for all general purposes and to keep just the SD15 configured for FS/IR.

Me too Ted, just got a Fujifilm X100V for roughly the same reasons. But it has leaf shutter with a small fill flash for HSS up to 1\2000th sec, a decent 35mm equivalent F2 lens with built in ND filter plus all the usual auto and manual focus options all in a small, light water resistant body that can do 4K video. But the SDQH will be around for a while yet.

PT wrote:

xpatUSA wrote:

As I drift towards ease of use, I received this as-new yesterday:

Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 with Carl Zeiss Jena Flektagon

Bought mainly for my legacy lenses.

Pros:

IBIS, assisted manual focus, excellent OLED 120 fps EVF, Fully articulated LCD, top LCD w/ backlight, 5184x3888px images about the same as my DP2 when downsized 50%.

Con:

No flash - not that I use flash much - must dig out the Metz.

Plan being to use it for all general purposes and to keep just the SD15 configured for FS/IR.

Me too Ted, just got a Fujifilm X100V for roughly the same reasons. But it has leaf shutter with a small fill flash for HSS up to 1\2000th sec, a decent 35mm equivalent F2 lens with built in ND filter plus all the usual auto and manual focus options all in a small, light water resistant body that can do 4K video.

Sounds goods - I've read the DP review and it is indeed tempting. I went with the G9 partially because I already had µ4/3 lenses and an M42->µ4/3 adapter.

But the SDQH will be around for a while yet.

Quite so.

Thanks Ted.

You gotta go with the flow Ted,  have fun.

Cheers.

Ted,

Great choice, I think you're going to enjoy it quite a bit. I found an unbeatable deal on a lightly used GX9 so I traded some older gear and took home the little Panasonic (my wife is petite, so struggles with the Sony full frame and Minolta glass; I'd been looking for something small and stabilized for run-and-gun video, which I'm doing more of lately).

The GX9 has the same sensor and most of the features of the G9 (though no 6K video, which I would have liked). The body is tiny, though, and the lenses weigh next to nothing. I got the 12-60 and Panleica 15 f1.7, will probably add the 100-400 for a great tiny travel kit.

The initial results are *very* positive. The micro 4/3 sensor has come into its own, and the 5-axis stabilization in combination with OS is nothing short of remarkable. I've gotten handheld footage while walking and riding in the car that look as if they'd been shot on a gimbal. Handheld shots sometimes can be over 2 seconds, but only if I steady myself on something and take multiple shots. I shoot raw, so color isnt much of an issue, but it does look like Panasonic have upped their game.

Bottom line? GREAT traveling companion for a Merrill -- throw it in a small bag and you've got resolution and pop with one, great video, processing speed, post focus, stabilization, pop up flash and battery life with the other.

Have fun and stay safe!

Scot

ps Since this is an OT thread, I'm adding a single shot. It was shot in raw, tweaked lightly, and saved in PHotoshop as a

A scene I've shot endless times, so it's a great real world test scene for new gear

"7" quality jpg.

ascotinitaly wrote:

Ted,

Great choice, I think you're going to enjoy it quite a bit. I found an unbeatable deal on a lightly used GX9 <>

The GX9 has the same sensor and most of the features of the G9 (though no 6K video, which I would have liked). The body is tiny, though, and the lenses weigh next to nothing. I got the 12-60 and Panleica 15 f1.7, will probably add the 100-400 for a great tiny travel kit.

Yes, I bought the heavier G9 partly so it would balance OK with my existing lenses.

The initial results are *very* positive. The micro 4/3 sensor has come into its own, and the 5-axis stabilization in combination with OS is nothing short of remarkable. <>

That is my experience too and even the legacy Zeiss shots come out excellent.

I shoot raw, so color isn't much of an issue, but it does look like Panasonic have upped their game.

The color is said to be greatly improved in the G9. I'm playing with JPEG v. raw as we speak - currently favoring raw + small-high - that may change. At 100% zoom, raw rendering is quite soft. To be expected with 3.3um pixel pitch!

<>

ps Since this is an OT thread, I'm adding a single shot. It was shot in raw, tweaked lightly, and saved in PHotoshop as a "7" quality jpg:

A scene I've shot endless times, so it's a great real world test scene for new gear

I also have a dark corner complete with globe! Your shot is excellent, I could easily see Punta Arenas (Sandy Point) down there in southern Chile. Almost got sent there long ago on gas turbine business.

Hey Scott, nice photo. I'm curious about the video from that GX9. It seems like a nice little camera, but it only does 4Kp30, rather than 4Kp60 (which the G9 can do). I'm curious because the 4Kp30 videos I've seen from the Sigma fp actually look very good, which surprises me. I expected them to look all herky jerky and full of rolling shutter issues, but they don't. I don't know why, but I wonder how the video clips from the GX9 look now. I've always felt I should wait until I could get a camera capable of 4Kp60, because I love the video from my Sony A65, which does 1080p60, and I didn't like the 30 fps video of other cameras I've tried in the past - particularly for panning shots and for shooting anything in motion. Do you have any 4K clips from that GX9 posted on-line anywhere?

Hi Scott

No, I haven't posted any video. I've had the GX9 less than a week, and only yesterday had a chance to start putting it through its paces.

I wasn't surprised that it doesn't do 4K 60p, only because it *seems* to have the processing power (it merges focus stacks and time lapse sequences very quickly, for instance, and also shoots 4K full size photos for long stretches)

I love the 4k from my Sony a99ii, and 30p is generally fine for what I do. We got the GX9 so that my wife would have a good camera that fits her, and I could use it for run-and-gun handheld stuff.

The dual stabilization is truly amazing, I've never used anything like it. It shines in video, where the 1080 footage doesnt look smooth-ISH the way it does on the Sony...but GIMBAL SOLID unless you trip on your cat's tail (don't ask me how I know

If I get a chance to shoot anything interesting in 1080 60p, I will post it and send you a link, ok?

Cheers,

Scot