G9 vs. G85 - a comparison

[Tyrbiter]

As a whole package the g9 wins easily but I have no worries about walking the streets with the g80 which i am about to do.

The G9 is a very solid machine, I reckon it would function as a very effective cosh if someone attempted to take it off you...

 

[Kharan]

Thanks for your interesting comments again.

I was going to get the Leica 12-60mm but your comments raised an alarm bell as the whole point of this purchase is to gain a size and weight advantage. I better check this out in the store.

BIF is not my thing but fast moving jets at airshows is. Even though it needs good track8ng AF-C I believe it's not so exacting as BIF.

Interesting days.

Well, you might want to wait a little, as I'm preparing a comparison between the 12-35mm f/2.8 II and the PL 12-60mm.

Spoiler alert: I'm keeping the PL. It weighs almost the same, and while somewhat larger, it's got amazing haptics, has an extremely effective OIS, and produces beautiful colors. However, I must warn anyone considering it that it has probably the worst bokeh in the history of optics! It's just fugly :-| So, one really needs to appreciate resolution more than bokeh to like it, in my view.

 

[timmer350]

On AF for G9 - check out this reasource:

https://www.panasonic.com/content/dam/Panasonic/Global/Learn-More/lumix-af-guidebook/LUMIX_AF_Guidebook_1809.pdf

Tim

 

[Pete Berry]

Thanks, didn't know the G85/4K was unlimited. Is its 4K full sensor readout or 4K crop like the GH4?

Pete

Crop. I'd say it's about 1.2x. From what I read once, it crops less than the GH4, but I can't confirm this.

Yes, 2.4 is how the math(s) works out. The Panny 16MP sensors have a horiz. pixel count of 4608 vs. 3840 for a straight sensor crop to 4K UHD, and this ratio works out to 1.2X, or a 2.4X crop factor.

For the G9/GH5 w/ 20MP sensors 5184px wide, the ratio is 1.35X in the lossless Ext. Tele. Conversion (ETC) mode option for a nice 2.7X tele boost over the 2X full sensor readout, which requires a big boost in processing power and heat production. The G9 lacks GH5's huge heat sink, thus limited to 30 min. 4K p30, and 10min for p60.

Pete

 

[KaganK84]

i already have a g85 and i was about to purchase a g9 with 12-60 leica lens. luckily, i saw this post and i changed my mind. as an amateur, g9 looks like a luxury equipment for me at the moment. thank you

 

[Oboyle]

For what it's worth. I just purchased the G9 last week but my initial read mostly matches the OP's except in a couple of instances.

1) The pincushion evf issue is way overblown on this forum. I have normal eyesight and barely notice it. What I do notice is the incredibly immersive and fluid view I get of my subject, it's a big upgrade IMO (coming from an em5ii) and one of the things I like most about the G9.

2) I agree on the IQ statements but I'm also finding a slight but noticeable improvement in high iso noise over the 16mp sensor. I'm probably more tolerant to noise than the average bear but iso 3200 was my quality limit with the 16mp sensor and I'm finding iso 5000 on the G9 to be my new limit. Also, the noise reduction is pretty smeary but turning it all the way down has improved things immensely. Overall I'm pleasantly surprised at the iq bump as it's just gravy to me. I was upgrading for speed and video capabilities.

Also worth noting that a couple of firmware updates have probably sorted out the AF niggles mentioned by OP to a degree. I upgraded as soon as I fired it up so can't compare to the original firmware.

Also, dual card slots rock!

 

[WT21]

This was brilliant. Thanks. I love my g85 and am considering a bit more resolution.