And then they get really offended when people suggest that they are Sony biased.

OK - not Sony biased - not knowledgeable enough about features offered by other brands.

PS. Been using a Panasonic G9.

Panther fan, Panasonic allows you to change which person it focuses on, and you can save faces in internal memory so they are prioritized over strangers. And to make it simpler, while in face tracking mode, if you press the FOCUS AREA SET button (i have it saved as an FN button), it will cancel face tracking and revert to center point box (which can aslo be changed in size from super small to full screen if needed).

If you want to cancel center point and go back to face tracking, just push the D Pad OK button once. It's SUPER easy, it gives you all the control you could want wile still offering automation that helps.

It's the best UI on the market, and it does exactly what Sony does yet does it better. But i guess since it's only a MFT sensor it doesn't warrant the credit E mount gets.

@Max ISO

And how is that better than a general tracking mode like on the Sony which will simply track everything you put your focus box on. And if it has a face or eye it will focus on that but otherwise just track the object around in the frame.

That is the first real modern focus and recompose replacement

“ It's the best UI on the market”

Agreed.

“and it does exactly what Sony does yet does it better”

Indeed.

"It's almost like a feature is ignored till Sony gets it, then it's deemed amazing."

Like IBIS?

You're right to say the G9 tries to do something similar, we just haven't found it to be quite as effective (hence the 'quite so reliably' comment). It also hasn't filtered down to such a low-priced body, yet.

I do agree that Panasonic and the latest Canon implementations are getting very close to this, but they're not available in a family camera, yet.

Panther fan, i can't speak on the intricacies of the Sony design, im only going off what i read of it and comparing that to the best Panasonic has offered so far. Im not even claiming the Panasonic's is superior in it's overall function, just that it's almost exactly what DPR describes on the Sony and did it 2 years sooner.

Richard above mentions "reliably" which i did see in the review, and don't think they didn't take care to choose that word. Using a qualifier like reliably allows them to mention it for Sony only, while ignoring any other advantages of a different system like Panasonic's.

Not that big a deal, everybody has their favorites, but i just like to shed light on how all systems compare so people can make informed decisions, to let them know Sony isn't the only pony doing tricks. Continued...

As for the implementation, does the Sony version always use a tracking box on the back of the head when they turn around? And what if their head is obscured, will it still track the body only?

For me, the G9's ease of use, turning face tracking on and off, changing subjects on the fly, tracking a human body no matter if it's upper or lower, face or no face, i don't see how it could be any more reliable other than the CAF performance itself, and that's a non issue unless you get into sports/action.

I don't suppose we can get DPR to explain what that "reliably" part means, but i can say from first hand use of the G9 for nearly a year, it's very reliable, and i'd argue much easier to use.

@Max Iso
But that is the difference on the Panasonic you have to give it input.

AF-S or AF-C? On the Sony AF-C all the time all the things is reliable, something you really cannot say about most other systems if you want to achieve good and consistent accuracy

Face AF / Eye AF on or off? Again on the Sony you don't need to decide. It is just one mode for everything

Face selection? Focus point placement? etc... you don't need to do that anymore just focus and recompose your shot.
If there are multiple people in the frame - no problem it will just track the one you selected.
If there are people in the frame but you want to track an object - no problem just track the object no need to move out of any mode
You don't want tracking? Initiate focus - recompose - let the back button go. No need for AF-S and joystick to get rid of the parallax error

The beauty of the Sony system is you never need to touch the AF-interface. Take the Panasonic S1 for example. Under your thumb you have a switch two buttons, and a joystick to select and manipulate your AF-modes. And while those are great, the Sony system achieves that with just one AF-On button. One mode for everything… that’s why it is so beginner friendly

PS: A little off topic. The save “faces and those will be prioritized” feature had Sony since the A9 and thereby before the Panasonic G9. You can save 9 face and order them by priority. But honestly not many people use that feature, because it really doesn’t help you out in most situations.

Well we just disagree then. I don't think one way all the time is best, there's way too many AF features to include them all at once all the time. What i prefer is a design that lets me easily change things on the fly with a well thought out UI. I want a proper balance of automation and user input.

I want that control as long as it's not clumsy. That's what i think Panasonic has managed, while Sony's menus and UI is known to be clunky. If i shot Sony still i may prefer this all in one design, but only bc it's better than their menus.

Panasonic's design is another story. And my G9 isn't the first face saver, my GX7 could do it from back in 2013, maybe others before that. Beginner friendly is nice until you are not a beginner anymore.

@Max Iso

To be fair a G9 or S1 are more comparable to the A7 series. Which have a fully working and highly customizable Af interface. And while the out of the box setup might not be 100% as easy as the Panasonic one. Once you configure it I acutally prefer it.

But we are talking here about a 700$ tiny entry-level camera, without the space for even a joystick. Having one mode that can do everything really helps here. Especially for beginners which don't have to learn any modes...

Oh absolutely, it PROVES it doesn't it? If you think it doesn't excel anywhere i guess you haven't used a MFT flagship lately, they excel almost EVERYWHERE. Ergos, feature breadth, best IBIS, largest VF on the market (in the G9), and the largest native ML lens line, not to mention the most variation in body selection.

Yes yes you are just trying to quietly bother MFT users by talking about doom n gloom. My G9 can shoot well in any scenario, including fully silently when needed. Ever use E shutter? Oops i just checked and you have the M6 or below, no E shutter, sorry to bring it up.