DPReview TV: Panasonic G9 vs. Olympus E-M1 Mark III – who's the king of Micro Four Thirds?

There seems to be some conflation of the mark II and mark III going on. The mark III has two UHS-II slots, not one. Face and eye detect are dramatically improved over previous models. And it can be run and charged via USB PD.

There is no question that the G9 is the better deal, but I’m don’t think it’s the better camera.

Dpreview Conspiracies

Given the price of the EM1 Mk2, how is it compared to the G9?

The Mk3 seems crazy expensive in comparison

Thanks

I'm mostly an Olympus guy, and have always been impressed by all the Panasonic cameras I've had.

Things that matter to me that the E-M1mk2 has and that the G9 doesn't:

- Phase Detect Autofocus (PDAF). The only thing that can decently AF with legacy 4/3 lenses via adapter (including Panasonic's own beautiful lenses, all four of them :) )
- Pro Cap mode: sounds like a gimmick till the day you get those birds starting their flight, or catch those lightnings in a storm

Things that the E-M1mk3 has, on top:
- Customisable AF clusters. This is sweet. One can, for example, in regular landscape mode, shape the AF area in the shape of a vertical "stick" that goes vertically across the screen. Useful to shoot sports with running humans for example.

Otherwise, if not for the lack of PDAF (I still have 4/3 lenses that have no equivalent in the m43 world), the G9 would be a very worthy choice.

I don't care about the supposedly longer lasting shutter on Olys. Plenty of other can fail.

G9 is a good value, but I'd choose the Em1 mark III over it.

It's always a pleasure to watch your videos: informative, entertaining, fast-paced, well-produced, and concise. I have difficulty watching video reviews by talking heads who drone on and on.

I'm a happy G9 owner, but this struck me as a balanced review, despite Olympus being declared the "winner." :-)

Going from baby bunnies to Jordan is *such* a let down...

For me, the one feature in the G9 that I wish was in the E-m1 mark III is the OLED viewfinder. I need to wear polarized sunglasses ALL of the time when I'm outdoors due to migraines, and the Olympus TFT LCD in the E-m1 mark I/II/III viewfinder is very hard to use when shooting landscape orientation (about 1/2 of the image is distorted). Fortunately, the new E-m5 mark III has an OLED viewfinder, and I went with that.

The G9 and all Olympus cameras have a 30 minute limit on video shooting, and when I'm recording video, it is typically for longer events, like recording a whole 1.5 hour show. So there I go back to the G85 which doesn't have a limit.

I've found over the years that Olympus is more forgiving for shooting scenes with white blotches without burning out highlights, while with Panasonic, I have to more carefully monitor the scene & dial in exposure compensation. Also, out of camera high ISO JPG is better on Olympus.

Jordan mentions that for video the E-M1 II is as good as the mark III. Just wondering however if anyone has experience of the IBIS in both models for handheld video shooting - is there any/much difference?

Nice review. The G9 looks like a great bargain right now for what it offers. One thing that would make a video like this even more useful would be side-by-side comparisons of photo colours and video stabilization.

As someone with large hand and left-eye dominance, I've tried to get into Olympus bodies but just can't operate them comfortably. That G9 grip looks smexy.

I easily went with the Olympus, I just really like their bodies and the way they are put together. The handheld pixel shift is also great. Panasonics feel and look like heavy bricks to me, if I was ok to carry around that sort of body I would be using full frame.

Panasonic's contrast detect AF has a flaw, at least for me, that is rarely mentioned. Put a slow travel zoom on it like their 14-140, and in low light it hunts, even when good technique is used. By good technique I mean putting the center focus spot on an area of high contrast.
As a wedding photographer I find this lens acceptable for reception work, but the hunting in a problem. Here's an example:
When the bridal couple is being introduced, I'll put that focusing spot on both the dark lapel and the white shirt. Still, in low light it hunts.
I tested to see if the focusing spot is really where the viewfinder indicates it is, asnd kit was OK. (This was a problem with some older Nikon bodies).

Bottom line... both are really great cameras.

If money matters, then get the G9. If video matters then get the G9. If money doesn't matter the EM1 III is a slightly better camera. But why stop there? If money didn't matter, then I'd get a Sony a9 II....

It's 2020 - poor AF tracking performance is not acceptable anymore.

Things that DPreview never mention:

- EM1mk3 has a faster SD card read/write speed than the G9 on the UHS-II card slot. So on the G9 you get two UHS-II but the the EM1mk3 writes faster on its single UHS-II. The other is a UHS-I. So in real life, the olympus could be faster.

- the EM1mk3's EVF can keep it's 120 fps during CAF, the G9 can't. So G9 gives better resolution, but the EM1mk3 gives faster fps and less lag time: 0,005 sec vs 0,025 sec.

EDIT: all I said also applies to the EM1 mk2. Both the Pana and Oly are great, can't go wrong.

Anybody else see that killer rabbit attack near the end? Almost as scary as seeing Jordan run towards you. (few things are)

Great video. But imho the best advise in considering any of these two cameras is to... WAIT!

Until that 41 megapixel sony micro four thirds sensor is gonna appear, for sure before the 2021 Japan Olympics.

I wonder if Chris realised he came within a hair's breadth of being mauled by a savage lagomorph at 13:50? Must have been stalking him all day before deciding to pounce.

A good comparison . I have two issues with it though. First , not sure if the category that Chris calls handling include ergonomics but if it does , it is difficult to argue that the G9 has much better and more intuitive ergonomics . The top LCD is never mentioned in the video but makes a real difference in every day use. Frankly , the style of the camera (a very subjective factor if there was one) should not be part of the handling global note !!

Secondly, unless the Em1III changed compared to previous EM, I do not see how Chris can say that the interface of the high res is simple. On the Olympus you need to activate the settings in the menu and then go to the SCP to start it. Not very intuitive at all. The G9 offers several advantages like being able to shoot a non high res photo at the beginning of the setting. I agree that Olympus wins this category because of the handheld option but am surprised by the comments in this category

I think a fair review, in that personal preferences were declared. If starting new to M43 and aiming for ultimate quality and features, with money not a factor, then Olympus it is.
Existing Olympus users have already settled on a look, feel and modus operandi, so it's just a matter of waiting until the price drops to a point that they willing to pay for the upgrade.
Panasonic users, like me, who waited, can now grab an absolute bargain. The G80 was a big step up from the G7. The G9 is an even bigger step up from the G80. Yes, it's physically bigger too but, to my pleasant surprise, it's a non-issue (my hands are not big). And I'm not interested in video, though I know it's there if I want it. Stick the 100-400mm on and enjoy the combo :-)
Whichever camera you plan to buy, it's always worth waiting for the right offer.

Theres always going to be plusses and minuses , throw the EM1.2 in there too which is 99% of a Mk3 and can be had for a song on the used market ......

I`m generally a Pan-Fan but couldn`t get past the feather light shutter release and the EVF optics of the G9 (far prefer Both in my GX8) , I also found the grip too thick for comfort too but totally loved the top LCD , all the func buttons , the Canon/nikon DSLR mix Command dials etc ..... ended up with a boxed mint used EM1-II from a dealer . Grip & shutter button are bang on , Dials are just as good though different , EVF doesn`t drive me nuts and prefer the size of the camera too , add that the Oly 12-40 and 12-100 have been on my roadmap (even for use with the GX8), that the face tracking is usable and the amazing IBIS (though the G9`s was way better than expected) and it`ll do ............ of course if a later G11 hits the spot , I`ll be back with Pan

Nice comparison. I picked up my E-M1 mk II, second hand, at a time when I could have had the G9, brand new, for a very similar price. At the time, it was the DFD autofocus that put me off. Since then, I've also picked up a GX9.... It turns out that DFD (if you can put up with the wobble) can be spectacularly effective.

At the end of this long comparison between the cameras, the conclusion is not scientific or impartial, the conclusion is only a personal preference, not objective enough and not in-depth and sufficiently investigative.
Those Dpreview guys say and do whatever, you do have to make your own opinion about any camera system.

thanks for this timely comparison, i was just checking the new olympus studio test images. i guess i will have to study the options more but m43 looks more and more promising as a lighter setup. this oly with the 12-100 lens you have could be the do it all travel camera.

The Panasonic for me. Video is why I shoot. Stills are nice with either. I would want the more inline with stills life though small from Panasonic. I had a Panasonic camera before and loved the menus. Excellent menus. Olympus reminds me how to over complicate like Sony. The Sony is outright silly clumsy. But you just need to get used to their conventions, and optimize. The Panasonic and Canon and Nikon have excellent menus. All of which I have lived with. IBIS is important, and I would love the Olympus better but really by how much? The bodies are a tie in my hands. I liked the G9 but the quality of the Olympus is first rate. The controls are nicer, and you feel the body will stop a .45 acp. Please don't try that. It is really built for the rigors of life. But I think overall I am good with the Panasonic overall. Glass is MFT easy. Olympus and Panasonic have a good selection. I would get the Panasonic and save to get more glass vs. the Olympus body.

I can't really live with the Olympus EVF. It just isn't nice to look through.

Expecting 300+ comments in the next 24-36 hours. 75% of those will be pro-Olympus vs Panny.

The scary thing is the G9 is currently cheaper than the EM5 III the Olympus mid range camera yet competing well with a Olympus top end camera.
For a budget user it looks like the only real route for improvement from the EM10 II is Panasonic.

the DFD focusing is a joke on G9. For continuous autofocus, the sony A6400 wipes the floor with it. Panasonic marketing dept tried their best, the tech dept need to live up whatever advantages that the DFD has, which so far have been more hype than performance.

I have both cameras in use - the killing feature for me is the viewfinder.
The G9 vf is not perfect at all (some distortion) but way better then Olympus E-M1III and 1M1X!
And the use of AF-Features handles a lot better with G9.
But I like the specials on the E-M1III like fisheye correction with 8 mm, live composite, live ND - which no other camera-maker has today.

Olympus needs a much better viewfinder!
Panasonic needs a lot better continous-AF
and both needs a lot better sensor/prozessor to compete against Sony VF or Fuji HV.
I can shoot with 7RIV on HV with 26 MP and even crop it and get better results (less noise, far better AF) then every mFT camera.