The post Gear Review: The Lumix G9 Mirrorless Camera saw first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by David Shaw.
The Lumix G9- a 20.3 mp, micro 4/3 rds, mirrorless camera.
When I bought my first full-frame DSLR many years ago( an original Canon 5D ), I mulled I’d detected the steeple of camera technology. Because a bigger sensor is better right?
Well , not necessarily.
Sensor immensities are like cinema sizes- they are different formats , not different caliber. Each has advantages and handicaps, and some will fit your needs while some won’t.
Flying in tiny airplanes is how I reach many of my photo orientations. A light-colored camera arrangement is vital.
The Lumix G9 Mirrorless Camera
Bigger sensors, for all their benefits, also signify bulkier and heavier lenses. A smaller sensor, such as the micro 4/3 rds system, is compact, and daylight. That’s why, as an outdoor pro who specializes in killing in remote areas, I’ve recently begun killing the Lumix m4/ 3rds structure. Specific, my primary camera is now the Lumix G9 mirrorless camera, the flagship of Lumix still cameras.
Body Quality 
The Lumix G9 Mirrorless Camera from the top.
The Lumix G9 Mirrorless Camera is of a same sizing to other pro-level mirrorless camera mass. For me, this is the appropriate sizing. If the body were much smaller the ascertains would become too small and cumbersome for rapid be utilized in the field, and absurd while wearing gauntlets. The G9, in my opinion, is a good jeopardize between sizing and functionality.
The build is sturdy with a die-cast magnesium chassis and is environmentally sealed. A textured rubber coating reports most of the body a confident traction, even when wet. The person weighs in 658 g, or so conventional of this length mirrorless camera. I’ve used pit in temperatures running from -2 5F, to +100 F in the snowfall, rainfall, and salt spraying. I’ve slammed it around inside shrub planes, safari vehicles, rafts, and canoes, and have yet to have an issue with durability.
Bush aircrafts. I’ve gotten used to flying in their own homes, but I never get tired of photographing them.( De Havilland Otter reflected in an Alaskan pond ).
Sensor
The 20.3 mp micro four-thirds sensor has an excellent dynamic straddle for a sensor of this length and extremely low interference below about 1600 ISO. At higher ISOs, the noise does increase noticeably, which is a flaw for night photography. Nonetheless, the files can direct substantial pushings in post-processing. Supplementing two or even three stops of glowing seems to have little impact on persona quality.
Stabilization 
Handheld, at 1/15 th second. Easy.
Lumix advertises a whopping 6.5 stops of stabilization built into the camera; a organization that works seamlessly with lens-integrated stabilization. This impressive list isn’t time marketing hyperbole. I’ve met I can handhold epitomes, even while use a long lens, to rates as low-pitched as 1/8 th of a second. Blurred water shots no longer require a tripod and video captivate is smooth and virtually tremor free. This is unquestionably best available camera I’ve ever consumed when it comes to likenes stabilization.
Still Photography Performance Frame Rate
Mirrorless cameras are not subject to the same the limits of shutter accelerates as their DSLR copies. The electronic shutter of the Lumix G9 contacts a whopping 20 frames / second, far more than is needed except in all but the more extreme, fast-paced shooting situations. Even when using the standard make frequency, it still manages 9 frames / second, which is competitive with just about any camera on the market.
At 20 fps in the high abound procedure, or 9fps in regular, the G9 does immediate study of moving subjects.
Autofocus
The autofocus is perhaps the one point, where the G9 does precipitate a bit short of high-end DSLRs. Lumix has applied a distinguish observation system be included with Panasonic’s Depth from Defocus technology( DFD ). In bright conditions with few hazards, I noticed the autofocus to be exceedingly quick with a high affect rate. However, in twisted surroundings, or in low brightnes, it occasionally strives to grab my subject.
The DFD system is an active autofocus that perpetually pushes and plucks the focus only a hair backward and forward as it determines the focus item. It’s quickly, but slightly distracting and often conduct me to think that the camera hadn’t settled on my theme. It had, and the resulting likeness indicate a high touch proportion, but the constant push-pull are somewhat distracting.
Image Quality 
While overall idol excellence is superb, light photography is the one arrange where the G9 falls short-lived. This image, captured at ISO 3200, involved substantial sound reduction.
In most lighting places, the 20.3 mp likeness are excellent. RAW format files have a competitive dynamic collection which permits substantial pushing of revelation in post-processing. If you are jpeg shooter, the camera exportations colorful, but not peculiar records ready for sharing on social media. I like the jpeg outputs so much that I’ve set the camera to write both small jpegs and RAW registers which allows for quick shares without post-processing.
Contrasting the previous epitome, this image captivated at 800 ISO is nearly clean-living and necessary no interference reduction, despite the dim necessities. There seems to be a big reduction in portrait quality between ISO1 600 and ISO 3200.
High contrast incidents like this, the G9 manages admirably well.
High-Resolution Images
One of my favorite features of the Lumix G9 Mirrorless Camera is the high-resolution naming. The 20.3 mp sensor is plenty for general squander, nonetheless, as a scenery photographer, I often desire documents that can be printed very large. The high-resolution portrait providing on the G9 makes 8 personas in a row, each offset by 1/2 pixel. This creates a final document that is over 80 megapixels! For better decisions, a tripod is involved, but for scenery design, I’m almost always exerting one regardles. The character of the final idol is, quite frankly, amazing.
This image was captured squandering the high-resolution positioning on the Lumix G9. The original folder is a whopping 10368 x7776px.
The above portrait, pastured virtually in half, is still immense by virtually any standard.
Features WIFI
Wifi connectivity when combined with Lumix’s instinctive app for telephone or tablet, permits quick exporting of folders for sharing from the field. Additionally, the app earmarks full remote operation of the camera. Formerly your persona is formed, you can use the app to adjust exposure, aperture, shutter speed or ISO, then sounds the screen from a 100 m away.
Customization 
With a wide variety of lenses in the Lumix( and Olympus) rows. There is no shortage of options for all types of photography from wildlife to sketches and landscapes.
Advanced crap-shooters will appreciate the extensive customization options on the G9. You can program in several preset modes, accessible from the main function dial atop the camera. But I’ve come to like even more, a separate switch on the breast of the camera at the lower left, which enables you swap between two types of filming procedures. I have one determined for my standard countryside aims, and one to my favourites for wildlife. With a immediate movie of a paw, I can move back and forth between the two as my shooting statu changes. Nifty.
Video
Lumix has always been associated with video capture, even more than still photography. And while the G9 was obviously designed with still portrait in attention, it has inherited many video features of the other Lumix cameras. 4k video captivate up to 60 fps is probable with the G9, something few other still cameras can achieve. With the good integrated stabilization, high-quality video is a breeze. As many of my clients are now seeking video times in addition to stills, the good moving portrait captivate of the G9 entails I no longer is therefore necessary to carry a second, video-specific camera when I’m filming on assignment. For a still shooter who likes to capture some video or a film-maker who also wants high-quality stills, the G9 may be the perfect compromise.
From the back, the camera’s powers are straight forward.
But What’s it Like to Use?
All the tech specs in the world won’t tell you what it actually feels like to use the camera. And in all such cases, I make the Lumix must certainly won the hasten. The restrains are intuitive, with buttons conveniently pinpointed and ergonomics that allow you to determine buttons readily by feel, and without scouring around. I moved from Canon to Lumix and noticed it didn’t make long to feel at home from these systems. I likewise kill a Sony mirrorless, and moving back and forth between the two is not challenging.
It was intermittently snowing hard and blowing cold breeze when I made this image in Alaska’s western Arctic. The G9 managed the conditions without issue.
But it’s in the field that I really desire the Lumix G9. The m4/ 3rd system has meant that not only the sensor is smaller, but the lenses too. Everything is much smaller and compact, even with quickly, high-end lenses. My pack has withered significantly with my switch to Lumix. While full-frame mirrorless cameras are smaller and lighter than pro-level DSLRs, the lenses are not, which puts a limiter on how much heavines and opening you can really save by swapping to full-frame mirrorless. With micro 4/3 rds however, everything is smaller.
As a wilderness photographer, this is a Great advantage for me. I can carry a form and various lenses for the same heavines and width as a single DSLR and mid-range zoom lens. I can’t tell ya how much this has means to me on the many occasions I’ve had to weigh out every ounce to spawn my paraphernalium fit in a bush aircraft. Size are important to a backcountry photographer, and when it is necessary to cameras, smaller is better.
A Note on Lenses
While this isn’t a review of the Lumix lenses, I do want to offer a speedy hat-tip to the Lumix-Leica lens systems. The glass is compact, light, and unusually sharp. The Leica glass components are impeccable, and although it is not cheap, the sharpness is in every practice comparable to the best Nikon, Canon, and Sony lenses. Secondarily, the m4/ 3rds lenses are compatible across firebrands meaning that Olympus equipment labours seamlessly on Lumix organizations.( My current long lens is the Olympus 300 mm f4 PRO, and it operates perfectly on the G9 ).
Final Thoughts
Lumix has been a go-to producer for videographers and film-makers looking for a pact, high-quality structure for many years, while Olympus has led the m4/ 3rds still photography busines. That has all changed with the Lumix G9. While I look forward to a few a rise in coming generations, the G9 has almost everything a serious photographer could crave: huge likenes caliber, good options in lenses, ability to shoot 4k video, inexhaustible customization alternatives, and intuitive controls.
It looks like the Lumix system has learnt a permanent plaza in my camera bag.
Have you used the Lumix G9 Mirrorless Camera? Please share your thoughts and suffers in the comments below.
The post Gear Review: The Lumix G9 Mirrorless Camera saw firstly on Digital Photography School. It was authored by David Shaw.
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