Lumix GX9 vs Sony A7C -MFT vs FF which is better? 

The GX9 is like a hidden Leica ❤

The A7C is a great entry point into full frame. I just can't get past the cost if I want to replicate the four MFT lenses that I have now. I'm not a pro and I'm more than happy with what I get from MFT, especially shooting in raw. The tiny budget friendly f/1.7-1.8 MFT primes is the icing on the cake.

I used GX9 for 6 months, I love this small camera. GX9's menu is easy to operate than my Sony rx100. My Sony RX100 used to lie in my box serval years, but GX9 excited my passion in photographing.

Fun comparison: for me the GX9, approximately $700 cheaper, and the fact that I already own many MFT lenses makes the GX9 the best deal.

I’ve been using micro 4/3’s in my business for 12 years before that my primary camera was an OM 1 purchased in 1982. M4/3’s size is a big plus as I document buildings and structures spend my days climbing over and under buildings In Australia retailers push Nikon and Canon leaving Olympus and LUMIX gathering dust. In July 2022 purchased 2 GX-9 with lenses for $640 in October found an EM-5 MK 3 with a 14-150 plus an additional battery for $620. I always check out the big box electrical retailers for bargains

I still love my GX9. Hard to quantify, but I really enjoy shooting with it. I also find it user friendly and I am happy with the results I get. The satisfying shutter sound is the cherry on top.

I own a GX9 and the a7c has been tempting me for so long. I wish there were more compact mirrorless rangefinder-style full frame cameras. If Panasonic makes an S5 in a GX9 body, it’d be a winner in my book. Pair that with their f/1.8 primes - killer combo!

I have a GX9 and also three Nikon Z cameras. I love the GX9 and use it a lot. One big difference between M43 and full frame is depth of field. Depending on the look you want, the M43 sensor can be an advantage. I do a lot of outdoor shooting and the increased depth of field is why I often use the GX9 outdoors. If I'm shooting people and want the soften the background (without having to do it in post), I use the Nikon Z cameras. Another HUGE advantage M43 has is the size and weight of the lenses. I wish Panasonic would refresh the GX9 and offer better weather protection.

Thanks, Matti! I haven't used GX9 but I can suppose that image stabilization is expected more effective because GX9 has more space inside body to place stabilizer and micro43 sensor has more space in bayonet.

A refreshing video. It shows that the "best" system is mainly personal preferences. Apart from some niche applications, almost any camera will do.

Thanks for a great video. I have a question about image quality. I note you shot both cameras at f8 and ISO 12800 to compare image quality, but shouldn't you have shot the GX9 at f4 and ISO 3200 to account for the extra 2 stops of depth of field. I would be interested to learn what the image quality is like at those settings. Regards Paul

I like how you can make these comparisons now since you’re not an ambassador anymore! :)

I would add 3 additional categories: * prime lens cost ** weight of lenses and ***night photography features & quality 😉

Thanks for this comparison. I have a GX8, and the Leica 25mm lens is one of my favourites. Personally, I rate the GX8 better than the GX9, for some of the features that were streamlined out for the later model. I was interested in the A7C for its bigger sensor, but with the extra cost I think I'll stick with my GX8 as I'm very happy with it.

I've heard more than a few times that the GX85/GX9 have "soul" whereas some of the newer Fuji cameras and Sony offerings lack said "soul". I'm not sure what that means exactly, maybe a combination of comfort handling wise and a nice selection of easy-to-use features together with some pretty good glass for reasonable pricing makes it a pleasant experience without much, if any, frustration in the process. I use my GX85 more than my EM1.2 these days and if Panasonic decided to release a GX9.2 or GX10 with the GH6's upgraded sensor and image processor then I would probably sell the EM1.2 to fund part of it without much thought. I love the EM1.2, but I don't shoot motion or anything it provides over a smaller formfactor GX camera body. Two card slots not under a battery door and weather "proofing" is nice, but the framerate, buffer, etc isn't really required.

Very interesting comparison. I think the Lumix held up pretty well considering it's older and has a much smaller sensor.

I've been interested in the A7c for video, but I'm seeing a few people report that it overheats and shuts down. That's a definite deal breaker for me if true. Have you experienced any overheating when shooting long (hours) long videos in 4k30?

Matti good day! On Olympus, it is possible to turn on the change in the backlight of the screen in real time when changing the exposure parameters. Is there the same possibility on the GX9?

Hi Matti another nice video comperison thx for the upload have a good week

If we're talking of landscape photography need to understand that depth of field is crucial in most landscapes. So we have to set F-number on full frame camera at 8-11, at the same case on micro43 camera we can achieve the same DoF with 4-5.5 F-number and in case of low light we can set ISO number 2 steps lower than on full frame camera. Therefore we can have theoretically (if the both sensors of the same technology/generation) the same low light performance on the same scene.

I would love to see you do a print comparison using the same lens quality, settings, and lighting up to 20x30 prints- and have different people look at the prints and see if they have a preference or can tell the difference. In almost all cases- you can't tell the difference! Would be a fun video!

I use Sony A7C with the Samyang Tiny yet Mighty lens such as 18mm f2.8 and 45mm f1.8! A perfect travel kit 👌 That being said I love using my Olympus EP-7 since it is very light weight paired with even lighter M43 lens and yes the 2X crop factor is a win win for telephoto shooting of landscape and birding which I do using the nifty 40-150 f4-5.6 and leica 100-400. Both these system are great and I am happy to see these offerings to meet our need. Cheers 🍻

I want reliability. Panasonic has the lowest defect rate in the industry and by a good margin.

Great review 👍 what do you think about the Pana s5 vs the Sony a7c?

I woukd say : it depends on the glass you have! I just took some great pictures with my GX9 + leica glass. Where it was really struggling : low light conditions... (as expected). But from morning to sunset, the GX9 is a stellar performer for its size and weight...

The Lumix seem like a nice camera. I had the GX8 and liked it a lot. Really hopes they keep on going on with m43; News sensors and cameras. Full frame lenses are allmost to big at the moment, atleast zooms.

I am an enthusiastic photographer and I would like to purchase a used camera GX9 is way cheaper that Sony A7C so I will go directly with MFT because lenses are inexpensive

Just a question, if i'm understanding well, f8 on ff coresponding with f4 on m43 (same depth of field), so to compare noise you should comparing iso 12800 on ff with iso 3200 on m43, is my thought right ?

Absolutely agree that the bang for the buck camera is that which serves your purpose better. Love the video and the honest opinion.

Just picked up an Olympus OM-D EM10 Mk3 w/ the 14-42mm lens used for $380 as my MFT camera and love it. Combined with my Canon M cameras I couldn’t ask for more. Excellent quality all around, fantastic and inexpensive lenses for all and incredibly portable. Full frame certainly has it’s place but until I win the lottery and am able to drop $1.5 - $2k on a "high end" lens I’ll stick with MFT and EF-M. 😊

GX9 all the way for me. Sony too overpriced. Besides, i enjoy the process of trying to take the best photo i could using less costly gear.

Thanks - i have the GX9 but learned some things about it from this video 👍🏼 fwiw i wouldnt consider any sensor bigger than M43 because of the much smaller lenses, especially the longer lenses

I own both the A7C and GX9 (as well as the GH6). The A7C is a beautiful camera. However, for me, owning both cameras has made it clear that MFT is still an excellent choice and that there is no need to switch to Full Frame. With a bit of skill, you can do practically everything with MFT cameras that Full Frame offers, including achieving an excellent shallow depth of field. For example, with MFT lenses like the Olympus 75mm 1.7 lens or the Zhongi Speedmasters 25mm f0.95. The major advantage of MFT remains its light weight and the wide range of lenses available. The GX9 paired with the 15mm 1.7 lens is a fantastic setup for street photography and video: small, inconspicuous, and non-intimidating. I often pair the GX9 with the 14-140 (ff 28-280): it remains lightweight and has an impressive zoom range. Also, the dual stabilization (body plus lens) works very well. A handy combination when you are traveling. Try putting that same zoom on a FF camera: it becomes bulky and heavy in terms of size and weight. By the way, a nice alternative to the GX9 is the new OM5 from OM-Systems. In short, it's clear to me that I will continue to mainly use MFT cameras and lenses in the future and not switch to Full Frame.

I'm a Nikon shooter and I've been using my GX9 with my legendary Nikon 14-24 mm zoom and 85mm f1.4 prime lenses. The Focus Peaking on the gx9 works really well.

My money is on Micro Four Thirds!

Thanks for another comprehensive & fair minded review. Not sure if you can access camera, but I hope you can do a review of GH5 II & compare it to A7C, esp for video.

I like your un-biased and practical approach to such gear comparisons! Did you use the 1. or 2. version of the Leica lens? The latter is visibly sharper wide open (I made a personal comparison while I upgraded the lens). For the noise comparison I would have set the Lumix to f 4 and iso 3200, because in my opinion that is more equivalent to f 8 and iso 12800 on the Sony. Which might still be better due to its BSI sensor design.

Great informative video! My only comment is, when comparing low light performance, you should take into consideration that a larger sensor will give less depth of field, you will need to step down two stops for the same sharpness. This again requires lower iso for the LUMIX.

I switched from the GX9 to the A7C2. The panasonic is excellent. But after going through the Sony files, I’m sorry, the full frame just beats the MFT- if only because the shallower depth of field. A larger sensor has a shallower depth of field- it just does. Don’t get me wrong- I was able to nail eye focus with the Panasonic. And the price is right. And in the end, I know how much bigger I can print from full frame.

I just bought the gx9 for a backup camera last month(I use ff and medium format gfx before, all sold and turn back to m43 system om1 for my wildlife photo), gx9 and enough for most use. Gx9 prices are very reasonable now(all new kit are around usd $580)

Nice video. A dedicated section about ibis comparison would have been nice as well.

Good work Matti! 😁

Can you fit a gx9 into an a7c cage? It's almost Impossible to find a cage for the gx9

IMHO, with ~ $1000 difference in their prices, Lumix is the hands down winner for an entry level camera.

I wouldn’t swap my GX9 with it’s Leica lenses for anything currently…..but it is being challenged by my amazing iPhone 13 pro……..both fantastic bits of photographic kit.

Thanks for this excellent comparison. think it is very fair.

I have the much older GX7 along with an A7C, and even that ancient Panasonic is pretty good so I imagine the much newer GX9 would be outstanding. Like you said, the lenses are the big thing. I have the 40mm f/2.5 G and 24mm f/1.4 GM, so if I want to use either of those I'll take the Sony but I also have the really nice 15mm f/1.7 for the Panasonic which sits in the middle.

Good points but I'll stay in the 4/3rds Eco System for now.

Interesting comparison. I had a gx9 for a couple of weeks and I had problems with getting the viewfinder to come into sharp focus. None of the diopter adjustments worked. Do you have any experience with this? Otherwise I found the design and layout of the camera to be great and would consider buying another if the viewfinder was better. Maybe I just had with people call a "bad copy"?

for the test of iso performance why did you keep the same apperture for both camera ? With the ff at the same aperture you have less depth of field.

I used Sony for a while(A7Riii) and actually left the system because I found the bodies TOO small. Going back to the Lumix G9, it's much more comfortable for my larger hands.

Thank you for the review.

Always enjoy your videos, but here I would say that I personally dont want to do without the full frame look that is not available with Lumix? Many greetings from Denmark

Thanks for this Matti. You left out in body image stabilisation that allows a photographer to shoot with lower ISOs on a micro four thirds camera and keep the noise levels down. I know this is counter balanced by the low light performance of Sony full frame though. I would be interested if you did a comparison of that. I own both Sony full frame and Panasonic micro four thirds cameras so Insee the benefits of both too.

I always enjoy your videos. Unfortunately, I was unlucky with Sony equipment, and I can’t fully describe my experience with Sony customer support in on a family-friendly channel. I’ll just say that pigs will fly before I ever purchase another Sony product. I have never had a problem with any of my Panasonic gear.

Great comparison. The only area I wish you'd included was stabilization, both in photo mode and in video.

Ottima recensione. Io per la street uso la Lumix GX9 con ilLeica sumilux 15 mm f. 1.7 e sono molto soddisfatto dei risultati.

I'm currently all-in G9/GX9. Sony's A7C is an amazing package. How does Sony's FE 50mm f2.5 compare to MFT 25mm lenses? Do you have the Olympus f1.2?

Nice comparison. I wish you also compared the color science. I think gx9 has better color, im just not sure if sony has improved the color quality in a7c.

Can the olympus lenses be used on the lumix cameras?

Nice comparison. It would also be interesting to see a comparison of the IBIS in these two cameras.

Although, it is possible to argue regarding the lenses - Panasonic and Olympus have so many first class lenses that the new lenses aren't exactly needed, I would say, you compare the cameras in the right way. I can't say the same about some other vloggers. Recent, I saw one, who took Lumix G70 with the kit lens (very far from good ones) and some Canon lenses (with adaptor) for a photo trip to Berlin. Then he showed the pictures and complained about bad resolution. Finally, on the base of the pictures that were done with the old camera and such as set of lenses he makes conclusions that MFT is not suitable to have high quality pictures. It was "dislike" without any doubts.

For me, I pick GX9 and save money to better lenses, great softwares like Topaz and DxO Photolab :)

why not put together a zoom lenses cost and size using the same 2 formats? as close as practicably possible of course

Gx8 do you ever use that one its good for light wait and in my opinion is much better than gx9 if you do video

Panasonic need a GX-s body with full frame sensor. It was something I wanted from when I bought the GX7 several years ago and then the GX8, by then Panasonic only made cameras M4/3.

Great channel!

The a7C looks amazing. However in terms of the key defining reason to get either of these cameras, which is the weight and size, I think the Lumix has one vital advantage. That is the weight of the lenses. There is no Sony lens which is a lightweight equivalent for the Panasonic 42.5 f/1.7, and even lesser for the excellent Panasonic 35-100 f/2.8. With a Pana 12-35, 35-100, 25 1.4 and 42.5 1.7 and camera, your total setup would barely be 1.2 kg. With the Sony, 2 primes and 2 zooms will take you to twice that weight. Even the lightest setup, such as Sigma/Tamron 28-70(75) lens, Tamron 70-180 f/2.8 lens, 50 2.5 (or 1.8) and 85 1.8, you will be in a very different weight bracket. And losing some range on both the wide and tele end, while gaining some f-stops in equivalence

You should do a comparison of these 2 with PenF and although I am biased because I only have the PenF( my sister had the Sony and it was also nice to use) but I guess for me the PenF would win because of the black and white features.

For the price people pay to A7c + 50, you can buy GX9 with 5 lens.

Very fair comparison. I went from a Lumix G9 to the A7c, and while I really like it I do miss the G9s feature set.

Compact cameras make sense with compact lenses. Both of those need a pancake lens to release their potential as carry everywhere cameras.

That Sony is the only FF camera I have thought about buying. But the price is insane compared with the GX9. Plus the lenses for m43 are so small and reasonably priced.

I'm shooting with both an E-M1 mark II and a Sony A7 III ; for general travel, family pictures , I really don't see all that huge difference in quality of the pictures. Of course if you pixel peep or manipulate heavily the raw files in LR/PS the FF will win the contest, but for general usage M43 is still a great option. 20x30cm prints...I can't tell the difference between FF and M43, the same goes on Ipad display. I'm looking to purchase a used GX9 just for the holidays or trips... I mainly have Oly lenses (lots of them) and that holds me back. I dont really like the Pen-F for some misterious reasons...so I was looking at the GX9....wondering if the lenses will work fine, autofocus fine etc. Especially the Olympus 12-40 f2.8 which I'd like to use on the GX9...

Gx9 tilt EVF is such a winner. Fair comparison. I do think that Sony has discountinued the Sony A7C.

E-mount system released no less than 8 new lenses this year alone. Available options are just fantastic.

thanks for this comparison. Surprised to hear that the Sony mount has a wider range than MFT - that's very impressive. It's telling that the GX9 is an older product than the A7C but it's still Panasonic's latest range-finder style camera. I have a G9 and could see myself getting a Sony A7C for wide/normal focus ranges and using the G9 for the telephoto/macro lenses. Now, if Panasonic built an SX5 camera that took the G9/S5 batteries… :)

What this clearly shows is that Pana could definitely fit a full frame sensor into a Gx8. Size body, which would be awesome..

When I see camera comparisons like this - does it even make sense to make smaller sensor camera today? I mean sensor is smaller. Camera body can't/shouldn't be downsized because it compromises ergonomy from certain point (you want to have big display with tilt mechanism, you may want to have some grip). I wonder how much expensive is bigger sensor when it comes to manufacturing cost. FF system has larger lenses - is this a necessity? I mean - compare this 25mm/f1.4 and 50mm/f2.5. There are nearly equivalent. What if someone makes lens like 24-70mm/f5.6 or 24-120/f7-f11? Yes, it sounds horrible. But these can be much cheaper and smaller than 24-70/f2.8. But they might be fine as an entry-level and compact lens for travel and landscapes.

One other difference is that the Lumix GX9 is not weather sealed. The Sony A7C has weather sealing. I have used the A7C hiking through a lot of heavy rains in the Rockies and in Ontario. I have a Pen-F that also has no weather sealing. If it had that feature, I'd probably use the Oly a lot more as the Sony is heavy once you have high quality native Sony or Sigma glass attached to it.

It was nice of you to make this comparison but there are a few things I feel you got not quite right. I wish you had compared the Lumix using the 25mm f/1.7 instead of the Leica 1.4. The 1.7 is so much lighter weight, less expensive, and I think it is sharper with better contrast. Also, your ISO 12800, 1/125s at f/8 on the Sony is impressive but also necessary because of the longer focal length. It would be better compared to the GX-9 at ISO 3200, 1/125s at f/4 since the exposure, sharpness, and depth of field will look the same. ISO 3200 on the micro Four-Thirds sensor is still acceptable for most people. It does get to be a feature war between cameras but those settings would be a more realistic comparison. The Sony would definitely win the bokeh argument if that is a big issue but I personally see the longer focal lens and shallower depth of field as a detriment in many cases. I agree with you regarding 4K crop. I don't understand why Panasonic chose to crop 4K like that on the GX-9 when they don't do that on the G9. With that being said, there are some visual benefits to a 4K native resolution rather than binning the full frame sensor output like Sony and others do. Binning can result in some unpleasant artifacts on diagonal lines and those are not always fixable in post.

People have been telling me the Lumix cameras are dust magnets. The a7C is sealed. It's a professional art photographer's camera.

U gave a point to Sony because of the lenses and how many they are. Well I would give lumix also a point because the lenses generally are smaller and that's also a fact and that should not be underestimated. As an extra it has a tilt viewfinder. Also of course the Sony has more bokeh but on the other hand lumix has more focal length for crop factor. At the end I would say it's 5:5 draw

i was going to buy the new Sony a7cii but at only 33mp vs 20mp the price difference was not worth the upgrade. i will wait for a GX10 there is a good market for it. i also have no need for video features. if Sony produced the new A7cii with a 40mp sensor without the video features for still photographers only it would be a winner for us purist.

I prefer m4/3 lens ecosystem to Sony's. If only because m4/3 has a larger selection of lighter lenses, also at the long range lenses for the same or better quality are more affordable. But I might be biased, because I love my feathered bokeh on the Olympus lenses.

you could ad in ibis as another point

The best camera will be the sensor of the lumix S5 in the body of the GX9. :-)

I have the a7c it’s a great camera

Micro 4/3rds?

thanks

Have Sony a7r but almost never use it because the Olympus much easier to bring with me everyday

In point of ergonomics etc: in my eyes Sony tried to save every penny on this camera wherever they can to maximize the income. What I mean: as you mentioned only 1 real dial where the gx9 has 2 wheels and the front wheel is out of metal, so are the mechanic wheels that connect inside the body, u can hear it when hold it to the ear. And because the gx9 has a smaller grip it means the Sony with bigger grip had the space for it but they didn't use it. On the front of the Sony body u have a small piece of rubber grip which looks cheap and the rest is naked and u will see fingerprints on the naked surface where the gx9 looks like leather (is synthetic) but well made and covers the whole front. On ergonomics and how to handle the camera Sony did fail completely

Sony is proud of its Complicated Menu.

Strange idea to compare MFT camera with full frame... The single advantage of GX9 is rotatable viewfinder. Must have for Sony in future generations of A7C.

👍

I had them both for a couple of months (before I sold the GX9). There's no comparison in photo quality. I don't care about video. I wanted a compact photo camera, with great autofocus and great battery life. Besides the Sony just destroyed (and I mean it) the GX9 in terms of AF. Battery life is also impressive and ISO performance kills it on the Sony. I bought the Sony only $500 more expensive than the price I paid for the GX9. Please believe me, if you're a still shooter you want the Sony, no contest, otherwise you will regret it. It's game over for MFT. You can get a cheap Rokinon 35 f2.8 ($200) and you'll get the same depth of field at a fraction of the price than any MFT 1.4 lens.

My GX9 have very bad iBIS in newest firmware and panasonic still not fix this issue.

If you got confused, get Sony A6400 :) Better image quality, way better Video. The only 2 true advantages as owner of Gx9, are that it’s a more user-friendly camera and has more fun to capture photos and second, very affordable lenses comparing to Sony. Thanks god, Sigma launched the 18-50mm e-mount at 500€ and things got a bit better

Thank you for interesting video. However for low light noise comparison you use the same ISO settings on both cameras (f-stops as well) and these values are not fully compatible between systems with different sensor sizes. The real low light test for these two cameras & lenses would be to set maximal f-stop on both lenses(1.4 and 2.5), the exposure time should be the same on both cameras - short enough, to show the noise. ISO levels should be set accordingly to match output brightness for both photos. For example ISO 6400 on Lumix and I think on Sony the ISO would be something around 20000. Then it is possible that the noise levels should be similar (probably Sony 1/3 stop better).

I wish i kept my GX7 or LX100 =/ I have the S5, the image quality is perfect but its too huge for family events.