I just bought a GX9 last month (March of 2023) in preparation for a trip to...Italy. I've used nothing but Canon DSLRs since 2005, so I've been binge watching RU-vid videos on M43 cameras in general and the GX9 in particular. I was pleased to find this video with a connection to Italy.
I have GX85 for nearly 2 years before getting GX9, and now use GX85 as back up when travel.. I took both camera to Norway for 2 weeks and Japan 1 week.. The more I use GX9, the more I appreciate it more than GX85, both in image output and usability.. The sum of multiple improvements here and there make the overall using experience much more enjoyable.. On GX9, I enjoy using MF and Highlight/Shadow Curve more than usual, both photo and VDO.. I never use EVF on GX9, however.. I would recommend you to use GX9 with Leica DG 15/1.7 lens.. The combo is a perfect match in street and walk around shooting.. So far, very happy with the purchase..
Kent Ekasak getting better usability with GX9! I guess it if much because the monitor. I just bought the G80, i very much love it - it is as expected in all terms. But that means that the "fully articulating screen" (??? ) also is as expected: "A pain in...." It is good in some special moments, but for most of the situations. it is absolute inconvenient. Who is walking around with that lcd flipped open? - I have never seen anybody. "Power on - flip the lcd (after clearing bags etc away, take your pic, tilt again your screen to the camera body, power off.... Not nice workflow. well, you (me) just do not do it. So, in fact it is, practically, for me as any traditional fixed screen dslr from last 10 years in that aspect. 95% of the situations you (me) just need and want the tilting options. The reason why I went for the G80 was the external mic option, and better grip for big lenses. Sad that only Sony (a77 / a99) can produce the real good solution for the lcd. That I know after 5 years of a77 and later also a77ii. And it is more, the G9,as well as Olympus em1ii also keeping this inconvenience. Sony still smarter with their mirroless line-up. All tilting. Lets see when the reviewers ad producers wake up for this? Meanwhile waiting for the GX9 upgrade with mic input! Cheers :)
I upgraded to the GX9 from the GX85 and I found everything about the GX9 to be an upgrade. One thing that I really like is the new position of the on/off switch. I like to turn the camera off when I don't have it up for a picture and I always ended up changing the picture mode on the GX85, especially with gloves on. Some of my best photos this year were on my summer vacation with the GX9.
Thanks for the video. It makes me appreciate my Gx9 a bit more. I need to use it for video more. It mainly serves as a street camera that I grab when when I am just out and about and I have become completely hung up on L. Monochrome D. I noticed you didn't touch on that much. I used to wonder what people saw in black and white, unitl I got this camera. Now I am fascinated by it. As always, a wonderful review, you are literally one of the best reviewers on RU-vid!
Hey man, I have to say thank you for your videos, especially this one. I was able to use your recommendation and get the great deal on the GX9 from Czechia with the 20mm lens - they shipped to Berlin! Very cool. I absolutely love the camera, more than the Sony and Fuji cameras that I also tried out. MFT is a great system! Keep up the solid content 👍
I have the GX80 and i recently bought the G90, as you have told in the video for photography it's better the tilt screen, it's more immediate to use and that is really important in street photography. Now I'm waiting the GX9 as well, I'm really excited
Hello, my friend! Great review as always. Something I appreciate is your relaxed, factual delivery. A lot of RU-vidrs are very high energy and also add humour, which I find grating after a while. Your reviews are very easy to watch and hear.
Thank you for your very well done review. It was very informative and helped me make my decision to purchase a GX9. Great "street" camera with the Lumix Leica 15mm (30mm equivalent) I've been shooting around NYC and have many, nice shots. The camera is inconspicuous and perfetct for "street" photos. I have little concern about the video mike input and those features. There is only so much you can include in a small body. Panasonic has done a grea job. This is a terrific, compact, well made camera.
Thanka for this review. Because of it and the comparison to the A6500 I purchased the GX9. So far I enjoy shooting with the camera. The 20mm 1.7 indeed works really nicely with the camera. I also like traveling with the GX9 and the 14-140 f. 3.5-5.6. Except for low light and maybe portraits this is a usable package that is hard to match.
Great review. I love my GX9 as a partner to the G9. It's small enough that it lives in my everyday bag and goes with me everywhere, unless I specifically plan to take photos in which case I pack the G9 instead. Also it's the camera I hand off to my kids when we are on holidays so they can take pictures and video while I'm using the G9. As someone else mentioned, the L Monochrome D mode is fantastic as well. I have a function button dedicated to switching back and forth to it with one press.
The naming scheme by Panasonic is maddening. GX80 and GX85 are exactly the same cameras. GX9 is actually the successor to the GX80/85 and indeed marketed as such in Japan. The GX9 should therefore be called the GX80/85 mkii and Panasonic should bring to market a proper GX8 successor.
soulcareer what’s crazy is in japan it makes more sense. The GX80/85 is simply the GX7 mkii and GX9 is GX7 mkiii. Think they planned for the GX8 to be a higher level line hence the mkii and mkiii smaller cams, but seems that line has now merged with the small street camera. If the OLED EVF and sealing had also merged, this would be amazing, but still a good compromise IMO
From my understanding the numbers differ depending where you live. I want the recently announced lumix g95 so I've been doing my research. It replaces the g85. I live in America. Its said that the g85 is known as the g80 in Japan. As well as the G95 in America and G90 in Japan. Also other places have other names for the cameras. The g80/g85 is known as the g81 in Germany. All the same camera just different names. The G90/G95 is the successor to G80/g81/g85 .
Lucifer BlackStar that looks a nice all round hybrid camera, whatever name it’s called where you are. If you’re in UK though the current G9 offers put it very close to the same price, it’s not much bigger and is a better featured camera in many ways. Prices vary a lot though depending where you are
@@samandchar2004 yeah the G9 is actually known as the G9 in America lol. And you are correct. The G9 is the more premium model even though it came out before the g95. The G9 is more of a photography camera than a videography camera. Though it does do 4k60fps but only 10mins. It also has an Ultra High Resolution (80MP) mode only in photography tho. The G95 is more of a mini G9 mixed with the GH5. Newer sensor from the higher end cameras. Has no record limit in all modes. Only does 4k30 tho. Have to keep 4k60 for the higher end devices. But the g95 also comes with V Log L which is for video grading. This is usually something you have to pay for separately. Even the Panasonic S1/S1R the new highest end full frame cameras from Panasonic dont come with V Log Preinstalled and those cameras are $2500 for the s1 and $3500 for the s1r body only and 3500/4500 with the kit lenses. The price difference for the g95 and g9 for us is slightly different. The g95 is 1197.97 with the 12-60 kit lens. And the the g9 is 1197.97 body only. Which isnt bad at all considering most people buy just the body. Unlucky for me in the US. The new G95 Is only being sold with the kit lense from launch. But will eventually be sold as body only which then I will assume it will be even cheaper then the G9. Ill wait for more reviews after launch as not much is still known for the g95 currently as it's not released yet. The G9/GH5 are the High End Cameras and the G85/G95 /GX series are meant to be mid range. And the new S line are the full frame top of the line cameras.
P.S. I want the camera more for videos than pictures. Tho I will be using it generally for content creation. That's why I'm looking into a hybrid camera.
Great video.Thank you. Because of your video, you've convinced me to pick this one up instead of the a6500. Especially since the AF has improved greatly over the gx80/85. The poor autofocus of the gx80/85 and gh5 is one of the biggest reasons people have switched to the Sony. The greatly improved AF of the Gx9 makes it much more of a contender against the a6500.
Another great review by someone who really uses their cameras! Was going to trade my GX80 in for one of these, but looks like the G90 is going to be announced soon, so will probably wait for that and use my GX80 for a small street kit with my 14mm 2.5 and 20mm 1.7 pancakes, with the G90 being used for hiking and all round stuff
I have loved my GX7 for years but feel it is time to upgrade and this is an ideal choice. It has everything the GX7 had but much much more. Thank you for the video friend.
Hello, I am curious if you will ever get your hands on the Fuji Xt3? It seems like one of the best deals in the camera world at the moment. Great channel, keep up the good work.
That's very exciting, I'm on the verge of buying one but I will wait to see what you have to say about it before pulling the trigger. Thank you for the reply.
Great video. While I still would like to see a GX8 MKII, the great reviews about the GX9 has been pleasantly surprising. Really, it's just a smaller GX8. Which is not a bad thing. I would definitely consider one for travel. Great pictures! Sardinia is so underrated as a vacation destination.
Thank you, I'm afraid that with the introduction of the G9 as stills flagship, there is no place for GX8 II in the lineup. Sardinia is indeed beautiful place.
@@TheHybridShooter I agree and that's fine. I originally bought the GX8 for fun street photography. It's just so great, it works more than well enough for professional work. Especially with it's ergonomics. I'll eventually get a GX9 just because the GX8 is a handful to carry every day. Looks like it would hide much more discreetly in any messenger bag. The photo quality looks just as good as the GX8 if not better.
Fantastic review! It's good that you were able to have a go with this camera. You having used almost all of the recent Lumix G cameras would have a better (or maybe best) grip on each of the camera's capabilities to compare between them. I think it is the perfect upgrade coming from the LX series to cover a broader spectrum with different lenses. Great job!
Thanks for the review. I would love to see a review of the Olympus Pen-F. In fact, out of interest, why don't you have any Olympus reviews at all? It would be nice to see them, as this is often the make you compare with when looking at micro four thirds alternatives. Otheriwse your reviews are the best on RU-vid so thanks for that!
Thank you, it is mostly because I shoot a lot of video, which I bough G80 / G85 back in late 2016 and I was also buying Panasonic lenses ever since because of DFD profiles and Dual IS 2 functionality, it just makes more sense for me.
I have the G9/GX9 combo and find that they compliment each other very well. It will be interesting to see how much time you spend with each, for me, surprisingly it’s about a 50/50 split
Great video as usual. I was hoping for some side by side image quality comparisons to the G9 and A6500. I have the a6500 and GX85 but love using Panasonic for interface and compact size.
Straight-forward and pleasant style as usual. I always await your new videos. Great places (I live there... :) ). It's another good camera from Panasonic, keeping the strongholds of the brand and designed for a specific job. Let's hope Panasonic (and Olympus) will keep on investing on MFT. Thanks.
Another great video! You do an excellent job and I always look forward to your work. You've done so many systems, are you planning to get into the Canon R line? I realize the costs may be prohibitive unless you can get them to give you one!
Great video and one that rightly praises all the good points of this camera without the "buts" and the "ifs" of other reviewers. Any gear should be judged by what it meant primarily to accomplish. I found a good dea for a black body gx9 with low shutter count and the Leica 15mm 1.7 for 650€ and I didn't hesitate to order it.
Thanks again. That 20 mill is as sharp as any lens I've used, provides great bokeh but it is a noisy, focusing little sucker. Is there a quieter alternative?
Peter Paul Chato I have the 25mm 1.7 and I love it. It’s not as sharp as the 20mm but it’s significantly quieter and dirt cheap. You can get it new for $150
Great review. With the way prices are falling on previous generation cameras, I wonder if the GX9 is priced a little high. Especially with the viewfinder being as underwhelming as it is. It seems like Panasonic, along with others, are basically replacing the sensors in their updated cameras, leaving everything else the same and charging several hundred dollars more for the update. Just a thought. Thanks again and it looks like you had a great vacation as well
Thank you, in reality, there is actually significant difference in the output, the color science was greatly improved as well. GX85 / GX80 is still great value, although the GX9 is IMO worth the extra... even if was just for that sensor.
You haven't speak about the digital video stabilisation which is, like on others recent lumix cameras, very efficient; especially for compensing the little hand movements
@@TheHybridShooter OK, I just say that because you have others lumix camera and you probably know it. And with a zoom Lens like the 12-60 the crop factor isn't very important. Thanks for your reply (and the review of course) :)
A good review. As you say a good "B" camera, but for the money I would like a better viewfinder, remote release socket and Dual IS2. If it was GX85 price I would probably get one to replace my EP-5
I always like to watch your videos, I am also shooting with the G9 and want to use my lenses on a smaller body for short trips, you can still recommend the GX9 in 2021? still worth the buy? most for stills and sometimes videos, thanks for any answer friend, I like your channel.
Thank you! I don't really recommend any M43 camera in 2021. Fujifilm X-E4 that I am testing now is a better package, I will have a review of that one soon.
Nazdar. Je to super camera no doubt. Ma tento fotak limit na video v europe? Ja mam Oceania region version kde samozrejme limit nie je. A rad by som este videl review v tvojom podani na Panasonic 15mm 1.7 najlepsie ak by si pouzil G9. Diky bratm super channel.
Like many, I quite revere your opinions. Planning to make a partial switch to mft thro gx9 with 100-300 ii for bird pictures at our sanctuary, not necessarily for bif. My apprehension is about this non- OLED vf. Do you think I should consider gx8 or g85 instead? Love to hear from you. Thanks.
Hi, congratulations, great review. I am very determined to acquire a Gx9 for the 20 mp that it offers. My current camera is a g85 and, I confess, I have a certain difficulty, especially in directing the point of af. I have preferred manual focus. I take more pictures looking through the viewfinder. Are there improvements in the gx9 rangefinder? Thanks for the feedback.
@@TheHybridShooter Thanks for the feedback and objective response. I'll rethink the purchase. My fear was exactly this, the viewfinder of it being worse
Nice review. Just want to ask, you mentioned that there's a 4k crop. What's the crop factor when you're in 4k? For example, 12mm becomes? Thanks in advance
The Hybrid Shooter Thanks, I know that difference on the megapixel/sensor side but the Olympus have for example more focuspoints. But I can imagine that the gx9 is doing it fast enough on autofocus
Thanks for this great review. As a hybrid camera for stills and video, when comparing G85 and GX9, is the autofocus in video noticeable better on GX9 than on G85 ? Or is that not that much better to accept the other drawbacks like missing mic in, more crop and little bit worse ergonomic (grip)?
You're welcome, unfortunately the AF in video is not much better on GX9. If you want Panasonic with very good AF in video, you have to go with GH5 / G9 / GH5S.
The Hybrid Shooter it’s really tricky because I value the smaller form factor of GX9 G85 specially for travel but big G9 has better AF. So proabibly it come to question what is “good enough” and “small enough”.
I have Luminar but have stopped using it because of the lack of the library feature. They have posted videos of what they are working on but when it will be ready remains to be seen. I had Lightroom but decided to try something else. I actually like Luminar how simple my work flow is using it. I like being able to create my own workspace and adding filters as needed. Without the library it really slows me down. Luminar creates an LMR file that stores changes to your photo which you can name but the icon is just shown as LMR. It is very difficult to find which photo you are looking for by file name only. It would be nice if the file showed a preview of the photo instead. I have stopped using it for now and am waiting on the changes supposedly due in November. For now I am trying to use On1 Photo Raw. I am trying out their 2019 trial version which I am slowly learning. I will probably use these 2 and decide later which one I will go with.
I am currently using Luminar as Lightroom plugin with Lightroom Libraries, but I should be able to test version with Libreries soon, although I won't be able to share much about that, so I guess that we will have to wait...
Just checked their site and now it seems the DAM won’t be available til December. This is a complaint of some customers. Skylum shows them something but do not deliver in a timely manner.
Great review (my friend ;-) ). This is a pretty good camera but (like you also said) not at all the successor of the GX8 I was hoping for. I really was expecting Panasonic to bring out a GX9 with the same body-style as the GX8 but with some/many of the G9 feature. But they came up with this. Like I said: not a bad camera on its own but in many ways inferior to the GX8. I love the flip out screen on my GX8. The EFV of the GX8 is much better. The grip and handling are much better. It's a nicer camera overall (design and so on). The only real updates it needed were better IBIS (in real world GX8 only gives you 1 to 1.5 stops), removal of the low pass filter and a beefed up AF system (the G9s would do nicely ;-) ). Hope they come out with a true GX8 successor some day. Until then I will hang on to my GX8.
Thank you, GX9 is classic street photo rangefinder, so it is not really comparable to the GX8. I also like the GX8, but with the introduction of the G9 as high-end option for stills, I'm afraid that there is no place for the GX8 successor in the line up.
Thanks for your input as a GX8 owner. I'm currently looking for a M43 street camera and tossing up between the GX8, GX9 and Pen-F. The GX9 seems a hybrid camera taking from past models with some updates. But Panasonic giveth and taketh. Compared to the GX8 the body is much smaller, grip is worse, EVF is worse and there's no weather sealing. However they did fix the shutter shock, improve the IBIS and give you monochrome D. Maybe l should just wait for a GX10?
nice review, thx, I begin to do some video work , ,,I'm using gx85 but I find the video focus too slow for my needs. Do u think G85 or Gx9 have better video auto focus? (g9 is out of my budget). or Should I get a a6000 instead?
Thank you, it depends on whether you need 4K. Autofocus in video is decent on G85 in 1080p, but quite slow in 4K. Same with the GX9. A6000 has better autofocus, but I would choose G85 overall instead.
Hey man thanks for your vids I enjoy them! I know you mentioned in the video that 1080 is good.. but how does it compare to 1080p in the g85? The gx85 had soft 1080p and I’m wondering if they fixed that for the gx9? Asking for a comparison to the g85 1080p because I own that camera and it would be nice to have a point of reference. Thanks man!
The Hybrid Shooter ok thanks man just needed confirmation coz the g7 and gx85 had the same sensor but the gx85 had much worse 1080p even though the 4K between the two Cameras was the same!
i use a two camera strategy to avoid having to swap lenses - currently a g9 and a g80 - i was thinking of upgrading the g80 to another g9 (so they can both be set up the same way) but would the gx9 be a better bet ? i also have a lumix lx 100 for street photography.
It makes sense to use G9 a GX9 together because you would have bigger professional camera and compact camera for occasion when you don't all of the performance of the G9.
Hello. I just got a gx9 while I'm still using the Gx80. One thing I noticed is that IBIS is much less effective for picture shooting, but not for video. Weird. Have you noticed anything similar?
hello my friend - i currently have two G9s , one fitted with a 12-60 f2.8-4 and the other with the 50-200 f2.8-4...these i use when i go out on a dedicated photo shoot, usually in the landscape,,,what if anything would i lose in terms of image quality etc if i swapped out one of those G9s for a GX9 ? i do hope you can advise on this and thanks for all your brilliant work.
Greetings again. Micro adjustment of AF is not required by virtue of contrast detection AF mechanism vis a vis PDAF - do you see this benefit in practice, please? Thank you.
@@TheHybridShooter However, if you are using the camera for the sake of vlogging you might want the M50 because of the flippy screen. I am aware that this question was for quality, but also consider what you are using it for. Also, sometimes on big retail stores you can find Panasonic G9 open box deals for around $1100 USD.
Hello The Hybrid Shooter, Can you tell me if it is possible to set up an Olympus lenses? It seems to me that Olympus lenses are not stabilized (not like Panasonic's). (Example of what I want to do: GX9 + M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm f / 2.8 Pro).
I would like to upgrade my GX7 that has a broken screen. However Panasonic only offers a GX9 here in Canada with a 12-60mm kit lens. No thanks!!! Where is the body only version? What is Panasonic thinking? Grrrrr
hi, do you think that is better gx9 or eos m50 for image quality ? gx9 and g80 have the same dual si stabilization or the g80 has dual is 2 and gx9 dual is 1?
Is it live view and electronic viewfinder like the Sony a6300? Like when you change exposure and aperture or iso it shows you what you’re gonna get? Cause I tried the g85 and it wasn’t like that. This answer would help me with buying this camera thank you!
The Hybrid Shooter oh really? When I had the g85 I returned it because I would change the exposure and aperture or iso and nothing would change on the screen. What do you mean it wasn’t set that way?
The Hybrid Shooter I bought if used from b&h I didn’t know about having to turn it on. I just know when I was trying it with the evf and live view nothing changed when I changed the exposure which I thought was weird. Where would that be to turn it on? And when you turn it on that would be for both the evf and live view? Thanks for answering all my questions
It is much more user friendly and the controls are much better, overall it is more fun to use. The difference between new 20 mpix M43 sensor and 24 mpix Sony APS-C sensor is actually not that big, GX9 IQ is more than sufficient for street / travel photography.
