Panasonic G9 Hands-On Field Test

The Panasonic G9 has been out for a while now and our colleagues Chris Niccolls and Jordan Drake from the Camera Store recently joined forces with nature and wildlife photographer Joe Dejardins to take a somewhat unorthodox look at the camera shooting in some freezing wheater outdoors.

The G9 is Panasonic’s latest attempt at a top stills camera with some pretty advanced video capabilities (although not as advanced as some of the stuff that you can find on the GH5/GH5S).

On this video, Chris and Jordan traveled to meet wildlife photographer Joe Dejardins and shoot outdoors with several lenses (including the new Panasonic 200mm f/2.8 which was announced alongside the G9 – see here). Joe seemed to be impressed by the G9 (and he typically shoots with Canon’s 1DX MKII so his bar is set pretty high.

Until recently mirrorless cameras were not really been able to compete with pro-level DSLRs for sports or wildlife. The AF was not fast enough, you didn’t have the buffer or the image quality and there were other things missing. We still think that the micro 4/3 line could use more high-end long telephoto lenses (200mm f/2.8 is nice but you need longer, fast lenses to really appeal to this target audience). On the plus side if you are O.K. with the current lens selection you will end up with a very capable camera setup that is significantly lighter than a comparable DSLR setup.

For those who don’t remember, here are the specs for the Panasonic G9:

  • Sensor: 20.3MP Digital Live MOS Sensor (no AA filter – same as the GH5).
  • Processor – a new Venus Engine Image Processor.
  • Video resolution:  4K/60p – no crop.
  • ISO – up to 25600.
  • Continuous shooting – 20 fps with AF and 60fps with the electronic shutter (up to 50 frame buffer RAW).
  • 6.5-Axis Sensor Stabilization (the most advanced in the industry); Dual I.S. 2.
  • Slow motion (Variable Frame Rate): Max of 180fps/23.98 in FHD.
  • Improved Auto Focus (0.04 sec).
  • Full size HDMI (Type A/USB 3.1).
  • 3″ 1k dot Free Angle touch monitor (smaller and lower res than the GH5).
  • Info screen on the top.
  • 3,680K dot panel resolution, 0.83x magnification (35mm-equivalent) and 21mm eyepoint (larger than the GH5).
  • SD Card Slota: dual UHS-II U3.
  • A new magnesium-alloy body, splashproof, dustproof and freezeproof to 14°F (-10°C)
  • Bluetooth 4.2 + WIFI 2.4/5Ghz.
  • Weight: 23.2 oz (658 g) includes batteries.
  • Power: Same batteries as GH4/GH5 (with USB charging option).
  • Price: $1700 (available – January 2018).

You can find many more previews and reviews on our Photography review section here on LensVid. You can find many of The Camera Store videos here on LensVid.

Iddo Genuth
Iddo Genuth is the founder and chief editor of LensVid.com. He has been a technology reporter working for international publications since the late 1990's and covering photography since 2009. Iddo is also a co-founder of a production company specializing in commercial food and product visual content.

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