I’ve been utilizing the excellent Panasonic Lumix G9 Micro-four-thirds digicam for my wildlife images since I reviewed it right here on the location again in 2018, not lengthy after its launch. It was… and certainly nonetheless is… a improbable digicam for wildlife. With the announcement of the Lumix G9II in late 2023, Panasonic introduced its flagship Micro 4/3 stills digicam bang updated… however how does it carry out within the subject for wildlife images? Let’s discover out.
Execs: Blistering all-round efficiency with extremely quick burst capturing and substantial enhance in buffer measurement. A brand new phase-detect autofocus system (now with chicken/animal eye-detection) detects and locks on to topics sooner and extra precisely than ever. Excellent picture high quality for a smaller sensor, with nice dynamic vary. Increase to equal focal size with the 2x crop issue of the M4/3 sensor is a boon for wildlife. Excellent Lumix and third get together lens choice. Higher noise efficiency at greater ISOs than its predecessor. If video is your factor the G9II comes with all of the bells and whistles.
Cons: Whereas noise is dealt with higher than within the authentic G9 (which wasn’t dangerous by any means), there’s no getting round the truth that smaller sensors get noisy at greater ISO settings. The omission of the LCD prime show of the G9 is disappointing, and one thing I missed greater than I anticipated to. Battery life is okay, however does appear to empty extra shortly than on the G9 — so for all-day capturing you’ll wish to carry a spare — and in the event you plan to shoot video, carry a number of. Whereas the management dials are massive and tactile, and work properly, they don’t lock, like on the unique G9, and I had a number of situations the place both the mode dial, the capturing pace dial or each had “slipped” to a unique setting whereas carrying the digicam round. There’s a noticeable power-up lag when the digicam has entered “Deep Sleep” mode that may be irritating if you wish to get a shot shortly.
Value: Panasonic Lumix G9 II (Physique Solely) c. €1,899, or as a equipment with the 12-60mm Leica f2.8-4 c. €2,499.
View the Panasonic Lumix G9II on the Panasonic UK&Eire web site.
Try the Panasonic Lumix G9II on Amazon.
Lumix G9II Full Assessment
Rumours of the loss of life of Micro 4 Thirds as a format in 2023 had been vastly exaggerated, and had been put to mattress conclusively in late 2023 and early 2024 with the announcement of two new flagship micro-four-thirds fashions within the Panasonic Lumix G9II and the OM Techniques (previously Olympus) EM1 MkII (which I hope to be testing/reviewing right here on Eire’s Wildlife in the end).
As an avid Lumix G9 person, when the G9II was introduced, with the a lot requested phase-detect autofocus improve over it’s predecessor’s proprietary Depth from Defocus contrast-detect autofocus, I knew I needed to attempt it out. It’s not that specializing in the G9 was gradual. In reality, when it was launched it boasted the quickest digicam autofocus in the marketplace, nevertheless it struggled in some conditions… like in low gentle, with cluttered foregrounds or backgrounds, or buying and sticking to a shifting topic. These are all conditions you encounter virtually most of the time when photographing wildlife.
Mix the revamped autofocus with the next decision, excessive dynamic vary micro-four-thirds sensor, and sooner capturing speeds with a considerably bigger buffer to accommodate them, and you’ve got a really compelling bundle.
First Impressions
One of many criticisms usually levelled on the Lumix G9 was that, for a small-sensor digicam, it was a reasonably chunky beast, not a lot smaller than many full-frame cameras, and bigger than a few of them. That very same criticism might be levelled on the G9II as properly, because it makes use of a just about similar chassis and management structure to Panasonic’s flagship full-frame mirrorless providing, the Lumix S5 Mark II. Nevertheless, I discovered that criticism was largely unfounded with the G9, which was (and nonetheless is) one of the ergonomically seamless digicam our bodies I’ve ever used, and balanced completely within the hand with the longer lenses sometimes essential for wildlife and chicken images.
Precisely the identical applies to the G9II. The truth that the newer physique is a precise copy of its full-frame stablemate is a plus, not a minus in my e book, and it has a premium really feel and reassuring weight with out being heavy. It’s important to keep in mind that it’s usually not the dimensions and weight of the physique that’s the limiting issue for wildlife photographers — it’s the dimensions and weight of the required long-focal-length lenses. That’s the place micro-four-thirds actually comes into its personal: in comparison with full-frame lenses with equal attain, optically excellent lenses just like the Panasonic Leica 100-400mm f4-f6.3 are tiny, light-weight affairs that may be simply carried round all day and ship excellent outcomes hand-held.
Menus and Controls
Just like the G9, the G9II has a really in depth menu system that has choices for just about no matter you can consider. Every little thing, from the management dials to the perform buttons to each little function provided by this cutting-edge up to date digicam physique, is configurable. The sheer extent of menu choices may be overwhelming, however Panasonic has laid every part out in a logical, categorised and simply navigable person interface that makes discovering and altering the setting you want comparatively painless. As with all new system, there’s a studying curve, nevertheless it’s actually not that steep, and when you get used to it you’ll be capable of fine-tune this digicam to function precisely the way you need it to.
After getting every part arrange the best way you prefer it, chances are high that you just’ll hardly ever have to enterprise into the menu system in any respect, because the G9II has a bunch of logically positioned, configurable bodily controls you possibly can set as much as provide you with fast entry to the settings and options you want with out going close to a menu.
LCD and Viewfinder
The flip out, totally articulated LCD display on the Lumix G9II appears to be like and behaves the identical because the on the unique G9 — which is to say it does every part you can probably need it to do. Nevertheless, the newer mannequin sees a decision enhance to 1.84M dot over the unique 1.04M dot model on the G9. It is rather versatile and is nice in the event you’re seeking to video or {photograph} your self (very best for content material creators/youtubers), for instance, or to get low-angle photographs that may in any other case be very tough to attain.
The digital viewfinder sees no such decision enhance, with the identical 3.68M dot decision as the unique G9. It really works properly, and is completely serviceable… however is maybe just a little disappointing in a recent flagship digicam physique, and lags just a little behind the likes of the OM Techniques OM-1 Mark II’s 5.76M dot viewfinder. Whether or not or not you’d discover a distinction within the subject is debatable, and I haven’t had an opportunity to attempt the 2 side-by-side (but) — however I definitely by no means discovered the viewfinder on the G9II wanting throughout the overview interval.
Utilizing the digicam
Ergonomics and dealing with
I discovered the truth that the G9II makes use of the identical physique, basically, because the Lumix S5II, to be a boon. It has excellent stability, and glorious grip that sits comfortably within the hand, and marries completely with the Panasonic Leica 100-400mm and 50-200mm lenses I paired with it. Even with smaller lenses just like the Panasonic Leica 12-60mm equipment lens connected, it by no means felt overly cumbersome or cumbersome.
For wildlife, I all the time really feel having a physique that gives a little bit of counterbalance to the inevitably longer and bulkier lenses you’ll be utilizing is a profit. The true fantastic thing about micro-four-thirds for me is within the decrease weight and bulk, to not point out the decrease price, of these high-performance lengthy lenses in comparison with their full-frame counterparts.
Once I’m out with the digicam I’m usually birding, guiding a wildlife group on certainly one of our Uncover Wildlife Experiences, or travelling. In all of these situations, I have to maintain my images equipment as small and light-weight, but as versatile as attainable. Once I’m guiding I’m carrying binoculars, a recognizing scope and different paraphernalia in addition to my digicam gear; once I’m birding I want to remain nimble and cellular, but be able to seize a document shot of something uncommon at a second’s discover; once I’m travelling, I don’t have house for lots of images gear, but nonetheless have to pack gear that may ship distinctive efficiency. The Lumix G9II, paired with the Lumix 100-400 (200-800mm full body equal) and 50-200 (100-400mm full body equal) delivers in all of these situations.
One factor I did miss from the unique G9 was the highest LCD panel. I’d grown used to checking it shortly when turning the digicam on to confirm shutter pace, aperture and different settings. With the G9II, as a substitute of simply glancing down, I now need to bodily look into the viewfinder to confirm settings, or flip out the LCD again panel to examine. And checking IS vital with the G9II, as the highest management dials don’t lock, and I had a number of conditions the place the settings had modified between photographs simply whereas carrying the digicam slung over my shoulder.
Ergonomically, I discovered the G9II to be a pleasure to make use of within the subject… if something higher than the G9, and on the time I believe I professed that was essentially the most snug digicam I’d ever used within the subject.
Velocity and Responsiveness
The G9II is scarily fast — fast at focusing, and ludicrously fast at burst capturing — providing a good 10fps from the mechanical shutter, all the best way as much as a daft 60fps with the digital shutter with steady autofocus and monitoring. There’s additionally a pre-burst capturing mode (a extra succesful evolution of the 6K Picture pre-burst on the unique G9) that repeatedly loops as much as 1.5 seconds value of buffered RAW images earlier than you press the shutter launch — excellent for capturing crucial motion like birds taking off, or leaping whales and dolphins.
Coupled with the spectacular efficiency is a a lot bigger buffer — from studying different opinions what seems to be one of many largest picture buffers presently out there — which lets you take a powerful variety of photographs with out the digicam slowing down or lagging in any respect. Nevertheless, when/in the event you do hit the buffer restrict (which is well achievable in the event you go for the 60fps capturing) the digicam appears to be gradual at writing to the SD playing cards (even the best efficiency playing cards out there), and also you’re restricted from capturing whereas the buffer clears, which may be irritating.
In day-to-day capturing it’s by no means a problem, however ought to that that once-in-a-lifetime capturing alternative crop up, the very last thing you need is an incapacitated digicam because it struggles to dump a full buffer to the reminiscence card. Hopefully that is one thing Panasonic can addressed in a firmware replace.
Autofocus
The all-new phase-detect/hybrid AF system is maybe the headliner of the G9II. It locks on immediately, and retains observe of topics with spectacular tenacity, so long as you possibly can maintain them within the viewfinder (discovering and preserving topics within the viewfinder is commonly the toughest half with lengthy lenses). I discovered it excellent in conditions the place the unique G9 would have actually struggled.
It was additionally actually good at choosing out the topic via foreground litter and in entrance of background litter… one thing the unique G9 with its contrast-detect solely autofocus tended to wrestle with.
You might have all of the autofocus space modes you’d count on, and a few very nice topic detect AF modes, together with animal (and chicken) AF that features physique and now additionally eye detection. It does a outstanding job of zeroing in on a chicken or animal’s eye, and locking on to it. It’s extremely spectacular and appears to only work.
Monitoring of topics can be a lot improved, presumably because of a mixture of higher AI smarts and the phase-detect AF areas constructed into the brand new sensor. The G9II tends to stay to the topic like glue… solely dropping it in the event you lose observe of it within the viewfinder. So long as you retain your topic in view (or inside your chosen AF space, in the event you’re utilizing one of many space AF modes) the digicam will observe it.
In fact, as this can be a Lumix digicam, in the event you delve within the menus and you’ve got all types of autofocus settings you possibly can tweak to change the default autofocus/monitoring behaviour so it behaves as you need it to.
Picture Stabilisation
That is one other space the place the G9II sees a bump in efficiency. The unique G9 was class-leading on this space with 6.5 stops of in physique stabilisation, however the G9II elevates this to a mind-boggling 8 stops of stabilisation. Usually that determine drops off as you employ longer focal size lenses, however with the G9II and twin IS succesful Lumix lenses just like the 100-400mm and 50-200mm I used to be utilizing, you continue to get a stupendous 7.5 stops of stabilisation.
This implies you could handhold at slower shutter speeds (so decrease ISO and fewer noise) at longer focal lengths and nonetheless get sharp photos… so long as your topic is just not shifting. Very helpful.
Battery Life
Battery life on the Lumix G9II is okay typically, though it does appear to make use of up the battery barely sooner than the G9. I by no means managed to get via a completely charged battery in a session throughout the revie interval, however based mostly on the battery utilization I would definitely carry a spare with me if I used to be planning to shoot all day, and would seemingly need a few spares if I used to be planning on doing a lot video capturing.
One different factor to notice is that there isn’t a battery charger included within the field (though you should buy one as an optionally available accent). You cost the battery in-camera through the USB C port.
Picture High quality
I’ve been very impressed with the picture high quality from the Lumix G9II. The brand new 25.2MP Dwell MOS sensor with its dual-gain output delivers gorgeous photos with spectacular dynamic vary, providing loads of scope for post-processing of RAW photos.
Whereas pixel peepers on the market will definitely see a distinction in picture high quality between a full body sensor and the newest micro-four-thirds providing, in actual world conditions a picture printed or displayed digitally, you’d be hard-pressed to inform the distinction, notably with the superior de-noise capabilities of latest photo-editing software program.
Video
Whereas I’ve been utilizing the G9II predominantly as a stills digicam, it might be remiss to not point out its video pedigree. Billed as Panasonic’s stills flagship, it nonetheless sports activities professional-grade video options to rival the corporate’s flagship video mannequin, the Lumix GH6, together with as much as 5.8K/30p or 5.7K/60p MOV information in digicam, with 5.7K/30p ProRes out there when recording direct to SSD.
As I haven’t actually used the video options, I gained’t remark additional, however you’ll discover loads on-line in regards to the Lumix G9II’s spectacular video chops ought to they curiosity you.
Specs
You’ll discover full specs and particulars for the Lumix G9 Mk II on the Panasonic Lumix web site right here.
Conclusion
The Panasonic Lumix G9II takes all the very best components of Lumix’s up to date full-frame cameras and packages them round a superb new micro-4/3 sensor, with nice dynamic vary, distinctive hybrid phase-detect autofocus, blistering pace, and class-leading picture stabilisation. It’s undoubtedly among the finest micro-four-thirds choices in the marketplace right this moment — and among the finest wildlife cameras out there… interval.
I’m an enormous fan of micro-four-thirds cameras, and the portability advantages they provide wildlife photographers preferring to journey gentle, and keep cellular and nimble. I’ve been fully pleased with the Lumix G9 for the final 6 years… however the G9II could have satisfied me it’s time for an improve.
Picture Gallery
A collection of photos taken in West Cork, Eire with the G9II over the overview interval.
Acknowledgement
I’d wish to thank the Panasonic/Lumix UK workforce for sending the Lumix G9 in for overview on the Eire’s Wildlife web site.
NB. Eire’s Wildlife has no particular affiliation with any optics or gear producer for overview functions. All opinions on the location are fully impartial and goal and carried out in accordance with our phrases and situations. If you happen to’re an optics or gear producer and want to submit your product for overview on the location please drop us a line utilizing the contact type and we are able to take issues from there.
