PANASONIC LUMIX G9 II: TWO-MINUTE REVIEW
Nearly every aspect of the Panasonic Lumix G9 II has been enhanced over the five-year-old Lumix G9, with the introduction of phase-detection autofocus being the most notable change. This is the first G-series camera to feature phase-detection autofocus.
The sensor resolution for still images has been increased to 25.2 megapixels, but it cannot compete with full-frame alternatives. On the video side of things, recording modes are exceptional, including 5.7K ProRes raw to an external SSD, supported by a speedy processor and Panasonic's most effective autofocus to date.
The sensor format and lens selection of the G9 II make it more suitable for wildlife and sports photography than full-frame cameras, as the former effectively extends the range of a given focal length. For some, it will be difficult to choose between the G9 II, the video-focused Lumix GH6, or the slightly more expensive full-frame Lumix S5 II, which has an almost identical design.
The Panasonic G9 II is a dark horse among mirrorless cameras, and in summary, the new sensor, processor, and phase-detection autofocus combine to excellent effect in real-world use. If capturing subjects in motion is your forte, the G9 II is among the finest available mirrorless cameras.
PANASONIC LUMIX G9 II: RELEASE DATE AND PRICE
- $1,599 / £1,699 / AU$3,299
- Shipping expected from November
The Panasonic G9 II was introduced on September 12, 2023, with a body-only price of $1,599, £1,699, or AU$3,299. It is also available in a bundle with the Leica Vario Elmarit 12-60mm F2.8-4 lens for $2,199, £2,249, or AU$3,499, or the standard Panasonic 12-60mm lens for $1,799, £1,899, or AU$3,599. A redesigned DMW-BG1E vertical handle is also available for $309 or £309.
In addition to the Lumix G9 II, Panasonic also announced two redesigned lenses: the Leica DG Vario-Elmar 100-400mm F4.0-6.3 II ASPH, priced at $1,499 or £1,499, and the Leica DG Vario-Elmarit 35-100mm F2.8 Power O.I.S., priced at $1,099 or £1,099. At the time of this writing, Panasonic had not provided pricing information for its lenses in Australia.
Shipping dates for all new items are listed as November 2023, although some retailers expect to begin shipping orders as early as late October.
Price score: 4.5/5
PANASONIC G9 II: DESIGN
- Lumix S5 II-style body
- 8-way directional joystick
- Faster 3.69m-dot EVF
When I first removed the Panasonic G9 II from its packaging, the first thing I observed was how well it handles. On an otherwise squared-off design, the handle is well-contoured, making it simple to hold the camera securely, even when using the hefty 200mm F2.8 lens.
Overall, the G9 II resembles the full-frame Panasonic Lumix S5 II, a camera I've appreciated using in the past. If you are interested in purchasing a Micro Four Thirds camera for its compact size, the G9 II may not be the ideal option. Its DSLR-like proportions are enormous for an MFT camera, despite being 85g lighter than the S5 II (with battery and SD card) at 658g. Additionally, the G9 II lacks the active cooling fan of the S5 II, limiting the duration of video recordings.
The body has a substantial magnesium alloy construction that is entirely sealed and therefore resistant to dust and moisture. In contrast to the OM-System OM-1's IP53 rating, Panasonic does not disclose how weather-resistant the chassis is, but I would feel comfortable using it in a light rain.
Those considering an upgrade from a Lumix G model will not notice a significant difference in handling and control layout. After extensive use of the Canon EOS R system, it took me a few days to adjust to the button placements on the G9 II; however, once I did, everything felt ergonomic and sensible.
The LCD top plate of the first-generation G9 has been omitted from the second-generation model. While I find this omission disappointing—I tend to photograph from above and verify settings there—the change creates room for discrete shooting mode and drive dials.
As this is a hybrid camera, there is a large red record button on the top plate, and moving your finger to the (satisfyingly responsive) shutter button is simple. Behind this are three adjustment controls for white balance, ISO, and exposure compensation. They are accessible with the finger allocated for the shutter, although it took me a couple of days to remember which button did what without looking.
Attached to the mode selector is a rigid mechanism that controls the on/off switch. This was slightly cumbersome to use, but I suppose it prevents the camera from being inadvertently turned on or off by errant fingertips. Above the viewfinder is a hot mount for external flashlights and microphones, but the S9 II lacks an integrated flash, which is somewhat unusual for a mid-range camera.
On the rear of the G9 II, the configuration is similar to that of the S5 II, with an 8-way joystick and a 3-inch touchscreen monitor with a variable viewing angle for swiftly navigating menus and settings. The OLED viewfinder mirrors that of the S5 II and provides 100 percent coverage, but it's disappointing to see that its resolution of 3.69 million pixels is identical to that of the five-year-old G9.
The LCD screen, however, is a significant enhancement over the original G9 display. It draws out effortlessly for vlogging and photographs, tilts up for low-angle compositions, and folds back for protection when not in use, and the resolution has nearly doubled to 1.84 million dots.
To prevent a sluggish view, the viewfinder has a native refresh rate of 120 Hz, and the view remains uninterrupted for approximately three seconds during rapid photography. Despite having the same dot count on paper, I did not find it as colorful or pleasant to gaze through as the EVF on my Canon EOS R6.
The LVF button to the right of the playback button allows you to swap between the viewfinder and LCD screen when shooting, although I'm not sure why this has been given a dedicated button when the transfer occurs automatically whenever the camera is brought to the eye.
Next to the EVF is a minuscule control for selecting manual, single, or continuous focus modes. This can also be accomplished through on-screen configuration selection, which is arguably faster and more comprehensive.
The Q button calls up the rapid menu, the Menu button provides access to the complete menu, and the Display button allows you to alternate between various quantities of information on the LCD at any given time.
Two plastic panels on the left side of the G9 II's chassis open to reveal a USB-C connector for charging, an HDMI port, and slots for accessory microphones and headphones. There are two SD UHS-II card ports on the right.
The covers over the ports feel fragile and do not seal back into position as securely as I would like. This is my only complaint (aside from the cumbersome camera harness that seems to be included with all new cameras). This is a trivial criticism, however, and is unlikely to detract from the overall ergonomic design.
Design score: 4/5PANASONIC G9 II: FEATURES AND PERFORMANCE
- Phase-detection autofocus with animal eye AF
- New L2 processor engine
- Up to 60fps with continuous AF
Micro Four Thirds (MFT) camera systems from Panasonic and OM System (formerly Olympus) are particularly well-suited for wildlife and sports photography. The half-frame system has some incredibly quick flagship cameras, such as the Lumix G9 II, and precise telephoto lenses that are much smaller and less expensive than their full-frame counterparts, which makes extended periods of time spent in the great outdoors much simpler.
The Lumix G9 II features five years of improvements over its predecessor, including a 25.2 MP sensor that is quicker than the G9's 20 MP sensor. This additional detail is greatly appreciated, and it is the bare minimum I would anticipate from a serious camera in 2023. The camera has an ISO range of 100–25,600, which can be reduced to ISO 50. This is a slightly broader range than the original camera, but it does not guarantee that images taken at the upper end of the range will be viable.
OM System was once the leader in offering computational features, but Panasonic is catching up, and the G9 II features a high-resolution mode that generates 100MP images with pixel shift technology (the G9 offers 80MP), as well as a handheld high-res mode found on the GH6. When I briefly experimented with this mode, handheld photos were typically indistinct, but I am confident that with practice, the results would improve.
The G9 II's phase-detection autofocus is a first for the G-series; phase-detection autofocus was introduced to Panasonic cameras with the full-frame S5 II earlier in 2023. Phase detection is the most effective method for collecting motion due to its lightning-fast speed. That's great news for capturing action, and with 779 autofocus points, the G9 II can now detect (and hold onto) subjects in typically challenging illumination conditions, such as backlighting and low-light in general.
The G9 II's focus modes include eye AF and customizable horizontal and vertical coverage zones for zonal autofocus. It is now possible to configure automatic subject detection and tracking for humans, animals, and vehicles, with a distinction between motorcycles and automobiles, as well as the eyes and body of an animal.
Whereas the G9 was typically responsive in AF-S mode, its continuous AF-C mode was susceptible to an aggravating pulsing effect. In contrast, the G9 II is more accurate and faster, although its subject recognition capabilities lag behind those of competing brands.
Using the electronic shutter, continuous autofocus can be used at up to an astounding 60 fps. This is the type of shutter that is susceptible to the negative effects of rolling shutter, which are particularly apparent in images of fast-moving subjects or footage captured with extreme camera movement; however, the G9 II has a quicker sensor with greater control over rolling shutter distortions.
I was able to test the G9 II's rolling shutter control by photographing my sprinting retriever in high-speed drive mode, and I can say that it performed admirably (even though my SD card failed). The mechanical shutter is immune to such distortion and can shoot at an astounding 14 fps for longer sequences than I will likely ever need to shoot.
It took a lot of experimentation and configuring the camera to quickly switch between custom focusing setups in order to respond to changing subjects in order to achieve the best results, but once you understand what the G9 II is capable of, it feels like no subject or scenario is out of reach.
The G9 II utilizes a Panasonic DMW-BLK22 battery with an approximate 400-shot capacity per charge. While I didn't have the foresight to test this with an empty SD card and full power, I'd easily estimate getting around 300 frames after charging the battery for the first time—and that's with a lot of powering up and down, plus use of the handheld high-resolution mode, which is likely to consume more power.
PANASONIC G9 II: IMAGE AND VIDEO QUALITY
- 25.2MP sensor with 100MP High-res multi-shot mode
- 5.7K / 60p and 4K / 120p video
- New Leica Monochrome color profile
Beginning with still images, the Panasonic G9 II can capture JPEG and raw image formats with a variety of aspect ratios, file sizes, and quality settings. I don't normally photograph in JPEG, but I used Fine JPEG for this review because I wanted to evaluate the G9 II's photo styles, including the new Leica Monochrome mode.
In comparison to the L.Monochrome D mode, Leica's profile for black-and-white images is significantly stronger, with greater contrast and livelier highlights. Other designs include Standard, Vivid, Flat, and Landscape, each of which alters the hues and tones in various ways. These styles may be useful if you intend to upload images directly to social media and desire a minimal modification process. I discovered, for instance, that vivacious created a dramatic effect with a genuine impact, whereas natural produced a more subdued appearance.
If you don't use editing software (and if you don't, I'm not convinced the G9 II is the right camera for you), then I can see the pre-programmed filters, such as Expressive, Retro, and Old Days, being somewhat useful, although I'd rather capture in raw and process my images myself. When it came to editing JPEGs and raw files in Adobe Camera Raw and Lightroom (I tested both), I discovered there was ample space to manipulate the shadows and highlights.
When it comes to image quality, MFT sensor format single-shot photos can't quite match the resolution of larger-sensor cameras, but the G9 II's 25.2MP sensor is entirely adequate and sufficient reason for Lumix G9 owners to upgrade. It's unfortunate that Panasonic hasn't been more ambitious with the resolution, but it still competes with the OM-1's 20MP.
During our hands-on time at launch, we discovered that the G9 performed as expected in intense sunlight, capturing clear, precise images with balanced, natural tones—ideal for nature and wildlife photography. During the golden hours, the results were still admirable, but the dynamic range was not quite as robust as that of my EOS R6 or the X-T5 that I use as a secondary camera.
Regarding the G9 II's noise management, I cycled through ISOs in the same locations during testing and found it best to remain within ISO 100 to ISO 1,600. I would only recommend pressing up to ISO 3,200 if you're comfortable with noise-reduction software.
The G9 II is unquestionably a hybrid camera, supporting MOV, MP4, and Apple ProRes video formats, although Apple ProRes can only be recorded to an external SSD via USB-C. It's beneficial that the G9 II explains when each of these modes should be used when you select it from the menu, although I couldn't figure out how to disable this information so it wouldn't appear every time.
V-Log is pre-installed on the G9 II (previously, Panasonic charged a premium for a code to activate V-Log), and Panasonic promises over 13 stops of dynamic range in this mode, as well as four-channel audio recording with a microphone adapter.
There are real-time LUTs that allow users to upload their own color profiles. Moreover, while most photographers associate real-time LUTs with video recording, this feature is also applicable to photography. You can directly import a custom Adobe Lightroom color profile into the G9 II, making it simple to visualize how your media will appear prior to altering.
Video recording has been vastly enhanced since the G9, and the G9 II matches nearly every mode of the GH6: 5.7K resolution at 60 fps, 4K at 120 fps, and Full HD at 240 fps for spectacular high-resolution slow-motion. Due to a time-limited review sample, I was unable to capture any professional video scenarios with the G9 II. However, I did test every mode thoroughly, often while strolling erratically (I attempted ProRes with a SanDisk SSD at home), and found the footage to be stable, precise, and clear.
Overall, I was impressed with the video quality, which was comparable to that of the most recent Panasonic cameras. I would go so far as to say that the G9 II is one of the finest video cameras for its price. Cooling vents are absent from a camera like the G9 II, which prioritizes photography, limiting recording durations.
HOW I TESTED THE PANASONIC G9 II
I carried the Panasonic G9 II in my knapsack for a week to capture a variety of scenarios, including city street scenes, treks in the countryside, and wildlife at my local nature preserve. It was coupled with the G-Leica 12-60mm F2.8-4 lens, a proficient optic but not long enough to try the camera's ability to capture wildlife. We had previously tested the G9 II with a 200mm F2.8 lens prior to the camera's release, so we could evaluate how it performed with a longer, heavier lens.
During my week with the camera, I captured low-light landscapes and tested the high-speed continuous photography mode by photographing my young collie, allowing me to evaluate the effectiveness of the animal autofocus tracking. I shot numerous handheld video segments while strolling to evaluate the image stabilization and recording modes of the camera.