it is such a good platform that my working kit is now 2 G9's. The video capabilities with the latest firmware are just as good as the stills. Outstanding camera.
I can see why.
Yesterday, I was out for a work shoot (first time in ages since this pandemic hit, followed all social distancing mandates) and was amazed by how well this camera performed compared with the GH4. The GH4 has been my work camera for over five years, and the G9 stunned me.
1. Usable one touch autofocus. The GH4 was pretty patchy for autofocus, particularly in 4K mode. The G9 snaps on so fast that I thought the camera was messing up the AF. No, it was accurate 95% of the time, and when it was inaccurate, there was the same issue of subject contrast that you get with any contrast based AF system. Aim focus at a place with some contrast and AF is dead accurate.
2. Face detection. Shot a couple of interviews and the G9's AF locked on the faces like a dog on a chew toy. All you need to do is set face/animal AF at it works. It even recognizes human body shapes, not just faces.
3. Colour and exposure. The auto white balance and auto exposure of the GH4 were quirky. The GH4 consistently exposed a third to a full stop lower than what the exposure meter read for video, so I had to train myself to overexpose and compensate for this. Not so on the G9, which has dead on exposure.
I have a custom Cinelike-D profile which I use for video, and the colours were excellent, better than the GH4. I always turn in-camera sharpening down all the way, and the G9 seems to apply even less sharpening than the GH4. Great for my purposes as I grade my footage.
4. Handling. One issue that many talk about with the G9 is the very sensitive shutter button. If you're not careful, a half press becomes a full press, so you can accidentally start or stop shooting if you're not careful. You can assign AF to the back button, and start recording with the red Record button instead, and this worked perfectly. Again, one touch AF was so fast I thought it wasn't working properly. No, this is how AF is supposed to work now.
The grip is thick and supportive, and gives a real sense of security. All the buttons are where you want them to be, easily accessible with minimal hand adjustment. Depending on how you hold the camera, buttons become accessible without having to move your hand at all. The front function buttons are a godsend, why has this not been in mirrorless cameras for so long?
I've assigned shooting profiles to the three main Custom modes on the mode dial, and have a general shooting profile on the M(video) mode, so I get four shooting profiles in an instant.
Auto ISO is easily controlled, and you can set the upper limit to Auto ISO with the click of the front wheel when you enter that setting. It's amazing. And because ISO 3200 is relatively clean for video, I can set this as the upper limit and let the camera handle exposure for me. If I want more control, I just switch to manual ISO setting, which is only a button press and wheel click away.
IBIS is so good, especially when paired with Panasonic lenses with IS. Newer IS lenses even allow 'Dual IS II' which means the lens and camera talk to each other to create the most stable footage it can manage.
The only downsides I've seen is that battery life is a fair bit less than on the GH4, which is understandable given the drain that IBIS and constant AF calculation puts on the system. I also shoot in 4K 50p most of the time, which might add to the power usage.
The Panasonic 35-100mm f2.8 v1 has micro jitters, which are especially noticeable at the long end, and this has not improved with the G9's IBIS. So I just leave that off for most situations, and I primarily shoot with a monopod anyway.
Record time is limited to 10 minutes in 4K 60/50p, and 30 minutes in 4K 24/25p. Unlike some less expensive Panasonics, there is no unlimited recording in AVCHD. This is okay for my purposes as I mostly shoot 50p for less than 10 minutes and 25p for less than 30 minutes anyway. If there's a long form recording like a long interview or concert/event, I'll use the GH4 or GH3 like I normally do.
I'm so pleased. I bought the G9 thinking that it would be a fun camera for stills and travel video, now I find out it can be a completely solid work camera that replaces the GH4. I can't wait to test out the rapid burst mode for action photography. I'm even contemplating picking up another G9 when prices and finances allow.
