Panasonic Lumix DC-G9LEC-K Panasonic - Review 🏆

The Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 is a Micro Four Thirds mirrorless camera geared toward enthusiast and professional photographers. Released in 2017, it sits near the top of Panasonic's G series lineup and is designed for serious stills and video work.

The G9 features a 20.3 megapixel Live MOS sensor without an optical low-pass filter, providing maximum resolution and sharpness. It has a rugged, weather-sealed magnesium alloy body that is freezeproof to -10°C. The camera offers incredibly fast burst shooting up to 20 fps with continuous autofocus, or 60 fps with focus locked on the first frame. It has a high-resolution electronic viewfinder and vari-angle touchscreen LCD.

For videography, the G9 can record UHD 4K video up to 60p. It offers both microphone and headphone jacks for professional audio recording. The 5-axis in-body image stabilization provides up to 6.5 stops of compensation for smooth handheld footage.

Overall, the G9 sits in a unique spot between Panasonic's GH series video-focused cameras and its photography-oriented G series models. It offers an excellent combination of versatility, speed, features and durability to meet the needs of photo and video enthusiasts and professionals.

Design and Build

The Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 has a sturdy, weather-sealed magnesium alloy body that feels solid and durable. It measures 136.9 x 97.3 x 91.6 mm and weighs 658g with the battery and memory card, making it a fairly compact and lightweight camera considering its Micro Four Thirds sensor size.

Despite its smaller footprint compared to most DSLRs, the G9 still has an excellent handgrip and thoughtful ergonomic design. There's ample space for your fingers even when using larger lenses. The body is comfortable to hold and has well-placed, customizable buttons and dials. Overall, the G9 feels very well-balanced and designed for fast handling.

The camera body is splash, dust, and freeze proof. It can operate in temperatures as low as -10°C. This makes the G9 suitable for outdoor photography in rough conditions. However, it's not fully waterproof so requires a housing if going underwater.

Image Sensor

The Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 features a 20.3 megapixel Micro Four Thirds sensor, which is on the smaller side compared to APS-C and full-frame sensors. However, the smaller sensor size enables more compact and lightweight camera bodies and lenses.

The sensor resolution of 20.3 megapixels provides ample resolution for large prints and cropping flexibility. It strikes a good balance between resolution and low light performance. While higher resolutions like 30-40 megapixels offer more cropping freedom, they come at the expense of more noise at high ISOs.

The Lumix G9's sensor provides a native ISO range of 200-25,600, which is versatile enough for most shooting situations. Noise handling is quite good through ISO 3200, with some visible noise creeping in at ISO 6400. The extended ISO range goes up to ISO 25,600 for extremely low light shooting when needed.

Overall, the Four Thirds sensor in the G9 delivers excellent image quality and noise performance considering its smaller size. The resolution is sufficient for a wide range of uses, making the G9 a highly capable camera for both still photos and video recording.

Autofocus and Speed

The Lumix DC-G9 offers incredibly fast autofocus and burst shooting capabilities, making it well-suited for sports, wildlife, and action photography.

The G9 utilizes Panasonic's Depth from Defocus (DFD) autofocus system, which can acquire focus in as little as 0.04 seconds. Focus modes include AFS (single), AFC (continuous), MF (manual focus), as well as intelligent auto modes that automatically switch between single and continuous focus depending on the scene.

For capturing fast action, the G9 can shoot in burst mode at up to 20 frames per second in RAW+JPEG with AF-C, or 60 fps with AF-S. The buffer depth allows for up to 50 RAW images or unlimited JPEGs when shooting at high burst speeds. This level of performance means you'll never miss a critical moment when shooting fast action.

The G9 also utilizes advanced algorithms to precisely track moving subjects. Combined with 225 focus points that cover nearly the entire frame, you can confidently capture sharp images of subjects in motion. Overall, the G9's speed and intelligent autofocus capabilities make it an excellent choice for sports, wildlife, and other active photography genres.

Video Capabilities

The Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 is a very capable video camera, offering both 4K and Full HD recording options. It can shoot 4K video up to 60 fps and Full HD video up to 180 fps, allowing for smooth slow motion playback.

The maximum video resolution is 4K at 3840 x 2160 pixels, which provides incredibly detailed and sharp video footage. Video can be recorded at high bitrates up to 150 Mbps in the MP4 format, ensuring minimal compression and artifacting in the final files.

Some key video capabilities and specs of the G9 include:

• 4K video at up to 60 fps
• Full HD video at up to 180 fps
• No recording time limits
• MP4 format with high bitrates up to 150 Mbps
• Microphone and headphone jacks
• Log gamma modes for maximum dynamic range
• 5-axis in-body image stabilization

The variety of frame rates, from standard 24/30 fps up to high speed 180 fps, provides a lot of creative options for slow motion effects. Videographers will appreciate the unlimited recording times, clean HDMI output, and both microphone and headphone jacks for monitoring audio.

Overall, the video features and quality on the G9 make it a great option not just for stills, but also for hybrid shooters who need robust video capabilities in their camera. Its video specs match or exceed that of more expensive mirrorless and DSLR models.

Display

The Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 has a 3-inch rear LCD screen with a vari-angle design that allows you to tilt and rotate it to frame shots from different angles. The screen itself has a resolution of 1,040k dots, providing a sharp and detailed view for image review and menu navigation.

One of the standout features of the rear display is its touch capability. You can use touch gestures and taps for functions like setting the focus point, navigating menus, and more. This lends an intuitive, smartphone-like experience to a DSLR-style camera.

Touch responsiveness is excellent and the screen is very responsive in general use. It provides a crisp live view feed during shooting with minimal lag. Playback and review of photos on the rear LCD is a pleasure thanks to the high resolution and vibrant color reproduction.

Overall, the vari-angle touchscreen LCD on the G9 is versatile for shooting from creative angles and provides a fluid, intuitive control experience. Image preview and playback benefit from the high resolution and color accuracy. It's a well-rounded rear display that complements the flagship-level capabilities of this Micro Four Thirds camera.

Connectivity

The Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 has excellent connectivity options for both wired and wireless connections.

In terms of ports, the G9 has a USB 3.1 Type C port which allows for fast data transfer and battery charging. There is also a full-size HDMI port for clean 4K video output as well as a 3.5mm microphone jack and a 3.5mm headphone jack for audio monitoring while recording video.

For wireless connections, the G9 has both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth built-in. The Wi-Fi allows you to remotely control the camera, transfer images to your mobile device, and tag your photos with location data. It also makes it easy to upload your photos directly to social media sites. The Bluetooth connectivity allows you to pair the camera with smartphones and tablets for remote control and image previews.

Overall, the wide range of wired ports and wireless capabilities makes it easy to get your photos and videos off the G9 quickly and integrate the camera into your existing workflow. The wireless functions also provide flexibility for remote shooting and allow you to maintain a smaller footprint while shooting without being tethered to your computer.

Battery Life

The Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 is powered by a DMW-BLF19E Lithium-Ion battery which provides a CIPA rating of up to 400 shots per charge. This is decent battery life for a mirrorless camera, but heavy users may want to invest in a spare battery.

The G9 does have some battery saving features like an Eco mode which disables the rear screen and viewfinder to conserve power when you don't need them. There's also a sleep mode that kicks in after a short period of inactivity. Overall the G9 should be able to get through a full day of casual to moderate shooting on a single charge. But the battery life isn't going to rival a DSLR.

Pros

The Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 stands out for its exceptional image stabilization, fast continuous shooting, and robust weather sealing. Here are some of the highlights:

• Class-leading image stabilization: The G9 features both in-body and optical image stabilization, providing up to 6.5 stops of compensation. This allows for sharp images when handholding the camera at slower shutter speeds.

• 20 fps continuous shooting: The G9 can shoot at a blazing fast 20 frames per second when using the electronic shutter, perfect for capturing fast action. The buffer depth is generous as well.

• Rugged, weather sealed body: The magnesium alloy body is weather sealed to withstand dust, splashes and freezing temperatures. The G9 can operate in challenging environments.

• 4K video and photo modes: The G9 provides both 4K video recording and 4K photo modes to extract high resolution stills from video. This expands creative options.

• Large, high resolution EVF: The high resolution 3680k dot OLED viewfinder provides a bright, crisp viewing experience. The larger 0.83x magnification enhances immersion.

• Dual UHS-II SD slots: The dual SD card slots both support the fast UHS-II standard for reliable high speed burst shooting and 4K video recording.

• Excellent ergonomics: The G9 provides an intuitive control layout with ample direct access buttons and dials. The deep grip offers a secure, comfortable hold.

Cons

The Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 has a few drawbacks to consider:

• The camera body is quite large and heavy compared to other mirrorless cameras. This may make it less ideal for travel or all-day shooting sessions.

• The autofocus tracking performance is not quite as advanced as some competitors. It may struggle to keep fast-moving subjects in focus in continuous autofocus mode.

• The screen is fixed and doesn't articulate. This limits flexibility for shooting at creative angles. An articulating screen would be preferable.

• The sensor resolution is 20MP which is lower than some other cameras in this class. This may mean less flexibility for heavily cropping images.

• The touchscreen interface could be more responsive and intuitive. It can sometimes feel a bit laggy.

• The battery life is relatively short at around 260-340 shots per charge. You'll likely need to carry spare batteries for all-day or multi-day shoots.

• There is no built-in flash, so you'll need to bring an external flash for low light or flash photography.

• The price is quite high compared to entry-level or mid-range mirrorless cameras. The advanced features may be overkill for casual users.