Panasonic Lumix G9
The camera's blistering shooting speed allowed me to capture this split-second moment of a cheetah cub hugging its mother on safari Leica DG Elmarit 200mm f/2.8 Power OIS with 2x teleconverter, 1/200sec at f/5.6, ISO 400
After the release of the Lumix GH5 in early 2017, there was a quiet period during which nobody knew what direction Panasonic might take with its Lumix G-series cameras. In early November, the silence was broken with the news that the manufacturer was on the cusp of launching its most advanced stills-focused camera to date: one that would sit high above the two-year-old Lumix G7 and enthusiast-oriented Lumix G80. The G9's arrival coincides with the10-year anniversary of the Lumix G system, which is being celebrated in 2018.
Unlike the GH5, which is highly regarded by videographers for its broadcast-standard video capabilities, the Panasonic Lumix G9 is out to fulfil the demands of serious stills photographers. It positions itself beside the GH5 as Panasonic's flagship stills camera in the G series, and is competitively priced against its close rivals. On paper, the specification looks remarkably impressive, boasting a long list of functionality never seen before on a Lumix G model, which is bound to whet the appetite of existing G-series users and those after a well-specified, sub-£1,500 camera. Before revealing if it's an all-round success or not, let's look at the G9's core features.
Features
The Lumix G9 inherits the same 20.3-million-pixel Live MOS sensor from the Lumix GH5, which loses an anti-aliasing filter in order to maximise resolution. To create what is claimed to be the highest-ever picture quality produced from a Lumix G camera, several changes have been made to the processing algorithms to increase resolution and deliver a 25% improvement in dynamic range. As with the GH5, the ISO range spans from ISO 200 to 25,600, with an extended lower setting of ISO 100, while shutter speeds range from 60 seconds to 1/8,000sec using the mechanical focal-plane shutter, or 60 seconds to 1/32,000sec using the electronic shutter. The advantage of using the electronic shutter is that the camera operates completely silently –
