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The Panasonic Lumix GX9 is marketed as a high-end street photography camera by the company. It complements the GX8 and GX80 in the range rather than replacing either of them. Any new features mentioned in this review generally speak against this camera because it is most frequently compared to the GX80. It’s an interesting little camera, the Panasonic GX9. It performs well in terms of image quality, autofocus, and overall performance and is compact and lightweight.
The GX9 is a really good camera on its own, regardless of the camera it replaces. It compares favorably to some of the best Micro Four Thirds cameras in terms of size, comfort in the hand, and photo quality. Additionally, it offers a variety of useful 4K Photo shooting modes in addition to producing pleasing 4K video. It is very affordable and offers a lot in a small package, which is exactly what many of us expect from a “Micro” Four Thirds camera. also, you can check our article on Panasonic Lumix GX9 review.
The Lumix GX9 from Panasonic is a mid-range mirrorless camera with a tone of features. It has a 20 Megapixel Four Thirds sensor that is stabilized inside the body, a touchscreen and electronic viewfinder that can both tilt vertically, 9 frames per second bursts with continuous autofocus, 4K video with a variety of clever 4k Photo modes from Panasonic camera, and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for simple location tagging and wireless connections. While serious action shooters would benefit more from a camera with a phase-detect hybrid AF system, vloggers will wish it had a microphone input and a screen that flipped forward to face them.
Design
The rangefinder-style design is used on half of Panasonic’s cameras, while the traditional DSLR shape is used on the other half. The GX9 belongs to the latter category. Actually, it’s more of a replacement for the GX7 than the larger, more powerful GX8, which will continue to be sold. The GX9 is primarily intended for travelers — either those looking to upgrade from their smartphone or perhaps even a second camera for DSLR owners — even though some may prefer the latter’s chunkier grip.
Being small, light, and covert is also helpful for street photography, and the GX9 does a good job of blending into the background with its understated, sleek lines. The camera has a small protruding grip that aids in secure grip, and the majority of it is covered in a pleasing leather-like material that makes it appear more expensive than it is. There are still many buttons and dials to rest your fingers on for quick settings changes despite the fact that they are on the small side. An exposure compensation dial and a mode dial are located on top of the camera.
To avoid unintentionally filming your feet, a video record button is placed inside of its own housing. You can access Panasonic’s 4K Photo functionality, an ISO key, a playback button, and other features by turning the camera around and looking at the back. The tilting touchscreen also gives you the choice to change a number of things, including everything in the quick menu. The screen can be tilted to face up and down, but not completely forward.
Selfie enthusiasts may be disappointed, but the tilt that comes from framing from the stealthy angles that street photography frequently requires is helpful. Some people will be saddened by the loss of the GX8’s fully articulating screen, but it makes sense to use a tilting device to reduce the camera’s overall size. The electronic viewfinder has a second tilting mechanism. When you’re trying to shoot from an awkward angle but still want to use the viewfinder without giving yourself a crooked neck, this feature from the GX7 and GX8 can be very useful.
Panasonic Lumix GX9 review: Features
The 20.3-megapixel Panasonic Lumix GX9 has a Digital Live MOS Sensor without a low pass filter, 5-axis dual image stabilisation, the Venus image processing engine, and it can record 4K video in addition to still images. Additionally, the camera can automatically mark images from 4K photo sequences and create multiple sequences within a single frame, allowing you to capture your pet moving through the frame in three different locations. You don’t need to edit the video files on your computer to save 4K photos, which can be saved directly from the camera.
Additionally, you can choose specific video frames using Lightroom. The ability to convert 4K video to 1080p, crop for a 200% view, digitally stabilise, or reframe it, among other things, makes it useful. Additionally, the Lumix GX9 adds a new 4K PHOTO mode option called Light Composition. The brighter pixels are selected and saved by the camera as it combines the images. The device has a 3 inch vari-angle 1240K dot touchscreen that tilts up to 80 degrees and down to 45 degrees on the back and a tilting high-resolution (2760K dot) live electronic viewfinder (EVF) up front. Although the position of the dials has changed to make them more logical, you can still change how they function by pressing the function buttons.
Additionally, the graphical user interface has been made simpler for better readability. With the availability of DFD technology, the contrast autofocus system has been improved in terms of focusing, and obstacle avoidance ensures that the camera will keep focusing on your subject rather than anything that breaks up the frame. The average autofocus speed is 0.07 seconds, and the camera can shoot bursts at 9 frames per second (AFS) and 6 frames per second (AFC).
There are many built-in AF functions, such as Face/Eye Detection AF and the well-known Pinpoint AF function, and the low light autofocus function should allow you to focus on low-light subjects more precisely. Additionally, focus and aperture bracketing have been included. Aperture bracketing enables you to take multiple pictures with different depths of field while Focus Bracketing allows you to take up to 999 images at various focal lengths. Once the image has been taken, you can then select the one with the ideal depth of field or focus level.
Connectivity
The Lumix GX9 has support for Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Bluetooth uses the least amount of power and enables continuous connection to your smartphone. The GX9 includes Bluetooth wireless connection in addition to Wi-Fi. Using Bluetooth, which consumes less power than Wi-Fi, you can remotely control and share images with a smart device using the Panasonic Image App. you can read our article on Panasonic Lumix GX9 review.
Panasonic Lumix GX9 review: Image quality
The 20.3MP sensor in the GX9 performs admirably in a number of areas, including fine detail resolution, but with some limitations. Low light conditions typically result in less-than-impressive performance from Four Thirds sensors. Depending on what you like to shoot, this might or might not be a big problem for you, but it’s still something to keep in mind.
When photographing in artificial light, automatic white balance has a tendency to Favour yellowish tones, but this isn’t entirely accurate and can be corrected by using a different white balance setting. For the best balance of detail and noise, shooting in RAW format is advised, especially when shooting in low light, which can result in smudgy areas. In addition, the GX9’s colors in good lighting are fantastic, with particularly lovely skin tones, and the overall impression of detail is excellent.
Performance
Prior to its official release, we had a chance to test the GX9 for a few days, and our initial impressions were favorable. Very fine detail can be resolved by the 20.3-million-pixel sensor, and the colors are lovely and vibrant. It performs best in good lighting, as we’ve come to expect from Four Thirds sensors. When shooting in low light, high sensitivity settings reveal a loss of detail, which is especially apparent when viewed at 100%. also, you can learn our article on Panasonic Lumix GX9 review.
If you stick to ISO 3200 or lower, the overall impression of detail is reasonable, but you can occasionally expect to see some image smoothing. When shooting at high ISOs, the camera applies a fair amount of image smoothing, as can be seen by looking at the corresponding raw file. Both chroma and luminance noise can be seen in raw files, but with a little more detail.
For the best balance of detail and noise when photographing particular subjects, it is advised that you shoot in raw and use your own noise reduction. In most situations, the camera’s all-purpose metering system does a good job of producing balanced exposures, and the automatic white balance system typically reproduces colors roughly accurately.
Switching to a more appropriate white balance setting can help to make up for the auto white balance’s tendency to err towards warmer, yellowish tones when shooting in artificial light. Alternatively, you can shoot in raw format and adjust after the fact. The GX9 has a 49-area contrast-detection system and boasts speeds of just 0.07 seconds because it uses the same autofocusing system as the GX8. We have discovered it to be incredibly quick and responsive in our use so far, easily locking onto the subject.
Panasonic Lumix GX9 review: Battery life
The GX9 comes with an AC adapter and can be charged via USB. We got about 200 shots and a few minutes of video out of the battery on a full charge. For the video alone, we got about three half-hour clips of 4K video with stabilization. The HDMI output can be configured for a clear image devoid of icons, and it matches the movie frequency, including 4k UHD at 24, 25, or 30p.
When using the power-saving LVF function, the battery life is rated at 900 images, 260 when using the LCD, and 250 when using the LVF without the power-saving mode. The battery and memory card compartments are located underneath the camera, and it uses the same battery as the Panasonic Lumix G80/G85.
Conclusion
The GX9 makes a good case for itself as a lightweight, responsive camera, and its quick, accurate autofocus works well for regular still photos. Although its continuous shooting mode is less convincing, we do have the G9 for that kind of photography. The GX9 certainly seems to meet all the requirements. It feels substantial and heavy in your hands, and it has a relatively small, rectangular, rangefinder-style body.
The tilting screen on the back is excellent, as is the electronic viewfinder. The GX9 still heavily relies on its digital interface despite some reassuringly reliable external controls. This is the point where it becomes clear just how much this camera is capable of, as well as how much patience and skill you may need to make the most of it.