GEAR PANASONIC LUMIX G9 II
but does have a small crop. When using IS and moving the camera, the occasional small judder occurs – which isn’t great. Something to watch out for as it can ruin a shot. With the new Lumix, it’s surprising that the body is identical in size and design to the S5 II, which accommodates a full-frame sensor. But this makes it a more useful and ergonomic size and shape. Controls are similar to the S5 II including the new eight-direction joystick on the rear panel to adjust AF position. The camera features a vivid 3.68m-dot OLED EVF with 0.8x magnification and a 60fps or 120fps
The same is true when shooting stills, where the camera is capable of 14fps with continuous AF working with the mechanical shutter. Using the electronic shutter and disabling the continuous AF can shoot at a staggering 75fps. Pre-burst settings are included, too, where the G9 II records 0.5, one and 1.5 seconds before the shutter button is triggered. A multi-shot function takes several shots and combines them in-camera to create 50- or 100-megapixel photos. In both stills and video, image stabilisation is exceptional: another benefit of Micro Four Thirds. The Dual IS 2 system combines the camera’s five-axis sensor-shift image stabilisation with lens-based two-axis stabilisation of compatible Lumix lenses. When working with other optics, you can choose to use the in-camera sensor-shift image stabilisation or the lens’ optical stabilisation feature. This image stabilisation works proficiently for video, providing a consistently steady appearance, particularly when the camera is held as still as possible rather than when in motion. There is a Boost IS setting, which is a digital stabilisation technology that gives almost tripod-like levels of stability, “Using the new Lumix, it’s quite surprising the body is the same size as the full-frame S5 II”
refresh rate. Additionally, the three-inch, 1.84m-dot LCD is a bright touchscreen with a
free-angle design for versatile angles. The
battery is only a 2200mAh cell so you’ll need to buy a few spares. Filmmaker-friendly features include a full- size HDMI Type A port, 3.5mm microphone and headphone jacks as well as Panasonic’s optional XLR microphone adapter with
XLR inputs. While not achieving four-channel sound recording like the GH6, the Lumix G9 II does offer waveform, vectorscope monitoring, shutter angle and a frame indicator function during recording. With autofocus that really works, the Panasonic G9 II proves a capable camera that is well worth taking a look at. FLIPPING MARVELLOUS The screen folds out and flips around, making it useful when shooting handheld or on a tripod (above). The screen displays sufficient info without becoming intrusive (right)
THE VERDICT
compact, affordable and plentiful, a G9 II makes sense if you want a smaller system that won’t break the bank – but has all the mod cons.
But unless you really need the fan cooling of the GH6 and internal ProRes capture, the G9 II aces it. It’s even cheaper than the GH6 was at launch, although that has now dropped to below the G9 II’s price. In fact, you could buy a full-frame S5 II for a similar price or even slightly less than a box-fresh G9 II. But, of course, you would lose the extra reach of the sensor and need larger, more expensive and heavier glass. As Micro Four Thirds lenses are more
Handling: 9 Typically excellent Panasonic ergonomics and menu Value for money: 9 Impressive video spec from the brand-new king of Lumix Micro Four Thirds cameras Now the best Panasonic Micro Four Thirds camera built for video shooters Pros: Outstanding video and AF performance Cons: Noise creeps in at higher ISO settings PRO MOVIEMAKER OVERALL RATING: 9/10
When Panasonic launched the GH6, we said that if you are a committed Micro Four Thirds user with a bagful of lenses and want the very best mirrorless camera for shooting high-quality video, get your money out and buy one right away. Now, we would revise that and say buy the G9 II instead. It has impressive AF, a huge range of codec options, brand-new sensor and all the tools. It’s not perfect, as it needs an external SSD to use all the ProRes options.
More information
panasonic.com
HOW IT RATES Features: 9 Finally PDAF but no internal Raw or IP streaming Performance: 8 Stunning quality from such a small sensor
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PRO MOVIEMAKER
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