As a staunch M43 supporter, I have been recommending Panasonic GH6 to others, and even said many times that it is the “small EOS R5” in the M43 system. But no matter how I praise GH6, I know its shortcomings well, that is autofocus. Now Panasonic G9M2 with phase focus is officially on the market. I have also used G9M2 for a long time. Today, let’s talk about my views on this camera.
Differences between G9M2 and GH6
Although both use 25 million pixel M43 sensors, the difference between G9M2 and GH6 is still quite large.
The Panasonic G9M2 uses the body structure of S5M2, but there is no active cooling fan, which also leads to the fact that although G9M2 has 75 frames/second electronic shutter continuous shooting, it is only equipped with dual SD card slots. Fortunately, G9M2 has a pre-shooting function, even if it can’t do long-term continuous shooting like the sports flagship body, it can also capture wonderful moments. Of course, considering that the OM-1 also has dual SD, I think this is also a kind of “tacit understanding”.
The GH6 has more function buttons, and the button layout is specially optimized for video shooting. For example, if I want to adjust the audio on the GH6, the GH6 has a special video and audio shortcut key, while the G9M2 needs to go into the menu to adjust. There are really many details like this, including the HDMI and USB interface holders, which are also only available on the GH6. But in terms of video specifications alone, the G9M2 is not inferior to the GH6. The high dynamic range video mode of the GH6 has become an automatic function in the G9M2 body, and no settings are required. So if we only talk about video functions, the GH6 does not have many advantages except that it has an active cooling fan and is more reliable for long-term recording.
Of course, I believe that everyone is more concerned about phase focus. Yes, the G9M2 finally has a phase detection focus system!
What does phase focus mean?
I think the biggest significance of phase focus for the Panasonic M43 system is the expansion of the optional lens group. Previously, because Panasonic used the DFD focus algorithm and Olympus used phase focus, the Olympus body could take all brands of lenses, while the Panasonic body had to use Panasonic’s own original lenses first if the focus speed was considered. After the Panasonic G9M2 was equipped with phase focus, it no longer had to stick to the Panasonic original lens group.
It is known without testing that the continuous focus stability of the Panasonic G9M2 is better than that of the GH6. So if the GH6+Panasonic lens and the G9M2+Olympus lens are in the case, which one is more reliable? I did this test specifically this time. In the round-trip test, it can be clearly seen that the tracking focus algorithm of the GH6 is fully usable, but the focus of the G9M2 is more resolute and decisive, which is better than the GH6. What’s even more amazing is that the Panasonic G9M2 can perform continuous tracking focus at 4K 120 specifications, which has never been seen on Panasonic’s previous bodies. It is precisely because of this that the Panasonic G9M2 can be used to create videos very efficiently, a real leap forward.
By the way, I also tested the use of Olympus’s anti-shake lens with the Panasonic G9M2’s body anti-shake, and there was no problem with the use of them. Of course, we also got the Panasonic second-generation 35-100/2.8 and 100-400 this time. They are really “absolute” in terms of anti-shake with the Panasonic G9M2. This is the first time I have experienced handheld video shooting with an equivalent focal length of 800mm, and the picture can have a relatively uniform and usable shake.
What’s the point of using M43 now?
I think the current M43 system is a relatively “cooling” platform. The body specifications are very strong, the lens group is rich and the second-hand price is reasonable, and a fairly sufficient system can be combined at a very cheap price.
For example, if I take a landscape photo, the G9M2 can turn on the high-resolution mode and take 100 million pixel photos handheld. Although it is not as good as a true 100 million pixel medium format camera, it has a clear advantage over a 24 million pixel full-frame camera of the same price.
For another example, I want to take some dynamic subjects such as birds and sports. Panasonic has a fairly rich telephoto lens group with phase focus, such as the compact 35-100/2.8, the portable and reliable 50-200/2.8-4 and the 100-400 equivalent to 800mm. With the high-speed continuous shooting of 60 frames per second + pre-shooting function, you can fully record the wonderful moments. To be honest, I really hope to take G9M2 + 100-400 to the air show again.
The previous major shortcoming, the blur effect of portrait subjects, now has a certain solution. In the latest ACR/LR, ADOBE updated the “lens blur” function, which can achieve the same optional style lens blur enhancement as domestic mobile phones. For example, this is a portrait I took with 12-100/F4, and I can get a blur effect similar to the full-frame 70-200/F2.8.
Another shortcoming is low light, which is indeed quite challenging to the performance limit of the equipment, but it is also ADOBE’s AI noise reduction that has improved the other shortcoming of M43 to a certain extent. At present, I am used to turning on ISO AUTO for shooting on any camera. When I feel that the noise is too strong, I turn on noise reduction and I can get a pure picture immediately.
So M43 is currently very suitable for “both” users with a limited budget. After all, it is very cost-effective to buy a flagship M43 body at the price of an entry-level full-frame/mid-range APS-C frame. And Panasonic Lumix G9M2 is such a product with both performance and cost-effectiveness. I am very happy to have such a wonderful user experience, and I am very happy to meet you, Panasonic G9M2.
