PANASONIC LUMIX GX9
The fifth model in the long-standing Lumix GX series appears as a powerful, mid-level camera, with a stable core feature set and plenty of fancy tricks alongside
Our verdict on the latest model in the Lumix GX series
Panasonic’s GX series celebrates its seventh birthday this year, so its latest GX9 should benefit from many years’ worth of experience to make it as fit for its intended enthusiast-level audience as possible.
Built around a 20.3MP Micro Four Thirds sensor, one that eschews its optical low-pass filter in order to deliver more detailed images, the camera maintains many core technologies from previous Lumix models, from Dual I.S. and contrast-detect based Light Speed AF through to 4K video recording.
The inclusion of a tilting viewfinder, something of a trademark of the series since the GX7, has also been carried on, although its magnification has dropped from the GX8’s 0.77x to 0.7x here. Nevertheless, it presents itself very well when viewing images in the default 4:3 ratio (16:9 images fill it entirely but it appears impossible to view the whole frame at once here). Perhaps more importantly, with 2.76 million dots, details are great in good light and still reasonable in suboptimal conditions.
Panasonic has opted for an up/down tilting mounting mechanism for the LCD, rather than the side-articulating design we found on the previous GX8. The screen itself is very sensitive to touch, which is perfect when setting the focus point and navigating to more awkward menu options. Harsher lighting conditions do make viewing it more problematic, but you can adjust brightness over three levels (or leave it to Auto).
The fact that the EVF can tilt may seem like a gimmick if you tend to use this rather than the LCD for composition, but the fact that you can swing this upwards does at least mean you escape the common issue of the eyecup being in the way of the LCD screen when shooting from a low angle. As the screen remains sensitive when you have your eye up to the viewfinder, however,
“The GX9 eschews its optical low-pass filter in order to deliver more detailed images”
it’s very easy to change the focusing post with your nose – annoying when it happens inadvertently, but oddly convenient if you don’t want to change your grip to make a very minor adjustment.
With a non-sculpted grip around the front, one that’s less prominent than it was on the GX8, relatively flat buttons and a rear command dial that only protrudes a touch from the rear plate, some may yearn for a little more physical definition when they initially start using the camera. So much can be controlled through the touchscreen, however, so whether this is an issue really depends on your preferred means of operation.
The stiffness from the exposure compensation dial is somewhat welcome when you consider how easily such controls tend to be knocked out of place, and the front command dial just ahead of it turns easily and with pleasantly defined clicks. The mode dial on top of this is perhaps as small as Panasonic could get away with, although the reality is that most people only ever use this on one or two exposure modes anyway.
While some may lament the absence of a phase-detect AF system, you soon realise that most worries about the focusing system’s performance can be put to rest. The system displays the same speedy acquisition as many previous Lumix models, with focus in good light typically confirmed as soon as you’ve finished half-pressing the shutter release button. True, there is noticeable hesitation in dimmer conditions, but this slowdown isn’t
exclusive to contrast-detect AF systems.
The camera’s metering system generally does very well, with scenes with wide a dynamic range remaining balanced across the tonal range, and an abundance of darker subjects not fooling it into overexposing. White balance appears fine too, although it’s worth experimenting with the Photo Styles as the default Standard option can leave images lacking a little vitality.
Processing rAW files shows a very good range of recoverable shadow detail at lower sensitivities, and an acceptable amount in the mid ISOs. The lack of a optical low-pass filter in front of the sensor is evident when examining images close up, with details very well defined at the lower and middle range of the ISO span, and a perfectly good amount of detail at higher sensitivities.
The camera’s rAW processing system is perhaps one of the better ones out there in terms of usability and the scope of adjustment, though it would be nice to see lens aberration adjustments here too. rAW and JPEG images already have built-in profiles for distortion and chromatic aberration, which you only bypass if using a third-party (non-Adobe) rAW converter, but it would be good to have in-camera control over the former as there’s room for improvement here.
“The AF system displays the same speedy acquisition as many previous Lumix models”
Panasonic is no stranger to highquality video recording, and the GX9 is certainly capable of pleasingly detailed 4K footage. rolling shutter appears to be well controlled, and the image stabilisation system is effective in footage shot handheld, while audio quality from the built-in microphones is better than expected too. On the other hand, the use of contrast-detect AF means that there is a little hesitation when switching focus between different subjects while recording, and in low light the camera can struggle here. Then again, if you plan on using manual focus, this won’t be an issue.