The Panasonic Lumix GX9 is a brand-new CSC camera that joins the GX8, GX7 and GX80/GX85 in the Panasonic line-up. The new camera builds on what previous models have introduced, offering improved image quality and better ISO performance up to 6400 ISO.
You'll be able to get your hands on the new Panasonic Lumix GX9, in black or silver, from 12 March with an RRP of £699. Also announced today and available on 12 March 2017 is the Panasonic Lumix TZ200 premium compact camera - go check it out.
Panasonic Lumix GX9 Features
The Panasonic Lumix GX9 features a 20.3-megapixel Digital Live MOS Sensor with no low pass filter, features 5-axis dual image stabilisation, uses the Venus image processing engine, and shoots 4K video as well as photos (30fps in 8-megapixel equivalent resolution). Plus, the camera can auto mark images from 4K photo sequences as well as create sequences in one frame, for example, you can capture your pet running through the frame in three places. You can save 4K photos straight from the camera, without having to process the video files on your computer. Lightroom can also be used to select frames from the video. 4K video is useful as it can also be used to create 1080p video, to either crop for a 200% view, digitally stabilised or reframed, amongst other things. In addition, the Lumix GX9 incorporates Light Composition function as a new option of 4K PHOTO mode. The camera combines the images by choosing and saving the brighter pixels.
On the back, there's a tilting high-resolution (2760K dot) live electronic viewfinder (EVF), as well as a 3inch vari-angle 1240K dot touchscreen that tilts up to 80-degrees and down to 45-degrees and up front, you'll find a better grip. Dials have been moved around to make them more logically positioned but you can still alter the way the dials operate via the function buttons. The graphical interface has also been simplified so it's easier to read.
When it comes to focusing, improvements have been made to the contrast autofocus system with DFD technology becoming available and obstacle avoidance ensures that the camera will continue to focus on your subject rather than what cuts up the frame. Autofocus speeds sit at around 0.07 seconds and the camera achieves 9fps (AFS) and 6fps (AFC) when shooting bursts.
A variety of AF functions including Face/Eye Detection AF and the popular Pinpoint AF function are built in and the low light autofocus function should mean you can focus on subjects lit by low light more precisely. Focus and Aperture Bracketing have also been added. With Focus Bracketing, a maximum of 999 images can be shot with different focal distances while Aperture Bracketing allows you to capture multiple shots with different depth of field. Once captured, you can then choose the shot with the best focus level or most fitting depth of field characteristic.
Silent mode, which switches the shutter from mechanical to electronic and turns all sound off, is useful for those who capture wildlife regularly, spend time at sporting events or just want to capture shots of their children without the familiar beeps making them stop what they're doing so they can say 'cheese'. There's also a power saving mode which means you can leave your camera on ready but your battery won't be eaten up and Live View Boost can be used to brighten the screen but this does mean that exposure levels may not be accurate anymore.
To ensure shots are always sharp, the 5-axis dual image stabilisation is made up of 2-axis lens-based optical image stabilisation and 5-axis sensor-shift image stabilisation. The 5-axis Dual I.S. works in both photo and motion picture recording, including 4K video, and makes it possible to use a 4-stop slower shutter speed. To further reduce motion blur, there's an electromagnetic drive which reduces the risk of shutter shock by approximately 90%.
Time lapse shot / stop-motion animation is also available in the Lumix GX9.
Panasonic Lumix GX9 Key Features:
- 20.3MP Micro Four Thirds Live MOS sensor
- 5-Axis in-camera sensor stabilisation, Dual IS system
- 3inch tilting touch-screen, 1240K dots
- Tilting electronic viewfinder, 2760K dots, 0.7x magnification
- 4K photo / 4K video in 3840x2160 30, 25p (PAL), 24p in MP4
- FullHD video at 60fps
- Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Built-in
- Focus bracketing / Aperture Bracketing
- 900 shot battery life when using the power-saving LVF function, 260 images using the LCD and 250 images using the LVF
- AFS 9fps / AFC 6fps continuous shooting
- ISO100 (Low) to ISO25600
Panasonic Lumix GX9 Handling
The Panasonic Lumix GX9 looks very similar to the GX7, released way back in 2013, but this isn't a bad thing as the overall design of the GX7, and now GX9, is very smart. In the hand, the camera feels solid and well built with metal dials giving a premium look and feel to the retro-styled mirrorless camera. There's also an additional hand grip and eye cup available to further increase the comfort and grip of the GX9.
The electronic viewfinder, which boasts 1.39x / 0.7x (35mm camera equiv.) magnification and 100% field of view, has a high resolution and focuses quickly but the dioptre adjustment can be difficult to use and even though the image you see through the EVF is sharp, you can still see aberrations around bright areas. However, the fact that the EVF tilts and adjusts makes it a lot easier to use. The EVF also has an eye detection sensor so that it will automatically switch on and off when held up to the eye. If you do use the EVF, you need to remember to turn the touchscreen off as your nose can change the focus point of your image if you don't. Talking of focus, focus points cover a large area of the screen and can be manually selected.
The exposure dial can be used to quickly change settings and there's a focus lever so you can change between AFS (AFF), AFC and manual focus without accessing the menu. Those with keen eyes will notice that the video record button now sits on top of the on/off switch, making the design of the camera more compact. You'll also see that there are several function buttons that can be customised, with a total of 3 external function buttons, and 5 that can be assigned as touch-buttons on-screen.
The camera has shutter speeds from 1/4000 to 60 seconds when using the mechanical shutter and 1/16000 to 1 second when the electronic shutter is in use. The camera also has a bulb mode that can take photos with an exposure up to 30 minutes long.
Built-in flash makes a return to the GX9, something that was optional on the GX8, and there's also a hotshoe which you can add a flashgun to, should you so wish.
The screen on the back is a tilting touch-screen which can be used to set the focus point, as well as other on-screen options. The screen is bright, clear and thanks to its articulation, makes the camera even more usable in awkward spaces. The brightness, contrast and saturation of the screen can be adjusted, which will help ensure you are seeing what you should be seeing when taking photos, which is particularly useful if you are using the screen to gauge correct exposure and something we found we had to do as at first, the screen was showing a much brighter image than what was captured. Screen brightness can be set to automatic so that the camera will automatically increase the brightness when using the camera outside.
Menus – There are multiple menu options and settings, spread over several screens, with the camera displaying hints and tips for each option making it easier to use without having to refer to the manual. The menu system has the latest Panasonic menus, so icons are flat which makes them clearer and easier to read. You can use the 4-way controller on the back to go through the menus, or you can use the touch-screen.
Built-in Wi-Fi allows you to remote control the camera, as well as transfer images to a smartphone or tablet. With low-power Bluetooth, it's possible to transfer images without the power drain of using Wi-Fi.
Battery life - Battery life is rated at 900 images when using the power-saving LVF function, 260 when using the LCD and 250 when using the LVF without the power-saving mode. The camera uses the same battery as the Panasonic Lumix G80/G85, and the battery and memory card compartments are underneath the camera.
Panasonic Lumix GX9 Performance
The performance section is where we look at the image quality performance of the camera. Additional sample photos and product shots are available in the Equipment Database, where you can add your own review, photos and product ratings.
Speed - We took a number of shots to test the camera's responsiveness, from switch on to first photo, shot to shot, focusing speed etc. We take a number of shots and then use the average to ensure accurate and consistent tests, making it easy to compare with other cameras.
| Shutter Response | <0.05 |
| Wide - Focus / Shutter Response | 0.125 |
| Full zoom - Focus / Shutter Response | 0.1 |
| Switch on Time to Taking a Photo | 0.8 |
| Shot to Shot without Flash | 0.4 |
| Shot to Shot with Flash | 0.65 |
| Continuous Shooting - JPEG (shots before slow down) |
8fps (149 before slowdown) |
| Continuous Shooting - Flash | N/A |
| Continuous Shooting - RAW+Fine | 8fps (29 before slowdown) |
Silent shooting is available using the electronic shutter. The standard shutter sound is quieter than the GX8, and similar to other mirrorless cameras. Tested using a Toshiba Exceria Pro UHS-II U:3, 260MB/s SD card, and the Panasonic 12-32mm lens.
Panasonic Lumix GX9 Sample Photos
Sample Photos - Photos are well exposed with bright saturated colours and good levels of detail particularly when shooting in bright sunny conditions. On the GX8, shadow areas occasionally showed signs of noise but images captured on the GX9 don't show any sign of this and overall, are very well balanced.
Panasonic Lumix GX9 Lens test images
Lens Performance - The camera automatically corrects for lens distortion, as well as purple fringing, and as a result, there were hardly any issues with purple fringing or distortion visible. The 12-32mm kit lens performs well, with good levels of detail, however it is prone to flare when shooting into direct, bright sunlight but a lens hood can easily fix this. One area where the 12-32mm lens lacks is in close-up focus, with the lens not being particularly suited to close-up macro work.
Panasonic Lumix GX9 ISO test images
ISO Noise Performance - The standard ISO range available is ISO200 to ISO25600. An extended ISO100 (Low) is also available, but records lower dynamic range. For the lowest noise and best detail possible we would recommend using ISO100 to ISO1600, as images have low levels of noise and good levels of detail. For lower light situations ISO1600 to ISO6400 still provides good results, although noise increases and detail is reduced. At ISO12800 noise levels become strong and we would recommend avoiding this setting if possible, although results may still be useful if resized and used on the web. ISO25600 is best avoided as noise is high, and detail is low. Noise reduction can be set from -5 to +5, and we took these shots on default settings.
The noise performance is almost identical to the Panasonic Lumix G9, and there is a slight but subtle improvement in noise performance compared to the GX8, with lower chroma noise.
Panasonic Lumix GX9 White-balance test images
White Balance Performance - White balance performance is good, with auto white balance producing good, but warm, results under tungsten and mixed lighting. Using the auto white balance (AWB) cool setting you get much more accurate results under tungsten lighting. AWB performs well under fluorescent lighting, and there is no fluorescent preset available.
Panasonic Lumix GX9 Digital filters
Digital Filters - Creative effects let you apply a number of digital filters to the images, and you can shoot JPEG and raw so that you can go back to the original if you want to. There is also an option to save the original, unedited JPEG image as well as is the option to shoot photos with and without creative filter options applied simultaneously. There are several preset colour modes, these can be customised letting you alter the contrast, sharpness, noise reduction, and saturation levels. The monochrome colour options let you choose a black and white filter which includes L Monochrome which gives the feel of black and white film to your images. There's also an option for adding grain.
Panorama mode - The camera features an automatic panoramic mode, where you simply press the shutter release button and pan the camera from one side to the other. Results are very good and well stitched together, with a high-resolution image produced. Although, the shutter is loud when panning.
Video - You can choose between AVCHD (FullHD) and MP4 (4K and FullHD) video recording. 4K UHD (3840x2160) video is recorded at 30, 25, or 24p, and 100mbps. Image stabilisation can be used, and there's also an option for additional electronic stabilisation, and IS Lock. Detail is very good when recording 4K video, however the microphones are quite good at picking up wind noise, as shown in the video below. We recorded this with the 12-32mm lens, and Wind Noise Cancellation was set to "Standard" - there are options for Off, Standard and High. Additional sample videos can be found on the ePHOTOzine YouTube channel.
Value for Money
The Panasonic Lumix GX9 is available for £699 (body only) which makes it quite good value for money compared to some of the competition. Alternatives to look at include the following cameras, with Panasonic's other cameras, such as the GX8 and GX80 offering the most competitive prices:
- Panasonic Lumix GX8, 20.3mp, 4-axis IS, 8fps, 4K video, 4K photo, weather-sealed, £699 with 12-60mm lens
- Panasonic Lumix GX80, 16mp, 5-axis IS, 8fps, 4K video, 4K photo, £499 with lens
- Panasonic Lumix G9, 20mp, 5-axis IS, 60fps, 4K video, 6K photo, weather-sealed, £1499 body only
- Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II, 16mp, 5-axis IS, 10fps, FullHD video, weather-sealed, £849 body only
- Fujifilm X-E3, 24mp APS-C, 8fps, 4K video, Bluetooth, £799 body only
- Sony Alpha A6500, 24mp APS-C, 5-axis IS, 11fps, 4K video, Bluetooth, weather-sealed, £1279 body only
You'll also need to buy a memory card and a case or bag to keep your camera safe and protected - have a look at our complete guide to camera bags.
Panasonic Lumix GX9 Verdict
The Panasonic Lumix GX9 updates the GX8, with a more compact camera body, a tilting screen, and smaller electronic viewfinder (EVF), which is most likely unavoidable due to the smaller body size. The 3inch tilting touch-screen has a good resolution of 1270K dots, and continuous shooting speed has been improved to 9fps. In-camera image stabilisation has been updated to 5-axis image stabilisation, and can be used in combination with lens based image stabilisation, when using Panasonic lenses.
Image quality has been improved with slightly better noise performance, and colour reproduction is now better than ever with Panasonic's latest cameras. There's a built-in flash, which was missing from the GX8, and the camera also has a quieter shutter than the GX8. Battery life could be considered as quite low, with 260 shots possible on normal settings, so we'd recommend using the power saving mode, which should increase battery life to 900 shots.
Whether you need the GX9 or the GX80 could be a tough call, and if you are happy with 16mp images, then it could be worth having a look at the GX80 in our comparison, as it certainly offers excellent value for money. However, the GX9 offers all of the latest white balance settings, including the extremely useful "Cool" auto white balance setting, making product shots easier. Bluetooth has been added, making it easier to transfer images to your smartphone or tablet, and you may as well benefit from the 20mp sensor, which delivers great image quality.
| The Panasonic Lumix GX9 delivers great image quality, and can easily be taken with you everywhere you go. |