"Panasonic G series" Owners Thread

[Sangoma]

Thanks for the input all. The last thing I meant was to stir a debate. It’s a shame the gx9 isn’t weather sealed as I do like to shoot at beaches where that comes in handy. I do like rangefinder styled cameras, but for a similar price on the secondhand market, I could get an Olympus e-m5 iii which I think might be the direction I’m going instead of the gx9. Another alternative could be the Panasonic G90. It would be nice to compare a G90 to e-m5iii in hand for size comparison.

The G9 is available for very good prices now, it is not a small camera as M43 goes, but it never feels big. It is bigger than the e-m5 iii though.
I get on better with the Panasonic ergonomics and menu system.

 

[Cockney]

The G9 is available for very good prices now, it is not a small camera as M43 goes, but it never feels big. It is bigger than the e-m5 iii though.
I get on better with the Panasonic ergonomics and menu system.

I haven't looked recently, is the Olympus menu system still quirky and (to me) illogical?

 

[Sangoma]

I haven't looked recently, is the Olympus menu system still quirky and (to me) illogical?

Well it is to me But we are all different.

One thing with the Panasonic’s is that the layout is about the same from a TZ60 up to my G9s, and it is easy to find things.

 

[AndrewFlannigan]

One thing with the Panasonic’s is that the layout is about the same from a TZ60 up to my G9s, and it is easy to find things.

The thing that really swings the G9 for me is that it has the same feeling of solidarity as the Nikon F.

While it's entirely possible that it could have been built much lighter, as the G5 was, the heft gives me a feeling of confidence that it "will do what it says on the tin" and capture the image I want...

 

[Crotal Bell]

Thanks for the input all. The last thing I meant was to stir a debate. It’s a shame the gx9 isn’t weather sealed as I do like to shoot at beaches where that comes in handy. I do like rangefinder styled cameras, but for a similar price on the secondhand market, I could get an Olympus e-m5 iii which I think might be the direction I’m going instead of the gx9. Another alternative could be the Panasonic G90. It would be nice to compare a G90 to e-m5iii in hand for size comparison.

If you are considering the G90, then you should really look at the G80 first.

The improvements made for the G90 are very minimal and in some cases many experts thought they took away as much as they gave, the video in the G80 is better for a start and the camera bodies are almost identical.

There's a lot of great condition G80 bodies available because they sold in good numbers, weather sealed and very comfortable to hold, fits in a small shoulder bag with portrait/landscape lenses, even a larger baggy pocket with the right lens.



Shutter shock was a proven issue on some of the earlier models, depending on the settings used some people would never encounter it, but it was there nonetheless.

 

[Petey]

If you are considering the G90, then you should really look at the G80 first.

The improvements made for the G90 are very minimal and in some cases many experts thought they took away as much as they gave, the video in the G80 is better for a start and the camera bodies are almost identical.

There's a lot of great condition G80 bodies available because they sold in good numbers, weather sealed and very comfortable to hold, fits in a small shoulder bag with portrait/landscape lenses, even a larger baggy pocket with the right lens.



Shutter shock was a proven issue on some of the earlier models, depending on the settings used some people would never encounter it, but it was there nonetheless.

Thanks for the input. I actually owned a g80 for a few weeks, but ended up having to return it for being faulty. It was secondhand though, so possibly not treated well before I bought it. If I remember rightly it was something to do with the screen going black after taking a photo. It would happen intermittently. I’ve no idea if this was a common fault or what could’ve caused it though. I just returned it quickly before I got stuck with a faulty camera.

 

[Cockney]

Odd one today.

Not used the G80 for a while. It's been sitting in the cupboard.
Decided to take it out today. As expected the battery was totally flat.
Went to change it and instead of just sliding out it was ' jammed ', I had to gently tease it out with a knife. Replacement Lumix battery just slid in, no problem.

The flat battery is a Duracell. On inspection the battery has an imperceptible bulge on the label side. You can only 'see it' by rocking a steel rule across it.

I haven't recharged it as I dont trust it any more.

Anybody had similar or can shed any light?

 

[AndrewFlannigan]

Anybody had similar or can shed any light?

Not myself but some possibly helpful advice here...

I have a Swollen Lithium-ion battery what should i do

www.reading.ac.uk

 

[Cockney]

Not myself but some possibly helpful advice here...

I have a Swollen Lithium-ion battery what should i do

www.reading.ac.uk

Cheers. I expected it was toast. Has certainly been deep discharged. So much for going for a known brand. Cheers Duracell.

 

[Stephen L]

I haven't looked recently, is the Olympus menu system still quirky and (to me) illogical?

The menus in the latest iteration of OM System cameras are a light year away from the original. Totally intuitive.

 

[Crotal Bell]

Cheers. I expected it was toast. Has certainly been deep discharged. So much for going for a known brand. Cheers Duracell.

I suppose it's good to take any batteries out if not using a camera for a while.
It hadn't crossed my mind before but this has got me thinking cautiously.

 

[Cockney]

I suppose it's good to take any batteries out if not using a camera for a while.
It hadn't crossed my mind before but this has got me thinking cautiously.

Its got me thinking too.
Do I go Duracell again?
Shell out for genuine Lumix?
Try a.n other brand?

 

[woof woof]

I've had several batteries for my Sony A7 swell but I'm not sure that buying genuine camera brand batteries will be a 100% fix. I think age and probably the number of cycles plays a part. My Panasonic kit gets much less use and so far I don't remember having a problem.

Anyway. Some recent GX80 and 14mm f2.5 and GX9 and 20mm f1.7 pictures I like. Nothing special, just out walking and day out snaps. The first three are GX9 and the next three are GX80.











One last one, mid chomp

 

[CSB]

Its got me thinking too.
Do I go Duracell again?
Shell out for genuine Lumix?
Try a.n other brand?

I've found that when buying third party batteries, it's not worth spending extra on the more expensive versions, generally they are all of a similar quality and with time they will either no longer hold charge well or will start to swell. I still don't think Panasonic batteries are worth the premium prices, I just buy cheap third party batteries and accept that they might need to be replaced after 3 or 4 years.

 

[Cockney]

I've had several batteries for my Sony A7 swell but I'm not sure that buying genuine camera brand batteries will be a 100% fix. I think age and probably the number of cycles plays a part. My Panasonic kit gets much less use and so far I don't remember having a problem.

Anyway. Some recent GX80 and 14mm f2.5 and GX9 and 20mm f1.7 pictures I like. Nothing special, just out walking and day out snaps. The first three are GX9 and the next three are GX80.

View attachment 453189

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One last one, mid chomp

View attachment 453196

My wife would have made me delete the last one.

 

[woof woof]

My wife would have made me delete the last one.

She sometimes asks me to delete pictures but when she does it's mostly hair related She saw the funny side to that one last one.

 

[Petey]

Its got me thinking too.
Do I go Duracell again?
Shell out for genuine Lumix?
Try a.n other brand?

Duracell lithium batteries usually don’t hold up compared to other brands. The best third party batteries I’ve used are Hahnel. I’ve never had any issues with those. I used to work in a camera shop and PC World sold Duracell batteries as part of a bundle with their cameras. In our shop we’d often see customers come in and complain as Duracell batteries would often leak into/damage the cameras they’d purchased. So they’d come to us for advice rather than PC World. They did the same selling poor memory cards with cameras. I once had someone come into our shop wondering why it took so long for their photos to write to their memory card and it was because PC World sold them a micro SD card with a converter to fit into their camera.

 

[Crotal Bell]

I've had several batteries for my Sony A7 swell but I'm not sure that buying genuine camera brand batteries will be a 100% fix. I think age and probably the number of cycles plays a part. My Panasonic kit gets much less use and so far I don't remember having a problem.

Anyway. Some recent GX80 and 14mm f2.5 and GX9 and 20mm f1.7 pictures I like. Nothing special, just out walking and day out snaps. The first three are GX9 and the next three are GX80.

View attachment 453189

View attachment 453190

View attachment 453191

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View attachment 453193

One last one, mid chomp

View attachment 453196

I love the colour and exposure on the one in the arcade, I was thinking you must have used a flash back I can't see any flare reflection. It's a very vibrant colourful image and I would love to know how you set the camera up for that one.

 

[woof woof]

I love the colour and exposure on the one in the arcade, I was thinking you must have used a flash back I can't see any flare reflection. It's a very vibrant colourful image and I would love to know how you set the camera up for that one.

Deffo no flash as it could have affected the lighting and colours in the arcade but I did do a little processing to taste, a slight S curve with contrast and a slight boost to vibrancy. It was taken with my GX80 and 14mm f2.5 at f2.5 and I think the main things here are the perspective created by the distance and focal length and also the height and angle the picture was taken from. I do like using the evf rather than the back screen but the back screen is great for taking pictures with the camera held lower and here pointing slightly upward, not taken from eye level, hence the not from eye level perspective. I like to do this with people pictures, I learned this from Vivian Maier. Watching "Finding Vivian Maier" was a real WoW moment for me

I'm glad you like it, I do too and Emanuel was very happy with it printed to fill an A4.

 

[Crotal Bell]

Deffo no flash as it could have affected the lighting and colours in the arcade but I did do a little processing to taste, a slight S curve with contrast and a slight boost to vibrancy. It was taken with my GX80 and 14mm f2.5 at f2.5 and I think the main things here are the perspective created by the distance and focal length and also the height and angle the picture was taken from. I do like using the evf rather than the back screen but the back screen is great for taking pictures with the camera held lower and here pointing slightly upward, not taken from eye level, hence the not from eye level perspective. I like to do this with people pictures, I learned this from Vivian Maier. Watching "Finding Vivian Maier" was a real WoW moment for me

I'm glad you like it, I do too and Emanuel was very happy with it printed to fill an A4.

Thanks mate

 

[Testudo Man]

After getting a Panny S5, ive not posted in this thread for awhile now!!.......................However, im still using my Panny G9 to good effect. With the Oly 60mm macro lens, the G9 is a joy to use, it nails virtually every shot i ask of it. Ive been having some fun this season, stepping back from my subject, shooting at 2.8, an getting some pleasing images.
Some G9/Oly 60mm lens images, no images are cropped, Cheers Paul.

In close for this female Adonis Blue.

Female Adonis Blue Butterfly, basking in early evening. by Tort Man, on Flickr


Stepping back, an shooting at f/2.8. Female Common Blue.


Male Common Blue.

 

[Crotal Bell]

After getting a Panny S5, ive not posted in this thread for awhile now!!.......................However, im still using my Panny G9 to good effect. With the Oly 60mm macro lens, the G9 is a joy to use, it nails virtually every shot i ask of it. Ive been having some fun this season, stepping back from my subject, shooting at 2.8, an getting some pleasing images.
Some G9/Oly 60mm lens images, no images are cropped, Cheers Paul.

In close for this female Adonis Blue.

Female Adonis Blue Butterfly, basking in early evening. by Tort Man, on Flickr


Stepping back, an shooting at f/2.8. Female Common Blue.
View attachment 453797

Male Common Blue.
View attachment 453798

Nice work
I use the Leica 100-400mm which can get pretty close magnification at around a metre from the subject, with the G9.
I've often considered a macro but not sure if I like the microscopic style, preferring images like these you've posted, especially the first one.
How far back can you stand with the 60mm and get maximum macro? and is a soft flash box/rig essential?

 

[AndrewFlannigan]

I use the Leica 100-400mm which can get pretty close magnification at around a metre from the subject, with the G9.

The 100-400mm is a surprisingly versatile piece of kit and goes well with G9. I find that makes a nice carry about camera for grab shots...

 

[Testudo Man]

Nice work
I use the Leica 100-400mm which can get pretty close magnification at around a metre from the subject, with the G9.
I've often considered a macro but not sure if I like the microscopic style, preferring images like these you've posted, especially the first one.
How far back can you stand with the 60mm and get maximum macro? and is a soft flash box/rig essential?

Thanks for that.
For the close up female Adonis shot, i had to get within approx. 50cms or less.
The other 2 images were taken approx. 120cms from the Common Blues.
I dont use flash for my butterfly images, i rely on natural light only. But if i were to use the Oly 60mm macro lens for "Macro shots", were i needed to get much closer to a subject, then if your casting a shadow over your chosen subject, it would be a good idea to use a flash setup. Get too close to a butterfly (cast a shadow over it) then the insect will certainly fly off out of frame! People have great success using the Oly 60mm Macro lens, for "proper" macro, but my butterfly images are close up, rather than macro. I also shoot Auto Focus, i think there is a setting on the lens for closest focus distance (1:1) but that setting might be for manual focus, which i never use. I tend to just flip between the other 3 settings on the lens, depending on my working distance to subject. Its a quirky little lightweight lens, some people complain about it, an dont seem to like it...The lens works for me though, time an time again, all day long out in the field. Cheers Paul.......another G9/Oly 60mm macro lens combo, shot this season. The Grizzled Skipper is a tiny Butterfly, with a wingspan of just 23-29mm

Grizzled Skipper Butterfly. No cropping. by Tort Man, on Flickr

 

[Columbo]

Well as a long term dweller here and not posting in a while I've just dropped my entire FF Sony gear and jumped in the M4/3's with the G9 and a range of lenses. Not had the chance to really stretch its legs yet but will in the next couple of days.

Have to say the though that I bought the Oly 75mm f1.8 with it and my lord does that produce some beautiful images.

 

[AndrewFlannigan]

...jumped in the M4/3's with the G9 and a range of lenses.

Did you include the 100~400mm?

Mine lives permanently on one of my G9s and it's the reason I bought the G9 in the first place. I think of the combination as a super light 200~800...



The other G9 also has a permanent optic, the 7~14mm - superb for confined spaces...



Enjoy using your G9 outfit!

 

[Columbo]

I actually got the 100-300mm for now as generally only break out the tele's on rare occasions.
I got the 12-60mm f2.8-4 and 75mm f1.8 and will add a UWA in the coming weeks.

 

[Columbo]

My G9 is on firmware 2.4, is it worth updating to 2.7?
The panny change list only states one line and its not something I care about.

 

[realspeed]

If your looking for a wireless remote trigger/receiver for the G9 or the G9ii don't pay the £60 panasonic want for a wired one. I have been looking on the interweb for something cheaper, but couldn't find a Wireless one. So had a dig in my parts box and believe it or not the PIxel Oppilas works on both cameras and only costs about £29. Also a 2.5mm 3 pole to 4 pole cable is needed where the 4pole end goes into the remote socket on the camera.

 

[realspeed]

The Pana 100-300mm lens works well as a close up lens when fitted withExtn tubes. I use Meike "MK-P-AF3B" automatic tube set comes with a16mm and a 10mm extn tube. Ideal for a closup while still at a distance

 

[ajophotog]

Three with the G80 and Pergear 60mm f2.8 2x macro lens and lit with the Godox v860 II.


Lesser Stag Beetle by Ajophotog, on ipernity


Lesser Stag Beetle by Ajophotog, on ipernity


Horsefly by Ajophotog, on ipernity

 

[ajophotog]

Taken with the G80, this little fly is about 2mm in length.


Thaumatomyia notata 2mm by Ajophotog, on ipernity

 

[mav]

Some advice please guys, my other half is taking an interest in Photography for Wildlife. I am thinking of a g9 or a gx 80 and either a Panasonic 100-400 mk1 or 100-300 mk1
is there much difference in iq and af speed between the 2 lens, which would be the better Body out of the 2 I have short listed
Thanks

 

[Sangoma]

G9

And not the 100-300 mk1, so it would have to be the 100-400. The 100-300 mk2 is a different story.

 

[woof woof]

Some advice please guys, my other half is taking an interest in Photography for Wildlife. I am thinking of a g9 or a gx 80 and either a Panasonic 100-400 mk1 or 100-300 mk1
is there much difference in iq and af speed between the 2 lens, which would be the better Body out of the 2 I have short listed
Thanks

I suppose the wildlife and the light she will shoot in has to come into it and sadly the aperture range of these lenses isn't great. Depending on the subject, the light and the expected results it may well be worthwhile looking at another system if the budget allows.

 

[Sangoma]

I suppose the wildlife and the light she will shoot in has to come into it and sadly the aperture range of these lenses isn't great. Depending on the subject, the light and the expected results it may well be worthwhile looking at another system if the budget allows.

Yet despite that, the G9 and the lenses have earned themselves an excellent reputation for wildlife
Maybe because aperture range is only one of the factors to be considered.

 

[woof woof]

Yet despite that, the G9 and the lenses have earned themselves an excellent reputation for wildlife
Maybe because aperture range is only one of the factors to be considered.

But it's a significant factor as it could well impact IQ and has to be considered, As I said above the aperture range is less than great for eg with the 100-400mm you could very well be at f6.3 wide open (that's f12+ in ff speak) and depending upon the subject and the conditions and the settings needed this could be an issue.

It all depends on conditions and settings and all I'm advising is that Mav looks into this and also looks at other systems, systems with potentially larger sensors and wider apertures. Another system may come at a cost of bulk, weight and more money but the Panny kit isn't exactly peanuts so the abilities of the MFT kit and that of the competition need to be looked at otherwise we might as well be fanboys and just tell everyone to go ahead and spend their hard earned on the Panny kit without reservations no matter if it's suitable and the best choice or not.

 

[tijuana taxi]

I had a Panasonic 200/2.8 and 1.4 t/c to use with my G9, so effectively in FF terms a 560/4
It was very sharp and utilising the dual is gave some excellent results.
Considerably lighter/smaller than larger formats for that focal range and aperture.
Another consideration might be an Olympus 300/4 which also has a fine reputation.

 

[woof woof]

I had a Panasonic 200/2.8 and 1.4 t/c to use with my G9, so effectively in FF terms a 560/4
It was very sharp and utilising the dual is gave some excellent results.
Considerably lighter/smaller than larger formats for that focal range and aperture.
Another consideration might be an Olympus 300/4 which also has a fine reputation.

That sounds like a setup worth considering.

I don't want to put people off MFT, I've had it for a long long time, I just want to be open about possible pitfalls.

 

[tijuana taxi]

Another option might be a Panasonic 50-200/2.8-4.
Heard good things about this lens and it also has the zoom flexibility.
Did have a 100-300 mkii, but wasn't overly impressed, perhaps I expected too much for the relatively low price.
Not tried the 100-400 ii, I believe it has to some extent cured the stiff zoom of the mk i version.