Olympus RIP

I revisited this video after replacing my OM-1 with a G9 II recently and this camera is simply ridiculous. APS-C levels of image quality with DR boost on. Full frame stacked sensor flagship level burst rates. Stupidly deep buffer. 100 MP HHHR with motion compensation. Industry leading video specifications. High quality selection of ports and card slots. Aside from the size, I really can't fault anything about this camera.

I’m still shooting with a G7 for photos so this would be a serious upgrade!

Well spotted. Might have EIS on High as well. Either way, gimbal like footage for sure

GH6 + GH9II looks to be a solid combo, although I'm thinking a GX9II would of be nicer (from a form factor aspect for street photography and more casual shoots) as there is a LOT of overlap between the two in terms of specs.

@@picospace GX9ii, yes please!

Better ad a OM Systems for that! As G9II and GH6 are so similar.

@@derJackistweg I use my cameras for multi-camera livestreams, so matching colors is a big plus. The G9II being so similar to the GH6 is a positive for me. Really my perfect camera is a GH6 with better Auto-Focus and photo capability. At least my "realistic perfect camera that fits my work & budget".

@@MandicReally right. Actually I can comprehend the low dynamic range that was mentioned here from my fotos as well. I was quite supriced by that and I expected to be in the same or better rage than a A6000 that I owned some years ago.

Do you think he would like it?

@@andreatilli6227 I think he'd love it. As a photojournalist it's the type of seriously capable camera that he'd appreciate, even if he did roll his eyes a bit at the unnecessary video claptrap. But he did like the G9, and funnily enough, he said in his video, "if Panasonic were able to swallow their pride and put some phase detection points on the sensor, I don't see any how anyone could compete with it." How's that for foreshadowing? 😉 And that was 5 years ago! kzfaq.info/get/bejne/e9CJmKmQtdbTcas.htmlsi=psIS-_1I-bHUGJXY

+1

Indeed!

Definitely.

Heck yeah! Or even better: A GM5 II with a bigger EVF 🤤😅

A GX9 with a proper EVF and better battery life would be great news to me

M43 has been dead for 14 years now, yet its still around, the media wants it to be dead, but the consumer side seems to do quite well. OM-1 is fantastic photography camera, but absolutely garbage for video, its worse in so many ways to a GH4, but thats okay, in my opinion, there TOO MUCH video these days, sometimes, I just want a camera, that does ONE thing.

Just imagine how much better it will get with firmware updates.

@@VoidShepherd agreed, the original G9 has aged like fine wine. I typically use my GX85 or G95 for most casual shooting due to size and weight. When I do turn to the G9, I'm always impressed by its performance. The G9 II is one more level up and I'll be interested to see if Panasonic is willing to add more computational photography features. AI noise reduction (think DxO DeepPRIME) is already very efficient on modern x86 processors, something like this should work with a multicore ARM processor in a modern M4/3 body. It would be nice to have an inbody AI NR option for when I need to send a JPEG from the camera to my phone for social media posting.

@glsracer It should be interesting to see Indeed. I have been holding out for this camera and I am glad I did.

What are your favorite lenses for the cameras?

@@ScrattleGG for the G9 I like the PL 10-25 f/1.7 and the Oly 40-150 f/2.8. I also use it with the PL 12-60 f/2.8-4 sometimes. Edit: oh I forgot the Sigma 30 and 56 f/1.4

Personally I think the days of m43 being a budget option are over. It's actually cheaper to make full frame lenses than m43 lenses (a 50mm f/1.8 full frame lens is easier to engineer than an "equivalent" 25mm f/0.9 m43 lens for example). It used to be that sensor costs were a big advantage of m43, but this is no longer as significant.

Same here! I hope they corrected the front shutter button. It is way too sensitive on G9!

I saw another review where he said the button is improved and does not have that hair trigger.

Hugh Brownstone (3 Blind Men and an Elephant), specifically mentions that the G9II corrects that very issue.

May i ask what were your reasons to go back?

Yeah, MFt is a great option if you want overpriced gear and terrible image quality. :D

@@youknowwho9247 People like you are so full of it. Sensor size in correct conditions does not matter in the slightest. Yes full frame sensors have better dynamic range and low light for the most part, but in most cases, it doesn't matter. Stop with this childish elitism.

@@D3AL1O That's just utter rubbish. Full frame provides more creative control over depth of field, cleaner and higher resolution images and higher dynamic range - in ALL shooting conditions. Anyone who claims anything else simply doesn't know what they're talking about. There are very good reason for why virtually no reputable, professional wedding photographer shoots MFT and why 95+% of all pros in any genre shoot full frame or larger sensors. The remaining 5% are paid brand ambassadors and viral marketing type influencers. There's absolutely no reason to pick MFT over full frame for stills. Full frame offers higher quality at better cost efficiency. It's an absolute no brainer.

@@youknowwho9247I went from an A7iii to a G9 with no regrets whatsover. For pros FF or Medium Format can absolutely be justified. Most of us are not pros and MFT cameras are much easier to fit photography around every day life events. My Sony gear more often didn't come with me as too bulky and ended up using my phone. Yes a G9 and A7 are similar sized bodies but the lenses are much smaller especially the zooms. The IBIS is way better on MFT so while High ISO performance is nowhere near as good I rarely go above 3200 as I can shoot at much slower shutter speeds. Waterfall shots with 1 sec exposure handheld no problem. Use same tiny primes as G9 on body I can fit in my jeans pocket, no problem. Shallow DoF is not always desirable. I shoot a lot of macro. MFT is way better for that especially if you don't want to image stack. The best camera is one you have with you. The best images are made from subject, light, composition and making the viewer feel something not from sharpness, dynamic range or bokeh. If FF is best for you that's great but it won't be best for everyone and their choice is as valid as yours.

put a m43 sensor in a ff body is not a proper improvement in my opinion 😅

@@kevc.2958exactly. they are wasting resources for the landfill.

@@kevc.2958 It's about the lenses. Small size and weigth with good ergonomics

@@kevc.2958try shrink down ff lenses

​@@kevc.2958I went to M43 because of the small size factor, so this is a no go. For now I'll stick to GM and Pen series.

I agree. It's hard to give up the improved low-light performance and high ISO handling of the BSI sensor as well. It's not full frame, but it's far ahead of my previous Panasonic M43. I realized the 20MP limitation might be a drawback, but there's gain-loss consideration to everything. The readout speed wouldn't be as high if it were higher MP, and I'm rather curious to see how it handles dynamic range, after the seemingly same sensor used on the GH6 had issues there. Dual output gain might help, but will it be enough? It didn't seem to improve the photo quality of the GH6. Perhaps Panasonic has taken more time to iron out the issues with this model. The stacked BSI sensor really is a major improvement. I find that 20MP is a good compromise for this, where as 10 years ago we thought of 20MP as high res anyway. People were managing to print poster-sized prints, even billboards, with 8MP back in the day. So it's a nice-to-have, but not a must-have feature. It's mostly good for editing in post if you need to re-frame and crop in. However, I've cropped in 30-40% on photos taken with the OM-1 and had prints that looked very nice. It doesn't give you quite the leeway of higher MP cameras, but as I said, compromises exist for a reason. All that typing just to say, I agree with you on keeping the OM-1. I still have my old Panny, too. I really miss the ergonomics. It seemed to be a little easier to use on the fly. But I'm getting used to the OM-1 after a year.

@@jonathanscherer8567 One more thing I'd like to add - probably if I was more into filming than stills, I'd go with the G9ii. All in all, it's a good thing for the system that those two cameras target slightly different niches.

Do you have a G9, and if so, do you find the OM1 image quality significantly better?

@@raksh9 I don't, but I'd bet the quality difference won't be too huge. Stacked sensor's advantage is mostly speed and near lack of rolling shutter.

I was waiting for someone to say this. A side by side comparison is needed to see the real world differences. At this point, I think it is mainly video (especially with recording limit on the first model) and possibly the dynamic range that most people would find useful.

Yeah, surprised Chris didn't mention the subtraction of the top screen. I haven't thought much about it til now, but I think I've really got used to it being there.

How is nearly 2 grand a bargain for a camera that provides about the same image quality as an iphone, when the entry to full frame can be had around 2 grand as well? That's ridiculous. This isn't worth more than 1000 bucks tops.

@@youknowwho9247 Here we go again the full frame brigade are on the march, not everyone wants a full frame camera when are you going to understand that 👍

@@glenharris2617 Yeah, some people are taken in by bs marketing that tells them shrinking the sensor gives the lenses magic powers. :D It's just a fact that full frame is the superior format in absolutely every way.

​@@youknowwho9247 yes a fully featured professional M43 camera for the cost of an entry level budget full frame camera - glad we agree. If you can't see the difference between the output of an iPhone and the G9, then you'll never see the difference between a G9 and a full frame camera.

Update--my first G9ii due in a little over a week.

Honestly I own the Z6, but I bring out my EM1II and GM1 a lot more out because of the utility and small size. My Z6 only exists to quell my "what if I actually need it" anxiety lol. I actually owned the G9, best body out there but sold off because I needed the PDAF reliability. Seeing the G9 II address my concern is awesome because i'm still not a fan of shooting my EM1II for just everyday needs.

25Mp in MFT is 100Mp in FF in terms of pixel density. I don't think anyone has done that. And in FF they do some chip magic to achieve this. Even 20Mp in MFT is ambitious. Don't get me wrong, I am a big fan of MFT (more on the Olympus side with respect to bodies and lenses) but a good picture at 16Mp, 20Mp is still a good picture. As you push the resolution, I fear you're giving up dynamic range, colour accuracy, etc. Sharpening and computational trickery can fool you in a review, but it gets tired in real life. In summary, I like MFT, but am skeptical about how this dense sensor is really going to perform in the wild. The density of this sensor will also stretch the competence of lenses (again, sharpening is likely filling the gap). The density of this sensor will also stretch the competence of lenses (again, sharpening is likely filling the gap).

Hopefully the reviewers answer detailed questions about G9ii image quality after production firmware and mainstream photo editing software is available for the G9ii. I shoot with a 16MP ILC (Panasonic Lumix G85), and my photos perform well in photo competitions at the Richmond Hill Camera Club in Ontario, Canada. Sensor size plays a minor role when creating compelling images. @@pgy8863

I'm glad to see Panasonic add this capability, but Olympus/OM System has had it for years.

Buy a sony