Panasonic, Please Come Back! Lumix GX9 Re-Review

Compact, packs a punch, and relatively cheap. The GX9 is one of the many cameras recently discontinued by Panasonic which has undoubtedly found a well-deserved following. The manufacturer has been unfortunately turning away from smaller cameras, and that is a damn shame. The GX9 is a perfect proof.

Last Small Great?

There are cameras that are known by the masses, usually deservedly so, and then there are those that have not been a massive hit for various reasons. Some cameras, however, do deserve a spot in the limelight even after their discontinuation thanks to the used market keeping them at reasonable prices whilst staying great pieces of kit. Panasonic has been at the forefront of Micro Four Thirds ever since its conception back in 2008 and has been one of its loudest champions ever since. Well, up until recently at least. I personally remember one of the company’s representatives claiming that the “full frame fad is dead” and that smaller sensors are the future. While smaller sensors can do really well there is never a need to throw around such bold claims only to do a complete 180 a decade later. 

Nowadays, it feels like Panasonic is treating the M4/3 standard as a bit of an afterthought with all its focus pointed firmly toward the 35mm full-frame L-Mount system. Or at least they kind of forgot what made it great in the first place. So what is the Lumix GX9? And why do I hold it in such high regard?

First and foremost, the camera is small. And I mean small. So compact, in fact, that paired with either the 20mm f/1.7 prime or the kit lens 12-32mm pancake, you can easily fit it in a small Peak Design Field Pouch and you’re good to go. The body weighs less than 500 grams, but it still feels well-built and robust. Nothing in terms of performance was sacrificed to keep the camera so compact. But more on the insides later. Let’s talk about the outside first.

The Design and Controls

The camera looks rather unassuming from the outside. Its small frame and simple shape make it seem like your standard holiday shooter perfect for your dad to take on his weekend city escape. But once you look closer you notice that the camera has clearly been designed by someone who shoots a lot and thinks about his designs. The body is not entirely flat as we’re used to with many compact cameras. The front has a decent grip, which might not be enough to hold onto on its own but combined with the rear thumb support it feels better than the recently released Nikon Z f, for example. The shutter button is neither too clicky nor too mushy. It’s just right.

In terms of mode and exposure controls, you’ve got all the basics covered. The shutter is surrounded by a control wheel, while your second wheel is right above the aforementioned thumb rest. The rightmost dial is double-layered the smaller top dial is your standard PASM switcher, while the lower one is a clearly marked exposure compensation dial. Both are neatly tucked behind the outer edge of the body and quite stiff, so the chances of turning either of them by accident are, as Cillian Murphy’s Oppenheimer would say, “Near zero.” The last button on the top is a red-labelled video record one enclosed in an easy to reach on/off switch. 

Most of your exposure settings are easily reachable and well-defined, and instead of getting in the way feel like the right choice in terms of stiffness, placement, and design. The back of the camera offers your traditional directional pad with pre-labeled functions and a few more flush buttons. Two of those can be customized by the user but not all. I especially like the mechanical AF mode switch allowing you to quickly choose between AF-S, AF-C, and MF. 

The rear 3” LCD screen offers a decent resolution of 1.24 million pixels and a two-way tilt going nearly 90 degrees up and 45 degrees down. This is not a vlogger’s camera nor is it made for selfies so don’t try to turn the screen forward. Two more mention-worthy features are the built-in flash which can be held facing upward to bounce off the ceiling and a hotshoe which is often omitted in smaller bodies such as this one.

I haven’t even mentioned the most interesting part of the GX9, which is undoubtedly the viewfinder. On paper, it does not sound like much: 2.79 million pixels with a 0.7x magnification. It is not the largest nor the clearest window to look through but it is still one of my favorite ones to this day. You see, it is not fixed to the body. It can tilt up. This feature alone makes the camera a much more enjoyable experience than many other cameras. Whether you’re shooting street photography, trying to document what’s going on around you, or even having a portrait session, the ability to shoot from a lower angle and still be able to comfortably look through the viewfinder is priceless. Not hiding behind the camera but instead looking into it and still being able to talk to your subject makes so much difference. It’s hard to explain, it has to be experienced. I’m sure if you’ve ever used a TLR or a Hasselblad 500, you understand what I mean. This feature alone just works so well.

The Power Inside

Micro Four Thirds are often scuffed at for the small sensor size. Many say the dynamic range is not capable of keeping up with larger sensors or that the detail captured is not sufficient. Depth of field is also an often repeated gripe many have with these sensors. And while yes, larger sensors do perform better at all of these things, that does not mean a good micro 4/3 sensor cannot produce great results. Technology keeps advancing and improving. The 20.3-megapixel Live MOS sensor in the GX9 was pretty damn good for its time and it can still produce good files today. It lacks an optical low pass filter so it can capture a decent amount of detail and its native ISO range stretches from 200 to 25600. Yes, the higher values are grainy, but still fairly usable if your tolerance is not product photo level low.

I used the camera extensively on my first trip to the Donbas frontline back in 2018, where I took it with me everywhere as my small, unobtrusive, silent camera, and the files I brought back with me are still some of my favorites. Even shots that I took in a covert underground base lit only by a weak petrol lamp using the basic 12-32mm f/3.5-5.6 lens at ISO 12800 and later pushing it additional two stops in post came out pretty damn usable, especially considering the camera was even able to focus in such a low-light situation.

The sensor is mechanically stabilized up to 4 stops and can capture up to 9 frames per second. There are no phase-detection points on the sensor whatsoever. Panasonic was still adamant that contrast detection was all you’d ever need at that time. We’d have to wait for the recently released S5 II to get that technology embedded in the sensor. That being said the autofocus of the GX9 is pretty snappy and accurate. You only need to expect some pulsating in the AF-C mode as the contrast detection system has to do exactly that, confirm the best contrast. It’s more than enough in stills, but don’t count on it too much in video.

Speaking of video, we get our standard 8-bit 4K/30p at 100 Mbps with no external microphone input, so nothing too fancy, but nothing unusable either. The video is decent when you’re in a pinch, but it's not the main selling point of the camera. Remember when Panasonic used to sell cameras with photography as the main feature? Those were the days. 

Works Well, Better Than Some Today

Some of the features in the now five-year-old camera are still more advanced than some current cameras on the market. Like the ability to transfer raw files straight to your phone over WiFi. I’m still waiting for Fujifilm to implement that feature into their app and cameras. The side door hiding the MicroHDMI and the, unfortunately, older MicroUSB ports is quite possibly the best-designed side door I’ve ever seen in a camera to date. The ability to charge your battery internally on the go is something Canon for example still has not fully grasped today yet the GX9 does easily with nearly any power adapter. The battery not being the smallest one possible and lasting me in the range of 500 shots is pretty impressive for such a compact camera.

Of course, the camera comes with all the bells and whistles we’re used to from Panasonic nowadays like the 4K pre-burst, 4K burst capture, post-focus, and other modes. Those are undoubtedly nice to have when they’re needed. Same with the inclusion of multiple photo styles like the Cinelide D, Cinelike V, or my favorite Leica Monochrome D, which looks beautiful. Shame those can’t be applied in post to the raws through Lightroom just like the Fujifilm film simulations can in the form of profiles.

What I Liked

Well, I think it is pretty obvious, but let’s sum it up. The tilting viewfinder is by far one of the best features of the Panasonic Lumix GX9. The way you control the exposure is evidently well-thought-out and just makes sense. The image quality is decent for a micro 4/3 camera and the speed of both the autofocus as well as the shutter ensures you seldom miss a moment. One thing I haven’t mentioned yet is the sound of the shutter. It’s subtle, not too aggressive, and the opposite of intimidating. Last but not least is of course the compact size mixed with good ergonomics.

What I Disliked

There is not much I disliked about the camera. I’d probably say the inability to map more buttons to my preferred functions especially the video record button at the top. The single card slot is not an ideal solution for data safety, but it is understandable considering the body size. The predecessor GX8 had one extra feature we’ve lost here and that is weather sealing but the GX8 was also noticeably larger so I can forgive the GX9 for the lack of weather sealing as well.

The one thing I dislike the most about the GX9 is the fact it has been officially discontinued with no replacement in sight. Along with the end of the LX100 II, or the GX80, it seems that Panasonic is abandoning the small camera market to focus on the full-frame bodies. So much so that they’ve even used a full-frame body to house an micro 4/3 sensor inside it to make a successor to the G9. One of the best-designed micro 4/3 bodies is being replaced by just a gutted S5 II with a smaller sensor losing most of what made it great. 

I hope Panasonic will not leave micro 4/3 in the dust as an afterthought to concentrate solely on the 35mm market. Smaller, compact, faster cameras were popular for a reason. And it’s not just the bodies I’m talking about. The glass is just as important. So please, Panasonic, come back and keep Micro Four Thirds alive. There are many like me who love smaller sensors for many different reasons. 

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