We are delighted to bring you our first impressions on the Lumix G9 – the latest camera ILC model from Panasonic.

At first glance, to look at it, it’s not that different in appearance, size and weight to the GH5 – an incredibly powerful and popular camera. But that is where things begin to differ.

Panasonic have listened to pro and enthusiast photographers.  Not only native Panasonic users, but those loyal to traditional DSLR manufacturers and mirrorless competitors

All we can is "by god, did they listen!"

The specifications sheet is genuinely something to drool over. Not only is this camera fast, it produces scarily sharp images – and I really mean pin-sharp. And this was in the basic mode!  Not to mention that the High-Res Mode which produces the equivalent of an 80 Million Pixel image.

The G9 is a stills camera designed with the photographer in mind – sorry videographers. However, that is not to say that it doesn’t do movies. On the contrary, it still offers a 4K Movie, but not in as high a detail as the GH5. But then for photographers, the GH5 always leant itself more to movie makers.  The G9 is Panasonic's Pro Stills model.

This twin flagship model (it’ll sit alongside of the GH5 at the top of the Lumix G Tree) offers a 20Million Pixels Live MOS Sensor with the option of shooting in a High Res Mode that throws out an equivalent of 80 Million Pixels in both jpeg and RAW. In AF-D Mode, it fires at 60fps as well as offer in camera stabilisation for all situations.

The AutoFocus control is something to dream of. The speed of this in locking a subject or even a large mass of movement is beautiful, smooth and allows itself to draw the title of the world’s fastest AF Speed for a mirrorless camera (as of 8th Nov.).

But how does it feel to use and handle?

Beautiful – no two ways to hide it. The camera feels incredible comfortable to hold. The defined grip that is seen on the GH5 makes the camera feel right in the hand. The controls are laid out with ‘ease of use’ in mind and it doesn’t disappoint.

The camera has a magnesium alloy full die-cast front and rear frame skeleton. This makes it durable, strong and solid. The weight of the camera is surprising but this is really not a bad thing at all as when you hold it, it will feel just right, beautifully balanced and a joy to use.

When you look at the likes of a Canon EOS 7D Mark II or a Nikon D7500, they are generally large cameras whose basic design hasn’t changed much. This is different. Producing results that would not only rival these models, as well as some of their full frame counterparts and competitors, the Lumix G9 performs as fast, produces as good, yet it can (as I am happy to testify) outperform some of these models.  It pushes the limits of what a camera can do and give photographers yet another fantastic and note-worthy option when looking for a high-end camera.

This is one to have. And an absolute joy to use.

Now I just need to sell my G1…

At a glance...

•20.3MP Live MOS Sensor
•80 MP High-Res Mode (equivalent) images in both JPEG and RAW
•6.5 Stop Image Stabilisation
•4K Movie Mode
•6K Photo Mode
•60 Frames Per Second (AFs Mode)
•Status LCD on top plate & Rear Vari-Angle LCD
•Dual SD Slots
•Splash/Dust/Freeze Proof
•WiFi & Bluetooth

Images supplied are jpegs from pre-production model running early firmware