So, I picked up a new camera on Sunday and took it out for a spin yesterday afternoon and this morning. Learning curve? Naw...

Let's consider this a short, mini-review of the Panasonic G9 with the 12-60mm Leica zoom. This particular one is the third G9 I've owned. I have experience shooting with these cameras in the theater, out on road trips, and touring around glaciers and natural wonders in Iceland. I've used this model extensively for location work commissioned by large companies. The one time in my life that I really, really regret selling out a system and moving on was when I bailed on a really nice micro four thirds system built around two G9s and a GH5 (or two...). I traded the cameras and some of the best lenses I've ever used for some new Fuji stuff. And while I liked the images coming out of the Fuji cameras just fine I never made the really deep; almost visceral connection I unwittingly made with the Lumix gear. 

When the G9 first came out the idiot savants of the web pissed and moaned about how big and heavy the camera was. They seemed to think that the only rationale for using cameras in this format was to provide the smallest and lightest possible package possible for photography. They could not be more wrong. 

The thing about the two professional Panasonic cameras (G9 and GH5) is that they were designed to fit just right in a human hand and to provide an advanced platform for a combination of high end video and photographing imaging capabilities. The size of the body was dictated by haptics, ergonomics, professional usability (full sized HDMI port!!!) and not by some wet dream about ultra-miniaturization. 

After using the GH5, the GH5S and the G9s side by side for a good while I gravitated to the G9 for its handling and also for it's really nice color rendering in Jpeg. I was spoiled by four really wonderful lenses as well as a handful of just really good lenses. The four stellar ones were the Panasonic/Leica 8-18mm, the Panasonic/Leica 12-60mm, the Olympus 12-100mm Pro and the (absolutely delicious) Olympus 40-150mm f2.8. The two Olympus lenses were larger and heavier but I count them among the very, very best lenses I have ever used; regardless of format. 

So, what does the G9 have going for it that makes it so desirable to me? What can this camera (and system) do that my two full frame S1 and S1R Panasonics can't? 

There are obvious differences between the formats. The S1s and S1Rs offer, in the former, an insanely good high ISO sensor and, in the later, an extremely high resolution sensor. And both offer beautiful files with rich and accurate colors. But those cameras and their lenses are big, heavy and pricey. I love them when I use them for my paid work but I started chaffing at carrying them around as "casual, all day" cameras. 

The first reason I like the G9 is that, along with the Panasonic/Leica 12-60mm f2.8-4.0 lens, it's a package that I can carry around on a shoulder strap for a long day and barely notice that it's there. If I don't need to shoot in the dark or make gigantic prints, or try to impress the hell out of a client by delivering enormous files, the G9 is the camera I prefer. 

The three buttons just behind the shutter button are identical in placement and function across the G9 and both of the S1 variants. That makes for fluid operation and the ability to switch between formats with no need to re-learn....anything. Ditto for most of the rest of the controls and function buttons. 

I like the "night mode" on the G9 because it's perfect for shooting in a theatre with an audience all around me. I can see the menu items but the subdued reddish orange light of the screen isn't distracting or obnoxious to people adjacent to my shooting position. 

The finder on the G9 has a higher magnification than the GH cameras and it's a pleasure to compose through. It's also a higher res EVF than is available on many other cameras--- at much higher prices. 

The ability to now do 10 bit, 4:2:2 video in 4K, and write the files directly to one of the two SD cards in camera, is the feature that gave me the final nudge to re-buy the G9. I shot video with it yesterday and today and did some test editing in Final Cut Pro X. The camera delivers beautiful files! Really beautiful. And when I use the 4K, 30 fps setting the AF in continuous locks in on my face (I was my "test" subject) and stays there. I wish the camera was able to be used with the GH5 and S1 microphone interface/adapter for XLR microphones but that's a small ding to an otherwise really brilliant, little and adaptable video camera. 

Plus, if I want to shoot in a way that might damage a camera during a video project (mounted on the front bumper of a Ferrari driving 120 mph?) I'd rather do it with this smaller, lighter and much cheaper package than to sacrifice a full frame camera and lens at double or triple the price....

The "larger" camera body means fewer issues with overheating while shooting 4K video which is something even the much, much more expensive ( and non-10 bit) Sony full frame cameras have yet to master. Imagine, they have to have a menu item the "allows" you to toast your camera. A "heat" setting that lets the camera disregard its high internal temperature as a sacrifice to your video vision. Better maybe just to make the camera with the intention to actually work for high data rate video. Sony is way, way behind Panasonic and Sigma in this respect. 

The final reason to own a G9 (for me) is to have a light(er) weight street shooting/travel camera that offers world class performance when it comes to Image Stabilization. When using a compatible lens that also offers I.S. you get "dual-I.S." performance which can be as much as six and a half stops on stability improvement. The "tripod" mode is just science fiction scary. 

To sum up: Great hand feel and operational sanity. Sensible and easy to understand menus. Great color and tonality in the files, from both video and photos. High-res mode to give you medium format resolution. Weatherproof lens and camera (took them both out in a thunderstorm this morning...). Operational buttons and menus aligned through the whole family of cameras, from the G9 all the way through to the S1R. A great selection of available lenses; some of which are downright mouthwatering. A great viewfinder. Best in class video which is only rivaled by the GH5 and the S1H. A current body purchase price under $1,000. A bundle with the very well respected Pana/Leica 12-60mm for under $1600. 

I'll stop here to take a breath. I shot about 100 frames in the last couple of days and I'm back in the fold. Those who know me well predict that it's just a matter of time before I start looking with serious intent at the 8-18mm Pana/Leica and especially the 40-150mm f2.8 Olympus lens. The Pro version. Then I'll be right back in the mess.  I'd give you a link but you really should find your camera and lens on your own...that's part of the thrill...

I was heading back in from swim practice and I looked through the double doors into the side garden this morning. It was cool and breezy and coffee actually tasted better while I sat in one of the red chairs and watched the sun come up. I guess staying home for most of the day isn't all bad.

After coffee I walked around to the other side and shot out through the dining room doors. 

I was able to handhold the camera for this image at 1/5th of a second. 

It was sunny about an hour after swim practice and I decided to go for a walk. 

It took me five minutes to drive to Zilker Park and when I arrived I felt the wind 

pick up and looked to the west to see big, black thunderclouds rolling in. 

The rain hit a minute or two later so I stayed in my parked car and watched it all roll through. 

Ten minutes later I was out on the trail and the morning looked like this: (above) 

Then it all cleared up and started to look like this: (below)

I went down to SXSW in downtown Austin, Texas. I took a different camera and lens this time. It was fun. Different.

1959 Rome? Nah, 2019 Austin.

I've been rattling on about Fuji cameras so much I'm starting to believe I must be on their payroll but every time I check the mailbox I am disappointed; there's nothing but bills...

I'm kind of side-tracked with the Fujis right now because I'm deep into testing my favorite work cameras to see just how well they can handle video oriented assignments. My brain has them segmented into the video world this weekend so it was only natural that I'd reach for a different camera and lens for a cool afternoon walk through SXSW on the last day. 

I pulled a Panasonic G9 out of the drawer and popped the (amazing!!!!!) 40-150mm f2.8 Pro on the lens mount. I grabbed an extra battery (442 exposures, no second battery needed; not even close) put a few bucks in my pocket for emergency coffee and headed down to walk through Sixth St. (the nexus of all things in Austin....). 

I shot with the lens wide open at f2.8 all day long. Why mess around with all those other apertures if you're in the mood for some out of focus backgrounds? I set the camera on manual exposure with the shutter speed at 1/1000th and the ISO set to auto. I figured I could always twizzle the exposure compensation if I need to make an image brighter or darker. Better yet, I switched to raw file format and gave up caring if the image in the finder was slightly light or dark.

So, what did I find out in three or four hours of shooting? Well, that the G9 has a great matrix metering set up. That setting the cloudy sky WB icon is just right when.....you have a cloudy sky. That the AF in the G9 is super fast and extremely accurate and that the 40-150mm is a great collection of focal lengths and the lens itself is an impressive performer --- even when used wide open. 

I also learned that generations younger than mine approach life, events, culture and image capture in a totally different way. Who could have guessed?

I headed home as the light dropped and looked at my take for the day. Instead of erasing this batch I thought I'd re-open the discussion about micro four thirds cameras and why I don't think the current trend toward 24 by 36 mm sensors matters at all. Disagree all you want but I think the future will focus much, much more on content and much, much less on technique and super production quality. Sure, you can have both but......

But however you slice the camera conundrum it's all moot if you just sit inside and bang away on the computer, having serious opinions about optical theory and whose camera is better than whose. The real test is when you take the gear out on the street, immerse yourself into a different milieu that your usual bridge game or golfing foray and take a peek at the world through the gear you've already hoarded and crowed about. Then you can have a conversation about style, look and content. Much better than waxing eloquent (?) about which company makes a better 35mm f1.4...... really. Go outside. Go where people congregate. Take photographs. Smile at the people. Slide into the slipstream. Go with the flow.

It's groovy baby. 

I'm a bit single minded about photographing people. With a camera in my hands I'm always looking for someone to put into my scenes. Sometimes it's to show scale. Sometimes it's just for fun...

Our guide, Albert, pilots our Sprinter van toward our first photographic destination of the morning. Who can resist some nice direct sun flare. I'm sure my B+W UV filter helped generate some of that..

I liked sitting in the back row. It was four seats across and no one else liked to sit there because when we hit bumps the person in the back would bounce off the seat like crazy. Fine with me, I laid down across all four seats and napped between stops...

I can't resist a leading line, and S curve and some foreground/background contrast. I know I should have been looking at the waterfall but I couldn't wait to get some people into the foreground of my first variation of establishing shots. The red jacket against the green grass is always a bonus. 

The glacier is behind me. But the people are more fun. The smile and interact. The glacier just sits there being cold and imperious. And cold.

Foreground, mid-ground, background. And a bit of sun on the mountain top. What's not to like? Oh, and diagonals. Diagonal lines are always a bonus for me.

These were my second favorite hiking boots. They are comfy but the old Lands End boots (from their heyday in business) were the most weather and cold resistant. 

All images happily shot with a Panasonic G9 and either the 12-100mm Olympus Pro lens, the 15mm Leica/Panasonic lens.

You've got to test the stuff you pack for your next assignment. It's not optional. Test or be very, very embarrassed.

I finished packing the gear today. I leave on Monday for locations in the east and southeast part of the country. Places like Ashville, NC and Tampa, FLA and points in between. My flight into Charlotte, NC will be on a normal, big airplane but my connecting flight to Ashville will be on a tiny jet. In anticipation of baggage squeeze I've purchased a backpack from Think Tank which they call an Airport Essentials. It's about the same size as the Amazon backpack I used last year and most of this year but it's built to a more robust level. In my mind it's all about the zippers... I've been able to pack two G9s, a 12-60mm Pana-Leica, a 12-100mm Olympus Pro, a 40-150mm Olympus Pro, a Panasonic-Leica 8-18mm and a Panasonic 42.5mm f1.7 lens.

The Think Tank bag also accommodates four extra batteries, two double battery chargers, a 13" MacBook Pro, and computer odds and ends like a small, external SSD drive and a card reader/multiport dongle. It's all in a small package that, under duress, should fit under even the smallest airline seat. 

I've also packed the lighting kit but talking about lights can be boring and I don't want to pester you with a laundry list of the flashes, stands and modifiers I've packed. 

As I was packing I realized that I had not yet tested the newest G9 body nor the 12-60mm Pana-Leica lens (which is alarmingly pretty...).  That's a bit no-no for professional photographers. Every piece you take into the field while working for a client should be tested before it goes in the backpack to make sure that you didn't get a lemon and that you aren't starting with a big glob of snot on the sensor. It's also good to make sure the lens you just shelled out mega-bucks for focused equally well ( and concurrently ) on both sides of the frame. Oh hell, it should focus well everywhere on the frame. 

With these thoughts in mind I braved the horrifying Austin event (Austin City Limits Music Festival draws in 500 million people over two weekends, all of whom want to park in my neighborhood and all of whom brought a car to drive through the city in a random and aggressive manner...) traffic and went downtown to try out the camera and lens on some familiar scenes. 

I used the lens at its shortest and longest focal lengths and shot mostly at f4.0 or f5.6. I am happy to report that the charming colors I experienced in the first body are exactly replicated in the second body. The newest camera is right on the money. It's going straight in the bag. 

The Leica/Panasonic 12-60mm f2.8 to f4.0 is also a keeper. In good light (all I've shot in so far) it's a pretty even match with the Olympus 12-100mm Pro. They are both sharp and contrasty, even wide open, and the selection of focal lengths is great. I could do the job ahead with either lens and it's nice to know that, as of today, neither is hobbled by any visual or mechanical issues. Further, the dual I.S. of the G9+the Leica/Panasonic 12-60mm is phenomenal. As advertised, you could use this in the middle of a earthquake and get sharp shots. 

Now all I have left is to throw a couple pairs of jeans, a few work shirts, a rain jacket and an extra pair of waterproof boots into some luggage and I'll be ready to hit the airport. 

When the client made the reservations for my flights I had forgotten that Monday is the day everyone who came to the music festival will be scrambling to get back to their homes and to their jobs. I have a feeling that it's going to be pure chaos at the Austin airport for most of the day. I'm asking Belinda to drop me off and I'm heading over 3 hours before my flight. Before you tell me I'm crazy I have to tell you that Ben was flying back to college the day after the big music festival last year and even having arrived three hours before his (domestic) flight he almost missed boarding because he got stuck in an endless TSA line and was then pulled out for random screening. I'd rather have breakfast at the airport than to take a chance that I'll miss my flight. It's going to be a strange travel week. I guess I need to learn to embrace the chaos and government control. I'm hoping my enrollment in Global Entry will be helpful. 

Get a G9 and the Leica lens. It's like the old days when cameras were really fun and cool to shoot. But do remember that there's a 30 minute time limit on the video...... I should have mentioned that before...

Click on the photos and look at them big. They are gorgeous. The G9 works really, really well. I trust it and I'm putting my money where my keyboard is..... Off we go.

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