LUMIX GX9 FIASCO

I was asked by my readers to write a post on the new Lumix GX9 camera and why it is receiving a lot of bad vibes from Lumix fans...

To understand why the Lumix GX9, a really good micro 43 offering from Panasonic is getting lambasted by it's fans, we got to rewind to the beginning...

In November 7, 2011 Panasonic announced their LUMIX DMC GX1.

The DMC-GX1 has a 16MP sensor with a top ISO of 12,800. The 460,000 dot 3.0" fixed LCD functions as a touch screen. The camera will create full AVCHD 1080/60i video from 30fps sensor output. Continuous full resolution shooting is 4fps while burst mode allows continuous shooting up to 20fps at a lower resolution. Extra function buttons were added bringing the total to four, two of which are on the touch screen. Auto bracketing will create sets of 3, 5 or 7 exposures at 1/3, 2/3 or 1 stop. Wikipedia


With Auto Focus, Manual focus, Face Detection, AF Tracking, 23-Area-Focusing/1 Area Focusing, Single or Continuous AF, AF detection range: EV 0–18 (f/3.5 lens, ISO 160),Pre AF (Quick AF/Continuous AF), AF+MF, MF Assist(5x, 10x), the GX1 was a very popular camera!

Then in August 2013, Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7 was announced it is a Micro Four Thirds compact mirrorless interchangeable lens camera. It was Panasonic's first Micro Four Thirds camera with a built-in in-body stabilisation system (IBIS) and has a built-in EVF.

GX7 features include:

• Magnesium alloy body
• New 16 MP Live MOS, Four Thirds sensor (25% better Signal to Noise performance, 10% better sensitivity, 10% better saturation level ^[4])
• Venus Engine
• ISO 200 - 25,600 (ISO 125 in extended mode, max. 3,200 in movie mode)
• Maximum shutter speed 1/8000 sec.
• AF detective range: -4 EV to 18 EV ^[5]
• Micro Four Thirds mount
• Full HD video capture, including 1920 x 1080/60p (AVCHD or MP4 formats)
• Full-time AF and tracking AF also available in cinema-like 24p video with a bit rate of maximum 24 Mbit/s
• Built-in live view finder (electronic view finder, EVF), 90-degree tilt-able, 2.764M pixel resolution with 100% Adobe RGB color reproduction
• Built-in 3", 1040K pixel tilting (45 deg. up, 80 deg. down), touch-screen LCD screen
• Built-in flash (and hot-shoe)
• Sensor-shift, in-body image stabilization (2-axis)
• 5fps using single AF with mechanical shutter / 60fps with electronic shutter up to 12 frames
• Focus Peaking
• 22 creative effects, HDR
• Panoramic mode, with filters
• Silent Mode, electronic shutter mode
• Near Field Communication (NFC)
• Wi-Fi connectivity

After bathing in popularity for 2 years, in late 2015, according to Wikipedia, Panasonic launched GX8, which succeeds the Panasonic GX7, it has a 20MO sensor, an ISO range of 100-25600 and 49 AF points. The Panasonic GX8 can record 4K videos and 4K time-lapse movies.

I was given the GX8 to review in September 2015 and I realised the GX8 was a different beast to the GX7.

It was much larger and the huge weather sealed body was made to take BIG lenses like the 100-400 comfortably.

Best of all, it came with a NEW 20MP sensor and the first M4/3 camera that can utilise the 4-axis in body stabiliser TOGETHER with the 2-axis one from most Lumix lenses to give you a 6-axis system!

The feature that I will part with my money was A HUGE 2,360k OLED electronic viewfinder (EVF)! The view in the finder is huge and the colour is so natural you would mistaken it as a reflex finder from a DSLR! You got to look inside to believe how good it was!

It was easy to understand why Lumix fan accepted the GX8 as Panasonic's TOP END RF-like camera.

Less than a year after the glory set by the GX8, Panasonic DID IT AGAIN with a smaller GX8 look alike and they named it the GX85.

In April 2016, I was the first person to review this smaller GX85 and I asked "GX85 Did Panasonic GET IT RIGHT?"

I think they did and my report on the "got it right" Lumix received the highest views of all my posts!  The camera became the best seller for Panasonic and I was so impressed by its features, I bought one myself!

Panasonic fans started to questions why the very desirable GX85 is known as GX7 MarkII in Japan. Some seems to think that the GX7 was NOT actually "replace" by GX8 but by GX7 MarkII (the GX85), the BIGGER GX8 is actually a NEW FAMILY of Lumix.

It was HUNKI-DORY for Panasonic for a while until they announced the GX9 a few weeks ago.

Judging by the name GX9, you would ASSUME it is a GX8 upgrade?

Wrong!

The GX9 is known as GX7 MarkIII in Japan!

GX8 users were furious, they now realised Panasonic has UPGRADED the GX7 TWICE while leaving the GX8 users in the lurch!

One very angry user Aaron Spektor gave me permission to publish his frustration... 

" This is a GX90. The update to the GX85. 

Panasonic f@#$ed up their own nomenclature. 

Panasonic told us previously, that the breakdown for models is something like this:

GH- Pro/SLR

G- Mid SLR

GX 7/8/9/10....
Pro Randefinder

GX 80/85/90/95...
Mid Rangefinder.

We finally started to follow this stupidity.

Then;

G9- A Pro photo-biased SLR. 
Proper name should have been GH5P
(P for photo)

GX9- This is clearly a GX90
A Mid-Rangefinder. 

So if there ever Is a replacement to the GX8, It should have been the GX9, but now theyll have to call it something more confusing.

I hope theyre reading these comments.

IDIOTS!! "

OUCH!


I think it is time Panasonic do some DAMAGE CONTROL!

I hope I will be getting some feed back from Panasonic.