In this in-depth review of the Lumix S9, we explore the newest addition to Lumix’s camera lineup from the vibrant streets of Osaka, Japan.
The Lumix S9 is a 24-megapixel full frame mirrorless camera, boasting a lightweight body at just 486 grams, making it perfect for on-the-go photography and videography. Equipped with the innovative phase detection autofocus and dual gain sensor, it promises excellent performance for both enthusiasts and professionals.
Julia Trotti’s review kicks off with a look at the camera’s design and build quality. The S9 is celebrated for its sleek aesthetics, available in multiple colors, including an eye-catching green. Despite its compact size, it features a micro HDMI port, a USB-C port, and a 3.5 mm microphone port. It has a beautifully designed flat-style body, free angle LCD, and advanced hybrid autofocus. The S9 also includes a new dedicated LUT button, making this a truly shoot-and-share camera. The lack of a viewfinder, however, might be a drawback for some users.
Throughout the video, Trotti tests various lenses, including the new 26mm pancake lens and the 35mm f/1.8. The S9's autofocus capabilities are demonstrated with the 24mm f/1.8 lens, showing impressive responsiveness and reliability. The review also covers the camera’s high-resolution mode, which can capture 96MP files, a feature not commonly found in cameras at this price point.
For video enthusiasts, the Lumix S9 supports up to 6K video recording, with various stabilization modes tested for vlogging purposes. The review provides audio comparisons using different microphones, highlighting the camera’s sound quality capabilities.
While the S9 is perfect for beginners and as a secondary camera for professionals, it has a few limitations, such as the single SD card slot and the manual focus 26mm lens. Nonetheless, its compact size and robust feature set make it an excellent choice for travel and everyday use.
Overall, the Lumix S9 impresses with its blend of portability, performance, and innovative features, making it a valuable addition to the Lumix family. Whether you’re stepping up from a smartphone or looking for a versatile travel camera, the S9 has much to offer.
7 Comments
Good to have stabilization on body. But bad travel camera without EVF (for outdoor photos)...
And bad photo camera with rolling shutter, because of having an electronic shutter only (without global shutter but slow readout instead).
The S9 isn't extraordinary small. The S9 is 2mm wider and 3mm taler than Sony's A7C2. The A7C2 is 16mm deeper than the S9, but that's mainly because the A7C2 has a grip and the S9 does not. The only real advantage the S9 has is that it weighs 29g less than the A7C2. But then again for these 29g, you get an EVF and a mechanical shutter.
What's more, the 26mm lens is not only manual, but F8! For F8 pancake size is huge. Other F8 manual lenses are body cap sized.
Them most interesting lens for this camera is the (yet to be released) LUMIX S 18-40mm F4.5-6. It's about the size of Sony's 28-60mm F4-5.6. Both are about 4 cm long.
The 20-60mm F3.5-5.6 that's available as kit lens for the S9 is about 1 cm shorter than Sony's 20-70mm F4 (and it's cheaper). The advantage of the Sony is a bit more tele, F4 throughout the zoom range and an aperture ring.
The S9 is an interesting concept camera that might work for video, but for stills photography (or even hybrid use) I'd look for other cameras. (Especially as the lens lineup isn't satisfactory yet.)
EDIT: I just read that S9 has a video clip limit of just 15 minutes in 4k.
So, the S9 is neither for photography, because of the rolling shutter, nor is it for video, because of the clip length limit.
Conclusion: The S9 is for TikTok clips and youtube shorts only.
Another biased, uninformed review of this POS camera... Like Gerald Undone said in his latest video, these "reviews" are basically worthless nowadays, and not just for cameras.
…why do I get the impression you’ll have left this type of comment under any S9 review you come across?
Julia Trotti is a working portrait and wedding photographer who shoots Sony.
Be honest: you watched Gerald’s look-behind-the-curtain video but not Julia’s review linked above (nor anyone else’s,) didn’t ya?
Basically exactly what I was looking for in a camera for the past 3-4 years before I caved and bought an R8. 😂
I was with Fujifilm and I wanted something smaller with better AF and IBIS. Couldn't care less about the EVF, because I shoot LCD from my Ricoh GRIII. Here it is, just a year too late.
Errr... Canon R8 has EVF but not IBIS... (Anyway, I prefer EVF than IBIS, but IBIS could be nice)