Is the Panasonic S9 the Full Frame GM1 We Always Wanted?

I have spent much (digital) ink on how great a camera the Panasonic GM1 is, even in 2024. Someone at Panasonic must think so too, because the new S9 looks like it’s channeling big GM1 energy, and that’s an awesome thing.

When the image first came across my feeds, I thought I was looking at the GM1 reborn. And while it may share the design, it’s definitely larger than the deck-of-cards-sized GM1, to the tune of about an inch longer, 0.7” taller, and 0.6” deeper while doubling the weight (half a pound vs. a pound). OK, so it may look the part on its own, but it’s certainly a chunkier camera than its Micro Four Thirds forebear. But unlike the GM1, this one’s packing a full frame sensor.

Before Panasonic introduced the S-series, I often remarked how great the company’s Micro Four Thirds offerings were when it came to noise performance and dynamic range. While the S-series has been around for a while now and by all accounts the sensors are pretty good, none of the cameras have broken the traditional mold of what traditional camera manufacturers are doing. But the S9 was finally the one that made me look twice.

Just look at the back of the cameras. Both are minimalist works of art.

Where the GM1 had a pop-up flash, the S9 loses that but instead gains an articulating screen. The screen is worth the bump in size, in addition to that full frame sensor, but it is a shame to lose any sort of flash possibility with only a cold shoe up top. The controls definitely draw from the earlier camera but add some "pro" features such as the LUT and AF-On button.

The front is where things get a little funky. I’ll admit, it was the Lumix S 26mm f/8 pancake lens that really fooled me into thinking I was looking at a GM1 reborn. In truth, it’s a truly an insult to pancake lenses. Canon and Nikon are able to make full-frame pancake lenses with autofocus that hit f/2.8. At f/8 and manual focus only, it’s a perplexing choice for a camera without a viewfinder, and at almost $200, it’s just a nutty choice to use on this camera. It seems like it makes for great marketing photos, but unimpressive spec sheets.

It’s not like Panasonic can’t do it. It's often kitted the Lumix G 20mm f/1.7 II ASPH. Lens with its small GF series Micro Four Thirds cameras. Even the Panasonic Lumix G Vario 12-32mm f/3.5-5.6 ASPH. The lens in the picture above is quite a bit faster and still just as tiny. In my opinion, those wonderful and small lenses made the entire system shine in the early days of mirrorless cameras, and to push this f/8, manual focus lens with a new $1,498 camera seems to be a major step backwards. Indeed, Panasonic doesn’t offer much else in the way of small-but-mighty full frame optics, a glaring omission from its lineup now that the S9 exists.

The GM1 was such a good camera that it screamed “take my money” back in the heady early days of mirrorless, so much so that Panasonic did take my money for it, three times over. The S9 has the potential to spark that same kind of magic and creativity of that old camera, but with much more horsepower under the hood. However, it can’t do that without a proper set of official pancake lenses, and so as close as it comes to the GM1, Panasonic just needs to do a little work on the lens front to make it so.

What do you think of the Panasonic S9? A win, or no? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.