John Matthews

He makes an interesting point on watching review as a form of validation. I have to admit I'm guilty of this, but not necessarily for "validation". My squirrel gear head is constantly looking for new stuff and now, in order to stop the beast inside of me, I watch reviews of old stuff that I've already purchased. Basically, they all say the same thing- "what a great product" and "you shouldn't look any further!" So, I guess ultra positive review serve a purpose after all.

Don't tell me they don't have DPAF in it? If not, it would sell only because it's a Leica.

Has anyone heard about the S9 have or not having Adobe to Cloud (frame.io) features? I know it doesn't have the proxies, but I wasn't sure about the Adobe connectivity. Also, with Adobe Lightroom CC, is it possible to have jpeg's directly go into your library on your iPhone? I'm not a user, but I thought someone might know. Finally, can you set it up to send photos directly to the phone after each shot, much like tethering? So far, I've only seen people selecting thumbnails. For me, that is rather difficult and this is the part of the process that I've always dreaded. You simply cannot see wether it's a good shot or not. I think it would be better to send everything automatically and delete later the ones I don't want... much like you can currently do on the S5ii with the integration of frame.io.

For those who remember, what's happening to the S9 is vaguely similar to the release of the GX850. It seemed like EVERYONE wanted that GX850 to be a tiny GX85 and it almost was except for the IBIS. People said they could live with that due to the form-factor. People said they could live with the 5-minute recording limit in 4K. However, people seriously started bitching about that camera when Panasonic removed manual video mode- it was the line that couldn't be crossed and so many people were angry at it for that. In actuality, it does have a pseudo manual mode in 30fps with 4k Photo Mode and multiple aspect ratios. Panasonic also has a long history of not having full sensor readout on cameras (whereas Olympus did), which is another major point of contention. One does have to wonder what they're thinking sometimes. If they have reasons, you'd think they'd explain, but they never seem to. In fact their silence on the matter of the S9 isn't really doing much good. Sure, they might wait for it to blow over (and it will, eventually), but it would seem good to release a statement of some sort. Maybe they don't want to admit anything? Maybe they're saying it was a good launch, job done? I'm not sure.

The Sony A7C ii is more like 514g vs. 486g for the S9. Electronic shutter would be great for a fast readout sensor, but I'm not sure that's in Panasonic's tea leaves. Actually, I think the S9 stacks up well to the Sony for short-form video (at least in the specs). For me, the lack of an EVF is actually a preference as there's one less thing to think about and shooting from the hip is preferable. Also, the S9 looks way cooler IMO (with a small prime or small zoom). Price is also a consideration.

In France, they priced it at 2400 euros, but there's almost nothing off if you were buying each separately, probably because the 28-200 just came out. They only discounting primes: 18mm, 35mm, 50mm, 85mm. By far, the best deal is with the 18mm at roughly 2000 euros, tax included. Does Sigma have a suitable superzoom? I think the Panasonic one is fairly unique and I wish I had it over the 70-300, but I like the reach too.

Here's a top-down view of the S9 with the Sigma 45mm f/2.8. It looks like a really good size but still not pancake. BTW, this is how Panasonic really envisions you using this camera- phone in one hand and camera in the other. I can't do that as would rather be looking at the scene in front of me, not fiddling around on a phone that's way to big to operate with one hand anyway.

So he's not saying he an expert, even on a subconscious, non-overt way? He's visiting many popular YouTubers and saying he's "grading" them, with a "promis" of some sort of evaluation at the end. I think there's something there.

First, I should say I like Gerald Undone's videos and I watch most of them. My criticism of him is that he portrays himself as an expert in 2 fields: 1) cameras; 2) YouTube setups (he walks around with a clipboard grading them). Now with this video, he is adding to his repertoire and he sounds like he portraying himself as a "moral expert" when it comes to the relationship with companies. Again, Gerald, the expert, and, as you know, "we should all listen to experts". I'm not a fan of "experts," maybe after watching F or Fake. It might sound like I'm being excessively harsh on him and I'm sure there are many who are much less of an "expert" than him, but I don't like that attitude. I think he's full of crap when it comes to him explaining how he takes the moral high road. I think he too, will take the cash when shown. That's just my opinion.

Put 30 experienced artists in a room with 1 newly graduated art critic, it will be the art critic who will be considered the expert. I wonder how Gerald Undone figures in with that? I cannot help but hear a bit of hypocrisy in what he says.

I don't think the Panasonic S9 pulls anywhere near the shenanigans that Canon pulled on the R5 "overheating". That was an ultimate low for the cripple hammer. I do hear reports of reviewers saying the S9 can successively restart recording up to 6 times. If that it so, just put the usual 30 minute limit on it and a 2-minute wait to restart.

Unfortunately, I feel like the S9 makes no one happy. For video, it has many limits; for photos, it doesn't have a mechanical shutter. Who is left? I love the size and weight. I rarely shoot longer than 10 minutes. I use electronic shutter most of the time. I think this camera could be for me, but I'd need to accept not being able to grow. And there's the rub- it has limitations for growth. There's also an argument to say those very limitations will foster creativity. Damn, it looks cool. However, I'm most disappointed in Lumix over this lens. Something went seriously haywire in the marketing team IMO. Even the 12-32 kit lens s a 24mm f7 with IS and AF. Actually, I'd like to see a comparison of the 12-32 at 13mm and the 26mm pancake. Which will perform better? This comparison will happen. Me too, but it's too expensive right now. And the shutter sound will be awesome! :-) It's all about 258g (the difference between the S5ii and the S9). Looking at the supplied grip to the people who went to Osaka, it will actually be less than that if you believe it needs better handling. In fact, this is more than ever one of those cameras you really want to try out first. It looks cool though; so, it might not matter. I'd also say, if you wanted that 18mm prime, you can get the S9 with it for 2000 euros at FNAC, which is a significantly better price than 1699 euros body only in France. If the camera doesn't sell well out of the gate, I imagine the price will be around 1200 euros with that new kit lens by November 2024 (in France).

You're right. He always tries to be "the guy" for camera reviews, the one who's going to tell how things really are and "should you get it". I'd probably agree that many of his conclusions are valid, but it cannot be understated he NEVER actually shares ANY footage as a creator. It's almost like he can talk forever about a language, but never really speaks it. As a language teacher myself, I know there are many teachers who are guilty of this (if that makes sense).

That cannot be understated. If you need to use the camera, there's nothing more frustrating than knowing it could quit on you at any moment- the very definition for "not professional usage". However, having a reliable limit, you can plan around it and still could be viewed for "professional usage", but there's no redundancy either; so, there's that. The killer is when a camera is weather-sealed and has 2 SD card slots but still overheats at any moment. For the S9's communication, I think they should have put a lot more effort in explaining why they made certain choices à la Steve Jobs' Reality Distortion Field. It probably would have gone better. They simply state that the other guys have cameras that overheat "whenever" and we limit the camera to specific times. It would have been more acceptable. The fact is that Japanese companies often suck at selling stuff, but they excel at making and designing stuff. I know, it's stereotypical, but otherwise it's difficult to make any generalizations.

I was checking some French language YouTube videos and wasn't surprised they simply say exactly the same thing as in the English speaking videos. In the comment, as in the English speaking video comments, there are many criticisms about Panasonic's choices. This is also exactly what happened to the G100 when is camera out minus the wining and dining of YouTubers due to Covid. However, it's important to note that the G100 was still a very successful camera according to Panasonic. There's no telling how young buyers will view this camera; so, who knows if it's going to sell or not? What I find funny is some YouTubers like Micro Four Nerds (love her channel and it was the first video I saw) was super critical about the G100 for its video time limitations in 4k; yet, in the S9, it didn't seem like a big deal even though she was critical of other aspects. Once again, you really have to wonder about how wining and dining affects the final review... or maybe she changed her mind.

It's amazing to see all the Panasonic features in general, even though many features are available on the S5ii but not on the S9. Geeky Nerdy Techy show many of the things Panasonic cameras can do in 2024. Here's a good complete walkthrough of the S9:

I keep finding more stuff that the S9 doesn't do that the S5ii does as I'm trying to help the "reviewers" out there. (Re)(Re)updated list: Pros for S9 258g lighter Smaller body $300 cheaper than S5ii LUT mayhem if you're into that Cold shoe Pros for S5ii EVF Mechanical shutter Dual card slots Headphone jack True unlimited recording with a fan Way more buttons and customisation in the body Proxy recording 14bit Raw files Better grip Weather sealed body Hot shoe for flash photography and XLR adapter Full-sized HDMI Charging via USB-C while using the camera

Steve Huff (Hifi Huff on YouTube) had spoken quite a bit about some of the same topics that Gerald Undone is speaking about, but unfortunately the video is now erased from YouTube, which sucks. EOSHD had another thread on this topic.

There was a lot of talk about the Panasonic marketing concerning the S9:

I've never asked for more megapixels. I was happy with 8-12MP. Glass is evil, the more you have, the more "corrections" there are, to the point of not having any dimensionality. It's very difficult to show dimensionality in only 2D.

The hipster youtube ladies and gentlemen! I think we found the main customer for the S9!! I'm not worthy. I don't have any tattoos, no funny hats, and I certainly don't know how to juggle my camera and phone at the same time. I haven't seen a video like that in a long time.

About 2-3 months ago, I asked Sean with Panasonic in the livestream why can't Panasonic make a version of their 14mm f/2.5 on full-frame. He replied by giving me a lecture on how the 14mm just had "WAY too many image quality compromises." Now, Lumix give us this:

And that says a lot.

Here's Canon's 28mm (notice the price): An one from NIkon: Panasonic gave us a 26mm FIXED f/8 MANUAL FOCUS lens for $200. What the hell, Panasonic? And where's the pancake 35-50mm? We need that too for this camera! With the F8 lens, this is actually debatable. It shouldn't be, but it is! After a couple days of processing the news and the leaks fiasco, I, along with so many others, am most disappointed in the that drilled-out hockey puck of a lens cap. I give them an "A" for inspiration and a "F" for usability and value. The other thing is the lack of any sort of a mechanical shutter on a slow, old, 24MP sensor. Why didn't they include a stripped down version of a mechanical shutter, like what they had on the GM1, GM5, G100, GX800, GF(all of them), etc. We had up to 1/500 in mechanical, making the cameras so much more usable in many more situations. Also, the option of a flash is possible. In essence, the S9 is a l-mount video centric camera without a headphone jack and all kinds of overheating limitations. It tries, and loses, to compete with the sharing abilities of a phone. With that F8 lens, it barely competes on the image quality. The IBIS, as good as it is, is only comparable to a phone. Its saving grace is the fact you can change lenses and make much more of it, but even then, you still don't have a mechanical shutter for general photography. Again, it's an "A" for looks, but a "D" for a photo or video camera. I say all of this with a grain of salt because I base everything on the specs and what I've heard. With time, I might completely change my mind. Also, it looks super cool and that would be a trump factor. M43 (or other real cameras) are much better suited for general photography.