Hi Jørgen, what a beautiful girl, and nice images as well!
Ever considered the G9? Re. focusing issues.
I just made a comparison between the (excellent) D500 and a Pen-F (also 20 Mpx) and couldn't see any meaningful difference as far as resolution is considered at base ISO.
Beyond ISO 1600 the D500 pulls ahead somewhat, but the G9 is still decent.
Please keep posting
Thanks Arne. Your experience when it comes to resolution is the same as mine. It's very impressive how much detail can be seen in images from the best m4/3 cameras, and the GX9 and G9 are clearly better than the older GX8 in this respect. At low ISO, I would say that the best m4/3 cameras beat both the D500 and the X-H1 for detail. I'm not too worried about ISO beyond 1600, since most of the photos that I do commercially are done at very low ISO, and for personal work, grain is not an issue.
The AF issue I think can be divided into four parts:
- I've been shooting sports and action with Nikon cameras for many years, and have had time to refine my (rather basic) technique doing that.
- Although I have used m4/3 cameras for nearly a decade, I have never really understood how they think when it comes to following moving subjects and AF-C.
- I get a feelig that at least Panasonic has consentrated more on making their AF advanced than making it solid. Take their face detection: With stationary faces, it's faster than my eye can see and my brain can think. I just push the shutter button, and Panasonic will find the faces for me. Once people start to move, it's as if it restarts itself continuously, unable to keep focusing on the faces it started with. It's like every movement is a new scene to the camera.
- The AF systems of mirrorless cameras, at least those that I have tried, picks up disturbances much more easilly than a traditional AF system like those from Canon or Nikon. It's a bit like the automatic headlight switch on my Toyota; if I drive under a bridge with a dark underside, it switches on the headlights immediately, instead of waiting to see if the darkness is permanent, and after a second, when the bridge has been passed, it switches the lights off again. Panasonic AF often does this with subjects that pass through the frame, even when I use tracking AF. For birding, this is not a problem. For street shots, it is.
Will the G9 be better? Most probably. Will it be satisfying enough? I'd have to buy one to see. A few minutes on a street corner won't do.
Unfortunately, the G9 is 30% more expensive than the D500 in this country, and Panasonic lens prices are beyond belief. Luckily they are cheap second hand... when I can find them. The G9 does have a halfway decent battery of course, but I still miss the optical viewfinder, and again; the solid AF.
I might end up buying both, but that will not be this year... I think :angel: . I won't sell the m4/3 lenses, but the GX8 will have to go. It's a lovely camera, and the ergonomics are to die for, but it doesn't work well with my style of photography. Not when stuff start moving anyway
One more from the pool.
GX8 with 100-300mm II @ 250mm and f/8
That lens is really great, particularly at short distances, and again: f/8.