PANASONIC G90 full review

Micro 4/3 cameras are often criticised, but they are not without quality. Panasonic and Olympus created this mount in the early 2010s as a practical way of sharing their optical fleets, to offer an alternative to APS-C hybrids that developed new technologies but lacked performance and were expensive. 10 years later, Panasonic has developed several ranges and generations of cameras and a relatively large optical portfolio, ranging from low-end to high-end. In fact, we have a page listing all the Micro 4/3 lenses available for both Panasonic and Olympus cameras.

The Panasonic G90 follows in the footsteps of other cameras in the range and is described by Panasonic as a ‘versatile adventurer’. Why this description? Because it’s a camera with a construction worthy of a top-of-the-range model, capable of delivering top-of-the-range performance in both photography and video. Although there is an even higher-end model, the G9, the G90 offers much of what its predecessor did, but in a lighter, more compact body. However, it doesn’t offer as much as the more ‘amateur’ version of the GX9 or Olympus cameras in the same format, such as the E-M5 III.

It was released in the middle of 2009, which is a long time for a modern body to last without being updated. However, it is still quite up-to-date. Most of its shortcomings can still be found on most newer cameras. And the ones that Panasonic in particular has been criticised for haven’t evolved much in its latest cameras, such as autofocus. Available for €1,000 at the time, its price hasn’t dropped much given the lack of renewal and a competition that remains in the same price bracket, with it now selling for around €800. There are higher-priced offers that include a kit lens, but these don’t really do justice to the format. Much better images can be achieved with good lenses, such as Panasonic’s 12-60mm f/2.8-4 (in partnership with Leica).

As a camera designed for the adventurous, Panasonic has taken extra care to build it. This is a really rugged camera. It has seals to ensure it can withstand harsh weather conditions. If you’re looking for a larger used camera in this price range (such as a Fujifilm X-T3 or Nikon D750), Olympus also offers a very well-built E-M5 III for little more.

The ergonomics of the camera are very good, with a lot of controls and buttons. On the left shoulder, for example, there’s a switch for switching from single-shot to burst mode or self-timer, which is handy for quickly selecting a sequence mode. On the right shoulder, you’ll find the usual shooting mode selector, the famous PASM, plus Scene, Movie and C1/C2 modes. These can be customised via the menu. Around the shutter release is the front dial, which on other brands is usually found at the top of the grip (i.e. below the shutter release). This is very useful for reducing the amount of finger movement required to switch from one to the other, but it also increases the risk of accidentally turning the dial while shooting. It’s best to be flexible enough to avoid this. But it’s an easy habit to get into.

The rear dial is located on the side where you’ll often find exposure compensation. There’s a button to lock it in place and prevent you from accidentally turning it with your thumb on the thumb rest. There are 3 buttons, distinguished by their prominence, with the middle one even having 2 dots to make it easier to spot them in the dark. They are used in conjunction with the rear dial to change white balance, ISO sensitivity or exposure compensation. The traditional video recording button is located just below. All of these buttons are configurable and can be used in conjunction with other functions.

At the top of the back is the AF mode selector, with the exposure and focus lock buttons. This can be set to AF-ON, a function that experienced photographers will be familiar with, whether they use it or not. On the right, you can move the AF points the ‘old-fashioned’ way – no joystick like on the G9 – with the control wheel surrounding the menu access button. Above this wheel is the Play button for displaying images, while below it is the Fn2 button for displaying shortcut functions while aiming, and the Disp. button for changing the information displayed. On the left, Panasonic has not left this area empty, as there is the Fn3 button, which can also be customised. To put it simply, Panasonic has only left space where you would have your hand or fingers and filled in the rest.

The grip is very well designed, hollow and well shaped to give a good grip. Having had both the GX9 and G9, the G90 felt the most natural to hold, the GX9 being much more ‘simple’ in the sense that it kept things compact with a very small, flat grip, whereas the G9 felt too imposing, especially for a camera of this size. It also has dimensions that make it easy to hold without turning it into a big cinder block. The GX9 was also ‘too’ compact, with the little finger wandering under the grip. The G9 is much more bulky, worse than some full-frame cameras. Although we could have hoped for a few grams less, as with the E-M5 III, it’s well balanced and sits comfortably between its two brothers.

The G90 with a 15 mm f/1.7 is not much more compact or lighter than an A7R IV with a 40 mm f/2.5.

Both the rear and viewfinder screens use OLED technology, which promises high contrast and colour quality, as well as wide viewing angles. This is a point worth highlighting for the rear screen. Most manufacturers have stuck with LCD technology for this screen, which is prone to problems when exposed to light. It is touch-sensitive, of course, and Panasonic is one of the least stingy manufacturers when it comes to a good, fluid touch function that is capable of controlling everything that is on display.

As this is a camera designed to be used for both photography and video, Panasonic couldn’t avoid this, and has therefore mounted the screen on a swivel, so that it can be fully orientated, allowing you to turn it towards the camera to protect it, or to force yourself not to look at it, for example. The electronic viewfinder is not the best currently available, but it does offer a comfortable magnification, between that of the GX9 and the G9 (classic), and good image quality.

The autofocus performance is very good for AF-S use. In fact, Panasonic’s contrast detection is probably one of the best in terms of point detection speed. It will not let you down in landscapes or architecture, for example, especially as the lenses designed for Micro 4/3 have been able to keep up with the AF modules on the bodies right from the start, and you can count on maximum AF coverage of almost 100% of the image.

AF-C performance is more nuanced, not that it isn’t fast, but contrast detection requires constant calculation, resulting in a pumping effect. Even if the camera focuses on the right spot, this is very disconcerting when taking a photo, and even more so when shooting video, as the pumping is also visible on the recording. Other brands also use this type of detection, but have added phase detection, which is less accurate but faster and, above all, has no pumping, so the two together make AF even faster, more sensitive and accurate. Yes, more sensitive too, because low light situations tend to have lower contrasts by default and are therefore less easily detected by contrast detection.

With mirrorless cameras, manual focusing is made easier by the many aids on offer. The combination of focus peaking and the magnifying glass makes it fairly easy to see where the camera is in focus. Focus peaking highlights the sharp area, which you can customise by changing the colour of the highlight. The camera also displays a distance bar, but it’s not graduated, so setting your lens to hyperfocal, for example, will be complicated. You can also toggle the magnifier and change the zoom.

The camera offers a wide range of settings to help the autofocus system focus on the right subject. These include

• A face and eye detection mode for portraits; by moving the zone with the function wheel, you can switch to 1-zone mode, for example, to specify which face is important,
• A tracking mode, only useful in AF-C, which refocuses on the selected zone (note that it doesn’t track the subject, but what’s in the zone),
• A 49-zone mode that allows you to reduce the number of zones in which the camera has to find the subject to a group of 3×3 zones from the 49 available,
• A custom mode that allows you to reduce to a cross-shaped zone whose size you can change,
• A 1-zone mode, which reduces the scene to a single zone, the size of which can also be modified,
• Precise Point mode, available only with AF-S, which allows you to aim at a specific point but also displays a magnifying glass for even greater precision.

The G90’s burst rate isn’t one of the best on the market, but it’s enough for most photographers. It is a shame, however, that the burst is faster in AF-S than in AF-C; the opposite would have been more useful, because when you want to follow a subject, you often want to benefit from a longer burst to better analyse its movements. We can therefore expect 9 frames per second in AF-S and 6 in AF-F/AF-C. (In AF-F, the camera decides whether to follow the subject or not, so it is limited to the lowest burst of the two modes). Buffer capacity – that is, the ability to take a series of shots before stopping to empty the camera’s memory onto the SD card – is also fairly limited when shooting in RAW. However, you can hold the shutter for more than 7 seconds in RAW, which is enough in most cases, as 45 frames in RAW allow you to follow a subject at 6 fps. With JPEG, it’s more likely that you’ll stop the bursting long before it stops. The shutter is also very sensitive, perhaps too sensitive. With medium and fast bursts, it is almost impossible to take a single photo, even if you quickly remove your finger, as you will often end up with 2 or even 3 images in a row.

At a time when manufacturers are competing to offer more and more scene recognition, the G90 is still limited to human faces and eyes. This means that there’s no animal or vehicle detection. This is something you’ll find on the latest cameras from Sony, Nikon, Canon and even Olympus. The G90’s detection of human faces and eyes is fairly effective, although you’ll have to rely on AF-C to track a face. The party is spoiled by the pumping and limited sensitivity of contrast detection, which is a bit of an embarrassment in stills but a real handicap in video.

The noise of the mechanical shutter is very discreet. This is easier to achieve with a small sensor such as a Micro 4/3 because the shutter has a shorter travel. However, as with all hybrids, it is possible to switch to an electronic shutter. In this case, the shutter is 100% silent. This shutter does, however, have some drawbacks, such as the rolling shutter and the banding effect. Banding is the appearance of regular black bands along the image when shooting in artificial light. It is more visible at certain exposure times. Rolling shutter is a distortion of the image when there is movement during shooting or in the video. It can be quite visible when following a moving subject or when shooting in 4K30p. It’s better to shoot in lower resolution and use a mechanical shutter for moving subjects or fast tracking. The camera has an automatic position, so it is up to the body to decide between shutter types depending on the scene.

The sensor’s stabilisation is very effective, making it easy to achieve 3 or even 4IL handheld. This means that with a lens such as Panasonic’s 15mm f/1.7 (full review), with which you should set a safety shutter speed of around 1/30th of a second to avoid motion blur, you can extend the shutter speed to 1/4 and even 1/2 second thanks to this stabilisation. If you use a lens that is also stabilised, the Dual IBIS, i.e. a combination of the two stabilisation systems, you can gain a further 1 or 2 stops. For example, if the 15mm lens were stabilised, you could achieve a one-second handheld exposure without risking too much camera shake. However, effective stabilisation doesn’t mean that you don’t have to make an effort to stabilise yourself by holding the camera correctly and avoiding shaking, haha.

The camera isn’t the most responsive of recent models, but it’s fast enough to get you up and running quickly. It takes just one second to start up. Even in single-shot mode, you can take a series of photos very quickly. This means you don’t have to wait long before pressing the shutter button again. Navigating the menu is simple and intuitive. The touchscreen lets you browse like a smartphone.

The G90 has a 20MP Micro 4/3 sensor with no low-pass filter, which ensures that maximum detail is extracted from the lens. However, while some might consider this to be the same sensor as the G9, the results are not identical. Having already compared the G9 with the GX9, which also has a 20MP Micro 4/3 sensor, I found that the images were similar up to a certain ISO sensitivity, but that at a certain point the G9 stood out from its little brother. It seems that the G90 behaves in the same way as the GX9 and is therefore slightly inferior to the G9.

In terms of noise and loss of detail with increasing ISO, the sensor copes very well with the transition from ISO 100 to ISO 400, with an initial plateau at ISO 800. However, it is at ISO 1600 that noise becomes more difficult to manage, and even more so at ISO 3200, where the loss of detail becomes more pronounced. A critical threshold is reached at ISO 6400, where colour and fine detail are lost completely. ISO values of 12800 and 25600 are practically useless for maintaining good photo quality, with contrast plummeting and a very high level of grain and overly smooth contours. It’s at these values that the G9 still seems to hold its own, especially in terms of contrast, and it’s likely that the processor and components of its big brother are better able to handle the amplification of the signal.