Andrew - EOSHD

Once they brought the price down it made so much more sense to me, $2k region was always asking just a tad too much for a Micro Four Thirds camera, at least that was the perception. But this now has the specs of a $6k camera, only it's a Micro Four Thirds size sensor. So even at $2k it's a good deal. At nearly half that it's a total must-have. In the old days, the smaller sensor lacked dynamic range, low light performance and decent autofocus. This is just not the issue it used to be, gap has closed up.

It turns out I am a bit wrong. ... That Micro Four Thirds was dead. Well near me, the G9 II came down to a much more sensible 1299 so I thought I'd give it a try. This thing... oh my gawd. Feel like putting the rest of my gear in the bin! This little box of joy is pure art in the handheld 4K/120p mode (and also in 5K open gate). The colour science, slow mo and IBIS are so, so good. The new GH7 sensor is quite something. Beautiful filmic quality to it. And I thought IBIS was good on the full frame Panasonic cameras or Olympus OM-1 but this is taking the biscuit now. You can just stand there and get a completely static frame especially in 120fps. I keep putting shutter at 1 second for long expose stills, pin sharp...The first camera that can really lay claim to being a tripod killer, in my view. Then there's the image processing... It totally defies the price. The new sensor just looks so clean in low light and dynamic range is fantastic. The real-time LUTs look stunning here. No other Micro Four Thirds camera has nearly as good colour processing (except the more expensive GH7), so in this sense I prefer it even to the Olympus OM-1 with the lovely Olympus skin tones. In some ways it is better than a flagship $4k full frame cam... I am not joking. Not missing a full frame sensor that much to be honest. It has the dynamic range, the low light, the resolution, and with a fast enough lens... the full frame look as well. The Metabones Speed Booster 0.64x fits without scraping the sensor-box. Also, the EVF is enormous and totally defies the price. Criticisms? Autofocus is very lens dependant - it's still a bit rubbish with the older stuff and adapters. Also no ProRes LT like the X-H2... With two SD card slots, it limits you only to 1080p in ProRes mode which is a bit silly... but the high-res stuff is available if you plug in an SSD via USB. GH7 has an advantage there for sure. But in plain old 10bit H.265 the image is superb. I think this body design suits the smaller lenses too... You know I'm not the greatest fan of the S5 II body design, well it is growing on me here... Micro Four Thirds and small stuff seems to go well with the G9 II / S5 II body design. It starts to make more sense. The sharp angles cut in less, camera as a whole is lighter, the grip is sufficient for everything and it's got that "GH2 feel" when you put the tiny 20mm F1.7 pancake on there whereas the S5 II with the larger lenses doesn't have that same charm to it. I am inclined to say Micro Four Thirds LOOK is back too... It's an antidote to predominance of a super shallow depth of field in commercial work and Netflix. It really makes me want to fully commit again to the system as it just does SO MUCH, far more than any full frame camera remotely affordable. It does more than a Sony a1 II FFS!

Having owned (and sold) a lot of the high-end stuff I have given up a bit on the idea of an 'end-game' camera, because limitations breed creativity and part of the enjoyment of camera tech is experiencing 'camera culture', all the rich tapestry of ways to get an image and how different tools inspire different shooting styles, altering the creative vision. So when you lock yourself into 1, or even 3 capable models, you always yearn for something more weird. Well, I do anyway. Everyone should have an old beater camera for instance where carrying flashy experience gear makes you nervous. I always feel tense with an expensive camera, if an accident happens, or it gets nicked, it'd be a fucking disaster. Everyone should try an old CCD model, they do have a different look. I recommend original Canon 1D with Panasonic APS-H CCD, Minolta 5D or a Canon Powershot G10. And the reason you can't stick to just one format is there's so many nice and unique lenses for other sensor sizes. Actually that's where a Sigma Fp-L comes in handy with the crop modes and Cinema DNG 4K even at 2x crop for the Super 16mm look and C-mount lenses. I'm still in favour of small sensor options, like a Panasonic G9 II or Olympus OM-1... Full frame look is not always what you want.

It's a bit of a vanilla option when you can get a used S1 for same price which is same spec but a much more premium body, or pay a bit more and get an S9 with PDAF

You can crop whatever but it's much more difficult to shoot & frame vertical video 16:9 than in open gate. And nobody seems to want to turn the camera 90 degrees

Much more doable than same ploy at the Mexican border.

Black market import shenanigans anyone? https://petapixel.com/2025/12/23/us-government-bans-new-dji-and-other-foreign-made-drones/

@stephen Thanks for the heads-up on the iPhone raw Cinema DNG app. Is it by the same people (or associated) with Motion Cam? Phones are not meant to replace mirrorless cams for video, and the file sizes in the raw video apps are of course enormous. But you have to admit the image is rather lovely and it's fun to play with. I like that it is open gate with optional 18fps mode, you can get very close to a vintage super 8 look with that. Interested to compare it to Blackmagic Video app LOG in terms of the unprocessed look though.

I'm actually surprised there's not a camera with a vertical sensor yet, for portrait video seeing as it's basically the dominant social media format. No square sensor either. And if Open Gate didn't pretend to be for anamorphic shooters, it'd be 1:1 not 4:3!

The files aren't as chunky and colour science not as good as Canon.

Unless it's a hybrid video camera, it ain't in 🙂 What is the video like on it by the way, does it have any? Surely needs a hack if not.

Wow the things you forget... 2017!? Panasonic were always very generous with firmware updates. Can't say same about Sony/Canon

You're right, better images... but they're not 2025 cameras.

Do you agree with my choices... And did I miss anything? https://www.eoshd.com/news/the-2025-hybrid-mirrorless-camera-rankings/ The 2025 camera rankings for video quality and value for money are in!

Rental market very different to buyers market isn't it? The MapCamera one is interesting but is always heavily skewed to what just got released. I'm more impressed when I see an older camera like the a7c II at number 3. That's quite some sustained sales pattern... Or maybe not, maybe it just got a big discount sticker on it last week 🙂

Finally someone has done it https://www.benro.com/en/prelaunch/NE1-nd-filter.html It has a nifty bluetooth controller with auto-AE as well. Curious to see how nice it is to use, but no word on pricing yet.

Interesting to look at the trends... Canon is extending their lead over Sony. Nikon is only at 5.56%... Had expected them to be closer to Sony, after all the Z6 / Z8 series seem popular, right now DJI is a growing threat. Blackmagic are slipping back as the bigger companies cannibalise their niche of advanced video features and RAW recording. Sigma is holding steady, but obviously this revenue relates 99% to lenses, there cameras are a very small niche. Fuji is steadily going up... Their stuff especially X-mount is not really Lensrental's target market but more pros are seeing the benefits of GFX Panasonic pretty flat at 2% mark, it's a poor showing considering how good their specs are. Leica are pretty stagnant despite lots of new releases, SL3, Q3, etc. Revenue from RED halved, Sachtler also down hinting at problems we know exist in professional filmmaking

Those last 3 shots, very nice.

https://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2025/12/top-photography-and-videography-rentals-for-2025/ Only one non-Sony/Canon camera in the top 20 if you don't count the GoPro/Osmo which aren't proper cameras Canon 5D Mark IV at number 6, signals that's the safe choice... cheaper but still good for stills. Only two prime lenses in the top 20 here. 18 zooms. Not even a fast 35mm? Although it's nice to see the Sigma 24-70, the rest is a predictable mixture of CanSony F2.8 zooms. Not the way I'd want to shoot something but each to their own 🙂

I don't have a GH7, but I remember it being better than the GH6.

Listening to the Canadians is like reading the side of a box. Tick, 30fps burst rate. Tick, autofocus is fast. Tick, price is just $3000, a bargain. Thousands of 2 legged sheep...following the affiliate links. And don't forget to bag that 24-70mm F2.8 for 2 grand before driving home in your white Tesla to your home decked out in grey and white, stopping off on the way at the US Camera Shop for Boring Twats, to buy a massive gimbal.

Got any shots from that?

Nice frog, thought it was real for a second 🙂 I have recently picked up another 'faulty' anamorphic from Sirui, cost 160 euros and this time is the Sirui 50mm T2.9 1.6x anamorphic for Sony E-mount. Repairing it was quite easy as whoever put it in the spares & repairs bin doesn't seem to know that the anamorphic squeeze and 'de-centered internal elements' are not the same thing 🙂 It's definitely not in same league as an Iscorama for character but it still has a cinematic look and much less distortion than the little Saturn from earlier. https://store.sirui.com/blogs/guides/full-frame-anamorphic-sirui-50mm-t2-9-1-6x-lens-review?srsltid=AfmBOooPLqqtjgePHhwDkxLrA3fHpbTeyJOCB631Vf1LeSC6Fh2TRP1N I think for $450 it's a bargain really.

I have an opinion on that... https://www.eoshd.com/opinion/chris-and-jordan-select-sigma-bf-fuji-x-half-and-sony-fx2-as-worst-cameras-of-the-year-just-goes-to-show-that-some-people-dont-have-a-single-creative-brain-cell/

I may do a comparison on the blog about the E-M1X and OM1. The E-M1X is... different.