There are two new updates to high-end cameras, at either end of the ILC sensor spectrum. Let's take a look at the Micro 4/3 update first, the Panasonic G9II ($1,900), introduced yesterday.
The new G9II. Look familiar?
While I'm happy that Panasonic has introduced a new Micro 4/3 camera, updating the flagship stills-side body, some of the choices the company made seem...interesting. First of all, it does away with the G9 body style and form factor, which a lot of users liked a lot and are obviously used to, and adapts the existing S5II full-frame (FF) body:
(By the way, I have Idan's permission to post images from CameraSize.com here. Here's a link to all three cameras. Note that you can change the view, to compare, say, the top plates.)
This re-use of the S5 design isn't necessarily just a so-what: you lose the top display. And some people really liked the G9's deluxe, oversized viewfinder, and it's not a given that it has survived into the new body style—we'll have to see it for ourselves before we know how they compare. The G9II is a bit lighter than the S5II, by 82 grams. It's the same weight as the older (2017) G9. Users who have honed their muscle memory to the G9 might be in for a period of adaptation if they want to move to the new v.II.
The new camera's sensor—probably the same one already found in the GH6 ($1,700), Panasonic's "video-centric" Micro 4/3 flagship—has 25.2 megapixels as opposed to the G9's 20.3. Despite the fact that the G9II is said to be oriented toward stills, our friend Carl points out that many of the G9II's feature improvements seem to be for video. The biggest change is phase-detect autofocus, which is probably for video too, but it makes for better focus tracking and face recognition with stills.
I'm not saying there's anything amiss with the G9II. But it does create one odd disconnect: it means Panasonic is now offering two nearly identical bodies with sensors of nearly identical resolution, the big difference being that one is Micro 4/3 and the other FF...and the FF model costs $100 less than the one with the smaller sensor. Hmm. You'd naturally be interested exclusively in the former if you already have a bunch of Micro 4/3 lenses, so Panasonic is taking care of its legacy customers. And that's good. But you can't say the new camera offers much in the way of innovation or fresh thinking for Micro 4/3. And it makes a pointed comparison for newcomers to the ecosystem who aren't invested in lenses yet. Seems pretty clear which direction Panasonic would rather have them go.
Personally I've always been of the opinion that Micro 4/3 is a sweet spot for sensor size, but the way things have worked out it has gotten all but lost between the sea of smaller sensors and the prestige of larger ones. Pity, but that's the way the cookie crumbled. No use cryin'.
This probably shouldn't be an afterthought, but two Micro 4/3 lenses were updated too: the Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Elmarit 35–100mm ƒ/2.8 and the Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Elmar 100–400mm f/4–6.3 II ASPH.
The nice price
As often happens, there's a silver lining here for Micro 4/3 fans. The original G9, which is still a technical tour-de-force and is hardly dated at all, can be had right now for the old-fashioned, pre-pandemic, pre-inflationary period "good camera" price of $900, less than half what the II version goes for. If money matters. My friend who shoots with a G9 simply bought another one.