Deep Discount for the Panasonic G9 (Where's That Mast?)

Thought you might want to know that the Panasonic G9 just got a huge discount, to $1,297 from $1,699.

Panasonic's current "stills flagship" camera was mildly slagged when it came out for being a.) as good as, but no better than, its chief rival, the Olympus E-M1 Mark II, despite being later into the marketplace; and b.) too expensive relative to cameras offering larger sensors.

Those disadvantages vanish when you slash more than $400 off the price.

Odysseus had to lash himself to the mast of his ship when the voyagers encountered the Sirens, a race of bird/women whose song was so alluring it could drive sailors insane and entice them to abandon reason and cast themselves into the sea as they tried to get to it.

All I can say is, good thing my ankle is tied to the leg of the desk.

Mike

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(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

David Evans: "As of today, Amazon UK's price for this body is exactly 51% higher than Amazon US's. Thanks, Amazon UK, for saving me from myself yet again."

Mike replies: They certainly do rake you blokes over the coals when it comes to the prices of things. Why is that? Have you all got that much more money than the rest of us? Anyway, I'm glad it saves you from flinging yourself into the sea this time.

Kurt Kramer: "Wow, I had Panasonics G1, G3, and G5. Then when Olympus released the highly touted E-M5 Mark II, I crossed lines to Oly. So great that the two brands share lenses. But at this price, I am tempted to move back to Panasonic. Always liked the look and feel of my Panasonics a little bit better. Thanks for the info Mike."

Plannerben: "Ah, the Sirens, the subject of the most mind-blowing question of my liberal education: What song did the Sirens sing? When Homer narrates the story, he doesn't describe their singing much.

"Later, however, when Odysseus recounts his story to a king who rescues him, he tell us that they sang 'we know of all the great deeds you did under the walls of Troy.' In other words, the Sirens want to lure Odysseus by telling him how great he was, as if he were a middle-aged man yearning to relive his high school football glory. He literally cannot resist and only his cleverness (his defining characteristic, in this case the forethought to have his men tie him down) saves him.

"Homer, I think, wants to warn us of the dangers of nostalgia. If Odysseus hadn't ordered his men to tie him up, he'd have died rather than met his destiny, to return to rocky Ithaca as father, husband and king. I'm sure there's a message in there somewhere."

Sven W: "Serious question: I'm still reasonably happy with my five-year-old Sony RX10 as a general-purpose travel camera. In terms of image quality, is there much improvement with the recent Micro 4/3 bodies?

"Sure, the ergonomics and AF of Micro 4/3 is better, but the IQ is pretty close to the 1" type sensor. I believe I would have to go to APS-C to get a noticeable improvement in IQ."

Mike replies: Hi Sven, I think Lensrentals is your friend here. Rent a Micro 4/3 camera with the latest 20-MP sensor and do the comparisons yourself—only you know your standards, your uses, and your sensitivity to the differences.

Arg: "And $1,999 with the 12–60mm PanaLeica which is $900 alone.

Rodolfo Canet: "I wonder if this price lowering has anything to do with Panasonic repositioning Micro 4/3 once FF is coming."

Comments

[Jeroen Pulles]

The Sony a6500, "the nex with ibis", also seems to have gone down in price to a more accessible 1100,-. Just sayin...

[John]

Same here, that’s a nice price but I’m staying tied to the mast.

[Ed Donnelly]

Wow, and Kirk Tuck just recently bought two of these. I really like the idea of a hand holdable 800mm effective length system, but from everything I have read, the G9’s autofocus just isn’t there for birds in flight, which is what I want the small package for. I guess I will keep waiting, but that price sure is tempting Zfor me to try it out for myself.

[Phil]

Oh! I started to get very excited except.... I don't think it has the dual focus system that allows the E-M1 to focus the old 4/3 lenses, does it? If that's still the case, I'm afraid I'll have to wait for more price-drops for the EM-1 Mk.II. Darn. I have to keep my money in the bank for a bit longer.

[Jeffrey Farrington]

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/32778/siren-song

[Beautiful. Thanks for that. --Mike]

[Stephane Bosman]

A bit off topic, but regarding camera prices in Europe, you have to factor in that it is mandatory in the EU to display prices with the VAT included. That tax for cameras is between 15 and 20-something% depending on the country.

Then you have the cost of doing business that is objectively higher in Europe than in US:
- taxes in most European countries would seem pretty high even to the most liberals of Dems. To give you an example, in Belgium every Euro an employee gets costs between 2€ and 3€ to the employer, depending on the salary level. And then you have the VAT on everything you buy. And then you get supplemental taxes for the local councils, for each TV you own, for each car you own, etc.. All this means that giving a good standard of living to employees costs a lot more than elsewhere in the world.
- we have many languages in Europe, with regulations mandating suppliers to provide instructions in each and every language of each country
- there is a mandatory 2 years warranty on goods sold in European Union
- we have pretty high customs tariffs for goods made out of Europe

I could go on, but higher costs in Europe have little to do with US or Japanese suppliers greediness.

[Sven W]

Serious question: I'm still reasonably happy with my 5yo Sony RX10, as a general-purpose travel camera. In terms of image quality, is there much improvement with the recent m43 bodies?

Sure, the ergonomics and AF of m43 is better, but the IQ is pretty close to the 1" type sensor. I believe I would have to go to APS-C to get a noticeable improvement in IQ.

[Dogman]

Does anyone know why we always refer to these cameras as "Panasonic" instead of "Lumix"? Just wondering....

[Rokrover]

You may wish to spy off the port bow to bolster your resistance. There you will find the FF mirrorless maelstrom infested by DP Reviewers, feasting on the M4/3 carcass they have certified dead.

[James Weekes]

Just bought one.......at the higher price, rats! That said, I love it. All the things you love about the GX8 are here. It is bigger but that equates to more holdable and more solid. At this price I may back up my body. Go hold/use one. Or, use chains around that mast.

[Jason Melancon]

Ok. You taught me to care about bokeh and now you've caused me to spend 1k I might not have otherwise spent. The way I see it we're now even, I owe you nothing.

[TBannor]

"In other words, the Sirens want to lure Odysseus by telling him how great he was…"

Where are they now that we need them.

On the G9 front, I just keep telling myself I don't want something as big as my former 80D. Must resist…

[Bill La Via]

That is about 100g heavier and $200 more expensive than the X-T2 with a smaller sensor. Hope it’s a lot more capable.

[subroto mukerji]

Some premium M43 lenses are now huge and the newer bodies are often bulkier than the sleeker ones from Sony APSC. Can the bigger bodies be attributed to the 20 MP sensor alone? It's clear that M43 has lost sight of the much touted 'smaller and lighter' goal of yesteryear, even as the prices are rising. At this rate, the system will run itself into the ground, leaving the field open to the physically shrinking APSC and FF systems that will, between them, probably crush M43 out of existence. Me, I'm very happy with my 2012 vintage Olympus and Panasonic bodies and am hanging on to them; they are sufficient for my needs. I think they'll outlive me (I'm 70).

[Kurt Kramer]

Just checked the relative sizes of the Pana G9 and the new Canon EOS R. I expected the Canon to be much larger. In fact they are very, very close in size, with the Canon actually SLIGHTLY SMALLER. Weight differs by only .07 oz.
I am shocked. As a Canon 5D shooter, who assumed that the Canon EOS R would be closer in size to a full frame DSLR that to a Micro 4/3rds mirrorless...well with my Canon lenses in hand, this changes everything.

[Tom Bell]

Obesity in the m43 world!

To me this is critical. I think the scret is not to be obsessed with depth of field ....

Then the 12/2 , 17/1.7 , 25/1.8 etc etc are tiny even compared to the gorgeous Fuji primes.

I hope they keep m43 going but I cant see them going on releasing more hyper fast large lenses for that system. Personally I like a quite big camera ie G80 with a bog grip ...but the magic is in those tiny primes

[Ash]

Hey Mike,

If your leg is tied to the desk then you can't go out and experience the amazing fall color in upstate NY.
There are no camera shops in the Adirondacks.

[jeffharris]

I've been a very happy and enthusiastic M4/3 user since the GH2.

I LOVE my GX8 and it's tilty EVF!
Try as I might to like it, I truly loathe the G9.
I don't care about all it's bells and whistles.
It's graceless. Overly big, bulky and just plain uncomfortable to hold… even with my rather large ex-stone-and-wood-carving sculptor and carpenter's hands.

Panasonic has lost it's way in some regards. The G9 is the evidence.

Give me a REAL GX8 mk2!

[Thomas Paul McCann]

I handled the G9 and thought it quite bulky and heavy compared to the GX8 I have. The feature that really took my fancy was the dedicated buttons for white balance0.iso and exposure compensation allowing one to check them without dropping ot of the manu each time

[Carlo Santin]

No such luck here in Canada. $2299 body only. Canadian camera prices are eye-watering.

[jseliger]

"too expensive relative to cameras offering larger sensors."

I was one of those people slagging it for cost. Now it is within the realm of sanity.

Am I the only one who remembers the OMD EM5 coming out at what, $1299 or similar? I just don't get the (non-pro) market for these über expensive cameras that 10 or 15% better than alternatives (e.g. G85).