HEAD TO HEAD
The Micro Four Thirds format has many advantages for photographers, including size, weight and speed; and the Olympus OM-D E-M1 II and the Panasonic Lumix G9 are the flagship stills cameras in each maker’s range. Both are designed to offer ultra-highspeed continuous shooting, powerful and sophisticated autofocus systems and professional levels of build quality.
They can even use the same lenses – although for full performance with all features, most photographers would probably stick with each makers’ own lenses. Both offer a good range, from regular consumer use right through to professional application.
The OM-D E-M1 II was launched in November 2016. The Panasonic Lumix G9 was launched a year later in November 2017, which perhaps explains why it edges ahead of the Olympus in a couple of areas.
The E-M1 II caused quite a storm when it was announced, thanks to its ability to capture still images in short bursts at an amazing 60 frames per second, at full resolution in JPEG or raw format. It also has a Pro Capture mode, which starts buffering images from the moment you half-press the shutter release. When you press it fully, it includes the previous 35 buffered images in its captured burst, effectively letting you ‘step back in time’ to start image capture from before you pressed the button.
The E-M1 II can only shoot at this speed with the focus locked on the first frame, though.
