Panasonic is still doing well with their Micro Four Thirds series despite their recent push into the “full-frame mirrorless” market. The Panasonic G95 is the most recent addition to their line of mini-mirrorless Lumix cameras. The Lumix G95, which is the successor of the Lumix G85 from 2016, is referred to by its model name as the “G9 Lite” because of its upgraded specifications and features that combine still-photo capabilities from the G9 with video features from the GH-series cameras. The Panasonic G95 preserves the G85’s smaller, lighter form-factor, creating an amazingly feature-rich hybrid camera that’s appropriate for photographers and filmmakers. Also, it doesn’t take a big financial toll.
Design & Build Excellence
The G95’s appearance is quite identical to that of the Lumix G85 before it. The camera retains a small, ergonomic DSLR-like design with a raised, centrally-positioned EVF and a deep, curved handgrip. Nonetheless, Panasonic has enhanced the ergonomics and other physical aspects of the camera and transferred a number of capabilities from the premium Lumix G9 cameras. The G95 now boasts bigger buttons, new top-deck controls, and updated rear controls, making it closer to the higher-end G9 and GH-series cameras. The grip contouring has also been changed for improved comfort and a more stable grasp. Nevertheless, the G95 does not have a joystick control.
The G95 lacks a top-deck display like the G9 since it is too small, but it does have a higher-resolution display for the back vari-angle touchscreen. While this is going on, the EVF’s core components—its resolution and magnification factor—remain identical to those of the G85.
The G95 is nonetheless reassuringly weather-sealed and robustly constructed despite being a little “lower-end” Lumix product, sitting beneath the flagship and professionally geared G9 and GH-series cameras. The G95 is stated to offer Panasonic’s complete level of weather sealing, with a magnesium alloy front frame and durable polycarbonate plastic everywhere, as well as sealed joints and gaskets.
The G95 is still compatible with the tiny vertical battery grip attachment that was launched alongside the older G85, despite its lower physical size and modified ergonomics. In addition to being helpful for former G85 users, the battery grip alone increases shooting flexibility, comfort with longer lenses, and battery life.
The updated G95 operates smoothly and comfortably in the hands. Although being small and light, it is quite solidly constructed and has a generous number of tactile knobs and buttons. Even with so many options, the camera is still rather small. All of your important photography and exposure adjustments are now within reach of your right hand thanks to the relocated buttons and bigger, simpler to push keys.
Image caliber
The G95 is a camera that is specifically made to be used for both still photography and videography. It has a good mix of features and specifications for both. The G95 replaces the G9’s 16MP chip with a newer, higher-resolution 20.3-megapixel sensor, giving it an advantage over its predecessor. Similar to the G9, the G95’s 20MP sensor does not include an optical low-pass sensor, making it excellent for capturing small details. With the OLPF eliminated, there is always a greater chance of unfavorable moiré and aliasing artifacts.
The image quality is exceptional for this class of camera and sensor type, especially at lower ISOs. Colors are appealing and seem natural rather than oversaturated or synthetic. The in-camera JPEG processing, especially at lower ISOs, appears a tad heavy-handed to our eye when it comes to fine detail, eliminating or smoothing out finer features for the sake of noise reduction. We discovered that shooting in raw and post-processing photos to our preferences might result in shots with more overall detail.
Similar to the higher-end model, the G95 performs best in terms of picture quality up to about ISO 6400; for the best print quality, we advise ISO 3200 and lower. At higher ISOs, the G95 offers the same wide native ISO range as the G9 of ISO 200-25600. Beyond that, photos start to become considerably noisy, and the quality of the photographs starts to decline. For a Micro Four Thirds camera, the G95 nonetheless produces passable shots at remarkably high ISOs. Also, much as with lower ISOs, shooting in raw and applying your own, more precise noise reduction processing will typically result in high ISO photographs that are more aesthetically attractive and detailed.
Video
As was already noted, the G95 has a decent selection of video functions, making it a well-rounded video camera for individuals who wish to capture high-quality video but may not necessarily want all the bells and whistles provided by cameras like the GH5. The G95, like the stills features, falls somewhere in the middle: it is more sophisticated than the G85 before it but is not as fully equipped as the G9 (or GH-series). Of course, the G95 can shoot in 4K, but not at 60 frames per second like the G9. Instead, 4K is limited to 30p, like the G85. On the other hand, unlike the G9, 4K recording duration is limitless. The G95 also has a headphone port (which the G85 lacks) and a pre-installed V-LogL photo profile, which is really an extra feature that can be purchased for the G9 for a fee.
With Panasonic’s stellar reputation in the video industry, there aren’t any major shocks in terms of quality. Even with the basic picture profile, 4K films captured at 100Mbps look fantastic, with loads of fine detail, lovely colors, and decent dynamic range. The built-in V-LogL allows you additional flexibility for picture alterations in post for those who like greater exposure control and better color grading options. The G95 somewhat crops 4K footage, but not significantly more than the GH5 or G9 do. The G95 can capture Full HD video at up to 120 frames per second for slow motion.
With rapid, smooth focus corrections and very little shaking from the camera’s contrast-detect AF technology, video autofocus is also rather great. Moreover, AF performance in dimly lit environments is great. Although not as potent as the G9’s, the built-in in-body image stabilization is rated up to 5 stops of correction for stills, which is a very welcome bonus for anybody shooting video handheld.
Overall, the G95 delivers high-quality footage and a satisfying number of capabilities for the majority of intermediate users or those outside of professional or high-end video productions, despite the fact that there are less options for things like bit rate options and quicker 4K frame rates.
Affinity and Performance
The G95’s focusing performance is pretty outstanding in both lab and field tests. The speedy DFD-based AF technology and snappy 240fps AF calculation algorithm let the G95 to focus fairly quickly despite just having contrast-detection AF. Like to other contemporary Panasonic DFD-capable cameras, single-shot AF is very quick and lag-free. It is also shockingly quick, dependable, and precise with continuous focusing, especially in challenging circumstances like animals with many obscuring factors and in low-light environments.
While measuring for focus, the contract-detection-based AF system does cause a pronounced wobbling effect, which is one of its limitations. Nevertheless, this is a problem that affects all CDAF-based cameras and is not exclusive to the G95. With single-shot focusing, this isn’t much of a problem, but when utilizing C-AF, it can be a little irritating because it continuously produces this wobbling effect while actively altering focus.
Despite good AF performance, this is one of the G95’s main distinctions from the more expensive, higher-end G9. The G9 boasts a quicker, more advanced 225-point AF system, whilst the G95 has the same 49-point AF system of the G85.
The G95 is a quick, agile camera in terms of raw performance. Again, though, it falls short of the higher-end G9 and maintains the same baseline performance specifications as the G85. The G95 met the listed specifications for both mechanical and electronic shutter modes, though, with 9 frames per second for S-AF and 6 frames per second for C-AF. With those figures, the camera isn’t a speed demon, but it’s usually swift enough for all but the most demanding sports and action topics. Moreover, buffer depth is abundant (practically endless with JPEGs and a fast UHS-II card) and clearing times are respectable at such burst speeds.
Summary
Everything about the Panasonic G95 is balanced. Providing capabilities and performance for both still shooters and filmmakers while juggling size, weight, and other physical limitations with comfort, durability, and controls. Moreover, it accomplishes all of these tasks while yet being reasonably priced. The G95 offers better image quality, enjoyable performance, and more powerful video functions. Better handling, a wide range of tactile controls, and continued strong weather resistance are all features of the revised design.
We do, however, wish that a body-only option was available for the US market because many photographers are probably wanting to replace their camera bodies but may not require the complete kit with a lens. The G95, however, hits a nice sweet spot for enthusiasts and intermediate-level creators looking for a capable, well-rounded multimedia-focused camera that offers quality and features but doesn’t hit or approach the $2K mark like the flagship G9 or GH-series cameras, with a price point of around $1200 with a 12-60mm zoom lens.
