"Panasonic G series" Owners Thread

[Lost_Manc]

I hope you really enjoy the GX9 when it comes, I know I‘ve very much enjoyed using mine since getting it last year. I found I preferred using the 20mm 1.7 II more than the 12-32mm zoom, but the 12-32mm is a very handy way of carrying about a standard zoom.

Well I shall find out soon enough. Delivery tomorrow. I threw caution to the wind and just ordered one. Even if I decide its not the camera for me after several moths use I feel pretty confident either my wife or daughter will give it some use and the 12-32 will make life easier for them initially at least.

I have been keeping my eye on 20mm used prices and they have been going only one way this week and thats up. Supply vs demand no doubt but when I started looking at the GX9 and the 20mm the lens was available for £150 (mpb) last night the only available version was £200 (mpb) and today thats sold, but with a 'poorer' condition one at £150 again. Prices all over.
They are mostly out of stock especially in black though so they have a captive market.

I will stick with the little 12-32 for now though and see how things go before I buy a prime or 'better' zoom if I so decide.

Back to reading the manual but no doubt ill be back with questions soon enough!

 

[Sangoma]

Well I shall find out soon enough. Delivery tomorrow. I threw caution to the wind and just ordered one. Even if I decide its not the camera for me after several moths use I feel pretty confident either my wife or daughter will give it some use and the 12-32 will make life easier for them initially at least.

I have been keeping my eye on 20mm used prices and they have been going only one way this week and thats up. Supply vs demand no doubt but when I started looking at the GX9 and the 20mm the lens was available for £150 (mpb) last night the only available version was £200 (mpb) and today thats sold, but with a 'poorer' condition one at £150 again. Prices all over.
They are mostly out of stock especially in black though so they have a captive market.

I will stick with the little 12-32 for now though and see how things go before I buy a prime or 'better' zoom if I so decide.

Back to reading the manual but no doubt ill be back with questions soon enough!

Which 20mm lens was that? The 20mm 1.7 I find great, despite its "slow" focus and not being able to use AFC (actually never needed it when using it)

 

[woof woof]

Well I shall find out soon enough. Delivery tomorrow. I threw caution to the wind and just ordered one. Even if I decide its not the camera for me after several moths use I feel pretty confident either my wife or daughter will give it some use and the 12-32 will make life easier for them initially at least.

I have been keeping my eye on 20mm used prices and they have been going only one way this week and thats up. Supply vs demand no doubt but when I started looking at the GX9 and the 20mm the lens was available for £150 (mpb) last night the only available version was £200 (mpb) and today thats sold, but with a 'poorer' condition one at £150 again. Prices all over.
They are mostly out of stock especially in black though so they have a captive market.

I will stick with the little 12-32 for now though and see how things go before I buy a prime or 'better' zoom if I so decide.

Back to reading the manual but no doubt ill be back with questions soon enough!

Hope you enjoy your new kit.

I've just had a quick look for 20mm f1.7's and there one on ebay for £125+£7.50 p&p.

 

[Sangoma]

Hope you enjoy your new kit.

I've just had a quick look for 20mm f1.7's and there one on ebay for £125+£7.50 p&p.

That is totally daft (to try and be polite) double what I paid!

They will come down, you either need patience or money, and as I don't have money..............................

 

[woof woof]

That is totally daft (to try and be polite) double what I paid!

They will come down, you either need patience or money, and as I don't have money..............................

The last lenses I bought were the 14mm f2.5 and 20mm f1.7 when I got my GM5 and I was surprised to see prices on the up, visibly so.

 

[Lost_Manc]

Which 20mm lens was that? The 20mm 1.7 I find great, despite its "slow" focus and not being able to use AFC (actually never needed it when using it)

Yes the 20mm 1.7. Prices have been all over since I started looking. certainly nothing 'cheap' as such. They are like rocking horse poo new though so what can you do but suck it up or wait.

I intend to wait and see what happens once they start to be in stock and decide accordingly.

Hope you enjoy your new kit.

I've just had a quick look for 20mm f1.7's and there one on ebay for £125+£7.50 p&p.

Cheers Alan.

Looking forward to it. Hopefully it will give me the kick up that backside I need to get out again especially as I will have it with me more than the Fuji.

Just had a look on eBay. Wildly varying prices on there too. I will keep an eye on things but no rush.

 

[Crotal Bell]

Tried the higher speed burst this afternoon. A couple of seconds and I had 50 frames! Just spent half an hour deleting 48. There were only two that were even close to being usable. This is one of the two, heavily cropped:

View attachment 378933

I often heard it said that the camera gets more in focus on the slower speeds when doing BIF (but also heard that about quite a lot of other cameras)
This is partly why I was considering the 80D and Sigma 150-600mm, for the phase detect focus system, however, I saw a review by Gordon Laing and he was disappointed with the 80D focus for BIF. Hard to know what's best really.

 

[delb0y]

. Hard to know what's best really.

There's still this massive irony for me that I never intended shooting BiF, or indeed, wildlife. In terms of what I look at, and the books(*) I purchase, I'm more drawn to social documentary photography, some street (but only some), and even portraiture. But I do enjoy going for long walks in the countryside and thus I've ended up attempting this stuff. When I walk around town I always fail to get any shots at all, so I still have some thinking to do about my own direction.

(*) Recent purchases include Fan Ho, Vivian Maier, Robert Blomfeld, Jane Bown, and Cartier-Bresson, although I've had to stop now as I've run out of space!

 

[Stephen L]

Yes the 20mm 1.7. Prices have been all over since I started looking. certainly nothing 'cheap' as such. They are like rocking horse poo new though so what can you do but suck it up or wait.

I intend to wait and see what happens once they start to be in stock and decide accordingly.


Cheers Alan.

Looking forward to it. Hopefully it will give me the kick up that backside I need to get out again especially as I will have it with me more than the Fuji.

Just had a look on eBay. Wildly varying prices on there too. I will keep an eye on things but no rush.

I may decide to sell my 20mm when my 14mm turns up - keep an eye on Classifieds

 

[Crotal Bell]

There's still this massive irony for me that I never intended shooting BiF, or indeed, wildlife. In terms of what I look at, and the books(*) I purchase, I'm more drawn to social documentary photography, some street (but only some), and even portraiture. But I do enjoy going for long walks in the countryside and thus I've ended up attempting this stuff. When I walk around town I always fail to get any shots at all, so I still have some thinking to do about my own direction.

(*) Recent purchases include Fan Ho, Vivian Maier, Robert Blomfeld, Jane Bown, and Cartier-Bresson, although I've had to stop now as I've run out of space!

I never thought I would have a direction, but the more I captured wildlife the more I was drawn to it, I think I like the challenge and the pleasure in getting a good image. I've quickly learnt that you have to accept a lot of failures though.

 

[wilki]

You might find this useful for BIF with the G9:

Panasonic G9, Birds in Flight and Firmware 2.0 - Mirrorless Comparison

Many of our Micro Four Thirds readers have been asking me to test the latest firmware version of the Lumix G9 for birds in flight and I finally found the time after the holiday break. I rented the camera for a weekend, along with the Leica DG 200mm 2.8 lens ... Read more

mirrorlesscomparison.com

 

[Crotal Bell]

You might find this useful for BIF with the G9:

Panasonic G9, Birds in Flight and Firmware 2.0 - Mirrorless Comparison

Many of our Micro Four Thirds readers have been asking me to test the latest firmware version of the Lumix G9 for birds in flight and I finally found the time after the holiday break. I rented the camera for a weekend, along with the Leica DG 200mm 2.8 lens ... Read more

mirrorlesscomparison.com

Thanks Ian

 

[Sangoma]

I never thought I would have a direction, but the more I captured wildlife the more I was drawn to it, I think I like the challenge and the pleasure in getting a good image. I've quickly learnt that you have to accept a lot of failures though.

I know about two professional wild life photographers who spent a weekend in a good area, and didn't come home with one shot between them they liked, and they didn't think much of it.
At the same time you see fantastic shots from some one who remembered to take the lens cap off for once (ie completely inexperienced)

I'd say your improvement curve is fairly steep, so something is working

 

[delb0y]

Took the GX80 and the 12-35 into town today.

 

[AMcUK]

If you're hunting for used I'd recommend an eye on this site

Used Cameras and Lenses

Search used cameras and lenses from over 60 UK retailers. Price comparison for used digital, film, lenses, medium and large format cameras

usedlens.co.uk

There's a 20mm f1.7 with an "almost free" GF1 included at LCE for £205

Used Panasonic GF1 + 20mm F1.7| London Camera Exchange -Winchester

Used Panasonic GF1 + 20mm F1.7 | London Camera Exchange - Winchester | To buy or for more information visit Winchester or call 01962 866203

www.lcegroup.co.uk

 

[Lost_Manc]

Well. One benefit of living around the corner from the delivery depot is a nice early delivery.

So straight on charge whilst doing the school run. Got home. Pinched a memory card out of the XT-4 (could have sworn I had a spare, oh well!). Set the time and what not and out with the dog and the camera.

Impatient. Me. No!

Anyway. At this point what can I say beyond. I like it.
How small is this thing with the 12-32 attached. Side by side with my X-T4 and 16-55 2.8 is laughable.
It fits easily in a festival style aka 'man' bag which I use for dog walk poop bags, keys and phone carrying. Couldn't do that with the X-T4 even with the 27mm attached. Result.

The heft was a surprise. I expected it to be more 'cheap and plasticky' if I'm being totally honest which I was fine with based on price but it doesn't feel like that at all. Again. Result.

I attached my Peak Design Clutch wrist strap but it feel a bit too big (the quick clip) so will dig out an old para-cord one assuming I can find it of course. Probably just being picky!

So. I have only used it in manual and AFS so far and it'll probably stay like that for the most part. So following impressions are based on that.

EVF I find fine. The novelty of the tilt is actually of use I feel.
The eye cup though is possibly too small or at least feels it after being used the more traditional style on the X-T4. I am aware of the optional bigger version but intend to see how things go before I spend on that.
I also need to be mindful of a possible delay between eye sensor reacting and turning LCD off and fully placing eye to EVF. I moved the focus point with my nose a couple of times before I realised what was happening!

The LCD seems perfectly good enough based on todays brief use. I have also got but not fitted a screen protector as I am more used to he fully articulating hide it away screen on the X-T4 and want to protect this one more.

Everything falls nicely to hand dials wise but buttons I obviously have no muscle memory for yet so had to keep looking.

Just need to set everything up 'properly' now. Lots of settings and terms to understand.

All in all I am feeling pretty pleased with the purchase and feel it's going to perfectly fill the hole I wanted it to fill.

Anyway. A picture, because it would be rude not too really, right?!

Pylon.jpg by Lost_Manc, on Flickr

I did take more of course but just liking this the most.

One little point I did notice. DxO doesn't have the camera profiles such as vivid and Monochrome-D but LRc does. as I generally do Lens corrections and NR in DxO then send to LRc to finish its no big issue but just something I noticed today.

And once again. Thanks to all who participated in my questions. I hope you are ready for more

 

[woof woof]

EVF I find fine. The novelty of the tilt is actually of use I feel...

All in all I am feeling pretty pleased with the purchase and feel it's going to perfectly fill the hole I wanted it to fill.

Good stuff and a great picture there

I used to find the tilting EVF good when taking people pictures as you can angle it up and look down into it and if you want to look up again the camera isn't obscuring your face which is IMO much better for interaction with the subject.

 

[dja]

Super pic from the GX9. That little 12-32mm is an incredible lens. I'm often amazed at the sharp, detailed images it provides on my GX80

 

[Lost_Manc]

Good stuff and a great picture there

I used to find the tilting EVF good when taking people pictures as you can angle it up and look down into it and if you want to look up again the camera isn't obscuring your face which is IMO much better for interaction with the subject.

Cheers Alan.

Yeah that’s a good use case for the tilting EVF. Will keep that in mind.

Super pic from the GX9. That little 12-32mm is an incredible lens. I'm often amazed at the sharp, detailed images it provides on my GX80

Cheers Dave.

Yes. Seems a decent little lens. A focus ring would be nice but then it would be bigger so trade offs I guess.

 

[tijuana taxi]

Extended eyecup made quite a big difference for me.

 

[Lost_Manc]

Something I meant to add in my 1st post today regarding receiving the GX9.

A complaint/disappointment of sorts.

The kit doesn’t come with a rear lens cap or body cap. I found that a surprise really. Yet we get a plug to go with the usb cable. I’d have preferred the caps tbh.

Anyway. I guess it’s another case of saving money and keeping costs down.

Looking online I believe I need part VFC4605 for the lens and DMW-BDC1 for the body.

DMW-BDC1 seems to be out of stock everywhere though. Is there any reason VKF4971 wouldn’t fit? It fits the GX7 & 8 but apparently not the 9. Is there some slight differences does anyone know.

As an alternative to the genuine caps. Any recommendations on copies from Amazon or such.

Cheers.

 

[Lost_Manc]

Extended eyecup made quite a big difference for me.

I will probably pick it up but want to give it a chance without at first.

 

[dja]

You can get a 3rd party rear+body cap cheaply (£2.99 incl. postage) from eBay. Just search for "Body & Rear camera lens Cap fits Panasonic Lumix & Olympus MICRO 4/3"

 

[Sangoma]

Something I meant to add in my 1st post today regarding receiving the GX9.

A complaint/disappointment of sorts.

The kit doesn’t come with a rear lens cap or body cap. I found that a surprise really. Yet we get a plug to go with the usb cable. I’d have preferred the caps tbh.

Anyway. I guess it’s another case of saving money and keeping costs down.

Looking online I believe I need part VFC4605 for the lens and DMW-BDC1 for the body.

DMW-BDC1 seems to be out of stock everywhere though. Is there any reason VKF4971 wouldn’t fit? It fits the GX7 & 8 but apparently not the 9. Is there some slight differences does anyone know.

As an alternative to the genuine caps. Any recommendations on copies from Amazon or such.

Cheers.

Look on Ali express, I just bought 10 sets (body cap and rear lens cap) for less than £8 and they arrived in a week.
You will always need more in the future.
I have not seen a camera sold without a body cap before, and usually the lens comes with a cap. Sellers choice.

Edit: It was actually £6.83 for ten sets https://www.aliexpress.com/item/100...o.order_list.order_list_main.5.310f18024cuxH7

 

[Lost_Manc]

You can get a 3rd party rear+body cap cheaply (£2.99 incl. postage) from eBay. Just search for "Body & Rear camera lens Cap fits Panasonic Lumix & Olympus MICRO 4/3"

Cool. Will have a look.

I have not seen a camera sold without a body cap before, and usually the lens comes with a cap. Sellers choice.

It is brand new and sealed from Wex. The kit it seems doesn’t come with any caps.
Lens was already attached in the box. And according to contents everything was present and correct. So it seems like he kits don’t get caps whereas body only or lens only would have to protect.

It’s not the end of the world but it’s certainly not what I expected or have experienced previously wort other cameras.

Edit: It was actually £6.83 for ten sets https://www.aliexpress.com/item/100...o.order_list.order_list_main.5.310f18024cuxH7

Cheers. Will have a look. Although not sure I want 10 sets!

——

Whilst I’m here. Any opinions on batteries. Genuine vs non?

I didn’t pick up a spare intent being to carry my portable power pack and top up if needed but I’m thinking I may get a spare for ease.

What’s peoples experiences. I know in Fuji land most are strongly against anything but genuine. Is the feeling the same this side?

 

[tijuana taxi]

Look on Ali express, I just bought 10 sets (body cap and rear lens cap) for less than £8 and they arrived in a week.
You will always need more in the future.
I have not seen a camera sold without a body cap before, and usually the lens comes with a cap. Sellers choice.

Edit: It was actually £6.83 for ten sets https://www.aliexpress.com/item/100...o.order_list.order_list_main.5.310f18024cuxH7

View attachment 379070

I had a GX80 and 12-32 kit, that definitely didn't come with a body or rear lens cap either.

 

[Sangoma]

I had a GX80 and 12-32 kit, that definitely didn't come with a body or rear lens cap either.

I haven't bought any brand new Panasonic kits, so I can believe it, odd as it seems.
I have bought brand new Pentax and Canon kits, and they all came with all caps.

 

[Sangoma]

Cool. Will have a look.


It is brand new and sealed from Wex. The kit it seems doesn’t come with any caps.
Lens was already attached in the box. And according to contents everything was present and correct. So it seems like he kits don’t get caps whereas body only or lens only would have to protect.

It’s not the end of the world but it’s certainly not what I expected or have experienced previously wort other cameras.



Cheers. Will have a look. Although not sure I want 10 sets!

——

Whilst I’m here. Any opinions on batteries. Genuine vs non?

I didn’t pick up a spare intent being to carry my portable power pack and top up if needed but I’m thinking I may get a spare for ease.

What’s peoples experiences. I know in Fuji land most are strongly against anything but genuine. Is the feeling the same this side?

You can choose how many sets you want, from 1 upwards.

I have never bought genuine batteries, and have never had any problems.
I choose brands that have been around a while and avoid "Golden Sunshine" and "White Elephant" type brands And I am suspect of the ones that claim a very high capacity and avoid them.

 

[tijuana taxi]

I did buy non genuine batteries until an ex pro got so swollen I coulkdn't remove it from my X-E1
In the end superglued a piece of plastic to it and pulled it out like that.
Some say their White batteries have overheat protection, but not about to risk it

Only other one was a Hahnel that came with a G80 I bought secondhand.
Used it a couple of times and seemed ok, but only have genuine ones now for my G9 and GX9

Not keen on the two pronged generic usb or mains chargers either.
These do not use the T contact between + and - that monitors temperature when charging

 

[Stephen L]

Cool. Will have a look.


It is brand new and sealed from Wex. The kit it seems doesn’t come with any caps.
Lens was already attached in the box. And according to contents everything was present and correct. So it seems like he kits don’t get caps whereas body only or lens only would have to protect.

It’s not the end of the world but it’s certainly not what I expected or have experienced previously wort other cameras.



Cheers. Will have a look. Although not sure I want 10 sets!

——

Whilst I’m here. Any opinions on batteries. Genuine vs non?

I didn’t pick up a spare intent being to carry my portable power pack and top up if needed but I’m thinking I may get a spare for ease.

What’s peoples experiences. I know in Fuji land most are strongly against anything but genuine. Is the feeling the same this side?

I would prefer genuine batteries, but I do use 3rd party - as long as they’re not too cheap. In the distant past I have had one or two swell slightly, but not recently. I used to prefer Ex-Pro, but am having difficulty finding them these days. Even their own web site does not list the modelc of cameras I own.

 

[tijuana taxi]

@Lost_Manc I could probably put together a collection of bits you might need

End and body caps, charger with 2 x Ex Pro batteries and extended eye cup

 

[Lost_Manc]

You can choose how many sets you want, from 1 upwards.

Useful to know. I have never used them before.

@Lost_Manc I could probably put together a collection of bits you might need

End and body caps, charger with 2 x Ex Pro batteries and extended eye cup

Could be interested in the caps and eye cup but for battery I think for now I will see how I get on with using the power pack.

——

Had a look in the manual in the box today, had only been looking at the full pdf, and that seems to be worded in a way that you would expect the caps to be present. Possibly a mid/late change to production/package that hasn’t been reflected in the enclosed documents.

Also states that VFC4605 is a suitable body cap so I’m assuming that DMW-BDC1 is again a later change and what’s recommended going forward.

 

[Stephen L]

Useful to know. I have never used them before.

Could be interested in the caps and eye cup but for battery I think for now I will see how I get on with using the power pack.

——

Had a look in the manual in the box today, had only been looking at the full pdf, and that seems to be worded in a way that you would expect the caps to be present. Possibly a mid/late change to production/package that hasn’t been reflected in the enclosed documents.

Also states that VFC4605 is a suitable body cap so I’m assuming that DMW-BDC1 is again a later change and what’s recommended going forward.

Any body cap from any m4/3 camera would do. Ebay is your best bet, as previously mentioned.

 

[Lost_Manc]

Any body cap from any m4/3 camera would do. Ebay is your best bet, as previously mentioned.

Oh yeah. I accept that.
My point was just that the manual contradicts or at blest states differently to Panasonics website.

I will sort something either with @tijuana taxi or eBay/Amazon.
It’s not a major rush as imo only have one lens and it won’t be coming off just yet. More thinking forwards.

 

[tijuana taxi]

Oh yeah. I accept that.
My point was just that the manual contradicts or at blest states differently to Panasonics website.

I will sort something either with @tijuana taxi or eBay/Amazon.
It’s not a major rush as imo only have one lens and it won’t be coming off just yet. More thinking forwards.

Probably best to get them from Ebay.
I might package the lot up and get shot of them in one hit on the classifieds

 

[Lost_Manc]

Probably best to get them from Ebay.
I might package the lot up and get shot of them in one hit on the classifieds

No worries. Appreciate you probably don’t want to start splitting stuff.

Like I say. I’m in no rush. Going to just use the camera as is for a couple of months before I make decisions on lens/eye cups/batteries etc.

 

[Sangoma]

Probably best to get them from Ebay.
I might package the lot up and get shot of them in one hit on the classifieds

Will look out for it

 

[delb0y]

Still trying to figure out how best to set up the G9. This morning, I tried the Animal Detect focus setting, along with a reasonably-sized single AF square, as per the article Ian linked to a few days ago. The only thing I didn't use was the back button focus. Alas, almost nothing was in focus - I tried single shot, and the two various speeds of burst mode, and ended up with something like 300 frames! I kept... three. That's what... a 1% hit-rate? :-( I shall try back-button focus soon, but first I'm going to revert to how I used the G80 - which was a small single-point of focus which I place on the target by moving the camera. It seems that this simple approach is best for me - letting the camera do the focus work through all the clever trickery just isn't working yet. I suspect the fact that it was still dark,and quite misty when I got down to the canal didn't help - had to ramp up the ISO to 2000 and the shutter speed down - so the lack of sharpness may be camera shake (but then the lens and the camera both have stabilisation). Also the resulting images were way too noisy for my liking,

Not getting too despondent yet, but I must admit, it's turning into a steep G9 learning curve. Below is one of the three keepers - a blackbird, I assume? Obviously not in flight, and there's not much of interest other than the eye is in focus. In other news, it was a really nice walk and I did see two flocks of cormorants, numbering in excess of thirty. No wonder angling on the canal is hard!

 

[Sangoma]

Still trying to figure out how best to set up the G9. This morning, I tried the Animal Detect focus setting, along with a reasonably-sized single AF square, as per the article Ian linked to a few days ago. The only thing I didn't use was the back button focus. Alas, almost nothing was in focus - I tried single shot, and the two various speeds of burst mode, and ended up with something like 300 frames! I kept... three. That's what... a 1% hit-rate? :-( I shall try back-button focus soon, but first I'm going to revert to how I used the G80 - which was a small single-point of focus which I place on the target by moving the camera. It seems that this simple approach is best for me - letting the camera do the focus work through all the clever trickery just isn't working yet. I suspect the fact that it was still dark,and quite misty when I got down to the canal didn't help - had to ramp up the ISO to 2000 and the shutter speed down - so the lack of sharpness may be camera shake (but then the lens and the camera both have stabilisation). Also the resulting images were way too noisy for my liking,

Not getting too despondent yet, but I must admit, it's turning into a steep G9 learning curve. Below is one of the three keepers - a blackbird, I assume? Obviously not in flight, and there's not much of interest other than the eye is in focus. In other news, it was a really nice walk and I did see two flocks of cormorants, numbering in excess of thirty. No wonder angling on the canal is hard!

View attachment 379179

Probably won't help you, but for birds on the ground, I rarely use anything fancy, just spot or single area focus, and rarely any burst mode.

I have used the tracking to lock onto hover flies with the 100-300 lens, and as long as I can keep them in the viewfinder, it stays locked quite well.

For BIF I use a larger focus area, but not extending to the edge of the frame, as I found I kept getting a tree or similar on the edge of the frame that it focussed on.

Again, I don't use burst mode.

I use burst to capture things where a change will make a difference, as in facial expressions, or a bird taking off or landing.
Or if a kangaroo ran down the road, I would probably use tracking and burst (Impossible here, just an example)

I assume you have looked in the manual? It does cover it quite well.

You might find this interesting as well https://www.panasonic.com/content/d...umix-af-guidebook/LUMIX_AF_Guidebook_1809.pdf

I don't tend to use any fancy features unless there is a need, or they provide a solution to a problem

 

[Cockney]

Still trying to figure out how best to set up the G9. This morning, I tried the Animal Detect focus setting, along with a reasonably-sized single AF square, as per the article Ian linked to a few days ago. The only thing I didn't use was the back button focus. Alas, almost nothing was in focus - I tried single shot, and the two various speeds of burst mode, and ended up with something like 300 frames! I kept... three. That's what... a 1% hit-rate? :-( I shall try back-button focus soon, but first I'm going to revert to how I used the G80 - which was a small single-point of focus which I place on the target by moving the camera. It seems that this simple approach is best for me - letting the camera do the focus work through all the clever trickery just isn't working yet. I suspect the fact that it was still dark,and quite misty when I got down to the canal didn't help - had to ramp up the ISO to 2000 and the shutter speed down - so the lack of sharpness may be camera shake (but then the lens and the camera both have stabilisation). Also the resulting images were way too noisy for my liking,

Not getting too despondent yet, but I must admit, it's turning into a steep G9 learning curve. Below is one of the three keepers - a blackbird, I assume? Obviously not in flight, and there's not much of interest other than the eye is in focus. In other news, it was a really nice walk and I did see two flocks of cormorants, numbering in excess of thirty. No wonder angling on the canal is hard!

View attachment 379179

I will be interested to see other replies to this.
I use a G80 and tend to focus as you do, small area locked on subject. Although I do use BBF on occasion. The more auto functions don't cut it for me, not on my TZ 90 either.
Looking forward to hearing how the auto users make it work.