I'm frankly quite surprised how easy it is to find something to shoot with a 15mm-e. However, yes, it doesn't always result in usable images because it's obviously a bit more difficult to control the foreground and background: I lost an interesting image (one I'll be trying to find again and redo) to the fact that there was a lot of distracting things going on in the background, but because I had concentrated on focus and center composition, I didn't notice all that until I looked at it on the screen.
This was to be expected - so, all within reason.
The GX9 is a different matter. It remains a very good camera - but its fiddliness becomes ever more apparant. As good as most aspects of it are, the total is far from perfect - and I notice that now, also because I have - and have had - many other cameras to compare it to.
- The worst offender is the EVF; I don't know what exactly they did, but it's the worst version of this very viewfinder - it was good in the LX100, usable in the GX85 (GX80), but the optics are at their worst in the GX9; it's ostensibly all the same panel and assembly, but the GX9's is the one you have the least leeway with, it's a tunnel, and the eyecup, though seemingly deeper than the one on the GX85 (and LX100 - the latter two look exactly the same), it does not help the least bit against light from the side. As far as EVFs go, this is the worst I've ever owned, period. Even the old and often derided item in the Sony A6000 is a lot better in practice, even if it lacks resolution and punch - but it's reliably usable. The GX9's - is not; and not only that - it's often annoying and or distracting.
- Manual focus experience is just about bearable - magnification is adjustable (though it took some finding out and needed reconfiguration - the preset of "2x" is useless), focus peaking less so. I had to dedicate an Fn button to invoke magnification, though - because otherwise, you'll invariably move the focus field, and have to reposition it. The implementation is way too "sophisticated" to be quick and straightforward - activate, (re)position, use different button to magnify. Again, the old Sony A6000 does this way better: press center button on control dial to invoke focus field, press again to magnify. Why can't I do that on the GX9?!
- The exposre compensation wheel is easily knocked. This is not too big a deal because you see its setting - but together with the less-than-ideal EVF and focus experience and the ensuing fiddling and distraction, I sometimes miss the fact that it's not where I expect it to be, so I don't get sensible exposure (I work with aperture priority). This is sufficiently rare to only be a minor annoyance, though.
But there's also quite a bit of the handling paradigm I'm beginning to feel annoyed by. I want to give you two examples of what I mean:
- When you use a "dumb" lens, every time you switch on the camera, you'll be asked if the preset focal length is still what you want. There's a pop-up on the screen and in the viewfinder, and you have to half-press the shutter (or tab on the screen for "yes") to make it go away. This has resulted in black or otherwise accidental shots; it's pure coincidence that it hasn't cost me shots yet.
- If you use "C" mode (custom settings), you will *always* land in the "C" menu when entering the menu. This means that even for something simple like formatting the SD card, I'll have to jump around in the menus. Of course, you get used to it, but it's completely inefficient to have to do four or five actions instead of one or two, depending on the camera. Even my old M8 is much quicker and easier to handle (I can do it almost without looking).
So, while I do like the results from the GX9 and the camera works quite well with AF lenses, handling just isn't as satisfying as I'd like it to be. I'll move the body on as soon as there's a suitable replacement for it on the market. As far as I can see, there are two possible contenders: If the Leica CL2 sports I.B.I.S., I could move on my whole Fujifilm system alongside the GX9 (as well as four
lenses) and switch to that camera with the Leica primes (and maybe the standard zoom). Yes, that sounds hideously expensive, but it would provide reliably gorgeous results and, judging from handling the current CL, exactly the kind of experience I want from a compact rangefinder style camera. However, it looks as if there might be an alternative, and that would be much more affordable: If the upcoming Fujifilm X-E4 has I.B.I.S., it can replace both the X-E3 *and* the GX9. As it is, there's not a lot I dislike about the X-E3 except for that fact that it lacks I.B.I.S. - so, interesting times ahead. As it is, I think I'll resolve this "issue" (my wish for a small, capable, easy-to-use rangefinder style camera) in 2021 - if one of the two upcoming cameras sports I.B.I.S., that is. The GX9 doesn't quite cut it - not in terms of results, but in terms of user experience.
I will still have the E-M5 III as my
body - and I'll hang on to that camera; it's a little powerhouse, and apart from its iconic, but also ideosyncratic on-off switch, it's great. This is not about getting out of
, even though I'm about to sell a pretty large portion of the remaining system now.
I'll soldier on with the GX9 during SiJ 2021, of course. It's only fitting that the Fujifilm X-E4 will probably be announced on January 27 ...
M.