Lumix GH5-GH5S-G9 Autofocus Guidebook
Gloriosky… as my dear mother likes to say. Panasonic just released a desperately needed Lumix GH5-GH5S-G9 Autofocus Guidebook and you can download the guidebook here. When LUMIX introduced the GH5, G9, and GH5S, they updated each camera’s menu to include new Custom AF settings. When I became aware of these changes, I was less than enthusiastic due to lots of experience with our NE Explorers shooting Canon cameras.
Horned puffin in flight, shot with Lumix G9 and Leica 200mm F/2.8 with 1.4X teleconverter.
Canon started this menu filled maze of autofocus options that are seemingly impossible to figure out. Nikon’s AF menu had one option “Focus Tracking with Lock On” which was very simple, offering AF1 (Short) – AF5 (Long). It was pretty easy and thankfully it typically just worked.
Snow goose in flight. Bosque del Apache NWR, New Mexico. Lumix G9 with Leica 200mm F/2.8 with 2X teleconverter
Panasonic should be commended for publishing this new document to help us all achieve better results when using AF-C which is the same as what I refer to as Predictive Autofocus. Fast and accurate AF-C is essential for those who want to shoot sports, race cars, birds in flight, running horses, and lots of other exciting subjects. Things that nature, outdoor, and sports photographers love to shoot.
The famous white horses of the Camargue, France. Lumix GH5 with Leica 100-400mm
Action photography for me is a passion and something that is very difficult for even the best photographers. Moving in sync with your subject takes skill, athletic ability, confidence, and coordination. Not everybody can follow a fast moving subject. Those that can have a built-in advantage as long as the camera they’re using can also keep up. If it can’t, your skills as a photographer make no difference.
Great gray owl shot with Nikon D5 and Nikkor 600mm F/4
Back when publishers would pay for quality photography action, pictures could demand a larger payday. The cover image for one of the stories I did for National Geographic is a good example. A great gray owl in flight is captivating, exciting, and pulls people in to read the rest of the magazine. Great AF-C is not just a nice to have, it’s an absolute need to have. And I’m hopeful the recently released AF manual will improve the predictive AF we have in our LUMIX cameras.
I’ll be writing a lot more about the AF-C settings in the G9 in a soon to be finished G9 review. Stay tuned for a lot more input on this very essential feature.
P.S. Even soccer moms want great Predictive AF.
My godson Colter moves in for a big play. Captured with Nikon D200 with Nikkor 70-200mm zoom