First off, an incredible, well built portable mirrorless camera with a truck load of excellent features. I know where you can find it for sale. It's no mystery. Although there has been some talk of the model being discontinued, I think that was only in Japan. The GX9 is a few years old so that could have changed. I believe its no longer in production. This model can still be bought online though in brand new and also used condition.
Find it here: https://amzn.to/3zd39o5 [Available in USA, UK and Canada with lens or body only in Black or Black with Silver trim]. Or here with the hand grip / 32GB SD memory card bundle: https://amzn.to/3uUeDtY
Macro with the GX9
The GX9 is capable of recording video, then taking a single still image from that video, the part you require, and turning that into an 8 mega pixel 4K image. For those who love black and white photography Panasonic have put special monochrome features into the camera. So black and white pictures will potentially look more like what was produced by the film cameras of the old days.
Shooting at night and in low light conditions has also been given a boost, too. Several new features are available for night photography, including enhancing / lighting up the display screen for very darkly lit scenes, and better manual focus assist. This has the ability to be much more accurate when focusing on objects in the sky at night, such as stars, planes and even UFO's. These are great features for those into astrophotography.
Birding with the Black Bird
Some Quick Lumix GX9 [DC-GX9MK] Specifications
- 20.3 Mega Pixel MOS Sensor with targetted three dimensional colour control to determine hue, saturation and brightness for the best outcome
- 5 Axis Dual I.S. and an O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer)
- In Body Image Stabilization [I.B.I.S.]
- 2760K dot Live View Finder is tiltable to 80 degrees with almost 100% colour duplication and 100% field of view
- 49 Focus Points plus Custom Multi Auto Focus setting
- 3 Inch touch screen
- 4K 30p video recording [4K is limited to a recording time of just under 30 minutes]
- Video @ 4K Ultra High Definition @ 2160P
- Bluetooth = Yes
- WiFi = Yes
The only area which I have seen slightly criticized is the battery life. So, while this is an excellent camera for those who travel or go out for long periods hiking / doing street photography etc, it would be wise to buy a second battery.
Although this can be rectified somewhat due to the fact that the GX9 can be charged by a micro usb cable [battery can remain in the camera], so the use of an external power source is an option [like a power bank / battery pack]. Albeit, a heavier one than purchasing a backup / second battery. Is this still a good camera today? Without a doubt, yes. Check out the video "Panasonic GX9 Long Term Review" below.
Other than lenses [see a list of compatible lenses here: https://av.jpn.support.panasonic.com/support/global/cs/dsc/connect/gx9.html], there's also some other add-ons available like the MW-EC5 Eyecup, which offers more comfort and less light leakage, and the DMW-HGR2 Hand Grip. Add to that also the many full and half cases available for the GX9.
