Panasonic has announced their latest GX camera, the GX9. It's been 10 years since Panasonic first introduced its first mirrorless G series of cameras. Ten years! Think about how far mirrorless cameras have come in that timeframe.

Panasonic's new rangefinder-style mirrorless camera offers plenty of features in a compact, well-made body...

Size and build quality; Tilting EVF and rear screen; 4K video and photo modes

Display lag in burst mode; Reliance on digital interface; Small rear control dial

Panasonic mixed the bodies from its Lumix GX85 and GX8 to design the GX9, and I've got mixed feelings about that. It seems to herald the merging of the two camera lines, which would make sense -- one's slightly lower-end than the other, but they're really not that much different. And while it retains the tilting electronic viewfinder, the best feature of the GX8, some of the other nice aspects of the GX8 have made way for some of the not-as-nice ones from the GX85.

The company's latest mirrorless camera is smaller and lighter than its predecessor with the tilting viewfinder of a sibling series. But it's lost something.

The Panasonic Lumix GX9 is billed by the company as a premium street photography camera. It slots into the range alongside the GX8 and GX80, replacing neither of these models. It's most readily compared to the GX80 and any new features mentioned in this review are generally against this camera.

The GX9 is a great little camera that ticks a lot of boxes for anyone looking for a travel and street photography camera. It's reasonably priced (particularly if you go for the free lens pre-order offer) and image quality is very good, as long as you don't like to do most of your photography in low light situations. The tilting screen, tilting viewfinder and 4K Photo functionality round-out a generous set of features, while the extended battery life feature is handy if you're planning to take it out to the wilderness. If stills photography is your priority, you might be better off with an APS-C camera like the Fujifilm X-Pro2, while dial-loving pros looking for a dinky second camera might be more tempted by the Canon G1X Mark III. But otherwise this all-rounder is a fine new option on the very compact system camera menu.

Small, sleek styling; Handy tilting monitor and viewfinder; 4K video;

Small sensor; Loss of detail in low light ; Screen doesn’t face forwards ;

Small, sleek styling; Handy tilting monitor and viewfinder; 4K video;

Small sensor; Loss of detail in low light ; Screen doesn’t face forwards ;

With the Lumix GX9, Panasonic has listened to its users and made a rangefinder-style mirrorless camera that many will see as a true successor to the much-loved . It's based on the cheaper but adds many of the best bits of the , while including all of the company's latest technology.

Compact design is more portable than SLR-styled competitors; In-body stabilisation gives sharper results with every lens; Quiet shutter allows discreet shooting; Excellent Bluetooth and Wi-Fi smartphone connectivity

Default control setup is awkward for viewfinder shooting; 16:9 viewfinder is a poor match to sensor; Control dials are under-utilised

Compact design is more portable than SLR-styled competitors; In-body stabilisation gives sharper results with every lens; Quiet shutter allows discreet shooting; Excellent Bluetooth and Wi-Fi smartphone connectivity;

Default control setup is awkward for viewfinder shooting; 16:9 viewfinder is a poor match to sensor; Control dials are under-utilised;

The GX9 has only just been released in Australia yet already, local online re-sellers have begun to discount. Listed on-line prices range from AU$1198 and AU$1300 with the 12-32mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens.

I've had this camera for a week now and it is superb, images are very sharp. I have been using the 14-140 lens from any earlier purchase. Positives: No low pass filter which gives sharper images; not seen any sign of moire patterning. The improved stabilisation seems to be working very well.