4444 29 June 2019 29 June 2019II http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113
Pinpoint AF comes into
its own when you want
to be super precise with
your focus positioning
Lumix G 25mm f/1.7 ASPH,
1/800 at f/1.7, ISO 400We’ve seen Live View Composite
modes on other cameras before,
but this is the fi rst time we’ve
seen it featured on a Panasonic
camera. It’s intended for
those who enjoy shooting long
exposures at night with moving
elements – traffi c trails, fi reworks
and star trails in the night sky
being a few examples. To use
Live View Composite mode
you’re fi rst required to enter
manual mode and then rotate
the shutter speed past Bulb
mode to the Live Composite (LC)
setting. This unlocks Live View
Composite from the G90’s main
menu where you get the option
to set the initial exposure time
from 1/2sec to 60sec, with ISO
and aperture being set in the
usual way. After the camera has
captured a black frame for noise
reduction, a further press of the
shutter starts the exposure. As
the screen refreshes each time a
new image is captured, you can
watch any brighter pixels from
subsequent images build up on
the fi rst image until you’re happy
with the result. Exposures can
be up to 3 hours and to stop any
additional images being taken
you simply press the shutter
button again. Like any new mode
you’re unfamiliar with, it takes
a few attempts to learn how it
works. One of the best ways
to imagine what is Live View
Composite is that it’s similar to
shooting a sequence of images
before merging all the shots
together in Photoshop using
the lighten blending mode.Live View
Composite mode
Something the G90 isn’t
short of is focus area modes.
Pinpoint mode presents an
enlarged focus box in the centre
of the screen or EVF for when you
need to be super precise with the
positioning of the focus point, while
Face-Detection AF doesn’t hesitate
at recognising faces and eyes in the
frame, albeit without an advanced
option to prioritise which eye you’d
like the camera to focus on.
Though the G90 is very capable
when it comes to focusing, it’s not
without a few operational gripes.
The two-button press on the
D-pad (left, then down) to shift
the AF point is slow and tedious.
One of the fi rst things users will
want to do is turn Direct Focus
Area on so that a press of any
directional button instantly
highlights and starts moving the
AF point. Similarly, the way the AF
point can sporadically be moved
by your nose touching the screen
as the camera is held to your eye
is annoying.
Loaded with a SanDisk 64GB
Extreme Pro SDXC Class 10
UHS-I card, the G90 had no issue
rattling out a continuous burst of
263 full-resolution Fine JPEGs at
9fps before it showed any sign of
slowing. This number dropped to
35 frames when it was switched
to raw. Those who like to shoot in
raw+JPEG can expect to fi re off
28 consecutive images in lessthan 4 seconds before the buffer
is fi lled. For an enthusiast camera
at under £1,000 this is impressive.
Users who regularly shoot
JPEGs will fi nd the G90’s default
‘Standard’ picture mode delivers
pleasing results straight off the bat.
The other picture styles are worth
exploring too, with the option to
tweak the contrast, sharpness,
noise reduction and saturation to
suit personal taste. Adjust any of
these variables via the main menu
and you get to see the effect they
have live on the screen or EVF
Panasonic’s interpretation of
colour has swayed to being quite
cool in the past, but this has been
an area of improvement in recent
years, with a more neutral,
natural-looking feel to shots
captured in the G90’s Auto White
Balance (AWB) mode. Users
always have the AWBc setting if a
cooler result is preferred, or
there’s the AWBw setting that
retains a reddish tint for healthy,
rosy-looking skin colour.
To maximise battery life, users
can avail of the Power Save LVF
shooting mode. Thankfully, USB
charging is supported and lets you
keep the battery topped up on the
go. If you want to shoot for longer
periods, don’t have the time to
recharge via USB, or intend to use
the Wi-Fi functionality regularly,
buying a spare battery is
highly recommended.Live View Composite mode
is located from the G90’s
shooting options