Although there’s been relatively few new Micro Four Thirds cameras of late, it remains a very popular format. The Panasonic Lumix G97 is an update of 2019’s Lumix G90 (also called the G95 in some territories), and is designed as a “hybrid” camera to appeal to both videographers and photographers but does it do enough to make it onto the list of the best Panasonic cameras? Amy Davies finds out.

　　Using the smaller Four Thirds sensor means that although the G97 is reasonably chunky in build, it’s compatible with a huge range of small and compact Micro Four Thirds lenses, so it’s also ideally suited as a travel camera.

　　At a glance 20.3MP Four Thirds sensor USB-C in-camera charging 4K/30p Video 4K Photo 3-inch 1840k-dot vari-angle touchscreen 2360k-dot OLED EVF with eye sensor 49-area Contrast-Detect AF system £699 (body only), $849/£799 (with 12-60mm lens) / £899 (with 14-140mm lens). Panasonic Lumix G97 Features In terms of what’s new compared to its predecessor, well, there’s not a huge amount to report really. This is essentially a light refresh, to include a new USB-C port, as per new EU mandates, and a higher resolution rear screen, and slightly better Bluetooth connectivity.

　　The 20MP sensor and other specifications such as the 49-point AF system are the same as the previous model. Safe to say, if you already own a G90 there’s not a lot here to tempt you to upgrade, but if you’re looking for a small but very nice to handle mirrorless camera for the first, or perhaps, second time, it could be good option. It’s also worth noting that this is the same sensor as found in the higher-end Panasonic G9.

　　You can record 4K at frame rates up to 30p. There’s perhaps not a huge amount to draw in more advanced videographers here, but if you’re mainly concerned with simple vlogging and creating clips to use for social media content, it’s still a good option – especially if you don’t have a huge budget.

　　As with other Lumix cameras, you can also take advantage of “4K” Photo to essentially extract stills from short video clips, which comes in handy when attempting to freeze the action of unpredictable subjects such as pets, wildlife or children. You will end up with 8 megapixel JPEGs rather than raw files, but for most ordinary uses, this should be fine enough.

　　Rounding out the specs sheet here is a single SD card slot. It’s compatible with the faster UHS-II cards, but it would be nice to have a secondary slot, especially for those who do like to switch between video and photo, and for those who might appreciate a backup slot when travelling.

　　Panasonic Lumix G97 Build and Handling The G97 is identical in body sized and shape to the G90. What that means is you get a DSLR-style body, with the viewfinder in the middle of the top plate and a nice chunky handgrip.

　　There will be some who prefer the flatter, rangefinder style of mirrorless cameras, but there’s something quite satisfying about the heft provided here. Not only that, but you’ve got a good array of buttons across the top plate and back to give you a good degree of quick and easy access to various settings.

　　On the top for example, you can directly access white balance, ISO and exposure compensation. There’s front and rear dials to control shutter speed and aperture (depending on the shooting mode you’re in), while two larger dials can be used to control the shooting mode and the drive mode. A large red button gets you straight to video recording and is pretty impossible to miss.

　　Flipping to the back, most of the buttons are grouped on the right hand side of the screen, making it easy to swiftly change settings with your thumb. You can rapidly move between different focusing modes, or bring up a quick menu to access a range of other regularly used settings.

　　Even more usefully, there’s a lot of customisation options here, with several of the physical buttons having the ability to be set to control a huge variety of functions. There’s also scope to set some of the virtual buttons in the manner of your choosing. Although this is aimed at a beginner or mid-range audience, having this level of control is really great to have and really helps to make using the G97 a pleasure.

　　Panasonic Lumix G97 Viewfinder and Screen The viewfinder remains the same as found in the G90. It’s a 2360k-dot device with an automatic sensor for switching on and off as you lift the camera to your eye. If you prefer you can use a button to manually switch it on or off – this can be useful in certain scenarios, such as waist-level shooting, if you find something else is setting off the automatic sensor. By modern standards this is not a stand-out viewfinder, but it does the job well – on the whole it’s bright and clear and it’s about what is to be expected from something of this price point.

　　One upgrade is to the screen, which at 1.8m dots is an improvement from the 1.04m dot screen on the G90. Honestly, though, I don’t think you’ll be blown away by the differences – even if you happen to put the two of them together. That’s not to say it’s not a perfectly nice screen, but it’s not a revolutionary upgrade. The screen fully articulates, meaning you can face it forward to record pieces to camera – great news for vloggers. You can also position it into awkward positions, great news for photographers. It’s also touch-sensitive, including when you’re using the viewfinder, so you can use your thumb to move the focus point around the frame – sometimes my nose accidentally does it too, but you do get used to making sure your face is positioned in the correct way to avoid this. You can also turn off this feature in the menu if you find it’s not quite working out for you as you’d like.

　　Panasonic Lumix G97 Performance As the G97 uses the same focusing system as its predecessor, there was little in the way of surprises here.

　　It does a competent job, locking onto a subject very quickly and easily in bright situations. Where light is lower, you might find the AF lamp is needed to get the best results for close-up subjects, but generally that’s reasonably speedy, too. In darker conditions where the subject is too far away to be within reach of the AF lamp, you may find it’s not the fastest of focusers, but unless you’re very regularly shooting in dark conditions, I wouldn’t imagine this to be a deal breaker.

　　For moving subjects, tracking autofocus does a decent job of keeping up with fairly predictable subjects, making it a good option for those who like to photograph a wide variety of different genres, including sports and wildlife. You can also engage Face/Eye detection, which comes in useful for portraits and family photographs.

　　If you can’t quite get the shot you need using the regular burst shooting option, switching to 4K Photo will give you 30 frames per second to choose from – if you’re happy with an 8MP JPEG, it’s worth giving this a go.

　　Panasonic Lumix G97 Image Quality Again, with the same sensor and processor as the G90 (and the G9), it was clear what to expect from the G97.

　　Image quality is very good, albeit of course no improvement from a camera that you could have bought six years ago. There are undoubtedly better models out there now, but, at under £700 for the body only, this still represents a good performance at this price point.

　　The smaller sensor used in Four Thirds cameras (compared to APS-C and Full-Frame) generally means you’ll get the best results in good light, as is the case here. That said, with a huge variety of different lenses available for the system, you can still get some very good results in low light, especially when pairing the G97 with wide aperture lenses to make the best of any available light.

　　There’s plenty of detail to be seen, with a good degree of sharpness across the frame. Panasonic’s Multi-Metering (all-purpose) does a good job to get exposures generally accurate and consistent, too.

　　Panasonic is not really known for its wonderful colour rendition. Here, the colours are accurate but a little on the dull side. That’s not necessarily a criticism as it gives you plenty of scope to edit or add filters to suit your own personal preferences, but it can in some situations leave your images looking a little flat compared to some other manufacturers (Fujifilm and Canon in particular).

　　Within the camera itself there’s a range of different filters you can try out. Some are better than others, but it’s worth giving them a go – remember you can shoot in raw format to give you the option to go back to a “clean” version of the image if the filter doesn’t really do it for you at a later date.

　　I’ve been using the G97 mostly with a 12-60mm f/3.5-f/5.6 lens, which can be bought with the camera as part of a kit package, as well as a range of other compatible Micro Four Thirds lenses. This kit lens is good to get you started with, and gives you a good equivalent focal range of 24-120mm, which is suitable for a wide variety of different subjects including landscapes, portraits and more besides. It’s not as sharp as more expensive lenses, and doesn’t have a particularly wide aperture, but for the bundle price, that’s to be expected. Being able to upgrade to a range of high-performing and reasonably priced (comparable to full-frame equivalents) is what keeps Micro Four Thirds very attractive and should certainly be considered when entering into a system.

　　Panasonic Lumix G97 Value for Money At £700 for body only, this is a very well priced camera for what you get. It produces lovely images, and is great to use – especially if you prefer that DSLR-style handling that it provides you with.

　　Some competition in this area includes the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV, which is also pretty old but also produces some great images (and is very pretty to look at). You can pick one of those up for around £650, but you’ll lose the fully articulating screen, which perhaps makes it slightly less appealing for vloggers.

　　A more recent competitor is the Fujifilm X-M5, which has also been designed as a hybrid shooter. It’s about £100 more than the G97, but again it looks prettier – if you like that kind of thing. You also get Fujifilm’s superb film simulation styles, which have now even been given their very own dial on the body of the camera. Additionally, you also get a larger, APS-C sensor, which may be tempting, but remember it makes the overall system bigger. You lose an inbuilt viewfinder with X-M5 – which personally rules it out of contention altogether for me (you may be less bothered).

　　If youre looking for APS-C, but with a viewfinder, which is good at both stills and video, then in theory the Nikon Z50 II is a direct competitor for the G97, too. Although its a good model, theres relatively few compatible APS-C lenses for Nikons Z mount, which is disappointing its also significantly more expensive than the G97. This is what makes the G97 a great overall compromise while you do get a smaller sensor, the huge variety of small and affordable lenses makes it on the whole a more appealing option than those with larger sensors.

　　Although the Panasonic G97 has replaced the G90, it’s worth considering the second-hand market. Being as image quality and the body is more or less the same – if you think you can cope without a USB-C charging port, and a higher resolution screen, you can pick the Lumix G90 up for less than £450 in Like New condition from several used retailers.

　　Panasonic Lumix G97 Verdict There’s no denying that the Panasonic Lumix G97 is not the most exciting camera debut of 2025. Heck, it’s not even the most exciting Micro Four Thirds camera of the year so far – see our review of the OM System OM-3 for that.

　　However, it’s a solid bit of dependable kit, that won’t set you back a small fortune. And that’s something to be celebrated and enjoyed. It’s well-priced, belongs in an extensive eco-system, is great to use and produces good images – what more could you really want?

　　Of course there are some drawbacks. If you like to shoot in low light very frequently, or you’re someone who shoots a lot of very fast-moving action, it’s unlikely to be the camera for you. But, if you mainly shoot in good light, like to cover a range of different subjects and want a good model to tick a lot of boxes, then it’s a great option.

　　If you already have a G90, it’s pretty unlikely that you’re going to want to trade up here, but, if you’re in the market for your first “proper” camera it’s a very worthy contender.

　　For those who like both stills and video, it’s a great all-rounder, while it’s (relative) lightweight and small compatible lenses also make it ideal for travel.

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