The Chinon GS-9, called Genesis III for the American market, is the successor to the GS-8 introduced two years earlier.

It is an SLR without any of the usual SLR features. It is fully automatic, bulky, heavy, expensive, and designed according to new ergonomic principles.

It follows the main lines of its predecessor. The most notable difference lies in the automatic framing system that Chinon invented and deployed on some of its models: Auto 3001, Handyzoom Auto 5001 and CP-7M. On the GS-9, the framing is controlled not only by the focal length used but also by the user's prior choice among three framing types:

**Standard framing:** The zoom is in wide-angle position for a subject located between 1 and 3 m. Then, the focal length gradually increases up to 90 mm from 3 to 9 m. Beyond this distance, the focal length is set to 110 mm. The speed and aperture are adjusted to average values, preferring an increase in speed with the focal length.

**Portrait/sport framing:** This choice targets long focal lengths and fast speeds. From 1.5 to 3 m, the focal length is set to 70 mm, and from 4.5 m to infinity, it is set to 110 mm.

**Landscape framing:** Slow speeds are selected. The focal length is set to 60 mm for distances less than 6 meters, then changes to 38 mm.

The manual indicates that the viewfinder displays 85% of the actual recorded view horizontally and vertically, which means only 72% of the real size.

The GS-9 is equipped with a highly efficient autofocus system capable of focusing on off-center subjects. The combination of two autofocus principles, usually found separately, improves its accuracy.

The lens does not have a true wide angle or close focusing capability, but it has a 58 mm thread, to which filters, caps, and conversion lenses can be attached. The manual warns that a lens hood can interfere with autofocus and that spot focus should be used in such cases.

The camera has a large number of complicated settings and adjustments, all controlled by buttons and a screen awkwardly located on the side.

The flash is red-eye reduction, not by an active principle, but by its vertical distance from the optical axis. It does not have a flash shoe, although Chinon offered a more powerful flash and a Slave Unit for mounting an automatic flash. A shoe on the camera would have been useful, especially when the built-in flash is insufficient.

An optional optical supplement allows the maximum focal length to be increased to 154 mm.