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Panasonic G3 vs Panasonic ZS5

Portability
83
Imaging
51
Features
62
Overall
55
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3 front
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS5 front
Portability
92
Imaging
35
Features
30
Overall
33

Panasonic G3 vs Panasonic ZS5 Key Specs

Panasonic G3
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Fully Articulated Screen
  • ISO 160 - 6400
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 336g - 115 x 84 x 47mm
  • Revealed July 2011
  • Older Model is Panasonic G2
  • Replacement is Panasonic G5
Panasonic ZS5
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 80 - 6400
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 25-300mm (F3.3-4.9) lens
  • 214g - 103 x 60 x 32mm
  • Revealed June 2010
  • Additionally Known as Lumix DMC-TZ8
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Panasonic G3 vs Panasonic ZS5 Overview

Lets look a bit more closely at the Panasonic G3 vs Panasonic ZS5, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom and both of them are manufactured by Panasonic. There exists a large gap between the resolutions of the G3 (16MP) and ZS5 (12MP) and the G3 (Four Thirds) and ZS5 (1/2.3") possess totally different sensor size.

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The G3 was introduced 13 months later than the ZS5 which makes the cameras a generation apart from one another. The two cameras come with different body type with the Panasonic G3 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic ZS5 being a Compact camera.

Before diving through a comprehensive comparison, below is a short summary of how the G3 scores versus the ZS5 for portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Photography Glossary
	
	

Reasons to pick Panasonic G3 over the Panasonic ZS5

 G3 ZS5 
RevealedJuly 2011June 2010More recent by 13 months
Manual focus Dial exact focus
Screen typeFully ArticulatedFixed Fully Articulating screen
Screen dimension3"2.7"Bigger screen (+0.3")
Screen resolution460k230kClearer screen (+230k dot)
Selfie screen Easy selfies
Touch friendly screen Quickly navigate

Reasons to pick Panasonic ZS5 over the Panasonic G3

 ZS5 G3 

Common features in the Panasonic G3 and Panasonic ZS5

 G3 ZS5 

Panasonic G3 vs Panasonic ZS5 Physical Comparison

For those who are looking to lug around your camera, you need to factor its weight and dimensions. The Panasonic G3 features external dimensions of 115mm x 84mm x 47mm (4.5" x 3.3" x 1.9") along with a weight of 336 grams (0.74 lbs) and the Panasonic ZS5 has dimensions of 103mm x 60mm x 32mm (4.1" x 2.4" x 1.3") along with a weight of 214 grams (0.47 lbs).

Contrast the Panasonic G3 vs Panasonic ZS5 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you are utilising at that moment. Following is the front view dimension comparison of the G3 compared to the ZS5.

Panasonic G3 vs Panasonic ZS5 size comparison

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the G3 and ZS5 is 83 and 92 respectively.

Panasonic G3 vs Panasonic ZS5 top view buttons comparison

Panasonic G3 vs Panasonic ZS5 Sensor Comparison

Typically, it's hard to see the difference between sensor measurements purely by reading a spec sheet. The visual here will help provide you a better sense of the sensor sizes in the G3 and ZS5.

As you can see, both of those cameras posses different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The G3 using its bigger sensor will make getting shallow DOF easier and the Panasonic G3 will offer you more detail using its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also help you crop photographs somewhat more aggressively. The newer G3 is going to have a benefit when it comes to sensor technology.

Panasonic G3 vs Panasonic ZS5 sensor size comparison

Panasonic G3 vs Panasonic ZS5 Screen and ViewFinder

Panasonic G3 vs Panasonic ZS5 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Panasonic G3 as a Portrait photography camera
Panasonic ZS5 as a Portrait photography camera
70
focusing manually
good megapixels (16MP)
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
provides face detect focus
delivers RAW files
27
features face detection focusing
no manual focus
can't use external flash
low MP (12 megapixels)
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
lacks RAW files
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Street Comparison

Panasonic G3 Street photography info
Panasonic ZS5 Street photography info
75
screen articulates fully
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW files
supports touch focus
no image stabilization
61
image stabilization (Optical)
lighter than average (214 grams)
screen is fixed
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
lacks RAW files
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Sports Comparison

Panasonic G3 as a Sports photography camera
Panasonic ZS5 as a Sports photography camera
46
good megapixels (16 megapixels)
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
provides tracking focus
continuous shooting slow (4.0 frames per second)
no image stabilization
not so great battery life (270 CIPA)
does not have phase detect auto focus
31
image stabilization (Optical)
features tracking autofocus
low max shutter speed (1/1,300 seconds)
painfully slow continuous shooting (2.0 frames per second)
low MP (12MP)
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
lacks phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Panasonic G3
Travel photography with Panasonic ZS5
70
supports touch focus
good megapixels (16MP)
flash built-in
selfie friendly screen
missing Time Lapse mode
not so great battery life (270 shots)
63
lighter than average (214 grams)
has built in flash
really wide (25mm)
long reach (300mm)
missing Timelapse function
low MP (12MP)
does not have selfie friendly screen
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.3)
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Landscape Comparison

Panasonic G3 as a Landscape photography camera
Panasonic ZS5 as a Landscape photography camera
62
focusing manually
switch lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
pretty good screen size (3 inches)
good megapixels (16MP)
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW files
no image stabilization
not so great battery life (270 per charge)
missing Time Lapse mode
33
really wide (25mm)
image stabilization (Optical)
no manual focus
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.3)
screen is small (2.7")
low MP (12MP)
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
lacks RAW files
missing Timelapse function
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Vlogging Comparison

Panasonic G3 Vlogging info
Panasonic ZS5 Vlogging info
70
selfie friendly screen
built-in touchscreen
provides face detect focus
high res video (1920 x 1080 resolution)
no image stabilization
missing mic support
31
really wide (25mm)
image stabilization (Optical)
features face detection focusing
lighter than average (214 grams)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.3)
does not have selfie friendly screen
video quality not great (1280 x 720 resolution)
missing external microphone port
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Panasonic G3 vs Panasonic ZS5 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Panasonic G3 and Panasonic ZS5
 Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS5
General Information
Brand Name Panasonic Panasonic
Model type Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3 Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS5
Also called as - Lumix DMC-TZ8
Class Entry-Level Mirrorless Small Sensor Superzoom
Revealed 2011-07-11 2010-06-16
Body design SLR-style mirrorless Compact
Sensor Information
Chip Venus Engine FHD Venus Engine HD II
Sensor type CMOS CCD
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 6.08 x 4.56mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 27.7mm²
Sensor resolution 16MP 12MP
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Peak resolution 4592 x 3448 4000 x 3000
Highest native ISO 6400 6400
Lowest native ISO 160 80
RAW data
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
Touch focus
Autofocus continuous
Single autofocus
Autofocus tracking
Selective autofocus
Center weighted autofocus
Multi area autofocus
Autofocus live view
Face detection autofocus
Contract detection autofocus
Phase detection autofocus
Total focus points 23 11
Lens
Lens support Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 25-300mm (12.0x)
Largest aperture - f/3.3-4.9
Macro focusing distance - 3cm
Amount of lenses 107 -
Crop factor 2.1 5.9
Screen
Range of screen Fully Articulated Fixed Type
Screen diagonal 3 inches 2.7 inches
Resolution of screen 460 thousand dot 230 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch operation
Screen tech TFT Color LCD with wide-viewing angle -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Electronic None
Viewfinder resolution 1,440 thousand dot -
Viewfinder coverage 100% -
Viewfinder magnification 0.7x -
Features
Minimum shutter speed 60 seconds 60 seconds
Fastest shutter speed 1/4000 seconds 1/1300 seconds
Continuous shutter speed 4.0fps 2.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Set white balance
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash distance 11.00 m 5.30 m
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Slow Syncro
External flash
AE bracketing
WB bracketing
Fastest flash sync 1/160 seconds -
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60fps) 1280 x 720 (60, 30 fps), 640 x 480 (30fps), 320 x 240 (30fps)) 1280 x 720 (30fps), 848 x 480 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps)
Highest video resolution 1920x1080 1280x720
Video file format AVCHD, Motion JPEG Motion JPEG
Microphone jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless None None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 336 grams (0.74 lb) 214 grams (0.47 lb)
Dimensions 115 x 84 x 47mm (4.5" x 3.3" x 1.9") 103 x 60 x 32mm (4.1" x 2.4" x 1.3")
DXO scores
DXO Overall rating 56 not tested
DXO Color Depth rating 21.0 not tested
DXO Dynamic range rating 10.6 not tested
DXO Low light rating 667 not tested
Other
Battery life 270 shots -
Form of battery Battery Pack -
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse recording
Storage media SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal
Storage slots One One
Launch price $500 $300