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Panasonic G3 vs Pentax Q

Portability
83
Imaging
52
Features
62
Overall
56
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3 front
 
Pentax Q front
Portability
93
Imaging
36
Features
47
Overall
40

Panasonic G3 vs Pentax Q Key Specs

Panasonic G3
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Fully Articulated Display
  • ISO 160 - 6400
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 336g - 115 x 84 x 47mm
  • Announced July 2011
  • Older Model is Panasonic G2
  • New Model is Panasonic G5
Pentax Q
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 125 - 6400
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Pentax Q Mount
  • 180g - 98 x 57 x 31mm
  • Revealed June 2011
  • Successor is Pentax Q10
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Panasonic G3 vs Pentax Q Overview

Let's look a little more in depth at the Panasonic G3 vs Pentax Q, both Entry-Level Mirrorless cameras by rivals Panasonic and Pentax. There exists a substantial gap among the image resolutions of the G3 (16MP) and Q (12MP) and the G3 (Four Thirds) and Q (1/2.3") feature different sensor size.

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The G3 was brought out very close to the Q and they are of a similar age. Both cameras offer different body type with the Panasonic G3 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Pentax Q being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before delving through a full comparison, below is a simple view of how the G3 matches up vs the Q with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

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Reasons to pick Panasonic G3 over the Pentax Q

 G3 Q 
Display typeFully ArticulatedFixed Fully Articulating display
Selfie screen Easy selfies
Touch display Easily navigate

Reasons to pick Pentax Q over the Panasonic G3

 Q G3 

Common features in the Panasonic G3 and Pentax Q

 G3 Q 
RevealedJuly 2011June 2011Same age
Manual focus Very accurate focusing
Display sizing3"3"Equivalent display size
Display resolution460k460kIdentical display resolution

Panasonic G3 vs Pentax Q Physical Comparison

For anyone who is aiming to travel with your camera often, you have to think about its weight and size. The Panasonic G3 offers outer dimensions of 115mm x 84mm x 47mm (4.5" x 3.3" x 1.9") having a weight of 336 grams (0.74 lbs) whilst the Pentax Q has specifications of 98mm x 57mm x 31mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 1.2") having a weight of 180 grams (0.40 lbs).

Contrast the Panasonic G3 vs Pentax Q in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you are using at that moment. The following is the front view size comparison of the G3 compared to the Q.

Panasonic G3 vs Pentax Q size comparison

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the G3 and Q is 83 and 93 respectively.

Panasonic G3 vs Pentax Q top view buttons comparison

Panasonic G3 vs Pentax Q Sensor Comparison

Typically, its tough to visualize the difference in sensor dimensions merely by seeing technical specs. The pic here may give you a clearer sense of the sensor sizes in the G3 and Q.

As you can tell, both of the cameras enjoy different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The G3 due to its larger sensor is going to make getting shallow DOF easier and the Panasonic G3 will show greater detail having its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also make it easier to crop pics far more aggressively.

Panasonic G3 vs Pentax Q sensor size comparison

Panasonic G3 vs Pentax Q Screen and ViewFinder

Panasonic G3 vs Pentax Q Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Panasonic G3 as a Portrait photography camera
Pentax Q as a Portrait photography camera
71
focusing manually
good resolution (16MP)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
features face detection focus
saves RAW files
45
you can focus manually
high flash sync (1/2,000 seconds)
exports RAW formats
low megapixels (12MP)
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
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Street Comparison

Panasonic G3 Street photography highlights
Pentax Q Street photography highlights
75
screen articulates fully
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW files
provides touch to focus
no image stabilization
69
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
exports RAW formats
lighter than average in class (180 grams)
no articulating screen
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
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Sports Comparison

Sports photography with Panasonic G3
Sports photography with Pentax Q
47
good resolution (16 megapixels)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
features tracking autofocus
painfully slow continuous shooting (4.0 frames/s)
no image stabilization
not so great battery (270 shots)
no phase detect auto focus
32
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
comes with tracking autofocus
slow fps (2.0 frames per second)
low megapixels (12 megapixels)
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
not so great battery power (230 CIPA)
lack of phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Panasonic G3 Travel photography information
Pentax Q Travel photography information
70
provides touch to focus
good resolution (16 megapixels)
built-in flash
screen is selfie friendly
no Time Lapse recording
not so great battery (270 shots)
57
lighter than average in class (180g)
flash built-in
no Time Lapse recording
not so great battery power (230 shots)
low megapixels (12 megapixels)
doesn't feature selfie friendly display
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Landscape Comparison

Panasonic G3 Landscape photography highlights
Pentax Q Landscape photography highlights
62
focusing manually
switch lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
good sized screen (3 inches)
good resolution (16MP)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW files
no image stabilization
not so great battery (270 shots)
no Time Lapse recording
51
you can focus manually
switch lenses (Pentax Q mount)
screen size is good (3 inches)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
exports RAW formats
low megapixels (12 megapixels)
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
not so great battery power (230 CIPA)
no Time Lapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Panasonic G3
Vlogging with Pentax Q
70
screen is selfie friendly
touch screen
features face detection focus
high video quality (1920 x 1080 pxls)
no image stabilization
no external mic socket
34
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 pixels)
lighter than average in class (180g)
doesn't feature selfie friendly display
no external mic port
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Panasonic G3 vs Pentax Q Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Panasonic G3 and Pentax Q
 Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3Pentax Q
General Information
Brand Name Panasonic Pentax
Model type Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3 Pentax Q
Category Entry-Level Mirrorless Entry-Level Mirrorless
Announced 2011-07-11 2011-06-23
Body design SLR-style mirrorless Rangefinder-style mirrorless
Sensor Information
Chip Venus Engine FHD -
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor dimensions 17.3 x 13mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 16MP 12MP
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Highest resolution 4592 x 3448 4000 x 3000
Highest native ISO 6400 6400
Min native ISO 160 125
RAW data
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
Touch to focus
AF continuous
AF single
Tracking AF
AF selectice
AF center weighted
Multi area AF
Live view AF
Face detect AF
Contract detect AF
Phase detect AF
Total focus points 23 25
Lens
Lens support Micro Four Thirds Pentax Q
Amount of lenses 107 8
Crop factor 2.1 5.8
Screen
Range of display Fully Articulated Fixed Type
Display sizing 3 inch 3 inch
Resolution of display 460k dot 460k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch capability
Display technology TFT Color LCD with wide-viewing angle TFT Color LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Electronic None
Viewfinder resolution 1,440k dot -
Viewfinder coverage 100 percent -
Viewfinder magnification 0.7x -
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60 secs 30 secs
Highest shutter speed 1/4000 secs 1/2000 secs
Continuous shooting speed 4.0fps 2.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Custom WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash distance 11.00 m 5.60 m
Flash settings Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, Trailing-curtain sync
External flash
AE bracketing
WB bracketing
Highest flash sync 1/160 secs 1/2000 secs
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60fps) 1280 x 720 (60, 30 fps), 640 x 480 (30fps), 320 x 240 (30fps)) 1920 x 1080 (30 fps), 1280 x 720p (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps)
Highest video resolution 1920x1080 1920x1080
Video file format AVCHD, Motion JPEG MPEG-4, H.264
Mic 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 gr (0.74 lb) 180 gr (0.40 lb)
Dimensions 115 x 84 x 47mm (4.5" x 3.3" x 1.9") 98 x 57 x 31mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 1.2")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating 56 47
DXO Color Depth rating 21.0 20.2
DXO Dynamic range rating 10.6 11.1
DXO Low light rating 667 189
Other
Battery life 270 pictures 230 pictures
Battery form Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID - D-LI68
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec) Yes (2 or 12 sec)
Time lapse shooting
Storage media SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC/SDXC
Storage slots One One
Retail pricing $500 $695