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Panasonic G85 vs Sony a1

Portability
69
Imaging
55
Features
84
Overall
66
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G85 front
 
Sony Alpha a1 front
Portability
61
Imaging
82
Features
93
Overall
86

Panasonic G85 vs Sony a1 Key Specs

Panasonic G85
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Fully Articulated Display
  • ISO 200 - 25600 (Bump to 25600)
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • No Anti-Alias Filter
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 505g - 128 x 89 x 74mm
  • Introduced September 2016
  • Also referred to as Lumix DMC-G80
  • Renewed by Panasonic G95
Sony a1
(Full Review)
  • 50MP - Full frame Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 100 - 32000 (Increase to 102400)
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • 1/8000s Max Shutter
  • 7680 x 4320 video
  • Sony E Mount
  • 737g - 129 x 97 x 70mm
  • Released January 2021
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Panasonic G85 vs Sony a1 Overview

On this page, we will be looking at the Panasonic G85 versus Sony a1, one being a Advanced Mirrorless and the latter is a Pro Mirrorless by brands Panasonic and Sony. There is a huge difference between the resolutions of the G85 (16MP) and a1 (50MP) and the G85 (Four Thirds) and a1 (Full frame) have different sensor measurements.

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The G85 was launched 5 years before the a1 and that is quite a significant gap as far as tech is concerned. Each of the cameras have the same body design (SLR-style mirrorless).

Before diving right into a detailed comparison, here is a simple view of how the G85 matches up vs the a1 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Panasonic G85 over the Sony a1

 G85 a1 
Screen typeFully ArticulatedTiltingFully Articulating screen
Selfie screen Take selfies

Reasons to pick Sony a1 over the Panasonic G85

 a1 G85 
ReleasedJanuary 2021September 2016More recent by 53 months
Screen resolution1440k1040kSharper screen (+400k dot)

Common features in the Panasonic G85 and Sony a1

 G85 a1 
Manually focus Very precise focusing
Screen dimensions3"3"Equal screen measurements
Touch friendly screen Quickly navigate

Panasonic G85 vs Sony a1 Physical Comparison

When you are aiming to lug around your camera frequently, you should factor its weight and dimensions. The Panasonic G85 has got outer dimensions of 128mm x 89mm x 74mm (5.0" x 3.5" x 2.9") having a weight of 505 grams (1.11 lbs) and the Sony a1 has dimensions of 129mm x 97mm x 70mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 2.8") accompanied by a weight of 737 grams (1.62 lbs).

Compare the Panasonic G85 versus Sony a1 in the latest Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Keep in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ dependant on the lens you have chosen at the time. The following is a front view proportions comparison of the G85 vs the a1.

Panasonic G85 vs Sony a1 size comparison

Considering size and weight, the portability grade of the G85 and a1 is 69 and 61 respectively.

Panasonic G85 vs Sony a1 top view buttons comparison

Panasonic G85 vs Sony a1 Sensor Comparison

Often, it's tough to picture the difference between sensor measurements purely by reading specs. The graphic underneath may give you a greater sense of the sensor sizes in the G85 and a1.

As you can plainly see, both of the cameras have different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The G85 featuring a tinier sensor is going to make shooting shallow depth of field more challenging and the Sony a1 will offer more detail utilizing its extra 34MP. Higher resolution can also help you crop pictures a bit more aggressively. The older G85 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor tech.

Panasonic G85 vs Sony a1 sensor size comparison

Panasonic G85 vs Sony a1 Screen and ViewFinder

Panasonic G85 vs Sony a1 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Panasonic G85 as a Portrait photography camera
Sony a1 as a Portrait photography camera
73
focusing manually
decent sensor resolution (16 megapixels)
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
features face detection focusing
supports RAW files
89
focusing manually
high flash sync (1/400 seconds)
megapixel count high (50MP)
great sensor size (Full frame)
supports face detection focusing
exports RAW files
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Panasonic G85
Street photography with Sony a1
77
fully articulated screen
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
supports RAW files
provides touch to focus
weather sealing
very good high ISO (25,600)
79
has a tilting screen
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
great sensor size (Full frame)
exports RAW files
provides touch focus
weather proof
very good high ISO (32,000)
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Sports Comparison

Panasonic G85 as a Sports photography camera
Sony a1 as a Sports photography camera
65
silent shutter (1/16,000s)
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
decent sensor resolution (16MP)
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
features tracking autofocus
weather sealing
bad battery pack (330 shots)
lack of phase detect AF
91
high shutter speed (1/8,000 seconds)
quiet shutter (1/32,000 seconds)
max fps high (30.0 fps)
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
megapixel count high (50MP)
great sensor size (Full frame)
supports tracking autofocus
weather proof
better than average battery power (530 CIPA)
comes with phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Panasonic G85 Travel photography features
Sony a1 Travel photography features
71
weather sealing
provides touch to focus
decent sensor resolution (16MP)
has built in flash
selfie friendly display
bad battery pack (330 CIPA)
74
better than average battery power (530 CIPA)
weather proof
supports bluetooth
provides touch focus
megapixel count high (50MP)
display isn't selfie friendly
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Landscape Comparison

Panasonic G85 Landscape photography info
Sony a1 Landscape photography info
74
focusing manually
change lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
decent sized screen (3")
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
decent sensor resolution (16 megapixels)
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
no anti aliasing filter
very good high ISO (25,600)
supports RAW files
weather sealing
bad battery pack (330 per charge)
88
focusing manually
interchangeable lenses (Sony E mount)
pretty good screen size (3 inch)
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
megapixel count high (50MP)
great sensor size (Full frame)
very good high ISO (32,000)
exports RAW files
weather proof
better than average battery power (530 CIPA)
has double storage slots
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Vlogging Comparison

Panasonic G85 Vlogging highlights
Sony a1 Vlogging highlights
78
selfie friendly display
has touchscreen
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
features face detection focusing
high quality video (3840 x 2160 resolution)
does have external mic port
37
touchscreen enabled
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
supports face detection focusing
high res video (7680 x 4320 resolution)
does have external microphone port
display isn't selfie friendly
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Panasonic G85 vs Sony a1 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Panasonic G85 and Sony a1
 Panasonic Lumix DMC-G85Sony Alpha a1
General Information
Brand Panasonic Sony
Model Panasonic Lumix DMC-G85 Sony Alpha a1
Also called as Lumix DMC-G80 -
Category Advanced Mirrorless Pro Mirrorless
Introduced 2016-09-19 2021-01-26
Body design SLR-style mirrorless SLR-style mirrorless
Sensor Information
Sensor type CMOS BSI-CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds Full frame
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 35.9 x 24mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 861.6mm²
Sensor resolution 16 megapixel 50 megapixel
Anti aliasing 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 8640 x 5760
Highest native ISO 25600 32000
Highest boosted ISO 25600 102400
Lowest native ISO 200 100
RAW format
Lowest boosted ISO 100 50
Autofocusing
Manual focus
Touch focus
AF continuous
AF single
Tracking AF
Selective AF
Center weighted AF
Multi area AF
AF live view
Face detect AF
Contract detect AF
Phase detect AF
Number of focus points 49 759
Lens
Lens mounting type Micro Four Thirds Sony E
Amount of lenses 107 133
Crop factor 2.1 1
Screen
Range of display Fully Articulated Tilting
Display sizing 3" 3"
Display resolution 1,040 thousand dot 1,440 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch operation
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Electronic Electronic
Viewfinder resolution 2,360 thousand dot 9,437 thousand dot
Viewfinder coverage 100% 100%
Viewfinder magnification 0.74x 0.9x
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60s 30s
Highest shutter speed 1/4000s 1/8000s
Highest quiet shutter speed 1/16000s 1/32000s
Continuous shooting speed 9.0 frames/s 30.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Set WB
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash range 6.20 m (at ISO 100) no built-in flash
Flash settings Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Forced On/Red-eye Reduction, Slow Sync., Slow Sync./Red-eye Reduction, Forced Off Flash off, Autoflash, Fill-flash, Slow Sync., Rear Sync., Red-eye reduction, Wireless, Hi-speed sync
Hot shoe
AEB
WB bracketing
Highest flash sync - 1/400s
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Video resolutions 3840 x 2160 @ 30p / 100 Mbps, MP4, H.264, AAC 7680x4320 (30p, 25p, 23.98)
Highest video resolution 3840x2160 7680x4320
Video data format MPEG-4, AVCHD XAVC S, XAVC HS, H.264, H.265
Microphone jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless Built-In Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) Yes
GPS None None
Physical
Environment seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 505g (1.11 lb) 737g (1.62 lb)
Physical dimensions 128 x 89 x 74mm (5.0" x 3.5" x 2.9") 129 x 97 x 70mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 2.8")
DXO scores
DXO All around score 71 not tested
DXO Color Depth score 22.8 not tested
DXO Dynamic range score 12.5 not tested
DXO Low light score 656 not tested
Other
Battery life 330 images 530 images
Type of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model - NP-FZ100
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 secs, 10 secs x 3 shots) Yes
Time lapse recording
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC card Dual SD/CFexpress Type A slots (UHS-II supported)
Storage slots 1 2
Pricing at launch $900 $6,498