Panasonic GF1 vs Panasonic LX3

The following is a extensive analysis of the Panasonic GF1 and Panasonic LX3, former is a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Small Sensor Compact and both of them are built by Panasonic. The sensor resolution of the GF1 (12MP) and the LX3 (10MP) is very well matched but the GF1 (Four Thirds) and LX3 (1/1.63") boast different sensor measurements.

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The GF1 was announced 12 months after the LX3 so they are of a similar age. Both cameras have different body design with the Panasonic GF1 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic LX3 being a Compact camera.

Before getting right into a complete comparison, here is a quick summation of how the GF1 scores vs the LX3 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Here is a sample of the gallery pics for Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3. The whole galleries are provided at Panasonic GF1 Gallery & Panasonic LX3 Gallery.

When you are looking to travel with your camera frequently, you'll have to factor its weight and size. The Panasonic GF1 offers outside dimensions of 119mm x 71mm x 36mm (4.7" x 2.8" x 1.4") with a weight of 385 grams (0.85 lbs) and the Panasonic LX3 has specifications of 109mm x 60mm x 27mm (4.3" x 2.4" x 1.1") having a weight of 265 grams (0.58 lbs).

Examine the Panasonic GF1 and Panasonic LX3 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you are working with at that time. The following is a front view size comparison of the GF1 against the LX3.

Looking at size and weight, the portability score of the GF1 and LX3 is 85 and 91 respectively.

In many cases, its difficult to visualize the gap between sensor dimensions just by reading through technical specs. The picture below will help offer you a much better sense of the sensor sizes in the GF1 and LX3.

As you have seen, each of these cameras have different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The GF1 having a larger sensor is going to make achieving shallower depth of field simpler and the Panasonic GF1 will give extra detail with its extra 2MP. Greater resolution will also let you crop pics a bit more aggressively. The newer GF1 should have a benefit in sensor innovation.