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Panasonic GF1 vs Panasonic ZS30

Portability
85
Imaging
47
Features
47
Overall
47
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 front
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS30 front
Portability
92
Imaging
42
Features
48
Overall
44

Panasonic GF1 vs Panasonic ZS30 Key Specs

Panasonic GF1
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 3200
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 385g - 119 x 71 x 36mm
  • Revealed October 2009
  • Refreshed by Panasonic GF2
Panasonic ZS30
(Full Review)
  • 18MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 6400
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 24-480mm (F3.3-6.4) lens
  • 198g - 105 x 59 x 28mm
  • Introduced January 2013
  • Also referred to as Lumix DMC-TZ40
  • Old Model is Panasonic ZS25
  • Successor is Panasonic ZS35
Photography Glossary

Panasonic GF1 vs Panasonic ZS30 Overview

Following is a complete review of the Panasonic GF1 and Panasonic ZS30, former is a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom and both are produced by Panasonic. There exists a considerable gap among the sensor resolutions of the GF1 (12MP) and ZS30 (18MP) and the GF1 (Four Thirds) and ZS30 (1/2.3") have different sensor sizes.

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The GF1 was manufactured 4 years prior to the ZS30 which is a fairly large difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both the cameras have different body design with the Panasonic GF1 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic ZS30 being a Compact camera.

Before getting straight to a in depth comparison, here is a brief overview of how the GF1 scores versus the ZS30 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

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Reasons to pick Panasonic GF1 over the Panasonic ZS30

 GF1 ZS30 
Manual focus Very exact focusing

Reasons to pick Panasonic ZS30 over the Panasonic GF1

 ZS30 GF1 
IntroducedJanuary 2013October 2009More modern by 39 months
Display resolution920k460kCrisper display (+460k dot)
Touch display Easily navigate

Common features in the Panasonic GF1 and Panasonic ZS30

 GF1 ZS30 
Display typeFixed Fixed Fixed display
Display dimensions3"3"Equal display dimensions
Selfie screen Neither features selfie screen

Panasonic GF1 vs Panasonic ZS30 Physical Comparison

For anybody who is planning to carry around your camera often, you are going to need to factor in its weight and size. The Panasonic GF1 enjoys outer measurements of 119mm x 71mm x 36mm (4.7" x 2.8" x 1.4") accompanied by a weight of 385 grams (0.85 lbs) while the Panasonic ZS30 has specifications of 105mm x 59mm x 28mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 1.1") with a weight of 198 grams (0.44 lbs).

Check out the Panasonic GF1 and Panasonic ZS30 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you are employing at the time. The following is a front view sizing comparison of the GF1 against the ZS30.

Panasonic GF1 vs Panasonic ZS30 size comparison

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability score of the GF1 and ZS30 is 85 and 92 respectively.

Panasonic GF1 vs Panasonic ZS30 top view buttons comparison

Panasonic GF1 vs Panasonic ZS30 Sensor Comparison

Typically, it is very hard to picture the contrast in sensor sizes just by seeing technical specs. The picture underneath might give you a far better sense of the sensor sizing in the GF1 and ZS30.

As you can tell, both cameras provide different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The GF1 due to its larger sensor is going to make getting shallow depth of field easier and the Panasonic ZS30 will provide extra detail due to its extra 6MP. Greater resolution will also make it easier to crop pics more aggressively. The more aged GF1 will be disadvantaged with regard to sensor innovation.

Panasonic GF1 vs Panasonic ZS30 sensor size comparison

Panasonic GF1 vs Panasonic ZS30 Screen and ViewFinder

Panasonic GF1 vs Panasonic ZS30 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Panasonic GF1 Portrait photography highlights
Panasonic ZS30 Portrait photography highlights
60
focusing manually
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
features face detect autofocus
exports RAW formats
sensor resolution not great (12MP)
33
decent sensor resolution (18 megapixels)
manual focus not available
can't use external flash
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
lacks RAW support
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Street Comparison

Panasonic GF1 as a Street photography camera
Panasonic ZS30 as a Street photography camera
64
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
exports RAW formats
no articulating screen
lack of image stabilization
66
image stabilization (Optical)
has touch focus
lighter than competition in class (198 grams)
fixed screen
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
lacks RAW support
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Sports Comparison

Panasonic GF1 Sports photography factors
Panasonic ZS30 Sports photography factors
44
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
features tracking focus
good battery power (380 per charge)
painfully slow continuous shooting (3.0 frames/s)
lack of image stabilization
sensor resolution not great (12 megapixels)
does not have phase detect autofocus
46
amazing zoom range (24-480mm 20.0 x zoom)
image stabilization (Optical)
decent sensor resolution (18 megapixels)
supports tracking autofocus
low maximum shutter speed (1/1,200s)
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
low battery (260 CIPA)
lacks phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Panasonic GF1 Travel photography information
Panasonic ZS30 Travel photography information
59
good battery power (380 per charge)
flash built-in
doesn't have Time Lapse function
sensor resolution not great (12 megapixels)
doesn't have selfie friendly screen
69
lighter than competition in class (198g)
has touch focus
decent sensor resolution (18MP)
built-in flash
pretty wide (24mm)
great reach (480mm)
doesn't have Time Lapse function
low battery (260 CIPA)
screen is not selfie friendly
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.3)
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Landscape Comparison

Panasonic GF1 Landscape photography information
Panasonic ZS30 Landscape photography information
60
focusing manually
swap lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
screen size is good (3 inches)
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
exports RAW formats
good battery power (380 CIPA)
lack of image stabilization
sensor resolution not great (12MP)
doesn't have Time Lapse function
44
pretty wide (24mm)
pretty good screen size (3 inches)
image stabilization (Optical)
decent sensor resolution (18 megapixels)
manual focus not available
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.3)
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
lacks RAW support
low battery (260 shots)
doesn't have Time Lapse function
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Vlogging Comparison

Panasonic GF1 Vlogging factors
Panasonic ZS30 Vlogging factors
25
features face detect autofocus
doesn't have selfie friendly screen
lack of image stabilization
low quality video (1280 x 720 resolution)
doesn't have mic jack
35
pretty wide (24mm)
touchscreen
image stabilization (Optical)
good video quality (1920 x 1080 resolution)
lighter than competition in class (198 grams)
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.3)
screen is not selfie friendly
doesn't have external mic port
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Panasonic GF1 vs Panasonic ZS30 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Panasonic GF1 and Panasonic ZS30
 Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS30
General Information
Make Panasonic Panasonic
Model type Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS30
Also called as - Lumix DMC-TZ40
Class Entry-Level Mirrorless Small Sensor Superzoom
Revealed 2009-10-14 2013-01-07
Body design Rangefinder-style mirrorless Compact
Sensor Information
Chip Venus Engine HD -
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor dimensions 17.3 x 13mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 12 megapixel 18 megapixel
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Full resolution 4000 x 3000 4896 x 3672
Max native ISO 3200 6400
Lowest native ISO 100 100
RAW images
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
Autofocus touch
Continuous autofocus
Single autofocus
Autofocus tracking
Autofocus selectice
Center weighted autofocus
Autofocus multi area
Live view autofocus
Face detection focus
Contract detection focus
Phase detection focus
Total focus points 23 23
Lens
Lens mount type Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 24-480mm (20.0x)
Max aperture - f/3.3-6.4
Macro focusing range - 3cm
Amount of lenses 107 -
Crop factor 2.1 5.8
Screen
Range of screen Fixed Type Fixed Type
Screen sizing 3 inches 3 inches
Screen resolution 460k dot 920k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch operation
Screen technology TFT Color LCD with wide-viewing angle -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type None None
Features
Slowest shutter speed 60 seconds 15 seconds
Maximum shutter speed 1/4000 seconds 1/1200 seconds
Continuous shooting speed 3.0fps 10.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Set white balance
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash distance 6.00 m 6.40 m
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Slow Syncro
Hot shoe
Auto exposure bracketing
WB bracketing
Maximum flash sync 1/160 seconds -
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 848 x 480 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps) 1920 x 1080 (60 fps), 1280 x 720 (60, 30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (220 fps)
Max video resolution 1280x720 1920x1080
Video format AVCHD Lite MPEG-4, AVCHD
Mic jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None BuiltIn
Physical
Environment seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 385 gr (0.85 lbs) 198 gr (0.44 lbs)
Physical dimensions 119 x 71 x 36mm (4.7" x 2.8" x 1.4") 105 x 59 x 28mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 1.1")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating 54 not tested
DXO Color Depth rating 21.2 not tested
DXO Dynamic range rating 10.3 not tested
DXO Low light rating 513 not tested
Other
Battery life 380 photographs 260 photographs
Battery form Battery Pack Battery Pack
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec, 10 sec (3 images)) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse recording
Storage media SD/SDHC/MMC SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal
Storage slots 1 1
Launch price $400 $250