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Panasonic GF1 vs Pentax K-5 IIs

Portability
85
Imaging
47
Features
47
Overall
47
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 front
 
Pentax K-5 IIs front
Portability
60
Imaging
58
Features
83
Overall
68

Panasonic GF1 vs Pentax K-5 IIs Key Specs

Panasonic GF1
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 3200
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 385g - 119 x 71 x 36mm
  • Announced October 2009
  • Renewed by Panasonic GF2
Pentax K-5 IIs
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 12800 (Raise to 51200)
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • No Anti-Alias Filter
  • 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Pentax KAF2 Mount
  • 760g - 131 x 97 x 73mm
  • Introduced June 2013
  • Replaced the Pentax K-5
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Panasonic GF1 vs Pentax K-5 IIs Overview

Following is a extended assessment of the Panasonic GF1 and Pentax K-5 IIs, former is a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Advanced DSLR by brands Panasonic and Pentax. There exists a sizable gap among the sensor resolutions of the GF1 (12MP) and K-5 IIs (16MP) and the GF1 (Four Thirds) and K-5 IIs (APS-C) feature totally different sensor dimensions.

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The GF1 was revealed 4 years prior to the K-5 IIs which is a fairly significant difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both the cameras come with different body type with the Panasonic GF1 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Pentax K-5 IIs being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before getting in to a in depth comparison, below is a short summary of how the GF1 grades vs the K-5 IIs with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

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Reasons to pick Panasonic GF1 over the Pentax K-5 IIs

 GF1 K-5 IIs 

Reasons to pick Pentax K-5 IIs over the Panasonic GF1

 K-5 IIs GF1 
IntroducedJune 2013October 2009More modern by 44 months
Screen resolution921k460kSharper screen (+461k dot)

Common features in the Panasonic GF1 and Pentax K-5 IIs

 GF1 K-5 IIs 
Manually focus More accurate focus
Screen typeFixed Fixed Fixed screen
Screen dimension3"3"Identical screen sizing
Selfie screen Missing selfie screen
Touch screen Missing Touch screen

Panasonic GF1 vs Pentax K-5 IIs Physical Comparison

For those who are intending to carry around your camera, you need to factor its weight and measurements. The Panasonic GF1 has got physical measurements of 119mm x 71mm x 36mm (4.7" x 2.8" x 1.4") along with a weight of 385 grams (0.85 lbs) whilst the Pentax K-5 IIs has proportions of 131mm x 97mm x 73mm (5.2" x 3.8" x 2.9") accompanied by a weight of 760 grams (1.68 lbs).

Check the Panasonic GF1 and Pentax K-5 IIs in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will differ dependant on the lens you are employing at the time. Following is the front view over all size comparison of the GF1 compared to the K-5 IIs.

Panasonic GF1 vs Pentax K-5 IIs size comparison

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the GF1 and K-5 IIs is 85 and 60 respectively.

Panasonic GF1 vs Pentax K-5 IIs top view buttons comparison

Panasonic GF1 vs Pentax K-5 IIs Sensor Comparison

More often than not, it's hard to visualise the difference in sensor sizes only by going through technical specs. The picture below will help provide you a clearer sense of the sensor measurements in the GF1 and K-5 IIs.

As you can tell, both of those cameras posses different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The GF1 with its smaller sensor will make getting shallower depth of field more difficult and the Pentax K-5 IIs will provide extra detail because of its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also enable you to crop photographs somewhat more aggressively. The more aged GF1 will be disadvantaged in sensor technology.

Panasonic GF1 vs Pentax K-5 IIs sensor size comparison

Panasonic GF1 vs Pentax K-5 IIs Screen and ViewFinder

Panasonic GF1 vs Pentax K-5 IIs Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Panasonic GF1 Portrait photography factors
Pentax K-5 IIs Portrait photography factors
60
you can focus manually
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
comes with face detect focusing
supports RAW formats
low resolution (12 megapixels)
74
has manual focus
resolution is good (16MP)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
offers face detection autofocus
saves RAW files
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Panasonic GF1
Street photography with Pentax K-5 IIs
64
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
supports RAW formats
no articulating screen
does not have image stabilization
67
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
saves RAW files
weather sealing
no moving screen
Photography Glossary

Sports Comparison

Panasonic GF1 Sports photography highlights
Pentax K-5 IIs Sports photography highlights
44
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
comes with tracking focus
better than average battery pack (380 CIPA)
continuous shooting slow (3.0 fps)
does not have image stabilization
low resolution (12MP)
lack of phase detect AF
79
max shutter speed is good (1/8,000s)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
resolution is good (16 megapixels)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
offers tracking autofocus
weather sealing
comes with phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Panasonic GF1
Travel photography with Pentax K-5 IIs
59
better than average battery pack (380 per charge)
built-in flash
doesn't have Time Lapse recording
low resolution (12 megapixels)
display is not selfie friendly
65
weather sealing
resolution is good (16 megapixels)
has built in flash
doesn't offer selfie friendly display
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Landscape Comparison

Panasonic GF1 Landscape photography information
Pentax K-5 IIs Landscape photography information
60
you can focus manually
interchangeable lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
good sized screen (3")
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
supports RAW formats
better than average battery pack (380 per charge)
does not have image stabilization
low resolution (12 megapixels)
doesn't have Time Lapse recording
79
has manual focus
interchangeable lenses (Pentax KAF2 mount)
nice screen size (3 inch)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
resolution is good (16MP)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
no anti aliasing filter
saves RAW files
weather sealing
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Vlogging Comparison

Panasonic GF1 as a Vlogging camera
Pentax K-5 IIs as a Vlogging camera
25
comes with face detect focusing
display is not selfie friendly
does not have image stabilization
video quality not great (1280 x 720 pixels)
doesn't have mic port
33
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
offers face detection autofocus
high video quality (1920 x 1080 resolution)
does have external mic socket
doesn't offer selfie friendly display
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Panasonic GF1 vs Pentax K-5 IIs Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Panasonic GF1 and Pentax K-5 IIs
 Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1Pentax K-5 IIs
General Information
Brand Name Panasonic Pentax
Model Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 Pentax K-5 IIs
Category Entry-Level Mirrorless Advanced DSLR
Announced 2009-10-14 2013-06-04
Physical type Rangefinder-style mirrorless Mid-size SLR
Sensor Information
Powered by Venus Engine HD Prime II
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds APS-C
Sensor dimensions 17.3 x 13mm 23.7 x 15.7mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 372.1mm²
Sensor resolution 12 megapixels 16 megapixels
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 3:2
Highest resolution 4000 x 3000 4928 x 3264
Highest native ISO 3200 12800
Highest boosted ISO - 51200
Min native ISO 100 100
RAW photos
Min boosted ISO - 80
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch focus
Continuous autofocus
Autofocus single
Autofocus tracking
Selective autofocus
Center weighted autofocus
Autofocus multi area
Autofocus live view
Face detect autofocus
Contract detect autofocus
Phase detect autofocus
Number of focus points 23 11
Cross focus points - 9
Lens
Lens mounting type Micro Four Thirds Pentax KAF2
Number of lenses 107 151
Crop factor 2.1 1.5
Screen
Type of display Fixed Type Fixed Type
Display diagonal 3 inches 3 inches
Resolution of display 460k dots 921k dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch functionality
Display technology TFT Color LCD with wide-viewing angle TFT LCD monitor
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder None Optical (pentaprism)
Viewfinder coverage - 100 percent
Viewfinder magnification - 0.61x
Features
Slowest shutter speed 60 seconds 30 seconds
Maximum shutter speed 1/4000 seconds 1/8000 seconds
Continuous shooting rate 3.0fps 7.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual mode
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Change white balance
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash range 6.00 m 13.00 m (at ISO 100)
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Slow sync, High speed, Rear curtain and Wireless
External flash
AEB
White balance bracketing
Maximum flash synchronize 1/160 seconds 1/180 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 (25 fps), 1280 x 720 (25, 30 fps), 640 x 480 (25, 30 fps)
Highest video resolution 1280x720 1920x1080
Video file format AVCHD Lite Motion JPEG
Mic port
Headphone port
Connectivity
Wireless None None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None Optional
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 385 gr (0.85 lb) 760 gr (1.68 lb)
Dimensions 119 x 71 x 36mm (4.7" x 2.8" x 1.4") 131 x 97 x 73mm (5.2" x 3.8" x 2.9")
DXO scores
DXO All around score 54 82
DXO Color Depth score 21.2 23.9
DXO Dynamic range score 10.3 14.1
DXO Low light score 513 1208
Other
Battery life 380 pictures 980 pictures
Style of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model - D-LI90
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec, 10 sec (3 images)) Yes ( 2 or 12 seconds)
Time lapse feature
Storage type SD/SDHC/MMC SD/SDHC/SDXC
Card slots One One
Pricing at launch $400 $749