Panasonic GF1 vs Pentax K-5 IIs

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.

Below is a preview of the gallery images for Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 & Pentax K-5 IIs. The full galleries are provided at Panasonic GF1 Gallery & Pentax K-5 IIs Gallery.

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.

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.

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

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.