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Panasonic GF1 vs Pentax ist DS2

Portability
85
Imaging
47
Features
47
Overall
47
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 front
 
Pentax ist DS2 front
Portability
68
Imaging
44
Features
33
Overall
39

Panasonic GF1 vs Pentax ist DS2 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
  • Newer Model is Panasonic GF2
Pentax ist DS2
(Full Review)
  • 6MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 2.5" Fixed Display
  • ISO 200 - 3200
  • Pentax KAF Mount
  • 605g - 125 x 93 x 66mm
  • Revealed August 2005
Photography Glossary

Panasonic GF1 vs Pentax ist DS2 Overview

Following is a comprehensive overview of the Panasonic GF1 and Pentax ist DS2, former is a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Advanced DSLR by rivals Panasonic and Pentax. There exists a sizable gap between the image resolutions of the GF1 (12MP) and ist DS2 (6MP) and the GF1 (Four Thirds) and ist DS2 (APS-C) provide different sensor dimensions.

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The GF1 was launched 4 years after the ist DS2 which is quite a significant difference as far as technology is concerned. Both cameras feature different body design with the Panasonic GF1 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Pentax ist DS2 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before going into a step-by-step comparison, here is a quick overview of how the GF1 grades against the ist DS2 for portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

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Reasons to pick Panasonic GF1 over the Pentax ist DS2

 GF1 ist DS2 
RevealedOctober 2009August 2005More modern by 51 months
Display size3"2.5"Larger display (+0.5")
Display resolution460k210kSharper display (+250k dot)

Reasons to pick Pentax ist DS2 over the Panasonic GF1

 ist DS2 GF1 

Common features in the Panasonic GF1 and Pentax ist DS2

 GF1 ist DS2 
Manual focus Very exact focusing
Display typeFixed Fixed Fixed display
Selfie screen Lack of selfie screen
Touch friendly display Neither has Touch friendly display

Panasonic GF1 vs Pentax ist DS2 Physical Comparison

For anybody who is intending to carry around your camera regularly, you'll have to factor in its weight and dimensions. The Panasonic GF1 has outer dimensions of 119mm x 71mm x 36mm (4.7" x 2.8" x 1.4") with a weight of 385 grams (0.85 lbs) while the Pentax ist DS2 has dimensions of 125mm x 93mm x 66mm (4.9" x 3.7" x 2.6") along with a weight of 605 grams (1.33 lbs).

Contrast the Panasonic GF1 and Pentax ist DS2 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will differ dependant on the lens you have chosen at the time. Here is a front view scale comparison of the GF1 against the ist DS2.

Panasonic GF1 vs Pentax ist DS2 size comparison

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the GF1 and ist DS2 is 85 and 68 respectively.

Panasonic GF1 vs Pentax ist DS2 top view buttons comparison

Panasonic GF1 vs Pentax ist DS2 Sensor Comparison

Typically, it is difficult to visualize the difference between sensor sizes simply by looking at specs. The pic here will help offer you a better sense of the sensor dimensions in the GF1 and ist DS2.

All in all, each of these cameras feature different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The GF1 due to its tinier sensor is going to make getting shallower depth of field harder and the Panasonic GF1 will resolve greater detail utilizing its extra 6 Megapixels. Greater resolution will allow you to crop pics way more aggressively. The more recent GF1 provides an advantage in sensor tech.

Panasonic GF1 vs Pentax ist DS2 sensor size comparison

Panasonic GF1 vs Pentax ist DS2 Screen and ViewFinder

Panasonic GF1 vs Pentax ist DS2 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Panasonic GF1 as a Portrait photography camera
Pentax ist DS2 as a Portrait photography camera
60
manual focus
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
supports face detection autofocus
exports RAW files
low MP (12MP)
50
focusing manually
nice sensor size (APS-C)
saves RAW files
no liveview feature
low megapixels (6MP)
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Panasonic GF1
Street photography with Pentax ist DS2
64
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
exports RAW files
fixed screen
does not have image stabilization
60
nice sensor size (APS-C)
saves RAW files
lighter than average in class (605 grams)
screen does not articulate
does not have image stabilization
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Sports Comparison

Panasonic GF1 Sports photography information
Pentax ist DS2 Sports photography information
44
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
supports tracking autofocus
better than average battery power (380 CIPA)
slow fps (3.0 frames/s)
does not have image stabilization
low MP (12MP)
does not have phase detect autofocus
38
nice sensor size (APS-C)
supports phase detect auto focus
no liveview feature
very slow continuous shooting (3.0 fps)
does not have image stabilization
low megapixels (6 megapixels)
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Travel Comparison

Panasonic GF1 Travel photography features
Pentax ist DS2 Travel photography features
59
better than average battery power (380 CIPA)
built-in flash
doesn't have Timelapse mode
low MP (12MP)
doesn't offer selfie friendly display
52
lighter than average in class (605g)
has built in flash
doesn't have Time Lapse function
low megapixels (6MP)
screen isn't selfie friendly
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Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Panasonic GF1
Landscape photography with Pentax ist DS2
60
manual focus
switch lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
nice screen size (3 inches)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
exports RAW files
better than average battery power (380 per charge)
does not have image stabilization
low MP (12 megapixels)
doesn't have Timelapse mode
46
focusing manually
swap lenses (Pentax KAF mount)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
saves RAW files
screen is somewhat small (2.5 inch)
no liveview feature
does not have image stabilization
low megapixels (6MP)
doesn't have Time Lapse function
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Vlogging Comparison

Panasonic GF1 Vlogging features
Pentax ist DS2 Vlogging features
25
supports face detection autofocus
doesn't offer selfie friendly display
does not have image stabilization
video quality not great (1280 x 720 resolution)
doesn't have external microphone socket
22
lighter than average in class (605 grams)
screen isn't selfie friendly
does not have image stabilization
low res video ( pxls)
doesn't have mic jack
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Panasonic GF1 vs Pentax ist DS2 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Panasonic GF1 and Pentax ist DS2
 Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1Pentax ist DS2
General Information
Company Panasonic Pentax
Model Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 Pentax ist DS2
Class Entry-Level Mirrorless Advanced DSLR
Revealed 2009-10-14 2005-08-22
Body design Rangefinder-style mirrorless Mid-size SLR
Sensor Information
Processor Venus Engine HD -
Sensor type CMOS CCD
Sensor size Four Thirds APS-C
Sensor dimensions 17.3 x 13mm 23.5 x 15.7mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 369.0mm²
Sensor resolution 12 megapixel 6 megapixel
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 3:2
Maximum resolution 4000 x 3000 3008 x 2008
Maximum native ISO 3200 3200
Min native ISO 100 200
RAW data
Autofocusing
Manual focus
AF touch
Continuous AF
Single AF
AF tracking
Selective AF
AF center weighted
AF multi area
AF live view
Face detection AF
Contract detection AF
Phase detection AF
Number of focus points 23 11
Lens
Lens mount Micro Four Thirds Pentax KAF
Available lenses 107 151
Focal length multiplier 2.1 1.5
Screen
Screen type Fixed Type Fixed Type
Screen diagonal 3 inches 2.5 inches
Resolution of screen 460k dot 210k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch operation
Screen technology TFT Color LCD with wide-viewing angle -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type None Optical
Viewfinder coverage - 95 percent
Viewfinder magnification - 0.64x
Features
Slowest shutter speed 60s 30s
Maximum shutter speed 1/4000s 1/4000s
Continuous shooting speed 3.0fps 3.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Custom WB
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash range 6.00 m -
Flash settings Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync Auto, On, Off, Red-eye reduction
Hot shoe
AEB
White balance bracketing
Maximum flash sync 1/160s -
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 848 x 480 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps) -
Maximum video resolution 1280x720 -
Video data format AVCHD Lite -
Mic input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless None No
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 1.0 (1.5 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 385 grams (0.85 lbs) 605 grams (1.33 lbs)
Physical dimensions 119 x 71 x 36mm (4.7" x 2.8" x 1.4") 125 x 93 x 66mm (4.9" x 3.7" x 2.6")
DXO scores
DXO All around score 54 not tested
DXO Color Depth score 21.2 not tested
DXO Dynamic range score 10.3 not tested
DXO Low light score 513 not tested
Other
Battery life 380 shots -
Battery format Battery Pack -
Battery model - 4 x AA
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec, 10 sec (3 images)) Yes (2 or 12 sec)
Time lapse shooting
Type of storage SD/SDHC/MMC SD/MMC card
Storage slots One One
Launch cost $400 -