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Panasonic GF3 vs Panasonic SZ5

Portability
90
Imaging
48
Features
48
Overall
48
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3 front
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ5 front
Portability
95
Imaging
38
Features
34
Overall
36

Panasonic GF3 vs Panasonic SZ5 Key Specs

Panasonic GF3
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 160 - 6400
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 264g - 108 x 67 x 32mm
  • Launched August 2011
  • Earlier Model is Panasonic GF2
  • Successor is Panasonic GF5
Panasonic SZ5
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 1600 (Increase to 6400)
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 25-250mm (F3.1-5.9) lens
  • 136g - 104 x 58 x 21mm
  • Released July 2012
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Panasonic GF3 vs Panasonic SZ5 Overview

Lets take a more detailed look at the Panasonic GF3 versus Panasonic SZ5, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Small Sensor Compact and they are both offered by Panasonic. The image resolution of the GF3 (12MP) and the SZ5 (14MP) is very similar but the GF3 (Four Thirds) and SZ5 (1/2.3") possess totally different sensor size.

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The GF3 was launched 11 months prior to the SZ5 so they are both of a similar age. Each of these cameras offer different body type with the Panasonic GF3 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic SZ5 being a Compact camera.

Before delving straight into a more detailed comparison, below is a brief overview of how the GF3 scores versus the SZ5 in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Panasonic GF3 over the Panasonic SZ5

 GF3 SZ5 
Manual focus Dial precise focusing
Display resolution460k230kClearer display (+230k dot)
Touch friendly display Easily navigate

Reasons to pick Panasonic SZ5 over the Panasonic GF3

 SZ5 GF3 
ReleasedJuly 2012August 2011More recent by 11 months

Common features in the Panasonic GF3 and Panasonic SZ5

 GF3 SZ5 
Display typeFixed Fixed Fixed display
Display sizing3"3"Equivalent display size
Selfie screen Neither offers selfie screen

Panasonic GF3 vs Panasonic SZ5 Physical Comparison

For those who are planning to lug around your camera often, you have to think about its weight and size. The Panasonic GF3 offers external measurements of 108mm x 67mm x 32mm (4.3" x 2.6" x 1.3") and a weight of 264 grams (0.58 lbs) whilst the Panasonic SZ5 has specifications of 104mm x 58mm x 21mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 0.8") having a weight of 136 grams (0.30 lbs).

Check out the Panasonic GF3 versus Panasonic SZ5 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Always remember, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you are utilizing at that time. The following is the front view size comparison of the GF3 vs the SZ5.

Panasonic GF3 vs Panasonic SZ5 size comparison

Taking into account size and weight, the portability grade of the GF3 and SZ5 is 90 and 95 respectively.

Panasonic GF3 vs Panasonic SZ5 top view buttons comparison

Panasonic GF3 vs Panasonic SZ5 Sensor Comparison

In many cases, it can be tough to see the difference between sensor measurements merely by going over a spec sheet. The graphic here will help provide you a better sense of the sensor measurements in the GF3 and SZ5.

As you can see, both the cameras enjoy different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The GF3 due to its larger sensor will make shooting shallow depth of field simpler and the Panasonic SZ5 will offer you extra detail utilizing its extra 2MP. Greater resolution will also make it easier to crop images far more aggressively. The older GF3 is going to be disadvantaged with regard to sensor innovation.

Panasonic GF3 vs Panasonic SZ5 sensor size comparison

Panasonic GF3 vs Panasonic SZ5 Screen and ViewFinder

Panasonic GF3 vs Panasonic SZ5 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Panasonic GF3 Portrait photography highlights
Panasonic SZ5 Portrait photography highlights
55
has manual focus
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
offers face detection focusing
saves RAW formats
external flash not possible
megapixel count low (12 megapixels)
34
megapixel count decent (14 megapixels)
has face detect focus
manual focus not available
lack of manual mode
external flash not possible
sensor size is tiny (1/2.3")
lack of RAW files
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Street Comparison

Panasonic GF3 as a Street photography camera
Panasonic SZ5 as a Street photography camera
70
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW formats
supports touch to focus
screen is fixed
does not have image stabilization
63
has image stabilization (Optical)
lighter than others in class (136g)
no moving screen
sensor size is tiny (1/2.3")
lack of RAW files
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Sports Comparison

Panasonic GF3 Sports photography features
Panasonic SZ5 Sports photography features
38
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
offers tracking autofocus
slow frames per second (3.0 frames per second)
does not have image stabilization
megapixel count low (12 megapixels)
terrible battery (300 per charge)
has no phase detect AF
40
has image stabilization (Optical)
megapixel count decent (14MP)
has tracking focus
slow continuous shooting (2.0 frames/s)
lack of shutter priority mode
sensor size is tiny (1/2.3")
lack of phase detect auto focus
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Travel Comparison

Panasonic GF3 Travel photography features
Panasonic SZ5 Travel photography features
58
supports touch to focus
flash built-in
no Timelapse function
terrible battery (300 shots)
megapixel count low (12MP)
doesn't posses selfie friendly display
70
lighter than others in class (136g)
megapixel count decent (14 megapixels)
flash built-in
pretty wide (25mm)
very long reach (250mm)
doesn't have Time Lapse recording
doesn't contain selfie friendly screen
sluggish max aperture (f3.1)
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Landscape Comparison

Panasonic GF3 Landscape photography info
Panasonic SZ5 Landscape photography info
55
has manual focus
switch lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
nice screen size (3")
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW formats
does not have image stabilization
megapixel count low (12 megapixels)
terrible battery (300 per charge)
no Timelapse function
42
pretty wide (25mm)
screen size is good (3")
has image stabilization (Optical)
megapixel count decent (14MP)
manual focus not available
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
sluggish max aperture (f3.1)
lack of manual mode
sensor size is tiny (1/2.3")
lack of RAW files
doesn't have Time Lapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Panasonic GF3 Vlogging features
Panasonic SZ5 Vlogging features
32
has touchscreen
offers face detection focusing
high res video (1920 x 1080 pxls)
doesn't posses selfie friendly display
does not have image stabilization
no external microphone support
32
pretty wide (25mm)
has image stabilization (Optical)
has face detect focus
lighter than others in class (136g)
sluggish max aperture (f3.1)
doesn't contain selfie friendly screen
video quality not great (1280 x 720 pixels)
doesn't have mic port
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Panasonic GF3 vs Panasonic SZ5 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Panasonic GF3 and Panasonic SZ5
 Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ5
General Information
Make Panasonic Panasonic
Model type Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3 Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ5
Category Entry-Level Mirrorless Small Sensor Compact
Launched 2011-08-11 2012-07-18
Body design Rangefinder-style mirrorless Compact
Sensor Information
Processor Chip Venus Engine FHD -
Sensor type CMOS CCD
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor dimensions 17.3 x 13mm 6.08 x 4.56mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 27.7mm²
Sensor resolution 12 megapixel 14 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 4320 x 3240
Max native ISO 6400 1600
Max boosted ISO - 6400
Lowest native ISO 160 100
RAW data
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
AF touch
AF continuous
Single AF
Tracking AF
Selective AF
AF center weighted
Multi area AF
AF live view
Face detection focusing
Contract detection focusing
Phase detection focusing
Total focus points 23 23
Lens
Lens mount type Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 25-250mm (10.0x)
Maximal aperture - f/3.1-5.9
Macro focusing range - 5cm
Total lenses 107 -
Crop factor 2.1 5.9
Screen
Range of screen Fixed Type Fixed Type
Screen size 3 inches 3 inches
Screen resolution 460 thousand dot 230 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch display
Screen technology TFT Color LCD with wide-viewing angle TFT Screen LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type None None
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60s 8s
Highest shutter speed 1/4000s 1/1600s
Continuous shooting speed 3.0 frames/s 2.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes -
Change WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash distance 6.30 m 5.60 m
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Slow Sync
Hot shoe
AEB
WB bracketing
Highest flash sync 1/160s -
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60 fps), 1280 x 720p (60, 30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps) 1280 x 720p ( 30,25 fps), 640 x 480 (30, 25 fps)
Max video resolution 1920x1080 1280x720
Video file format AVCHD, Motion JPEG MPEG-4
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 None
Physical
Environment seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 264 gr (0.58 pounds) 136 gr (0.30 pounds)
Dimensions 108 x 67 x 32mm (4.3" x 2.6" x 1.3") 104 x 58 x 21mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 0.8")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating 50 not tested
DXO Color Depth rating 20.6 not tested
DXO Dynamic range rating 10.1 not tested
DXO Low light rating 459 not tested
Other
Battery life 300 pictures 250 pictures
Form of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec, 10 sec (3 images)) Yes (2 or 10 secs)
Time lapse shooting
Storage media SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal
Storage slots Single Single
Pricing at launch $360 $195