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Panasonic GF3 vs Pentax K-3

Portability
90
Imaging
48
Features
48
Overall
48
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3 front
 
Pentax K-3 front
Portability
59
Imaging
66
Features
85
Overall
73

Panasonic GF3 vs Pentax K-3 Key Specs

Panasonic GF3
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 160 - 6400
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 264g - 108 x 67 x 32mm
  • Announced August 2011
  • Previous Model is Panasonic GF2
  • Newer Model is Panasonic GF5
Pentax K-3
(Full Review)
  • 24MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3.2" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 51200
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • No Anti-Alias Filter
  • 1/8000s Max Shutter
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Pentax KAF2 Mount
  • 800g - 131 x 100 x 77mm
  • Announced April 2014
  • Successor is Pentax K-3 II
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Panasonic GF3 vs Pentax K-3 Overview

Let's look closer at the Panasonic GF3 and Pentax K-3, one being a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the other is a Advanced DSLR by companies Panasonic and Pentax. There exists a significant gap between the image resolutions of the GF3 (12MP) and K-3 (24MP) and the GF3 (Four Thirds) and K-3 (APS-C) feature different sensor measurements.

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The GF3 was manufactured 3 years earlier than the K-3 and that is quite a sizable gap as far as technology is concerned. Each of these cameras offer different body type with the Panasonic GF3 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Pentax K-3 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before going straight into a more detailed comparison, below is a simple introduction of how the GF3 grades against the K-3 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

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Reasons to pick Panasonic GF3 over the Pentax K-3

 GF3 K-3 
Touch friendly display Easily navigate

Reasons to pick Pentax K-3 over the Panasonic GF3

 K-3 GF3 
AnnouncedApril 2014August 2011Fresher by 32 months
Display sizing3.2"3"Larger display (+0.2")
Display resolution1037k460kSharper display (+577k dot)

Common features in the Panasonic GF3 and Pentax K-3

 GF3 K-3 
Focus manually More precise focusing
Display typeFixed Fixed Fixed display
Selfie screen Lack of selfie screen

Panasonic GF3 vs Pentax K-3 Physical Comparison

If you're looking to carry your camera often, you will want to take into account its weight and volume. The Panasonic GF3 has physical measurements of 108mm x 67mm x 32mm (4.3" x 2.6" x 1.3") accompanied by a weight of 264 grams (0.58 lbs) whilst the Pentax K-3 has sizing of 131mm x 100mm x 77mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.0") accompanied by a weight of 800 grams (1.76 lbs).

Analyze the Panasonic GF3 and Pentax K-3 in the new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Keep in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary depending on the lens you use at the time. Underneath is the front view scale comparison of the GF3 compared to the K-3.

Panasonic GF3 vs Pentax K-3 size comparison

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the GF3 and K-3 is 90 and 59 respectively.

Panasonic GF3 vs Pentax K-3 top view buttons comparison

Panasonic GF3 vs Pentax K-3 Sensor Comparison

Sometimes, it's hard to picture the gap between sensor sizing only by reading through a spec sheet. The graphic below will help give you a far better sense of the sensor measurements in the GF3 and K-3.

Clearly, both the cameras offer different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The GF3 due to its tinier sensor is going to make getting shallow depth of field more difficult and the Pentax K-3 will give you extra detail due to its extra 12MP. Greater resolution will also make it easier to crop images a little more aggressively. The older GF3 is going to be disadvantaged with regard to sensor technology.

Panasonic GF3 vs Pentax K-3 sensor size comparison

Panasonic GF3 vs Pentax K-3 Screen and ViewFinder

Panasonic GF3 vs Pentax K-3 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Panasonic GF3 Portrait photography features
Pentax K-3 Portrait photography features
55
you can focus manually
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
comes with face detection focus
saves RAW files
can't use external flash
MP count low (12MP)
79
you can focus manually
good megapixels (24MP)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
offers face detection autofocus
supports RAW files
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Street Comparison

Panasonic GF3 Street photography advice
Pentax K-3 Street photography advice
70
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW files
has focus via touch
screen does not articulate
no image stabilization
69
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
supports RAW files
weather proof
good ISO range (51,200)
no articulating screen
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Sports Comparison

Panasonic GF3 Sports photography advice
Pentax K-3 Sports photography advice
38
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
comes with tracking autofocus
very slow continuous shooting (3.0 fps)
no image stabilization
MP count low (12MP)
low battery (300 per charge)
no phase detect auto focus
76
great max shutter speed (1/8,000s)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
good megapixels (24 megapixels)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
offers tracking autofocus
weather proof
supports phase detect autofocus
terrible battery pack (560 per charge)
Photography Glossary

Travel Comparison

Panasonic GF3 as a Travel photography camera
Pentax K-3 as a Travel photography camera
58
has focus via touch
flash built-in
lack of Timelapse function
low battery (300 per charge)
MP count low (12 megapixels)
doesn't have a selfie friendly display
60
weather proof
good megapixels (24 megapixels)
flash built-in
terrible battery pack (560 shots)
display isn't selfie friendly
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Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Panasonic GF3
Landscape photography with Pentax K-3
55
you can focus manually
interchangeable lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
nice screen size (3")
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW files
no image stabilization
MP count low (12 megapixels)
low battery (300 shots)
lack of Timelapse function
78
you can focus manually
interchangeable lenses (Pentax KAF2 mount)
screen size is good (3.2 inches)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
good megapixels (24MP)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
no low pass filter
good ISO range (51,200)
supports RAW files
weather proof
has dual storage slots
terrible battery pack (560 shots)
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Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Panasonic GF3
Vlogging with Pentax K-3
32
touchscreen functionality
comes with face detection focus
high res video (1920 x 1080 pxls)
doesn't have a selfie friendly display
no image stabilization
lack of external microphone socket
34
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
offers face detection autofocus
high video quality (1920 x 1080 pixels)
comes with external mic jack
display isn't selfie friendly
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Panasonic GF3 vs Pentax K-3 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Panasonic GF3 and Pentax K-3
 Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3Pentax K-3
General Information
Brand Panasonic Pentax
Model Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3 Pentax K-3
Class Entry-Level Mirrorless Advanced DSLR
Announced 2011-08-11 2014-04-10
Body design Rangefinder-style mirrorless Mid-size SLR
Sensor Information
Powered by Venus Engine FHD Prime III
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds APS-C
Sensor dimensions 17.3 x 13mm 23.5 x 15.6mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 366.6mm²
Sensor resolution 12 megapixel 24 megapixel
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 3:2
Peak resolution 4000 x 3000 6016 x 4000
Highest native ISO 6400 51200
Minimum native ISO 160 100
RAW data
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch to focus
AF continuous
AF single
Tracking AF
AF selectice
Center weighted AF
Multi area AF
Live view AF
Face detect focusing
Contract detect focusing
Phase detect focusing
Number of focus points 23 27
Cross focus points - 25
Lens
Lens mount Micro Four Thirds Pentax KAF2
Number of lenses 107 151
Crop factor 2.1 1.5
Screen
Range of display Fixed Type Fixed Type
Display sizing 3 inch 3.2 inch
Display resolution 460 thousand dot 1,037 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch screen
Display technology TFT Color LCD with wide-viewing angle TFT LCD monitor
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type None Optical (pentaprism)
Viewfinder coverage - 100%
Viewfinder magnification - 0.64x
Features
Min shutter speed 60 seconds 30 seconds
Max shutter speed 1/4000 seconds 1/8000 seconds
Continuous shutter speed 3.0 frames per sec 8.0 frames per sec
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Set WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash range 6.30 m 13.00 m (at ISO 100)
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync Auto, on, off, red-eye, slow sync, slow sync + red-eye, trailing curtain sync, high speed, wireless, manual
External flash
AE bracketing
WB bracketing
Max flash sync 1/160 seconds 1/180 seconds
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) 1920 x 1080 (60i, 50i, 30p, 25p, 24p), 1280 x 720 (60p, 50p, 30p, 25p, 24p)
Highest video resolution 1920x1080 1920x1080
Video data format AVCHD, Motion JPEG MPEG-4, H.264
Mic input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless None None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 3.0 (5 GBit/sec)
GPS None Optional
Physical
Environment seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 264g (0.58 pounds) 800g (1.76 pounds)
Dimensions 108 x 67 x 32mm (4.3" x 2.6" x 1.3") 131 x 100 x 77mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.0")
DXO scores
DXO Overall score 50 80
DXO Color Depth score 20.6 23.7
DXO Dynamic range score 10.1 13.4
DXO Low light score 459 1216
Other
Battery life 300 images 560 images
Battery format 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 media SD/SDHC/SDXC Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC
Storage slots One 2
Retail pricing $360 $639