Panasonic GH1 vs Panasonic LS5

Lets examine more in depth at the Panasonic GH1 vs Panasonic LS5, former is a Advanced Mirrorless while the other is a Small Sensor Compact and both of them are offered by Panasonic. The sensor resolution of the GH1 (12MP) and the LS5 (14MP) is very comparable but the GH1 (Four Thirds) and LS5 (1/2.3") use totally different sensor dimensions.

Photography Glossary

The GH1 was announced 24 months earlier than the LS5 making the cameras a generation away from each other. Both cameras come with different body type with the Panasonic GH1 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic LS5 being a Compact camera.

Before delving through a full comparison, below is a brief summation of how the GH1 grades against the LS5 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Here is a sample of the gallery pics for Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-LS5. The whole galleries are viewable at Panasonic GH1 Gallery & Panasonic LS5 Gallery.

If you are going to carry around your camera frequently, you are going to need to take into account its weight and volume. The Panasonic GH1 features external measurements of 124mm x 90mm x 45mm (4.9" x 3.5" x 1.8") accompanied by a weight of 385 grams (0.85 lbs) while the Panasonic LS5 has sizing of 97mm x 62mm x 27mm (3.8" x 2.4" x 1.1") having a weight of 126 grams (0.28 lbs).

See the Panasonic GH1 vs Panasonic LS5 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you have chosen at the time. Underneath is the front view measurements comparison of the GH1 vs the LS5.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability grade of the GH1 and LS5 is 81 and 94 respectively.

Generally, it is hard to envision the difference in sensor sizes only by seeing a spec sheet. The image below should give you a stronger sense of the sensor measurements in the GH1 and LS5.

Clearly, both of those cameras posses different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The GH1 with its larger sensor will make shooting shallow DOF simpler and the Panasonic LS5 will provide greater detail with its extra 2 Megapixels. Greater resolution will help you crop pics somewhat more aggressively. The more aged GH1 will be disadvantaged with regard to sensor innovation.