Panasonic GH1 vs Panasonic ZS30

Let's look a little more closely at the Panasonic GH1 and Panasonic ZS30, one is a Advanced Mirrorless and the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom and they are both produced by Panasonic. There is a significant difference between the resolutions of the GH1 (12MP) and ZS30 (18MP) and the GH1 (Four Thirds) and ZS30 (1/2.3") offer totally different sensor dimensions.

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The GH1 was brought out 4 years prior to the ZS30 which is quite a sizable gap as far as tech is concerned. Each of the cameras feature different body design with the Panasonic GH1 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic ZS30 being a Compact camera.

Before diving straight to a complete comparison, here is a brief synopsis of how the GH1 grades versus the ZS30 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

The following is a sample of the gallery pics for Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS30. The entire galleries are available at Panasonic GH1 Gallery and Panasonic ZS30 Gallery.

If you are going to carry around your camera regularly, you'll need to take into account its weight and size. The Panasonic GH1 comes with physical measurements of 124mm x 90mm x 45mm (4.9" x 3.5" x 1.8") with a weight of 385 grams (0.85 lbs) and the Panasonic ZS30 has specifications of 105mm x 59mm x 28mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 1.1") having a weight of 198 grams (0.44 lbs).

Analyze the Panasonic GH1 and Panasonic ZS30 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary dependant on the lens you have at that moment. The following is a front view size comparison of the GH1 and the ZS30.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability score of the GH1 and ZS30 is 81 and 92 respectively.

In many cases, its difficult to envision the difference between sensor sizes purely by reading technical specs. The image underneath will help offer you a stronger sense of the sensor measurements in the GH1 and ZS30.

As you can tell, both of the cameras feature different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The GH1 because of its larger sensor will make getting shallower depth of field easier and the Panasonic ZS30 will offer greater detail having its extra 6MP. Greater resolution will also enable you to crop images way more aggressively. The more aged GH1 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor innovation.