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Panasonic GH1 vs Pentax K-3 II

Portability
81
Imaging
49
Features
57
Overall
52
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 front
 
Pentax K-3 II front
Portability
59
Imaging
66
Features
84
Overall
73

Panasonic GH1 vs Pentax K-3 II Key Specs

Panasonic GH1
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Fully Articulated Display
  • ISO 100 - 1600 (Boost to 3200)
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 385g - 124 x 90 x 45mm
  • Introduced July 2009
  • Renewed by Panasonic GH2
Pentax K-3 II
(Full Review)
  • 24MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3.2" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 51200
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • No Anti-Alias Filter
  • 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Pentax KAF2 Mount
  • 800g - 131 x 100 x 77mm
  • Launched April 2015
  • Superseded the Pentax K-3
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Panasonic GH1 vs Pentax K-3 II Overview

The following is a complete analysis of the Panasonic GH1 versus Pentax K-3 II, former is a Advanced Mirrorless while the other is a Advanced DSLR by manufacturers Panasonic and Pentax. There exists a sizable gap between the image resolutions of the GH1 (12MP) and K-3 II (24MP) and the GH1 (Four Thirds) and K-3 II (APS-C) possess different sensor measurements.

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The GH1 was introduced 6 years before the K-3 II which is quite a significant difference as far as technology is concerned. The two cameras offer different body type with the Panasonic GH1 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Pentax K-3 II being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before getting straight into a complete comparison, below is a short view of how the GH1 matches up vs the K-3 II with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

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Reasons to pick Panasonic GH1 over the Pentax K-3 II

 GH1 K-3 II 
Display typeFully ArticulatedFixed Fully Articulating display
Selfie screen Easy selfies

Reasons to pick Pentax K-3 II over the Panasonic GH1

 K-3 II GH1 
LaunchedApril 2015July 2009Newer by 70 months
Display sizing3.2"3"Larger display (+0.2")
Display resolution1037k460kCrisper display (+577k dot)

Common features in the Panasonic GH1 and Pentax K-3 II

 GH1 K-3 II 
Manually focus Dial exact focus
Touch friendly display No Touch friendly display

Panasonic GH1 vs Pentax K-3 II Physical Comparison

For those who are going to travel with your camera frequently, you're going to have to think about its weight and measurements. The Panasonic GH1 provides exterior dimensions of 124mm x 90mm x 45mm (4.9" x 3.5" x 1.8") along with a weight of 385 grams (0.85 lbs) whilst the Pentax K-3 II has proportions of 131mm x 100mm x 77mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.0") accompanied by a weight of 800 grams (1.76 lbs).

Check the Panasonic GH1 versus Pentax K-3 II in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will differ dependant on the lens you use during that time. Here is the front view scale comparison of the GH1 against the K-3 II.

Panasonic GH1 vs Pentax K-3 II size comparison

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the GH1 and K-3 II is 81 and 59 respectively.

Panasonic GH1 vs Pentax K-3 II top view buttons comparison

Panasonic GH1 vs Pentax K-3 II Sensor Comparison

More often than not, its difficult to imagine the contrast between sensor dimensions purely by reading specs. The picture here will help provide you a greater sense of the sensor sizes in the GH1 and K-3 II.

As you can plainly see, the two cameras enjoy different megapixel count and different sensor dimensions. The GH1 using its tinier sensor is going to make getting shallower depth of field more difficult and the Pentax K-3 II will offer you more detail using its extra 12MP. Greater resolution can also make it easier to crop photos far more aggressively. The more aged GH1 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor technology.

Panasonic GH1 vs Pentax K-3 II sensor size comparison

Panasonic GH1 vs Pentax K-3 II Screen and ViewFinder

Panasonic GH1 vs Pentax K-3 II Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Panasonic GH1 Portrait photography highlights
Pentax K-3 II Portrait photography highlights
59
focusing manually
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW formats
low megapixels (12MP)
79
has manual focus
good MP (24 megapixels)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
has face detection focus
supports RAW formats
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Street Comparison

Panasonic GH1 Street photography info
Pentax K-3 II Street photography info
72
screen articulates
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW formats
does not have image stabilization
69
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
supports RAW formats
environment proofing
above average ISO range (51,200)
screen does not articulate
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Sports Comparison

Panasonic GH1 as a Sports photography camera
Pentax K-3 II as a Sports photography camera
32
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
slow continuous shooting (3.0 frames/s)
does not have image stabilization
low megapixels (12 megapixels)
not so great battery (320 per charge)
doesn't have phase detect AF
76
max shutter speed is good (1/8,000 seconds)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
good MP (24MP)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
has tracking autofocus
environment proofing
comes with phase detect auto focus
bad battery pack (720 shots)
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Travel Comparison

Panasonic GH1 as a Travel photography camera
Pentax K-3 II as a Travel photography camera
58
built-in flash
selfie friendly display
missing Time Lapse function
not so great battery (320 CIPA)
low megapixels (12 megapixels)
56
environment proofing
good MP (24MP)
bad battery pack (720 shots)
display is not selfie friendly
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Landscape Comparison

Panasonic GH1 Landscape photography details
Pentax K-3 II Landscape photography details
55
focusing manually
switch lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
pretty good screen size (3 inches)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW formats
does not have image stabilization
low megapixels (12MP)
not so great battery (320 shots)
missing Time Lapse function
78
has manual focus
switch lenses (Pentax KAF2 mount)
pretty good screen size (3.2 inch)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
good MP (24 megapixels)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
does not have anti-alias filter
above average ISO range (51,200)
supports RAW formats
environment proofing
two card slots
bad battery pack (720 per charge)
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Vlogging Comparison

Panasonic GH1 Vlogging highlights
Pentax K-3 II Vlogging highlights
72
selfie friendly display
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 pixels)
does have mic port
does not have image stabilization
34
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
has face detection focus
high res video (1920 x 1080 pxls)
does have external microphone socket
display is not selfie friendly
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Panasonic GH1 vs Pentax K-3 II Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Panasonic GH1 and Pentax K-3 II
 Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1Pentax K-3 II
General Information
Make Panasonic Pentax
Model type Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 Pentax K-3 II
Type Advanced Mirrorless Advanced DSLR
Introduced 2009-07-10 2015-04-23
Physical type SLR-style mirrorless Mid-size SLR
Sensor Information
Chip Venus Engine HD Prime III
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds APS-C
Sensor measurements 18.89 x 14.48mm 23.5 x 15.6mm
Sensor area 273.5mm² 366.6mm²
Sensor resolution 12MP 24MP
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 3:2
Max resolution 4000 x 3000 6016 x 4000
Max native ISO 1600 51200
Max enhanced ISO 3200 -
Min native ISO 100 100
RAW format
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Autofocus touch
Continuous autofocus
Autofocus single
Autofocus tracking
Selective autofocus
Center weighted autofocus
Autofocus multi area
Autofocus live view
Face detect autofocus
Contract detect autofocus
Phase detect autofocus
Total focus points - 27
Cross type focus points - 25
Lens
Lens support Micro Four Thirds Pentax KAF2
Amount of lenses 107 151
Focal length multiplier 1.9 1.5
Screen
Display type Fully Articulated Fixed Type
Display diagonal 3 inches 3.2 inches
Resolution of display 460 thousand dots 1,037 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch capability
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Electronic Optical (pentaprism)
Viewfinder coverage 100% 100%
Viewfinder magnification - 0.64x
Features
Min shutter speed 60s 30s
Max shutter speed 1/4000s 1/8000s
Continuous shutter rate 3.0fps 8.3fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual mode
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Custom white balance
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash distance 10.50 m no built-in flash
Flash settings Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync Auto Flash Discharge, Auto Flash + Red-eye Reduction, Flash On, Flash On + Red-eye Reduction, Slow-speed Sync, Slow-speed Sync + Red-eye, P-TTL, Trailing Curtain Sync, Contrast-control-sync, High-speed sync, Wireless sync (available with dedicated external flash)
Hot shoe
AE bracketing
White balance bracketing
Max flash synchronize 1/160s 1/180s
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60 fps), 1280 x 720 (60 fps), 848 x 480 (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)
Max video resolution 1920x1080 1920x1080
Video data format AVCHD MPEG-4, H.264
Microphone port
Headphone port
Connectivity
Wireless None Optional
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 3.0 (5 GBit/sec)
GPS None BuiltIn
Physical
Environmental sealing
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 385 grams (0.85 lbs) 800 grams (1.76 lbs)
Dimensions 124 x 90 x 45mm (4.9" x 3.5" x 1.8") 131 x 100 x 77mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.0")
DXO scores
DXO Overall rating 64 80
DXO Color Depth rating 21.6 23.6
DXO Dynamic range rating 11.6 13.6
DXO Low light rating 772 1106
Other
Battery life 320 photographs 720 photographs
Type of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID - D-LI90
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec) Yes ( 2 or 12 seconds)
Time lapse recording
Type of storage SD/SDHC Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC
Card slots One Two
Retail cost $949 $829