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Panasonic GH1 vs Pentax K-5 II

Portability
81
Imaging
49
Features
57
Overall
52
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 front
 
Pentax K-5 II front
Portability
60
Imaging
58
Features
82
Overall
67

Panasonic GH1 vs Pentax K-5 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
  • Announced July 2009
  • Renewed by Panasonic GH2
Pentax K-5 II
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 12800 (Raise to 51200)
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1/8000s Max Shutter
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Pentax KAF2 Mount
  • 760g - 131 x 97 x 73mm
  • Revealed June 2013
  • Old Model is Pentax K-5
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Panasonic GH1 vs Pentax K-5 II Overview

Let's look more closely at the Panasonic GH1 vs Pentax K-5 II, one is a Advanced Mirrorless and the latter is a Advanced DSLR by brands Panasonic and Pentax. There exists a sizeable gap between the resolutions of the GH1 (12MP) and K-5 II (16MP) and the GH1 (Four Thirds) and K-5 II (APS-C) possess totally different sensor sizes.

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The GH1 was announced 4 years earlier than the K-5 II which is quite a large gap as far as technology is concerned. Both of these cameras offer different body type with the Panasonic GH1 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Pentax K-5 II being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before diving straight into a step-by-step comparison, below is a concise summary of how the GH1 matches up vs the K-5 II with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

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Reasons to pick Panasonic GH1 over the Pentax K-5 II

 GH1 K-5 II 
Screen typeFully ArticulatedFixed Fully Articulating screen
Selfie screen Easy selfies

Reasons to pick Pentax K-5 II over the Panasonic GH1

 K-5 II GH1 
RevealedJune 2013July 2009More modern by 47 months
Screen resolution921k460kSharper screen (+461k dot)

Common features in the Panasonic GH1 and Pentax K-5 II

 GH1 K-5 II 
Manually focus Dial accurate focus
Screen sizing3"3"Equivalent screen dimensions
Touch friendly screen Neither has Touch friendly screen

Panasonic GH1 vs Pentax K-5 II Physical Comparison

If you are looking to carry around your camera, you will need to take into account its weight and size. The Panasonic GH1 has outside dimensions of 124mm x 90mm x 45mm (4.9" x 3.5" x 1.8") having a weight of 385 grams (0.85 lbs) whilst the Pentax K-5 II has specifications of 131mm x 97mm x 73mm (5.2" x 3.8" x 2.9") having a weight of 760 grams (1.68 lbs).

Take a look at the Panasonic GH1 vs Pentax K-5 II in the latest Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into consideration, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary based on the lens you have chosen during that time. Below is the front view measurement comparison of the GH1 vs the K-5 II.

Panasonic GH1 vs Pentax K-5 II size comparison

Using dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the GH1 and K-5 II is 81 and 60 respectively.

Panasonic GH1 vs Pentax K-5 II top view buttons comparison

Panasonic GH1 vs Pentax K-5 II Sensor Comparison

Typically, its hard to visualise the gap between sensor sizes just by checking specs. The picture below will provide you a clearer sense of the sensor dimensions in the GH1 and K-5 II.

As you can plainly see, both of these cameras enjoy different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The GH1 using its tinier sensor will make shooting shallower depth of field tougher and the Pentax K-5 II will give you more detail with its extra 4MP. Higher resolution will enable you to crop photographs far more aggressively. The more aged GH1 is going to be behind when it comes to sensor technology.

Panasonic GH1 vs Pentax K-5 II sensor size comparison

Panasonic GH1 vs Pentax K-5 II Screen and ViewFinder

Panasonic GH1 vs Pentax K-5 II Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Panasonic GH1 Portrait photography advice
Pentax K-5 II Portrait photography advice
59
manual focus
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW formats
low MP (12MP)
74
focusing manually
MP count good (16MP)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
includes face detect focusing
saves RAW formats
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Panasonic GH1
Street photography with Pentax K-5 II
72
fully articulated screen
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW formats
no image stabilization
67
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
saves RAW formats
environment proofing
screen is fixed
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Sports Comparison

Panasonic GH1 Sports photography factors
Pentax K-5 II Sports photography factors
32
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
slow continuous shooting (3.0 fps)
no image stabilization
low MP (12 megapixels)
not so great battery life (320 CIPA)
does not have phase detect auto focus
79
great max shutter speed (1/8,000s)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
MP count good (16 megapixels)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
includes tracking focus
environment proofing
has phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Panasonic GH1 Travel photography features
Pentax K-5 II Travel photography features
58
has built in flash
selfie friendly screen
doesn't have Time Lapse function
not so great battery life (320 CIPA)
low MP (12 megapixels)
65
environment proofing
MP count good (16 megapixels)
flash built-in
doesn't have a selfie friendly display
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Landscape Comparison

Panasonic GH1 Landscape photography advice
Pentax K-5 II Landscape photography advice
55
manual focus
swap lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
screen size is good (3")
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW formats
no image stabilization
low MP (12 megapixels)
not so great battery life (320 CIPA)
doesn't have Time Lapse function
79
focusing manually
switch lenses (Pentax KAF2 mount)
screen is a good size (3 inch)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
MP count good (16MP)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
saves RAW formats
environment proofing
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Vlogging Comparison

Panasonic GH1 as a Vlogging camera
Pentax K-5 II as a Vlogging camera
72
selfie friendly screen
high quality video (1920 x 1080 pxls)
has external mic support
no image stabilization
33
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
includes face detect focusing
video res high (1920 x 1080 resolution)
has microphone support
doesn't have a selfie friendly display
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Panasonic GH1 vs Pentax K-5 II Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Panasonic GH1 and Pentax K-5 II
 Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1Pentax K-5 II
General Information
Company Panasonic Pentax
Model type Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 Pentax K-5 II
Type Advanced Mirrorless Advanced DSLR
Announced 2009-07-10 2013-06-04
Physical type SLR-style mirrorless Mid-size SLR
Sensor Information
Processor Venus Engine HD Prime II
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds APS-C
Sensor measurements 18.89 x 14.48mm 23.7 x 15.7mm
Sensor area 273.5mm² 372.1mm²
Sensor resolution 12MP 16MP
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 3:2
Highest resolution 4000 x 3000 4928 x 3264
Highest native ISO 1600 12800
Highest boosted ISO 3200 51200
Min native ISO 100 100
RAW photos
Min boosted ISO - 80
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
AF touch
Continuous AF
Single AF
AF tracking
Selective AF
Center weighted AF
AF multi area
AF live view
Face detect AF
Contract detect AF
Phase detect AF
Total focus points - 11
Cross type focus points - 9
Lens
Lens support Micro Four Thirds Pentax KAF2
Available lenses 107 151
Focal length multiplier 1.9 1.5
Screen
Type of display Fully Articulated Fixed Type
Display sizing 3 inch 3 inch
Display resolution 460 thousand dots 921 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch operation
Display tech - TFT LCD monitor
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Electronic Optical (pentaprism)
Viewfinder coverage 100% 100%
Viewfinder magnification - 0.61x
Features
Slowest shutter speed 60 secs 30 secs
Maximum shutter speed 1/4000 secs 1/8000 secs
Continuous shooting rate 3.0 frames per second 7.0 frames per second
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Custom WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash distance 10.50 m 13.00 m (at ISO 100)
Flash options Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Slow sync, High speed, Rear curtain and Wireless
Hot shoe
AEB
White balance bracketing
Maximum flash synchronize 1/160 secs -
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 720 (60 fps), 848 x 480 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps) 1920 x 1080 (25 fps), 1280 x 720 (25, 30 fps), 640 x 480 (25, 30 fps)
Highest video resolution 1920x1080 1920x1080
Video data format AVCHD Motion JPEG
Microphone support
Headphone support
Connectivity
Wireless None None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None Optional
Physical
Environmental sealing
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 385g (0.85 lbs) 760g (1.68 lbs)
Dimensions 124 x 90 x 45mm (4.9" x 3.5" x 1.8") 131 x 97 x 73mm (5.2" x 3.8" x 2.9")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating 64 82
DXO Color Depth rating 21.6 23.8
DXO Dynamic range rating 11.6 14.1
DXO Low light rating 772 1235
Other
Battery life 320 pictures 980 pictures
Form of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID - D-LI90
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec) Yes ( 2 or 12 seconds)
Time lapse feature
Storage type SD/SDHC SD/SDHC/SDXC
Card slots 1 1
Cost at launch $949 $830