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Panasonic GH1 vs Pentax K-7

Portability
81
Imaging
49
Features
57
Overall
52
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 front
 
Pentax K-7 front
Portability
60
Imaging
54
Features
69
Overall
60

Panasonic GH1 vs Pentax K-7 Key Specs

Panasonic GH1
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Fully Articulated Display
  • ISO 100 - 1600 (Push to 3200)
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 385g - 124 x 90 x 45mm
  • Announced July 2009
  • Replacement is Panasonic GH2
Pentax K-7
(Full Review)
  • 15MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 2000 (Push to 6400)
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1/8000s Max Shutter
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • Pentax KAF2 Mount
  • 750g - 131 x 97 x 73mm
  • Introduced October 2009
  • Replacement is Pentax K-5
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Panasonic GH1 vs Pentax K-7 Overview

On this page, we are evaluating the Panasonic GH1 vs Pentax K-7, one is a Advanced Mirrorless and the other is a Advanced DSLR by rivals Panasonic and Pentax. The sensor resolution of the GH1 (12MP) and the K-7 (15MP) is very close but the GH1 (Four Thirds) and K-7 (APS-C) boast totally different sensor dimensions.

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The GH1 was brought out 2 months prior to the K-7 which means that they are of a similar generation. The two cameras have different body design with the Panasonic GH1 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Pentax K-7 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before going straight to a in-depth comparison, here is a quick summation of how the GH1 scores versus the K-7 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

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Reasons to pick Panasonic GH1 over the Pentax K-7

 GH1 K-7 
Display typeFully ArticulatedFixed Fully Articulating display
Selfie screen Take selfies

Reasons to pick Pentax K-7 over the Panasonic GH1

 K-7 GH1 
Display resolution921k460kSharper display (+461k dot)

Common features in the Panasonic GH1 and Pentax K-7

 GH1 K-7 
IntroducedJuly 2009October 2009Same generation
Focus manually Very precise focusing
Display dimensions3"3"Equal display sizing
Touch display Neither comes with Touch display

Panasonic GH1 vs Pentax K-7 Physical Comparison

For those who are planning to carry around your camera often, you will need to think about its weight and proportions. The Panasonic GH1 comes with exterior dimensions of 124mm x 90mm x 45mm (4.9" x 3.5" x 1.8") having a weight of 385 grams (0.85 lbs) while the Pentax K-7 has measurements of 131mm x 97mm x 73mm (5.2" x 3.8" x 2.9") having a weight of 750 grams (1.65 lbs).

Contrast the Panasonic GH1 vs Pentax K-7 in the all new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Do not forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change based on the lens you are utilizing at that moment. Here is a front view proportions comparison of the GH1 and the K-7.

Panasonic GH1 vs Pentax K-7 size comparison

Looking at size and weight, the portability grade of the GH1 and K-7 is 81 and 60 respectively.

Panasonic GH1 vs Pentax K-7 top view buttons comparison

Panasonic GH1 vs Pentax K-7 Sensor Comparison

In many cases, it is very hard to visualise the difference in sensor sizes purely by viewing technical specs. The pic here will help offer you a far better sense of the sensor dimensions in the GH1 and K-7.

As you can tell, the two cameras have different megapixels and different sensor sizes. The GH1 featuring a smaller sensor will make getting bokeh trickier and the Pentax K-7 will render more detail having its extra 3MP. Greater resolution can also make it easier to crop images a bit more aggressively.

Panasonic GH1 vs Pentax K-7 sensor size comparison

Panasonic GH1 vs Pentax K-7 Screen and ViewFinder

Panasonic GH1 vs Pentax K-7 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Panasonic GH1 Portrait photography highlights
Pentax K-7 Portrait photography highlights
59
focusing manually
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
exports RAW files
low megapixels (12MP)
72
focusing manually
good megapixels (15 megapixels)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
supports face detection focusing
delivers RAW files
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Street Comparison

Panasonic GH1 Street photography highlights
Pentax K-7 Street photography highlights
72
screen articulates
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
exports RAW files
lack of image stabilization
66
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
delivers RAW files
environment proof
fixed screen
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Sports Comparison

Panasonic GH1 as a Sports photography camera
Pentax K-7 as a Sports photography camera
32
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
slow fps (3.0 fps)
lack of image stabilization
low megapixels (12MP)
bad battery power (320 CIPA)
no phase detect AF
69
great max shutter speed (1/8,000s)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
good megapixels (15 megapixels)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
environment proof
sensor has phase detect AF
max frames per second low (5.0 fps)
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Travel Comparison

Panasonic GH1 Travel photography advice
Pentax K-7 Travel photography advice
58
flash built-in
screen is selfie friendly
lack of Timelapse recording
bad battery power (320 CIPA)
low megapixels (12MP)
64
environment proof
good megapixels (15 megapixels)
flash built-in
does not posses selfie friendly display
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Landscape Comparison

Panasonic GH1 Landscape photography factors
Pentax K-7 Landscape photography factors
55
focusing manually
switch lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
nice screen size (3 inches)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
exports RAW files
lack of image stabilization
low megapixels (12MP)
bad battery power (320 per charge)
lack of Timelapse recording
77
focusing manually
switch lenses (Pentax KAF2 mount)
pretty good screen size (3")
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
good megapixels (15 megapixels)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
delivers RAW files
environment proof
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Vlogging Comparison

Panasonic GH1 Vlogging advice
Pentax K-7 Vlogging advice
72
screen is selfie friendly
high res video (1920 x 1080 resolution)
does have external microphone support
lack of image stabilization
25
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
supports face detection focusing
does not posses selfie friendly display
low quality video (1280 x 720 pxls)
does not have external mic support
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Panasonic GH1 vs Pentax K-7 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Panasonic GH1 and Pentax K-7
 Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1Pentax K-7
General Information
Brand Name Panasonic Pentax
Model Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 Pentax K-7
Category Advanced Mirrorless Advanced DSLR
Announced 2009-07-10 2009-10-02
Physical type SLR-style mirrorless Mid-size SLR
Sensor Information
Chip Venus Engine HD Prime II
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds APS-C
Sensor dimensions 18.89 x 14.48mm 23.4 x 15.6mm
Sensor area 273.5mm² 365.0mm²
Sensor resolution 12 megapixels 15 megapixels
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 3:2
Peak resolution 4000 x 3000 4672 x 3104
Highest native ISO 1600 2000
Highest enhanced ISO 3200 6400
Min native ISO 100 100
RAW support
Autofocusing
Manual focus
AF touch
AF continuous
AF single
AF tracking
Selective AF
Center weighted AF
Multi area AF
AF live view
Face detect focusing
Contract detect focusing
Phase detect focusing
Number of focus points - 11
Lens
Lens mounting type Micro Four Thirds Pentax KAF2
Amount of lenses 107 151
Focal length multiplier 1.9 1.5
Screen
Type of display Fully Articulated Fixed Type
Display diagonal 3 inches 3 inches
Display resolution 460k dots 921k dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch capability
Display technology - TFT color LCD with AR coating
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Electronic Optical (pentaprism)
Viewfinder coverage 100 percent 100 percent
Viewfinder magnification - 0.61x
Features
Minimum shutter speed 60s 30s
Fastest shutter speed 1/4000s 1/8000s
Continuous shutter rate 3.0fps 5.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Set WB
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash range 10.50 m 13.00 m
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Slow Sync, Rear Curtain, Wireless
Hot shoe
AE bracketing
WB bracketing
Fastest flash synchronize 1/160s 1/180s
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
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) 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 1536 x 1024 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps)
Highest video resolution 1920x1080 1280x720
Video file format AVCHD Motion JPEG
Mic 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 None
Physical
Environmental sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 385g (0.85 lb) 750g (1.65 lb)
Physical 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 Overall score 64 61
DXO Color Depth score 21.6 22.6
DXO Dynamic range score 11.6 10.6
DXO Low light score 772 536
Other
Battery life 320 photos 980 photos
Battery style Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model - D-LI90
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse shooting
Storage type SD/SDHC SD/SDHC/MMC
Card slots One One
Pricing at release $949 $599