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Panasonic GH2 vs Pentax ist DS2

Portability
70
Imaging
51
Features
65
Overall
56
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 front
 
Pentax ist DS2 front
Portability
68
Imaging
44
Features
33
Overall
39

Panasonic GH2 vs Pentax ist DS2 Key Specs

Panasonic GH2
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Fully Articulated Screen
  • ISO 160 - 12800
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 442g - 124 x 90 x 76mm
  • Launched March 2011
  • Superseded the Panasonic GH1
  • Replacement is Panasonic GH3
Pentax ist DS2
(Full Review)
  • 6MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 2.5" Fixed Display
  • ISO 200 - 3200
  • Pentax KAF Mount
  • 605g - 125 x 93 x 66mm
  • Introduced August 2005
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Panasonic GH2 vs Pentax ist DS2 Overview

Its time to look more closely at the Panasonic GH2 and Pentax ist DS2, one is a Advanced Mirrorless and the other is a Advanced DSLR by competitors Panasonic and Pentax. There is a huge difference between the sensor resolutions of the GH2 (16MP) and ist DS2 (6MP) and the GH2 (Four Thirds) and ist DS2 (APS-C) offer different sensor dimensions.

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The GH2 was manufactured 5 years after the ist DS2 which is quite a significant gap as far as tech is concerned. Both cameras feature different body design with the Panasonic GH2 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Pentax ist DS2 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before going into a full comparison, here is a simple synopsis of how the GH2 matches up vs the ist DS2 for portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

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Reasons to pick Panasonic GH2 over the Pentax ist DS2

 GH2 ist DS2 
IntroducedMarch 2011August 2005More modern by 68 months
Display typeFully ArticulatedFixed Fully Articulating display
Display size3"2.5"Larger display (+0.5")
Display resolution460k210kCrisper display (+250k dot)
Selfie screen Take selfies
Touch friendly display Easily navigate

Reasons to pick Pentax ist DS2 over the Panasonic GH2

 ist DS2 GH2 

Common features in the Panasonic GH2 and Pentax ist DS2

 GH2 ist DS2 
Focus manually More precise focusing

Panasonic GH2 vs Pentax ist DS2 Physical Comparison

If you are planning to carry around your camera, you are going to need to take into account its weight and measurements. The Panasonic GH2 has outer measurements of 124mm x 90mm x 76mm (4.9" x 3.5" x 3.0") with a weight of 442 grams (0.97 lbs) and the Pentax ist DS2 has proportions of 125mm x 93mm x 66mm (4.9" x 3.7" x 2.6") with a weight of 605 grams (1.33 lbs).

See the Panasonic GH2 and Pentax ist DS2 in the new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Don't forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change depending on the lens you have chosen at that moment. Underneath is a front view measurement comparison of the GH2 and the ist DS2.

Panasonic GH2 vs Pentax ist DS2 size comparison

Taking into account size and weight, the portability score of the GH2 and ist DS2 is 70 and 68 respectively.

Panasonic GH2 vs Pentax ist DS2 top view buttons comparison

Panasonic GH2 vs Pentax ist DS2 Sensor Comparison

In many cases, its tough to imagine the gap between sensor sizes simply by reviewing a spec sheet. The image underneath may give you a greater sense of the sensor measurements in the GH2 and ist DS2.

Clearly, each of the cameras come with different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The GH2 due to its tinier sensor is going to make achieving shallower DOF harder and the Panasonic GH2 will offer you extra detail due to its extra 10 Megapixels. Greater resolution will allow you to crop images a good deal more aggressively. The fresher GH2 should have an edge with regard to sensor innovation.

Panasonic GH2 vs Pentax ist DS2 sensor size comparison

Panasonic GH2 vs Pentax ist DS2 Screen and ViewFinder

Panasonic GH2 vs Pentax ist DS2 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Portrait photography with Panasonic GH2
Portrait photography with Pentax ist DS2
70
you can focus manually
MP count good (16 megapixels)
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
provides face detection focusing
delivers RAW formats
50
has manual focus
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
saves RAW files
no liveview feature
sensor resolution not great (6 megapixels)
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Panasonic GH2
Street photography with Pentax ist DS2
68
screen can move to multiple angles
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW formats
lack of image stabilization
60
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
saves RAW files
lighter than competitors (605g)
no articulating screen
does not have image stabilization
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Sports Comparison

Panasonic GH2 Sports photography advice
Pentax ist DS2 Sports photography advice
46
MP count good (16 megapixels)
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
provides tracking autofocus
low fps (3.0 fps)
lack of image stabilization
low battery life (330 CIPA)
lack of phase detect AF
38
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
has phase detect auto focus
no liveview feature
slow continuous shooting (3.0 frames/s)
does not have image stabilization
sensor resolution not great (6MP)
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Travel Comparison

Panasonic GH2 Travel photography information
Pentax ist DS2 Travel photography information
62
MP count good (16 megapixels)
built-in flash
selfie friendly screen
no Time Lapse recording
low battery life (330 per charge)
52
lighter than competitors (605g)
flash built-in
doesn't have Time Lapse recording
sensor resolution not great (6 megapixels)
doesn't have selfie friendly screen
Photography Glossary

Landscape Comparison

Panasonic GH2 as a Landscape photography camera
Pentax ist DS2 as a Landscape photography camera
60
you can focus manually
interchangeable lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
screen size is good (3")
MP count good (16MP)
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW formats
lack of image stabilization
low battery life (330 per charge)
no Time Lapse recording
46
has manual focus
swap lenses (Pentax KAF mount)
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
saves RAW files
small screen (2.5 inch)
no liveview feature
does not have image stabilization
sensor resolution not great (6MP)
doesn't have Time Lapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Panasonic GH2
Vlogging with Pentax ist DS2
71
selfie friendly screen
touchscreen functionality
provides face detection focusing
great video quality (1920 x 1080 resolution)
does have external mic jack
lack of image stabilization
22
lighter than competitors (605 grams)
doesn't have selfie friendly screen
does not have image stabilization
low quality video ( pxls)
doesn't have external mic port
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Panasonic GH2 vs Pentax ist DS2 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Panasonic GH2 and Pentax ist DS2
 Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2Pentax ist DS2
General Information
Company Panasonic Pentax
Model Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 Pentax ist DS2
Category Advanced Mirrorless Advanced DSLR
Launched 2011-03-23 2005-08-22
Body design SLR-style mirrorless Mid-size SLR
Sensor Information
Powered by Venus Engine FHD -
Sensor type CMOS CCD
Sensor size Four Thirds APS-C
Sensor dimensions 17.3 x 13mm 23.5 x 15.7mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 369.0mm²
Sensor resolution 16MP 6MP
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 3:2
Full resolution 4608 x 3456 3008 x 2008
Max native ISO 12800 3200
Min native ISO 160 200
RAW photos
Autofocusing
Focus manually
AF touch
Continuous AF
AF single
AF tracking
AF selectice
Center weighted AF
AF multi area
Live view AF
Face detection AF
Contract detection AF
Phase detection AF
Number of focus points 23 11
Lens
Lens mount Micro Four Thirds Pentax KAF
Number of lenses 107 151
Focal length multiplier 2.1 1.5
Screen
Range of screen Fully Articulated Fixed Type
Screen size 3 inch 2.5 inch
Resolution of screen 460 thousand dot 210 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch screen
Screen technology TFT Color LCD with wide-viewing angle -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Electronic Optical
Viewfinder coverage 100% 95%
Viewfinder magnification 0.71x 0.64x
Features
Slowest shutter speed 60 secs 30 secs
Maximum shutter speed 1/4000 secs 1/4000 secs
Continuous shooting speed 3.0 frames per second 3.0 frames per second
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Set WB
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash range 15.60 m -
Flash options Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync Auto, On, Off, Red-eye reduction
External flash
Auto exposure bracketing
White balance bracketing
Maximum flash sync 1/160 secs -
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (24, 30, 60fps) 1280 x 720 (60, 30 fps), 848 x 480 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30fps), 320 x 240 (30fps) -
Max video resolution 1920x1080 -
Video file format AVCHD, Motion JPEG -
Mic jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless None No
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 1.0 (1.5 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 442g (0.97 lbs) 605g (1.33 lbs)
Physical dimensions 124 x 90 x 76mm (4.9" x 3.5" x 3.0") 125 x 93 x 66mm (4.9" x 3.7" x 2.6")
DXO scores
DXO All around score 60 not tested
DXO Color Depth score 21.2 not tested
DXO Dynamic range score 11.3 not tested
DXO Low light score 655 not tested
Other
Battery life 330 photographs -
Battery form Battery Pack -
Battery model - 4 x AA
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec) Yes (2 or 12 sec)
Time lapse recording
Storage media SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/MMC card
Storage slots 1 1
Launch pricing $1,000 -