Panasonic GH2 vs Pentax ist DS2

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.

This is a sample of the gallery pics for Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 and Pentax ist DS2. The entire galleries are available at Panasonic GH2 Gallery and Pentax ist DS2 Gallery.

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.

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.

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

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.