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Panasonic GH3 vs Panasonic ZS15

Portability
66
Imaging
52
Features
80
Overall
63
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 front
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS15 front
Portability
92
Imaging
36
Features
37
Overall
36

Panasonic GH3 vs Panasonic ZS15 Key Specs

Panasonic GH3
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Fully Articulated Display
  • ISO 200 - 12800
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 550g - 133 x 93 x 82mm
  • Introduced September 2012
  • Earlier Model is Panasonic GH2
  • Refreshed by Panasonic GH4
Panasonic ZS15
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 6400
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 24-384mm (F3.3-5.9) lens
  • 208g - 105 x 58 x 33mm
  • Revealed June 2012
  • Also Known as Lumix DMC-TZ25
  • Successor is Panasonic ZS20
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Panasonic GH3 vs Panasonic ZS15 Overview

On this page, we will be looking at the Panasonic GH3 vs Panasonic ZS15, former being a Advanced Mirrorless while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom and both of them are sold by Panasonic. There exists a noticeable gap between the image resolutions of the GH3 (16MP) and ZS15 (12MP) and the GH3 (Four Thirds) and ZS15 (1/2.3") have different sensor measurements.

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The GH3 was launched 3 months later than the ZS15 so they are both of a similar age. Both of the cameras have different body design with the Panasonic GH3 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic ZS15 being a Compact camera.

Before delving right into a thorough comparison, here is a short highlight of how the GH3 grades vs the ZS15 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Photography Glossary
	
	

Reasons to pick Panasonic GH3 over the Panasonic ZS15

 GH3 ZS15 
Manual focus More accurate focusing
Screen typeFully ArticulatedFixed Fully Articulating screen
Screen resolution614k460kCrisper screen (+154k dot)
Selfie screen Take selfies
Touch screen Quickly navigate

Reasons to pick Panasonic ZS15 over the Panasonic GH3

 ZS15 GH3 

Common features in the Panasonic GH3 and Panasonic ZS15

 GH3 ZS15 
RevealedSeptember 2012June 2012Similar age
Screen dimensions3"3"Equal screen measurements

Panasonic GH3 vs Panasonic ZS15 Physical Comparison

For those who are looking to lug around your camera, you need to factor in its weight and proportions. The Panasonic GH3 offers outside dimensions of 133mm x 93mm x 82mm (5.2" x 3.7" x 3.2") with a weight of 550 grams (1.21 lbs) and the Panasonic ZS15 has measurements of 105mm x 58mm x 33mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 1.3") having a weight of 208 grams (0.46 lbs).

Check out the Panasonic GH3 vs Panasonic ZS15 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you select at the time. Here is a front view dimension comparison of the GH3 and the ZS15.

Panasonic GH3 vs Panasonic ZS15 size comparison

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability score of the GH3 and ZS15 is 66 and 92 respectively.

Panasonic GH3 vs Panasonic ZS15 top view buttons comparison

Panasonic GH3 vs Panasonic ZS15 Sensor Comparison

More often than not, its difficult to picture the difference between sensor measurements simply by going over technical specs. The graphic below should give you a much better sense of the sensor sizes in the GH3 and ZS15.

As you can tell, both cameras have different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The GH3 featuring a bigger sensor is going to make achieving bokeh simpler and the Panasonic GH3 will offer you greater detail utilizing its extra 4MP. Higher resolution will allow you to crop photographs a bit more aggressively.

Panasonic GH3 vs Panasonic ZS15 sensor size comparison

Panasonic GH3 vs Panasonic ZS15 Screen and ViewFinder

Panasonic GH3 vs Panasonic ZS15 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Panasonic GH3 Portrait photography features
Panasonic ZS15 Portrait photography features
71
has manual focus
resolution is good (16 megapixels)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
has face detect autofocus
supports RAW formats
21
no manual focus
can't use external flash
low resolution (12 megapixels)
very small sensor (1/2.3")
does not have RAW files
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Panasonic GH3
Street photography with Panasonic ZS15
65
fully articulated screen
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
supports RAW formats
includes touch focus
environment proofing
does not have image stabilization
heavier than others (550 grams)
61
has image stabilization (Optical)
lighter than competition (208g)
screen is fixed
very small sensor (1/2.3")
does not have RAW files
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Sports Comparison

Panasonic GH3 Sports photography information
Panasonic ZS15 Sports photography information
63
high fps (20.0 fps)
resolution is good (16MP)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
has tracking focus
environment proofing
better than average battery pack (540 shots)
does not have image stabilization
lack of phase detect autofocus
36
long zoom range (24-384mm 16.0 x zoom)
has image stabilization (Optical)
includes tracking focus
max fps very slow (2.0 frames per second)
low resolution (12 megapixels)
very small sensor (1/2.3")
low battery life (260 per charge)
does not have phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Panasonic GH3 as a Travel photography camera
Panasonic ZS15 as a Travel photography camera
71
better than average battery pack (540 CIPA)
environment proofing
includes touch focus
resolution is good (16 megapixels)
built-in flash
selfie friendly screen
heavier than others (550g)
61
lighter than competition (208g)
flash built-in
fairly wide (24mm)
great reach (384mm)
missing Timelapse mode
low battery life (260 per charge)
low resolution (12 megapixels)
display is not selfie friendly
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.3)
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Landscape Comparison

Panasonic GH3 Landscape photography features
Panasonic ZS15 Landscape photography features
71
has manual focus
interchangeable lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
screen is a good size (3 inches)
resolution is good (16 megapixels)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
supports RAW formats
environment proofing
better than average battery pack (540 per charge)
does not have image stabilization
37
fairly wide (24mm)
screen is a good size (3")
has image stabilization (Optical)
no manual focus
can't change lens (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.3)
low resolution (12 megapixels)
very small sensor (1/2.3")
does not have RAW files
low battery life (260 shots)
missing Timelapse mode
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Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Panasonic GH3
Vlogging with Panasonic ZS15
65
selfie friendly screen
touchscreen capability
has face detect autofocus
high res video (1920 x 1080 resolution)
has mic jack
does not have image stabilization
heavier than others (550 grams)
33
fairly wide (24mm)
has image stabilization (Optical)
high quality video (1920 x 1080 pxls)
lighter than competition (208 grams)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.3)
display is not selfie friendly
missing microphone socket
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Panasonic GH3 vs Panasonic ZS15 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Panasonic GH3 and Panasonic ZS15
 Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS15
General Information
Manufacturer Panasonic Panasonic
Model type Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS15
Also called as - Lumix DMC-TZ25
Category Advanced Mirrorless Small Sensor Superzoom
Introduced 2012-09-17 2012-06-29
Physical type SLR-style mirrorless Compact
Sensor Information
Processor Chip Venus Engine VII FHD -
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 16 megapixel 12 megapixel
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Max resolution 4608 x 3456 4000 x 3000
Max native ISO 12800 6400
Min native ISO 200 100
RAW pictures
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
Autofocus touch
Autofocus continuous
Single autofocus
Autofocus tracking
Autofocus selectice
Center weighted autofocus
Multi area autofocus
Live view autofocus
Face detect focus
Contract detect focus
Phase detect focus
Total focus points 23 23
Lens
Lens mount type Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 24-384mm (16.0x)
Max aperture - f/3.3-5.9
Macro focusing range - 3cm
Total lenses 107 -
Focal length multiplier 2.1 5.8
Screen
Type of display Fully Articulated Fixed Type
Display sizing 3 inches 3 inches
Resolution of display 614 thousand dots 460 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch screen
Display tech OLED Monitor with static touch control -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Electronic None
Viewfinder resolution 1,744 thousand dots -
Viewfinder coverage 100% -
Viewfinder magnification 0.67x -
Features
Minimum shutter speed 60 seconds 15 seconds
Fastest shutter speed 1/4000 seconds 1/4000 seconds
Continuous shutter rate 20.0 frames per second 2.0 frames per second
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Custom white balance
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash distance 12.00 m 6.40 m
Flash options Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Slow Syncro
Hot shoe
Auto exposure bracketing
WB bracketing
Fastest flash synchronize 1/160 seconds -
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60, 50, 30, 25 24 fps) 1280 x 720 (60, 50, 30, 25fps), 640 x 480 (30, 25fps 1920 x 1080 (60 fps), 1280 x 720 (60, 30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Max video resolution 1920x1080 1920x1080
Video data format MPEG-4, AVCHD, H.264 MPEG-4, AVCHD
Microphone port
Headphone port
Connectivity
Wireless Built-In None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental sealing
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 550 grams (1.21 pounds) 208 grams (0.46 pounds)
Physical dimensions 133 x 93 x 82mm (5.2" x 3.7" x 3.2") 105 x 58 x 33mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 1.3")
DXO scores
DXO Overall rating 71 not tested
DXO Color Depth rating 22.7 not tested
DXO Dynamic range rating 12.4 not tested
DXO Low light rating 812 not tested
Other
Battery life 540 photographs 260 photographs
Form of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec, 10 sec (3 images)) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse shooting
Storage type SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal
Card slots One One
Retail price $799 $279