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Panasonic GH3 vs Pentax RS1500

Portability
66
Imaging
52
Features
80
Overall
63
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 front
 
Pentax Optio RS1500 front
Portability
93
Imaging
37
Features
30
Overall
34

Panasonic GH3 vs Pentax RS1500 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
  • Launched September 2012
  • Succeeded the Panasonic GH2
  • Refreshed by Panasonic GH4
Pentax RS1500
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 80 - 6400
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 28-110mm (F3.5-5.5) lens
  • 157g - 114 x 58 x 28mm
  • Launched March 2011
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Panasonic GH3 vs Pentax RS1500 Overview

Its time to look more closely at the Panasonic GH3 vs Pentax RS1500, one is a Advanced Mirrorless and the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by competitors Panasonic and Pentax. The image resolution of the GH3 (16MP) and the RS1500 (14MP) is pretty well matched but the GH3 (Four Thirds) and RS1500 (1/2.3") possess different sensor measurements.

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The GH3 was revealed 19 months after the RS1500 which makes the cameras a generation away from one another. Both of the cameras come with different body type with the Panasonic GH3 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Pentax RS1500 being a Compact camera.

Before diving in to a thorough comparison, below is a simple introduction of how the GH3 grades against the RS1500 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

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Reasons to pick Panasonic GH3 over the Pentax RS1500

 GH3 RS1500 
LaunchedSeptember 2012March 2011Newer by 19 months
Screen typeFully ArticulatedFixed Fully Articulating screen
Screen dimension3"2.7"Bigger screen (+0.3")
Screen resolution614k230kCrisper screen (+384k dot)
Selfie screen Easy selfies
Touch friendly screen Quickly navigate

Reasons to pick Pentax RS1500 over the Panasonic GH3

 RS1500 GH3 

Common features in the Panasonic GH3 and Pentax RS1500

 GH3 RS1500 
Manual focus Very accurate focus

Panasonic GH3 vs Pentax RS1500 Physical Comparison

For anyone who is intending to travel with your camera regularly, you are going to need to factor in its weight and proportions. The Panasonic GH3 has got exterior measurements of 133mm x 93mm x 82mm (5.2" x 3.7" x 3.2") accompanied by a weight of 550 grams (1.21 lbs) and the Pentax RS1500 has measurements of 114mm x 58mm x 28mm (4.5" x 2.3" x 1.1") along with a weight of 157 grams (0.35 lbs).

Check out the Panasonic GH3 vs Pentax RS1500 in the all new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into consideration, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change dependant on the lens you have during that time. Below is the front view proportions comparison of the GH3 compared to the RS1500.

Panasonic GH3 vs Pentax RS1500 size comparison

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the GH3 and RS1500 is 66 and 93 respectively.

Panasonic GH3 vs Pentax RS1500 top view buttons comparison

Panasonic GH3 vs Pentax RS1500 Sensor Comparison

Sometimes, it's tough to picture the contrast between sensor dimensions simply by reading through a spec sheet. The pic underneath should provide you a greater sense of the sensor measurements in the GH3 and RS1500.

As you can see, both the cameras have got different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The GH3 having a bigger sensor is going to make achieving shallow DOF easier and the Panasonic GH3 will give greater detail because of its extra 2MP. Higher resolution will also allow you to crop shots much more aggressively. The more modern GH3 should have an advantage in sensor innovation.

Panasonic GH3 vs Pentax RS1500 sensor size comparison

Panasonic GH3 vs Pentax RS1500 Screen and ViewFinder

Panasonic GH3 vs Pentax RS1500 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Portrait photography with Panasonic GH3
Portrait photography with Pentax RS1500
71
you can focus manually
good megapixels (16MP)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
provides face detect autofocus
saves RAW formats
35
focusing manually
MP count good (14 megapixels)
no manual mode
can't use external flash
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
no RAW format
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Street Comparison

Panasonic GH3 as a Street photography camera
Pentax RS1500 as a Street photography camera
65
fully articulated screen
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
saves RAW formats
includes touch to focus
weather proofing
does not have image stabilization
heavier than average in class (550g)
54
environment proof
no articulating screen
no image stabilization
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
no RAW format
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Sports Comparison

Panasonic GH3 Sports photography features
Pentax RS1500 Sports photography features
63
high max fps (20.0 frames/s)
good megapixels (16MP)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
provides tracking focus
weather proofing
great battery (540 CIPA)
does not have image stabilization
doesn't have phase detect autofocus
37
MP count good (14 megapixels)
features tracking autofocus
environment proof
slow continuous shooting (1.0 frames per second)
lack of shutter priority mode
no image stabilization
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
no phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Panasonic GH3 as a Travel photography camera
Pentax RS1500 as a Travel photography camera
71
great battery (540 CIPA)
weather proofing
includes touch to focus
good megapixels (16MP)
flash built-in
display is selfie friendly
heavier than average in class (550g)
67
environment proof
MP count good (14 megapixels)
has built in flash
quite wide (28mm)
no Timelapse function
display isn't selfie friendly
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.5)
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Landscape Comparison

Panasonic GH3 Landscape photography factors
Pentax RS1500 Landscape photography factors
71
you can focus manually
switch lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
screen is a good size (3")
good megapixels (16MP)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
saves RAW formats
weather proofing
great battery (540 CIPA)
does not have image stabilization
40
focusing manually
quite wide (28mm)
MP count good (14 megapixels)
environment proof
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.5)
screen is somewhat small (2.7 inch)
no manual mode
no image stabilization
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
no RAW format
no Timelapse function
Photography Glossary

Vlogging Comparison

Panasonic GH3 Vlogging information
Pentax RS1500 Vlogging information
65
display is selfie friendly
touchscreen functionality
provides face detect autofocus
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 pxls)
has mic support
does not have image stabilization
heavier than average in class (550 grams)
25
quite wide (28mm)
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.5)
display isn't selfie friendly
no image stabilization
low quality video (1280 x 720 resolution)
no external microphone jack
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Panasonic GH3 vs Pentax RS1500 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Panasonic GH3 and Pentax RS1500
 Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3Pentax Optio RS1500
General Information
Make Panasonic Pentax
Model Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 Pentax Optio RS1500
Class Advanced Mirrorless Small Sensor Compact
Launched 2012-09-17 2011-03-16
Body design SLR-style mirrorless Compact
Sensor Information
Powered by Venus Engine VII FHD -
Sensor type CMOS CCD
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 14 megapixel
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Maximum resolution 4608 x 3456 4288 x 3216
Maximum native ISO 12800 6400
Minimum native ISO 200 80
RAW photos
Autofocusing
Manual focus
Autofocus touch
Continuous autofocus
Single autofocus
Tracking autofocus
Selective autofocus
Center weighted autofocus
Autofocus multi area
Autofocus live view
Face detect focus
Contract detect focus
Phase detect focus
Number of focus points 23 9
Lens
Lens mount Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens focal range - 28-110mm (3.9x)
Highest aperture - f/3.5-5.5
Macro focus range - 1cm
Number of lenses 107 -
Focal length multiplier 2.1 5.8
Screen
Range of display Fully Articulated Fixed Type
Display sizing 3" 2.7"
Display resolution 614 thousand dot 230 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch friendly
Display tech OLED Monitor with static touch control TFT color LCD with Anti-reflective coating
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Electronic None
Viewfinder resolution 1,744 thousand dot -
Viewfinder coverage 100% -
Viewfinder magnification 0.67x -
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60 seconds 4 seconds
Highest shutter speed 1/4000 seconds 1/1500 seconds
Continuous shooting speed 20.0 frames per second 1.0 frames per second
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes -
Custom white balance
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash range 12.00 m 3.90 m
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Soft
Hot shoe
AEB
White balance bracketing
Highest flash sync 1/160 seconds -
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60, 50, 30, 25 24 fps) 1280 x 720 (60, 50, 30, 25fps), 640 x 480 (30, 25fps 1280 x 720 (30, 15 fps), 640 x 480 (30, 15 fps), 320 x 240 (30, 15 fps)
Maximum video resolution 1920x1080 1280x720
Video format MPEG-4, AVCHD, H.264 Motion JPEG
Microphone input
Headphone input
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 seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 550 grams (1.21 pounds) 157 grams (0.35 pounds)
Dimensions 133 x 93 x 82mm (5.2" x 3.7" x 3.2") 114 x 58 x 28mm (4.5" x 2.3" x 1.1")
DXO scores
DXO All around score 71 not tested
DXO Color Depth score 22.7 not tested
DXO Dynamic range score 12.4 not tested
DXO Low light score 812 not tested
Other
Battery life 540 pictures 260 pictures
Type of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model - D-LI92
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec, 10 sec (3 images)) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse feature
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal
Storage slots Single Single
Retail cost $799 $150