Panasonic GH3 vs Pentax W80

Lets take a closer look at the Panasonic GH3 and Pentax W80, one being a Advanced Mirrorless and the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by manufacturers Panasonic and Pentax. There exists a crucial gap between the sensor resolutions of the GH3 (16MP) and W80 (12MP) and the GH3 (Four Thirds) and W80 (1/2.3") provide different sensor size.

Photography Glossary

The GH3 was launched 3 years later than the W80 and that is quite a serious gap as far as technology is concerned. Both of the cameras have different body design with the Panasonic GH3 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Pentax W80 being a Compact camera.

Before we go straight to a full comparison, here is a quick overview of how the GH3 matches up against the W80 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

The following is a preview of the gallery photos for Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 and Pentax Optio W80. The complete galleries are viewable at Panasonic GH3 Gallery and Pentax W80 Gallery.

In case you're intending to carry your camera regularly, you are going to need to think about its weight and proportions. The Panasonic GH3 comes with exterior measurements of 133mm x 93mm x 82mm (5.2" x 3.7" x 3.2") having a weight of 550 grams (1.21 lbs) and the Pentax W80 has measurements of 100mm x 56mm x 25mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 1.0") with a weight of 156 grams (0.34 lbs).

Examine the Panasonic GH3 and Pentax W80 in the new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Don't forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary depending on the lens you have during that time. The following is a front view overall size comparison of the GH3 vs the W80.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the GH3 and W80 is 66 and 94 respectively.

More often than not, its hard to visualize the difference between sensor sizing just by reading through technical specs. The photograph here might offer you a much better sense of the sensor sizing in the GH3 and W80.

As you can tell, the two cameras have different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The GH3 because of its bigger sensor is going to make getting bokeh less difficult and the Panasonic GH3 will give more detail utilizing its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will make it easier to crop photographs a bit more aggressively. The more recent GH3 provides a benefit when it comes to sensor technology.