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Panasonic GH4 vs Panasonic S1

Portability
66
Imaging
53
Features
88
Overall
67
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH4 front
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-S1 front
Portability
96
Imaging
36
Features
21
Overall
30

Panasonic GH4 vs Panasonic S1 Key Specs

Panasonic GH4
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Fully Articulated Display
  • ISO 200 - 25600
  • 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
  • 4096 x 2160 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 560g - 133 x 93 x 84mm
  • Released February 2014
  • Superseded the Panasonic GH3
  • Replacement is Panasonic GH5
Panasonic S1
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 6400
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 28-112mm (F3.1-5.6) lens
  • 117g - 99 x 59 x 21mm
  • Announced January 2011
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Panasonic GH4 vs Panasonic S1 Overview

Lets look more closely at the Panasonic GH4 versus Panasonic S1, one being a Pro Mirrorless and the latter is a Small Sensor Compact and both of them are created by Panasonic. There exists a crucial gap among the sensor resolutions of the GH4 (16MP) and S1 (12MP) and the GH4 (Four Thirds) and S1 (1/2.3") posses different sensor size.

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The GH4 was revealed 3 years later than the S1 and that is a fairly serious gap as far as camera technology is concerned. The two cameras have different body design with the Panasonic GH4 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic S1 being a Compact camera.

Before delving into a detailed comparison, here is a short summation of how the GH4 matches up versus the S1 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

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Reasons to pick Panasonic GH4 over the Panasonic S1

 GH4 S1 
AnnouncedFebruary 2014January 2011Fresher by 38 months
Focus manually Very exact focus
Screen typeFully ArticulatedFixed Fully Articulating screen
Screen dimensions3"2.7"Bigger screen (+0.3")
Screen resolution1036k230kCrisper screen (+806k dot)
Selfie screen Take selfies
Touch screen Quickly navigate

Reasons to pick Panasonic S1 over the Panasonic GH4

 S1 GH4 

Common features in the Panasonic GH4 and Panasonic S1

 GH4 S1 

Panasonic GH4 vs Panasonic S1 Physical Comparison

If you're planning to carry your camera frequently, you will have to factor in its weight and measurements. The Panasonic GH4 has outer dimensions of 133mm x 93mm x 84mm (5.2" x 3.7" x 3.3") accompanied by a weight of 560 grams (1.23 lbs) whilst the Panasonic S1 has proportions of 99mm x 59mm x 21mm (3.9" x 2.3" x 0.8") along with a weight of 117 grams (0.26 lbs).

Take a look at the Panasonic GH4 versus Panasonic S1 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into consideration, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary dependant on the lens you are utilising at that time. Below is a front view dimension comparison of the GH4 vs the S1.

Panasonic GH4 vs Panasonic S1 size comparison

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability score of the GH4 and S1 is 66 and 96 respectively.

Panasonic GH4 vs Panasonic S1 top view buttons comparison

Panasonic GH4 vs Panasonic S1 Sensor Comparison

Quite often, it is very hard to visualize the difference in sensor sizing purely by looking through technical specs. The photograph here may give you a much better sense of the sensor sizes in the GH4 and S1.

As you can tell, both of those cameras have different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The GH4 using its bigger sensor is going to make shooting shallower DOF easier and the Panasonic GH4 will result in extra detail because of its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will allow you to crop photographs a bit more aggressively. The fresher GH4 should have an advantage in sensor technology.

Panasonic GH4 vs Panasonic S1 sensor size comparison

Panasonic GH4 vs Panasonic S1 Screen and ViewFinder

Panasonic GH4 vs Panasonic S1 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Panasonic GH4 Portrait photography info
Panasonic S1 Portrait photography info
71
focusing manually
MP count good (16MP)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
comes with face detection focusing
exports RAW files
21
lack of manual focus
no manual control
can't use external flash
low resolution (12 megapixels)
sensor is tiny (1/2.3")
lack of RAW files
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Street Comparison

Panasonic GH4 as a Street photography camera
Panasonic S1 as a Street photography camera
71
screen can move to multiple angles
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
exports RAW files
includes touch focus
environment sealing
lighter than competitors (560 grams)
good ISO range (25,600)
no image stabilization
63
built in image stabilization (Optical)
lighter than competition in class (117 grams)
screen is fixed
sensor is tiny (1/2.3")
lack of RAW files
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Sports Comparison

Panasonic GH4 Sports photography information
Panasonic S1 Sports photography information
62
max shutter speed is good (1/8,000 seconds)
MP count good (16MP)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
comes with tracking autofocus
environment sealing
no image stabilization
does not have phase detect AF
28
built in image stabilization (Optical)
lack of shutter priority mode
low resolution (12MP)
sensor is tiny (1/2.3")
lack of phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Panasonic GH4
Travel photography with Panasonic S1
77
lighter than competitors (560 grams)
environment sealing
includes touch focus
MP count good (16MP)
built-in flash
selfie friendly display
62
lighter than competition in class (117g)
has built in flash
fairly wide (28mm)
lack of Timelapse function
low resolution (12MP)
does not have a selfie friendly display
slow maximum aperture (f3.1)
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Landscape Comparison

Panasonic GH4 Landscape photography factors
Panasonic S1 Landscape photography factors
72
focusing manually
switch lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
screen is a good size (3")
MP count good (16 megapixels)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
good ISO range (25,600)
exports RAW files
environment sealing
no image stabilization
33
fairly wide (28mm)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
lack of manual focus
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
slow maximum aperture (f3.1)
tiny screen (2.7 inches)
no manual control
low resolution (12MP)
sensor is tiny (1/2.3")
lack of RAW files
lack of Timelapse function
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Vlogging Comparison

Panasonic GH4 as a Vlogging camera
Panasonic S1 as a Vlogging camera
71
selfie friendly display
touchscreen
comes with face detection focusing
video resolution high (4096 x 2160 resolution)
has external mic jack
lighter than competitors (560 grams)
no image stabilization
31
fairly wide (28mm)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
lighter than competition in class (117 grams)
slow maximum aperture (f3.1)
does not have a selfie friendly display
video resolution low (1280 x 720 pxls)
lack of external microphone support
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Panasonic GH4 vs Panasonic S1 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Panasonic GH4 and Panasonic S1
 Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH4Panasonic Lumix DMC-S1
General Information
Manufacturer Panasonic Panasonic
Model Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH4 Panasonic Lumix DMC-S1
Type Pro Mirrorless Small Sensor Compact
Released 2014-02-07 2011-01-05
Physical type SLR-style mirrorless Compact
Sensor Information
Chip Venus Engine IX Venus Engine IV
Sensor type CMOS CCD
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 6.08 x 4.56mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 27.7mm²
Sensor resolution 16 megapixels 12 megapixels
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Max resolution 4608 x 3456 4000 x 3000
Max native ISO 25600 6400
Min native ISO 200 100
RAW format
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch to focus
AF continuous
AF single
AF tracking
AF selectice
Center weighted AF
Multi area AF
Live view AF
Face detect focusing
Contract detect focusing
Phase detect focusing
Number of focus points 49 11
Lens
Lens mount Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens focal range - 28-112mm (4.0x)
Maximal aperture - f/3.1-5.6
Macro focus distance - 5cm
Amount of lenses 107 -
Focal length multiplier 2.1 5.9
Screen
Display type Fully Articulated Fixed Type
Display diagonal 3" 2.7"
Display resolution 1,036 thousand dots 230 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch operation
Display tech OLED TFT LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Electronic None
Viewfinder resolution 2,359 thousand dots -
Viewfinder coverage 100% -
Viewfinder magnification 0.67x -
Features
Minimum shutter speed 60s 8s
Fastest shutter speed 1/8000s 1/1600s
Continuous shutter rate 12.0fps -
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes -
Change WB
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash range 17.00 m (at ISO 200) 3.30 m
Flash modes Auto, auto/redeye reduction, forced on, forced on/redeye reduction, slow sync, slow sync/redeye reduction, forced off Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye reduction
External flash
AEB
WB bracketing
Fastest flash synchronize 1/250s -
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Video resolutions 4096 x 2160 (24p), 3840 x 2160 (24p, 25p, 30p), 1920 x 1080 (24p, 25p, 30p, 50p, 60p), 1280 x 720 (24p, 25p, 30p), 640 x 480 (25p, 30p) 1280 x 720 (30fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps)
Max video resolution 4096x2160 1280x720
Video file format MPEG-4, AVCHD Motion JPEG
Microphone support
Headphone support
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 proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 560g (1.23 lbs) 117g (0.26 lbs)
Physical dimensions 133 x 93 x 84mm (5.2" x 3.7" x 3.3") 99 x 59 x 21mm (3.9" x 2.3" x 0.8")
DXO scores
DXO Overall score 74 not tested
DXO Color Depth score 23.2 not tested
DXO Dynamic range score 12.8 not tested
DXO Low light score 791 not tested
Other
Battery life 500 photographs 240 photographs
Type of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model DMW-BLF19 -
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 secs (single or three-shot)) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse feature
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal
Card slots 1 1
Pricing at release $1,500 $269