Panasonic GH4 vs Panasonic ZS1

The following is a detailed assessment of the Panasonic GH4 and Panasonic ZS1, former is a Pro Mirrorless while the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom and they are both offered by Panasonic. There exists a noticeable gap among the image resolutions of the GH4 (16MP) and ZS1 (10MP) and the GH4 (Four Thirds) and ZS1 (1/2.5") provide different sensor sizes.

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The GH4 was unveiled 4 years after the ZS1 which is a fairly sizable difference as far as camera technology is concerned. The two cameras feature different body design with the Panasonic GH4 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic ZS1 being a Compact camera.

Before getting right into a complete comparison, here is a short highlight of how the GH4 matches up versus the ZS1 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

This is a sample of the gallery pics for Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH4 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS1. The full galleries are viewable at Panasonic GH4 Gallery & Panasonic ZS1 Gallery.

For those who are looking to travel with your camera, you will want to take into account its weight and volume. The Panasonic GH4 has got physical measurements of 133mm x 93mm x 84mm (5.2" x 3.7" x 3.3") accompanied by a weight of 560 grams (1.23 lbs) while the Panasonic ZS1 has sizing of 103mm x 60mm x 33mm (4.1" x 2.4" x 1.3") with a weight of 229 grams (0.50 lbs).

Take a look at the Panasonic GH4 and Panasonic ZS1 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you use at that moment. Following is a front view overall size comparison of the GH4 versus the ZS1.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability score of the GH4 and ZS1 is 66 and 91 respectively.

Normally, its hard to picture the gap in sensor dimensions purely by viewing a spec sheet. The picture below may provide you a better sense of the sensor measurements in the GH4 and ZS1.

As you can see, the two cameras feature different resolutions and different sensor dimensions. The GH4 having a larger sensor is going to make getting shallower depth of field easier and the Panasonic GH4 will provide you with more detail having an extra 6MP. Greater resolution will allow you to crop pics way more aggressively. The younger GH4 provides an advantage with regard to sensor technology.