Clicky

Panasonic GH4 vs Panasonic ZS8

Portability
66
Imaging
53
Features
88
Overall
67
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH4 front
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS8 front
Portability
92
Imaging
37
Features
39
Overall
37

Panasonic GH4 vs Panasonic ZS8 Key Specs

Panasonic GH4
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Fully Articulated Display
  • ISO 200 - 25600
  • 1/8000s Max Shutter
  • 4096 x 2160 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 560g - 133 x 93 x 84mm
  • Launched February 2014
  • Old Model is Panasonic GH3
  • New Model is Panasonic GH5
Panasonic ZS8
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 6400
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 24-384mm (F3.3-5.9) lens
  • 210g - 105 x 58 x 33mm
  • Launched July 2011
  • Additionally Known as Lumix DMC-TZ18
  • Earlier Model is Panasonic ZS7
Photobucket discusses licensing 13 billion images with AI firms

Panasonic GH4 vs Panasonic ZS8 Overview

Its time to look much closer at the Panasonic GH4 versus Panasonic ZS8, one being a Pro Mirrorless and the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom and both are offered by Panasonic. The sensor resolution of the GH4 (16MP) and the ZS8 (14MP) is fairly well matched but the GH4 (Four Thirds) and ZS8 (1/2.3") use different sensor measurements.

President Biden pushes bill mandating TikTok sale or ban

The GH4 was released 2 years later than the ZS8 and that is quite a significant gap as far as technology is concerned. Each of the cameras come with different body type with the Panasonic GH4 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic ZS8 being a Compact camera.

Before going straight into a full comparison, below is a simple summary of how the GH4 scores vs the ZS8 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Apple Innovates by Creating Next-Level Optical Stabilization for iPhone
	
	

Reasons to pick Panasonic GH4 over the Panasonic ZS8

 GH4 ZS8 
LaunchedFebruary 2014July 2011More recent by 32 months
Manually focus Very precise focusing
Display typeFully ArticulatedFixed Fully Articulating display
Display resolution1036k230kCrisper display (+806k dot)
Selfie screen Easy selfies
Touch display Easily navigate

Reasons to pick Panasonic ZS8 over the Panasonic GH4

 ZS8 GH4 

Common features in the Panasonic GH4 and Panasonic ZS8

 GH4 ZS8 
Display dimension3"3"Identical display measurements

Panasonic GH4 vs Panasonic ZS8 Physical Comparison

For those who are planning to lug around your camera often, you are going to need to factor in its weight and size. The Panasonic GH4 has got exterior dimensions of 133mm x 93mm x 84mm (5.2" x 3.7" x 3.3") and a weight of 560 grams (1.23 lbs) and the Panasonic ZS8 has specifications of 105mm x 58mm x 33mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 1.3") with a weight of 210 grams (0.46 lbs).

Examine the Panasonic GH4 versus Panasonic ZS8 in the new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Keep in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change based on the lens you choose at that time. Here is the front view measurement comparison of the GH4 versus the ZS8.

Panasonic GH4 vs Panasonic ZS8 size comparison

Using dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the GH4 and ZS8 is 66 and 92 respectively.

Panasonic GH4 vs Panasonic ZS8 top view buttons comparison

Panasonic GH4 vs Panasonic ZS8 Sensor Comparison

Quite often, it can be hard to imagine the gap between sensor measurements only by reading through technical specs. The photograph here will help provide you a better sense of the sensor sizes in the GH4 and ZS8.

As you can tell, each of these cameras have got different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The GH4 because of its larger sensor is going to make shooting shallower DOF simpler and the Panasonic GH4 will resolve more detail as a result of its extra 2 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also let you crop images much more aggressively. The newer GH4 should have an advantage in sensor tech.

Panasonic GH4 vs Panasonic ZS8 sensor size comparison

Panasonic GH4 vs Panasonic ZS8 Screen and ViewFinder

Panasonic GH4 vs Panasonic ZS8 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
Japan-exclusive Leica Leitz Phone 3 features big sensor and new modes

Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Panasonic GH4 Portrait photography highlights
Panasonic ZS8 Portrait photography highlights
71
you can focus manually
good resolution (16MP)
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
has face detect focusing
supports RAW formats
30
good megapixels (14MP)
manual focus not available
no external flash support
sensor is small (1/2.3")
no RAW support
Pentax 17 Pre-Orders Outperform Expectations by a Landslide

Street Comparison

Panasonic GH4 Street photography information
Panasonic ZS8 Street photography information
71
screen can move to multiple angles
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
supports RAW formats
supports focus via touch
environment sealing
lighter than average in class (560 grams)
great high ISO (25,600)
no image stabilization
61
built in image stabilization (Optical)
lighter than competitors (210 grams)
no moving screen
sensor is small (1/2.3")
no RAW support
Snapchat Adds Watermarks to AI-Created Images

Sports Comparison

Panasonic GH4 Sports photography information
Panasonic ZS8 Sports photography information
62
great max shutter speed (1/8,000 seconds)
good resolution (16 megapixels)
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
has tracking focus
environment sealing
no image stabilization
has no phase detect AF
47
long zoom range (24-384mm 16.0 x zoom)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
good megapixels (14MP)
includes tracking autofocus
very slow continuous shooting (2.0 frames/s)
sensor is small (1/2.3")
no phase detect autofocus
Meta to Introduce 'AI-Generated' Labels for Media starting next month

Travel Comparison

Panasonic GH4 Travel photography advice
Panasonic ZS8 Travel photography advice
77
lighter than average in class (560 grams)
environment sealing
supports focus via touch
good resolution (16 megapixels)
flash built-in
screen is selfie friendly
69
lighter than competitors (210 grams)
good megapixels (14 megapixels)
built-in flash
relatively wide (24mm)
very long zoom (384mm)
does not have Timelapse function
does not have a selfie friendly display
sluggish max aperture (f3.3)
Samsung Releases Faster Versions of EVO MicroSD Cards

Landscape Comparison

Panasonic GH4 Landscape photography advice
Panasonic ZS8 Landscape photography advice
72
you can focus manually
switch lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
screen size is good (3 inch)
good resolution (16MP)
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
great high ISO (25,600)
supports RAW formats
environment sealing
no image stabilization
44
relatively wide (24mm)
nice screen size (3")
built in image stabilization (Optical)
good megapixels (14 megapixels)
manual focus not available
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
sluggish max aperture (f3.3)
sensor is small (1/2.3")
no RAW support
does not have Timelapse function
Photography Glossary

Vlogging Comparison

Panasonic GH4 Vlogging features
Panasonic ZS8 Vlogging features
71
screen is selfie friendly
touchscreen capability
has face detect focusing
high res video (4096 x 2160 pxls)
comes with microphone support
lighter than average in class (560 grams)
no image stabilization
30
relatively wide (24mm)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
lighter than competitors (210 grams)
sluggish max aperture (f3.3)
does not have a selfie friendly display
video quality not great (1280 x 720 resolution)
does not have external microphone support
Sora from OpenAI releases its first ever music video

Panasonic GH4 vs Panasonic ZS8 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Panasonic GH4 and Panasonic ZS8
 Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH4Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS8
General Information
Company Panasonic Panasonic
Model Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH4 Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS8
Also called - Lumix DMC-TZ18
Type Pro Mirrorless Small Sensor Superzoom
Launched 2014-02-07 2011-07-19
Physical type SLR-style mirrorless Compact
Sensor Information
Powered by Venus Engine IX Venus Engine FHD
Sensor type CMOS CCD
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 6.08 x 4.56mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 27.7mm²
Sensor resolution 16 megapixels 14 megapixels
Anti aliasing 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 4320 x 3240
Max native ISO 25600 6400
Minimum native ISO 200 100
RAW files
Autofocusing
Manual focus
Touch focus
Autofocus continuous
Single autofocus
Tracking autofocus
Selective autofocus
Center weighted autofocus
Multi area autofocus
Autofocus live view
Face detect autofocus
Contract detect autofocus
Phase detect autofocus
Number of focus points 49 11
Lens
Lens mounting type Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens focal range - 24-384mm (16.0x)
Maximal aperture - f/3.3-5.9
Macro focus range - 3cm
Number of lenses 107 -
Crop factor 2.1 5.9
Screen
Type of display Fully Articulated Fixed Type
Display diagonal 3" 3"
Display resolution 1,036k dots 230k dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch screen
Display tech OLED TFT LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Electronic None
Viewfinder resolution 2,359k dots -
Viewfinder coverage 100 percent -
Viewfinder magnification 0.67x -
Features
Min shutter speed 60 seconds 60 seconds
Max shutter speed 1/8000 seconds 1/4000 seconds
Continuous shutter rate 12.0fps 2.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual mode
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Set white balance
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash range 17.00 m (at ISO 200) 5.00 m
Flash options Auto, auto/redeye reduction, forced on, forced on/redeye reduction, slow sync, slow sync/redeye reduction, forced off Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Slow Syncro
Hot shoe
Auto exposure bracketing
White balance bracketing
Max flash synchronize 1/250 seconds -
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Supported 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 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps)
Max video resolution 4096x2160 1280x720
Video data format MPEG-4, AVCHD MPEG-4
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
Environment sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 560g (1.23 pounds) 210g (0.46 pounds)
Dimensions 133 x 93 x 84mm (5.2" x 3.7" x 3.3") 105 x 58 x 33mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 1.3")
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 images 340 images
Battery style 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 shooting
Storage type SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal
Card slots One One
Price at release $1,500 $275