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Panasonic GX1 vs Pentax K-3 II

Portability
87
Imaging
52
Features
54
Overall
52
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX1 front
 
Pentax K-3 II front
Portability
59
Imaging
66
Features
84
Overall
73

Panasonic GX1 vs Pentax K-3 II Key Specs

Panasonic GX1
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 160 - 12800
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 318g - 116 x 68 x 39mm
  • Released February 2012
  • Successor is Panasonic GX7
Pentax K-3 II
(Full Review)
  • 24MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3.2" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 51200
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • No Anti-Alias Filter
  • 1/8000s Max Shutter
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Pentax KAF2 Mount
  • 800g - 131 x 100 x 77mm
  • Revealed April 2015
  • Previous Model is Pentax K-3
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Panasonic GX1 vs Pentax K-3 II Overview

Below, we will be matching up the Panasonic GX1 versus Pentax K-3 II, one is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the latter is a Advanced DSLR by companies Panasonic and Pentax. There is a huge difference between the image resolutions of the GX1 (16MP) and K-3 II (24MP) and the GX1 (Four Thirds) and K-3 II (APS-C) enjoy totally different sensor sizes.

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The GX1 was manufactured 4 years earlier than the K-3 II which is quite a significant gap as far as tech is concerned. Both of these cameras come with different body type with the Panasonic GX1 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Pentax K-3 II being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before diving through a more detailed comparison, below is a brief overview of how the GX1 scores vs the K-3 II when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

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Reasons to pick Panasonic GX1 over the Pentax K-3 II

 GX1 K-3 II 
Touch screen Quickly navigate

Reasons to pick Pentax K-3 II over the Panasonic GX1

 K-3 II GX1 
RevealedApril 2015February 2012Newer by 38 months
Screen dimension3.2"3"Bigger screen (+0.2")
Screen resolution1037k460kClearer screen (+577k dot)

Common features in the Panasonic GX1 and Pentax K-3 II

 GX1 K-3 II 
Focus manually Very exact focusing
Screen typeFixed Fixed Fixed screen
Selfie screen Absent selfie screen

Panasonic GX1 vs Pentax K-3 II Physical Comparison

For anybody who is looking to travel with your camera frequently, you'll have to factor its weight and size. The Panasonic GX1 has external dimensions of 116mm x 68mm x 39mm (4.6" x 2.7" x 1.5") accompanied by a weight of 318 grams (0.70 lbs) whilst the Pentax K-3 II has specifications of 131mm x 100mm x 77mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.0") accompanied by a weight of 800 grams (1.76 lbs).

Contrast the Panasonic GX1 versus Pentax K-3 II in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into account, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary based on the lens you choose at that moment. Here is the front view physical size comparison of the GX1 compared to the K-3 II.

Panasonic GX1 vs Pentax K-3 II size comparison

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability rating of the GX1 and K-3 II is 87 and 59 respectively.

Panasonic GX1 vs Pentax K-3 II top view buttons comparison

Panasonic GX1 vs Pentax K-3 II Sensor Comparison

Often, its tough to see the contrast between sensor dimensions purely by checking technical specs. The pic here should give you a more clear sense of the sensor sizes in the GX1 and K-3 II.

As you can tell, both of these cameras have got different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The GX1 because of its tinier sensor will make achieving shallower DOF trickier and the Pentax K-3 II will give extra detail due to its extra 8MP. Higher resolution will let you crop photographs much more aggressively. The more aged GX1 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor tech.

Panasonic GX1 vs Pentax K-3 II sensor size comparison

Panasonic GX1 vs Pentax K-3 II Screen and ViewFinder

Panasonic GX1 vs Pentax K-3 II Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Panasonic GX1 as a Portrait photography camera
Pentax K-3 II as a Portrait photography camera
71
has manual focus
resolution is good (16 megapixels)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
supports face detect focus
saves RAW files
79
manual focus
megapixel count decent (24 megapixels)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
supports face detect focusing
delivers RAW formats
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Panasonic GX1
Street photography with Pentax K-3 II
70
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
saves RAW files
offers touch focus
screen is fixed
lack of image stabilization
69
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
delivers RAW formats
weather proof
great high ISO (51,200)
screen does not articulate
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Sports Comparison

Panasonic GX1 as a Sports photography camera
Pentax K-3 II as a Sports photography camera
47
resolution is good (16 megapixels)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
supports tracking focus
very slow continuous shooting (4.0 frames per second)
lack of image stabilization
not so great battery (300 per charge)
lack of phase detect auto focus
76
high shutter speed (1/8,000s)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
megapixel count decent (24 megapixels)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
supports tracking focus
weather proof
sensor has phase detect AF
not so great battery life (720 shots)
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Travel Comparison

Panasonic GX1 Travel photography features
Pentax K-3 II Travel photography features
65
offers touch focus
resolution is good (16MP)
flash built-in
no Timelapse recording
not so great battery (300 CIPA)
doesn't feature selfie friendly display
56
weather proof
megapixel count decent (24 megapixels)
not so great battery life (720 CIPA)
screen is not selfie friendly
Photography Glossary

Landscape Comparison

Panasonic GX1 as a Landscape photography camera
Pentax K-3 II as a Landscape photography camera
62
has manual focus
interchangeable lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
pretty good screen size (3 inch)
resolution is good (16MP)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
saves RAW files
lack of image stabilization
not so great battery (300 shots)
no Timelapse recording
78
manual focus
change lenses (Pentax KAF2 mount)
nice screen size (3.2 inches)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
megapixel count decent (24 megapixels)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
no anti-alias filter
great high ISO (51,200)
delivers RAW formats
weather proof
2 card slots
not so great battery life (720 CIPA)
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Vlogging Comparison

Panasonic GX1 Vlogging advice
Pentax K-3 II Vlogging advice
32
built-in touchscreen
supports face detect focus
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 pixels)
doesn't feature selfie friendly display
lack of image stabilization
no microphone port
34
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
supports face detect focusing
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 pxls)
includes microphone support
screen is not selfie friendly
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Panasonic GX1 vs Pentax K-3 II Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Panasonic GX1 and Pentax K-3 II
 Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX1Pentax K-3 II
General Information
Make Panasonic Pentax
Model type Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX1 Pentax K-3 II
Category Entry-Level Mirrorless Advanced DSLR
Released 2012-02-14 2015-04-23
Physical type Rangefinder-style mirrorless Mid-size SLR
Sensor Information
Processor Chip Venus Engine FHD Prime III
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds APS-C
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 23.5 x 15.6mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 366.6mm²
Sensor resolution 16MP 24MP
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 3:2
Peak resolution 4592 x 3448 6016 x 4000
Highest native ISO 12800 51200
Min native ISO 160 100
RAW support
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Autofocus touch
Continuous autofocus
Autofocus single
Tracking autofocus
Selective autofocus
Autofocus center weighted
Autofocus multi area
Autofocus live view
Face detection autofocus
Contract detection autofocus
Phase detection autofocus
Total focus points 23 27
Cross type focus points - 25
Lens
Lens support Micro Four Thirds Pentax KAF2
Total lenses 107 151
Crop factor 2.1 1.5
Screen
Type of screen Fixed Type Fixed Type
Screen size 3" 3.2"
Screen resolution 460k dots 1,037k dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch capability
Screen tech TFT Color LCD with wide-viewing angle -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Electronic (optional) Optical (pentaprism)
Viewfinder coverage - 100 percent
Viewfinder magnification - 0.64x
Features
Minimum shutter speed 60s 30s
Fastest shutter speed 1/4000s 1/8000s
Continuous shutter rate 4.0 frames/s 8.3 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual mode
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Set white balance
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash distance 7.60 m no built-in flash
Flash settings Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync Auto Flash Discharge, Auto Flash + Red-eye Reduction, Flash On, Flash On + Red-eye Reduction, Slow-speed Sync, Slow-speed Sync + Red-eye, P-TTL, Trailing Curtain Sync, Contrast-control-sync, High-speed sync, Wireless sync (available with dedicated external flash)
Hot shoe
Auto exposure bracketing
White balance bracketing
Fastest flash synchronize 1/160s 1/180s
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60 fps) 1280 x 720 (60, 30 fps), 640 x 480 (30fps), 320 x 240 (30fps) 1920 x 1080 (60i, 50i, 30p, 25p, 24p), 1280 x 720 (60p, 50p, 30p, 25p, 24p)
Highest video resolution 1920x1080 1920x1080
Video format MPEG-4, AVCHD MPEG-4, H.264
Microphone support
Headphone support
Connectivity
Wireless None Optional
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 3.0 (5 GBit/sec)
GPS None BuiltIn
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 318 grams (0.70 lbs) 800 grams (1.76 lbs)
Dimensions 116 x 68 x 39mm (4.6" x 2.7" x 1.5") 131 x 100 x 77mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.0")
DXO scores
DXO Overall rating 55 80
DXO Color Depth rating 20.8 23.6
DXO Dynamic range rating 10.6 13.6
DXO Low light rating 703 1106
Other
Battery life 300 photographs 720 photographs
Style of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID - D-LI90
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec) Yes ( 2 or 12 seconds)
Time lapse shooting
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC
Card slots One 2
Pricing at release $228 $829