Nikon D810 has a
36.0MP Full frame (35.9 x 24 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features EXPEED 4 processor. On the other hand, Panasonic GH1 has a
12.0MP Four Thirds (18.89 x 14.48 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Venus Engine HD processor.
Nikon D810's sensor provides 24MP more than Panasonic GH1's sensor, which gives a significant advantage in real life. You can print your images larger or crop more freely.
On the other hand, please keep in mind that Max sensor resolution is not the only determinant of resolving power. Factors such as the optical elements, low pass filter, pixel size and sensor technology also affects the final resolution of the captured image.
Another difference between these two cameras is that Nikon D810's sensor lacks anti-alias (Low-Pass) filter. Removing anti-alias filter increases the sharpness and level of detail but at the same time, it increases the chance of moiré occurring in certain scenes.
Below you can see the D810 and GH1 sensor size comparison.
As seen above, Nikon D810 has a 3.1x Larger sensor area than Panasonic GH1. Larger sensors give photographer more control on the depth of field and blurry background compared to smaller sensor when shot in same focal length and aperture.
DxOMark Sensor Scores
Both Nikon D810 and Panasonic GH1 sensors have been tested by DxoMark. DxoMark scores camera sensors for color depth (DXO Portrait), dynamic range (DXO Landscape) and low-light sensitivity (DXO Sports), and also gives them an overall score. Of the two cameras that we are comparing, D810 has scored 97, 33 points higher than GH1.
Model |
Overall |
Color Depth |
Dynamic Range |
Low-light ISO |
Nikon D810 |
97 |
25.7 bits |
14.8 Evs |
2853 ISO |
Panasonic GH1 |
64 |
21.6 bits |
11.6 Evs |
772 ISO |