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Panasonic G85 vs Nikon D7500

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Panasonic G85

16 MP | Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) CMOS Sensor

Panasonic G85
$897.99
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Nikon D7500

21 MP | APS-C (23.5 x 15.7 mm) CMOS Sensor

Nikon D7500
$1,246.95
Panasonic G85 vs Nikon D7500 Comparison Overview

Here we are comparing two cameras with different body types: Panasonic G85 is a Semi-Pro Mirrorless camera with a 16.0MP Four Thirds sensor whereas Nikon D7500 is a Semi-Pro DSLR camera with a 21.0MP APS-C sensor.
Despite some fundamental differences of these two body types, Mirrorless cameras are becoming serious altenatives to DSLR cameras thanks to their size/weight advantages and recent improvements in their focus speeds , which makes this comparison even more interesting.

Let's have a brief look at the main features of Panasonic G85 and Nikon D7500 before getting into our more detailed comparison.

Panasonic G85 Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2016-09-19
  • 16MP - Four Thirds CMOS Sensor
  • ISO 100 - 25600 ( expands to 100-25600)
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 3″ Fully Articulated Screen
  • 2360k dot Electronic viewfinder
  • 9.0 fps continuous shooting
  • 3840 x 2160 video resolution
  • Built-in Wireless
  • 505g. 128 x 89 x 74 mm
  • Weather Sealed Body
  • Also known as Lumix DMC-G80

Nikon D7500 Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2017-04-12
  • 21MP - APS-C CMOS Sensor
  • No Anti-aliasing (AA) filter
  • ISO 100 - 51200 ( expands to 50-1640000)
  • Nikon F Mount
  • 3.2″ Tilting Screen
  • Optical (pentaprism) viewfinder
  • 8.0 fps continuous shooting
  • 3840 x 2160 video resolution
  • Built-in Wireless
  • 640g. 136 x 104 x 73 mm
  • Weather Sealed Body
  • Replaced Nikon D7200 Compare
Reasons to choose Panasonic Lumix DMC-G85 over Nikon D7500
Built-in Image Stabilization Sensor-shift vs None All the lenses are stabilized
LCD Screen Resolution 1.040k dots vs 922k dots 12% higher resolution screen
Continuous Shooting 9.0fps vs 8.0fps 1 fps faster
Weight 505 g vs 640 g 135 g lighter
Price $898 vs $1,247 $349 cheaper
4K Photo Mode Yes vs No Extract 8MP photos from 4K Video
Focus Stacking Yes vs No Stacks photos in-camera to maximize depth of field
Post Focus Mode Yes vs No Change focus point after taking a shot
Reasons to choose Nikon D7500 over Panasonic Lumix DMC-G85
Max Sensor Resolution 21 MP vs 16 MP 31% more pixels
Max ISO 51.200 vs 25.600 100% higher Max ISO
Number of Focus Points 51 vs 49 2 more focus points
LCD Screen Size 3.2″ vs 3″ 0.2 inches larger display
Max Shutter Speed 1/8000s vs 1/4000s faster shutter speed
Battery Life 950 shots vs 330 shots 620 more frames with a single charge
Headphone Port Yes vs No better video control
Flash Coverage 12.0m vs 6.2m 5.8m longer range
Color Depth 24.3 vs 22.8 higher color depth
Dynamic Range 14.0 vs 12.5 higher dynamic range
Low Light ISO 1483 vs 656 better High ISO performance
Sensor Pixel Area 17.85µm2 vs 14.21µm2 25% larger pixel area
Top LCD Yes vs No Help viewing and changing settings easily
Bluetooth Yes vs No Connect your camera to other devices via Blueetooth
Autofocus at f/8 aperture Center point vs none Autofocus with teleconverters
Common Strengths of Panasonic Lumix DMC-G85 and Nikon D7500
Wireless Connection Yes vs Yes Better connectivity
Articulating Screen Yes vs Yes Flexible shooting positions
Built-in Flash Yes vs Yes Useful in low-light
External Flash Shoe Yes vs Yes Better for flash photography
Touch Screen Yes vs Yes Easy control of camera functions
Viewfinder Yes (Electronic) vs Yes (Optical) Better framing and control
RAW Support Yes vs Yes Better image quality
Face Detection Focus Yes vs Yes very handy for portraits
LCD Screen Size 3″ vs 3.2″ Large display
Continuous Shooting 9.0fps vs 8.0fps Fast shooting speeds
Microphone Port Yes vs Yes High quality audio recording option
Environmental Sealing Yes vs Yes shoot at tough conditions
Timelapse Recording Yes vs Yes creative shooting
AE Bracketing Yes vs Yes Useful for tough lighting conditions and HDR
Smartphone Remote Control Yes vs Yes Remote control your camera with a smartphone
Common Weaknesses of Panasonic Lumix DMC-G85 and Nikon D7500
Panasonic G85 vs Nikon D7500: Physical Specs Comparison

Below you can see the front view size comparison of Panasonic G85 and Nikon D7500. Panasonic G85 is 8mm narrower and 15mm shorter than Nikon D7500 but it is also 1mm thicker.

Panasonic G85 vs Nikon D7500 Camera Size Comparison - Front View
Now lets look at the top view comparison of Panasonic G85 and Nikon D7500.
Panasonic G85 vs Nikon D7500 Camera Size Comparison - Top View

Panasonic G85 vs Nikon D7500 Detailed Size Comparison

Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day. Panasonic G85 is significantly lighter (135g ) than the Nikon D7500 which may become a big advantage especially on long walking trips.

Also keep in mind that body weight is not the only deciding factor when comparing two interchangeable camera bodies, you have to also take into account the lenses that you will be using with these bodies. Since Nikon D7500 has an APS-C sized sensor and Panasonic G85 has a smaller Four Thirds sensor, Panasonic G85's lenses for a similar focal length and aperture will generally be lighter and smaller than the Nikon D7500 lenses.

Weight Comparison

DSLR Cameras

G85
D7500
Min
Average
Max
Thickness Comparison

DSLR Cameras

G85
D7500
Min
Average
Max
Panasonic G85 vs Nikon D7500: Sensor Comparison

Panasonic G85 has a 16.0MP Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ) sized CMOS sensor . On the other hand, Nikon D7500 has a 21.0MP APS-C (23.5 x 15.7 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Expeed 5 processor.

Nikon D7500's sensor provides 5MP more than Panasonic G85'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 D7500'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 moire occurring in certain scenes.

Below you can see the G85 and D7500 sensor size comparison.

Panasonic G85 vs Nikon D7500 Sensor Size Comparison


As seen above, Nikon D7500 has a 1.6x Larger sensor area than Panasonic G85. 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.

What types of Photography are Panasonic G85 and Nikon D7500 Good for?
In this section, we rank and compare Panasonic G85 and Nikon D7500 for five different photography types in order to make your decision process easier in case you are specifically interested in one or more of these areas.

Panasonic G85 for Portrait Photography

GOOD

Nikon D7500 for Portrait Photography

GOOD
Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Average Resolution Sensor: 16.0MP
Read the details
Large APS-C (23.5 x 15.7 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 21.0MP
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
No Image Stabilization
Read the details

Panasonic G85 for Street Photography

EXCELLENT

Nikon D7500 for Street Photography

GOOD
Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Fully Articulated LCD Screen
Medium sized Body
Read the details
Large APS-C (23.5 x 15.7 mm) sensor
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Tilting LCD Screen
No Image Stabilization
Large Body
Read the details

Panasonic G85 for Sports Photography

GOOD

Nikon D7500 for Sports Photography

EXCELLENT
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Fast Continuous Shooting: 9.0fps
Environmental Sealings
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/4000s
49 Focus Points
Wireless Connection
Read the details
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Fast Continuous Shooting: 8.0fps
Environmental Sealings
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/8000s
15 Cross Type Focus sensors
51 Focus Points
Good Battery Life: 950 shots
Good Low Light ISO
Wireless Connection
No Image Stabilization
Read the details

Panasonic G85 for Daily Photography

GOOD

Nikon D7500 for Daily Photography

GOOD
Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Medium size Body
505g
Body Thickness 74mm
Read the details
Large APS-C (23.5 x 15.7 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Large Body
640g
Body Thickness 73mm
Read the details

Panasonic G85 for Landscape Photography

AVERAGE

Nikon D7500 for Landscape Photography

GOOD
Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Live-view
Average Resolution Sensor: 16.0MP
Read the details
Large APS-C (23.5 x 15.7 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 21.0MP
Environmental Sealings
Live-view
Read the details


Nikon D7500 vs Panasonic G85 Comparison of Available Lenses
Which camera has more lenses?

Number of available lenses is a big decision factor while choosing your interchangeable lens camera. When we look at the available lenses for these two cameras, we see that Nikon D7500 has an advantage over Panasonic G85 There are 286 lenses for Nikon D7500's Nikon F mount, on the other hand there are only 92 lenses for Panasonic G85's Micro Four Thirds lens mount.

Another important factor is the availability of image stabilization. Panasonic G85 has a big advantage in this regard because it has a sensor based image stabilization which means that all the lenses mounted to this body will be stabilized. On the other hand, Nikon D7500 doesn't have this feature so you have to buy a lens with optical stabilization feature. Currently there are 88 lenses for Nikon F mount with Optical Image Stabilization features.

Lens Type # of Panasonic G85 Lenses # of Nikon D7500 Lenses
Standard Zoom 14 33
Standard Prime 11 18
Wideangle Zoom 4 30
Wideangle Prime 23 45
Telephoto Zoom 16 49
Telephoto Prime 8 40
SuperZoom 6 30
Wideangle Fisheye Prime 5 8
Macro Prime 4 22
Perspective Control Prime n/a 10
Telephoto Mirror Prime 1 1
TOTAL 92 286
Panasonic G85 vs Nikon D7500: OUR DECISION

You may have already made your decision about which camera suits better for your needs and your budget so far but in case you wonder how we rated Panasonic G85 and Nikon D7500, below you can find their scores in five different aspects. Our Decision Algorithm dynamically scores cameras using 63 different specs, current price and DxO Mark scores (where possible) in order to make a more objective and consistent comparison.

Here is a summary of how Panasonic G85 and Nikon D7500 scores compare:

Panasonic G85
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #12 out of 49 in SLR-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked #41 out of 1131 in all Cameras
Nikon D7500
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #10 out of 92 in Mid-size SLR cameras
Ranked #23 out of 1131 in all Cameras

Nikon D7500 has a higher Overall Score than the Panasonic G85 and would be our choice if we have to decide between these two cameras.

Panasonic G85
Panasonic G85
$897.99

Nikon D7500
Nikon D7500
$1,246.95

Nikon D7500 vs Panasonic G85 Specs Table
Detailed comparison of specifications
General Panasonic Lumix DMC-G85 Nikon D7500
Brand Panasonic Nikon
Announced 2016-09-19 2017-04-12
Body Type SLR-style mirrorless Mid-size SLR
Price $897.99 $1,246.95
Sensor
Type CMOS CMOS
Size Four Thirds APS-C
Dimensions 17.3 x 13 mm 23.5 x 15.7 mm
Area 224.90mm2 368.95mm2
Megapixels 16 megapixels 21 megapixels
Max Resolution 4592 x 3448 5568 x 3712
Max Native Light sensitivity 25,600 ISO 51,200 ISO
Max Boosted Light Sensitivity 25600 ISO 1640000 ISO
Min Native Light sensitivity 100 ISO 100 ISO
Min Boosted Light Sensitivity 100 ISO 50 ISO
RAW Support
Autofocus
AF Touch
AF Continuous
AF Single
AF Tracking
AF Selective
AF Center
AF Multi Area
AF Live View
AF Face Detection
AF Contrast Detection
AF Phase Detection
Number of Focus Points 49 51
Lens
Manual Focus
Lens Mount Micro Four Thirds Nikon F
Number of Available Lenses 92 286
Screen
Type Fully Articulated Tilting
Size 3″ 3.2″
Resolution 1,040k dots 922k dots
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
Viewfinder Electronic Optical (pentaprism)
Viewfinder Resolution 2,360k dots no electronic viewfinder
Viewfinder Coverage 100% 100%
Viewfinder Magnification 0.74 0.63
Photography Features
Max Shutter Speed 1/4000s 1/8000s
Shutter Priority
Aperture Priority
Manual Exposure Mode
Custom White Balance
Image Stabilization Sensor-shift Digital only
Built-in Flash
Flash Range 6.20 m (at ISO 100) 12.00 m (at ISO 100)
Max Flash Sync n/a 1/250s
External Flash
Continuous Shooting 9.0 fps 8.0 fps
Multi-Segment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF-Area
Center Weighted
AE Bracketing
WB Bracketing
Video Features
Max Video Resolution 3840 x 2160 3840 x 2160
Video Formats MPEG-4, AVCHD MPEG-4, H.264
Microphone Port
Headphone Port
Connectivity
Wireless Connectivity Built-In Yes (Hot-shoe, Wireless plus sync connector)
HDMI
Physical
Environmental Sealing
Weight 505g 640g
Dimensions 128 x 89 x 74mm 136 x 104 x 73mm
Battery Life 330 shots 950 shots
Other Features
Timelapse Recording
GPS None Optional
DxO Sensor Scores
DxO Overall Score 71 86
DxO Color Depth 22.8 24.3
DxO Dynamic Range 12.5 14.0
DxO Low Light ISO 656 1483
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