Samsung NX1 has a
28.0MP APS-C (23.5 x 15.7 mm ) sized BSI-CMOS sensor and features DRIMe 5 processor. On the other hand, Panasonic GH3 has a
16.0MP Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Venus Engine VII FHD processor.
Samsung NX1's sensor provides 12MP more than Panasonic GH3'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 Samsung NX1'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 NX1 and GH3 sensor size comparison.
As seen above, Samsung NX1 has a 1.6x Larger sensor area than Panasonic GH3. 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 Samsung NX1 and Panasonic GH3 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, NX1 has scored 83, 12 points higher than GH3.
Model |
Overall |
Color Depth |
Dynamic Range |
Low-light ISO |
Samsung NX1 |
83 |
24.2 bits |
13.2 Evs |
1363 ISO |
Panasonic GH3 |
71 |
22.7 bits |
12.4 Evs |
812 ISO |