Canon 5D MIV has a
30.0MP Full frame (36 x 24 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Digic 6+ processor. On the other hand, Panasonic GH4 has a
16.0MP Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Venus Engine IX processor.
Canon 5D MIV's sensor provides 14MP more than Panasonic GH4'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.
Below you can see the 5D MIV and GH4 sensor size comparison.
As seen above, Canon 5D MIV has a 3.8x Larger sensor area than Panasonic GH4. 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 Canon 5D MIV and Panasonic GH4 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, 5D MIV has scored 91, 17 points higher than GH4.
Model |
Overall |
Color Depth |
Dynamic Range |
Low-light ISO |
Canon 5D MIV |
91 |
24.8 bits |
13.6 Evs |
2995 ISO |
Panasonic GH4 |
74 |
23.2 bits |
12.8 Evs |
791 ISO |