Size and weight is a big decision factor when you are trying to find the ideal camera for your needs.
In this section, We are going to illustrate Nikon 1 J4 and Panasonic GX8 side-by-side from the front, back and top in their relative dimensions. Nikon 1 J4 has external dimensions of 100 x 60 x 29 mm (3.92 x 2.36 x 1.12″) and weighs 232 g (0.51 lb / 8.18 oz) (including batteries). Panasonic GX8 has external dimensions of 133 x 78 x 63 mm (5.24 x 3.07 x 2.48″) and weighs 487 g (1.07 lb / 17.18 oz) (including batteries).
Below you can see the front view size comparison of Nikon 1 J4 and Panasonic GX8. Nikon 1 J4 is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 33mm narrower, 18mm shorter and 34mm thinner than Panasonic GX8.
Comparison image of Nikon 1 J4 and Panasonic GX8 Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View
Here is the back view size comparison of Nikon 1 J4 and Panasonic GX8.
Comparison image of Nikon 1 J4 and Panasonic GX8 Size and Weight - Back View
Now lets look at the top view comparison of Nikon 1 J4 and Panasonic GX8.
Top View Comparison image of Nikon 1 J4 and Panasonic GX8 Size
Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day.
Nikon 1 J4 is significantly lighter (255g ) than the Panasonic GX8 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.
Weight Comparison
Mirrorless Cameras
Thickness Comparison
Mirrorless Cameras
Weather Sealing
Thanks to the weather sealed body of GX8, you can use this camera with more confidence under conditions where there is risk of exposure to water and dust compared to 1 J4.
LCD Screen Size and Features
Nikon 1 J4 and Panasonic GX8's LCD screens has the same diagonal size of 3".
On the other hand, Panasonic GX8 sports a
Fully Articulated screen which you can change the angle and position of the screen almost freely, making it possible to shoot from waist or over the head levels, and especially very useful for shooting selfies and video. Nikon 1 J4's LCD screen is a fixed type which provides almost no flexibility in shooting positions compared to GX8.
Nikon 1 J4 has a 18.0MP 1" (13.2 x 8.8 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Expeed 4 processor. On the other hand, Panasonic GX8 has a 20.0MP Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Venus Engine processor.
Below you can see the 1 J4 and GX8 sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Nikon 1 J4 and Panasonic GX8 Cameras
As seen above, Panasonic GX8 has a 1.9x Larger sensor area than Nikon 1 J4. 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.
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 Panasonic GX8 has an advantage over Nikon 1 J4 There are 107 lenses for Panasonic GX8's Micro Four Thirds mount, on the other hand there are only 13 lenses for Nikon 1 J4's Nikon 1 lens mount.
Another important factor is the availability of image stabilization. Panasonic GX8 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 1 J4 doesn't have this feature so you have to buy a lens with optical stabilization feature. Currently there are 7 lenses for Nikon 1 mount with Optical Image Stabilization features.
Lens Type |
# of Nikon 1 J4 Lenses |
# of Panasonic GX8 Lenses |
Standard Zoom |
4 |
15 |
Standard Prime |
2 |
13 |
Wideangle Zoom |
1 |
5 |
Wideangle Prime |
2 |
29 |
Telephoto Zoom |
2 |
18 |
Telephoto Prime |
n/a |
9 |
SuperZoom |
2 |
8 |
Wideangle Fisheye Prime |
n/a |
5 |
Macro Prime |
n/a |
4 |
Perspective Control Prime |
n/a |
n/a |
Telephoto Mirror Prime |
n/a |
1 |
TOTAL |
13 |
107 |
In this section, we rank and compare Nikon 1 J4 and Panasonic GX8 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.
Nikon 1 J4 for Portrait Photography
Panasonic GX8 for Portrait Photography
Average sized 1″ (13.2 x 8.8 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 18.0MP
Average Ergonomics&Handling
No Image Stabilization
No Built-in Viewfinder
Read the details
Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 20.0MP
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Average Ergonomics&Handling
Read the details
Nikon 1 J4 for Street Photography
Panasonic GX8 for Street Photography
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Average sized 1″ (13.2 x 8.8 mm) sensor
Medium sized Body
No Image Stabilization
No Built-in Viewfinder
Read the details
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
Nikon 1 J4 for Sports Photography
Panasonic GX8 for Sports Photography
Fast Continuous Shooting: 60.0fps
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/4000s
105 Cross Type Focus sensors
171 Focus Points
Wireless Connection
Average Ergonomics&Handling
No Image Stabilization
No Built-in Viewfinder
Environmental Sealings
Read the details
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Fast Continuous Shooting: 12.0fps
Environmental Sealings
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/8000s
49 Focus Points
Wireless Connection
Average Ergonomics&Handling
Read the details
Nikon 1 J4 for Daily Photography
Panasonic GX8 for Daily Photography
Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Medium size Body
487g
Body Thickness 63mm
Read the details
Nikon 1 J4 for Landscape Photography
Panasonic GX8 for Landscape Photography
Very High Resolution Sensor: 18.0MP
Live-view
Average sized 1″ (13.2 x 8.8 mm) sensor
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details
Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 20.0MP
Environmental Sealings
Live-view
Read the details
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 Nikon 1 J4 and Panasonic GX8, 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 Nikon 1 J4 and Panasonic GX8 scores compare:
Nikon 1 J4
Ranked
#70 out of 126 in Rangefinder-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked
#327 out of 1221 in all Cameras
Panasonic GX8
Ranked
#6 out of 126 in Rangefinder-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked
#87 out of 1221 in all Cameras
Panasonic GX8 is the overall winner of this comparison. It has a higher Overall Score and beats Nikon 1 J4 in all criteria except one: Portability.
If small size and light body is a big priority for you, choose Nikon 1 J4. Otherwise, Panasonic GX8 is the better camera overall.
General |
Nikon 1 J4 |
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX8 |
Brand |
Nikon |
Panasonic |
Announced |
2014-04-10 |
2015-07-16 |
Body Type |
Rangefinder-style mirrorless |
Rangefinder-style mirrorless |
Sensor |
|
|
Type |
CMOS |
CMOS |
Size |
1" |
Four Thirds |
Dimensions |
13.2 x 8.8 mm |
17.3 x 13 mm |
Area |
116.16mm2 |
224.90mm2 |
Megapixels |
18 megapixels |
20 megapixels |
Max Resolution |
5232 x 3488 |
5184 x 3888 |
Max Native Light sensitivity |
12,800 ISO |
25,600 ISO |
Min Native Light sensitivity |
160 ISO |
200 ISO |
Min Boosted Light Sensitivity |
- |
100 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 |
171 |
49 |
Lens |
|
|
Manual Focus |
|
|
Lens Mount |
Nikon 1 |
Micro Four Thirds |
Number of Available Lenses |
13 |
107 |
Screen |
|
|
Type |
Fixed type |
Fully Articulated |
Size |
3" |
3" |
Resolution |
1,037k dots |
1,040k dots |
Touch Screen |
|
|
Viewfinder |
|
|
Viewfinder |
None |
Electronic |
Viewfinder Resolution |
no electronic viewfinder |
2,360k dots |
Viewfinder Coverage |
n/a |
100% |
Viewfinder Magnification |
n/a |
0.77x |
Photography Features |
|
|
Max Mechanical Shutter |
1/4000s |
1/8000s |
Max Electronic Shutter |
1/16000s |
1/16000s |
Shutter Priority |
|
|
Aperture Priority |
|
|
Manual Exposure Mode |
|
|
Custom White Balance |
|
|
Image Stabilization |
No |
Sensor-shift |
Built-in Flash |
|
|
Flash Range |
5.00 m (ISO 100) |
no built-in flash |
External Flash |
|
|
Continuous Shooting |
60.0 fps |
12.0 fps |
Multi-Segment |
|
|
Average |
|
|
Spot |
|
|
Partial |
|
|
AF-Area |
|
|
Center Weighted |
|
|
AE Bracketing |
|
|
WB Bracketing |
|
|
Video Features |
|
|
Max Video Resolution |
1920 x 1080 |
3840 x 2160 |
Video Formats |
MPEG-4, H.264 |
MPEG-4, AVCHD |
Microphone Port |
|
|
Headphone Port |
|
|
Connectivity |
|
|
Wireless Connectivity |
Built-In |
Built-In |
HDMI |
|
|
Physical |
|
|
Environmental Sealing |
|
|
Weight |
232g |
487g |
Dimensions |
100 x 60 x 29mm |
133 x 78 x 63mm |
Battery Life |
300 shots |
330 shots |
Other Features |
|
|
Timelapse Recording |
|
|
GPS |
None |
None |
DxO Sensor Scores |
|
|
DxO Overall Score |
not tested |
75 |
DxO Color Depth |
not tested |
23.5 |
DxO Dynamic Range |
not tested |
12.6 |
DxO Low Light ISO |
not tested |
806 |
|
Report a correction |
Report a correction |