Nikon Z6 II has a
25.0MP Full frame (35.9 x 23.9 mm ) sized BSI-CMOS sensor and features Dual Expeed 6 processor. On the other hand, Panasonic GH5 II has a
20.0MP Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Venus Engine processor.
Nikon Z6 II's sensor provides 5MP more than Panasonic GH5 II'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.
One other difference between these two cameras that is worth mentioning is that Panasonic GH5 II's sensor doesn't have an 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 Z6 Mark II and GH5 II sensor size comparison.
As seen above, Nikon Z6 II has a 3.8x Larger sensor area than Panasonic GH5 II. 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 Z6 II and Panasonic GH5 II 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, Z6 Mark II has scored 94, 15 points higher than GH5 II.
Model |
Overall |
Color Depth |
Dynamic Range |
Low-light ISO |
Nikon Z6 II |
94 |
25.0 bits |
14.4 Evs |
3303 ISO |
Panasonic GH5 II |
79 |
23.7 bits |
13.1 Evs |
1136 ISO |