Panasonic G9 vs Canon 70D Comparison

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Panasonic G9

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

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Canon 70D

20 MP | APS-C (22.5 x 15 mm) CMOS Sensor

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Panasonic G9 vs Canon 70D Comparison Overview

Here we are comparing two cameras with different body types: Panasonic G9, which was introduced in November 2017 is a Pro Mirrorless camera with a 20.0MP Four Thirds sensor whereas Canon 70D, which was introduced in October 2013 is a Advanced DSLR camera with a 20.0MP APS-C sensor. As you can see, 70D is 4 years older than G9. Let's see if this age difference between two cameras makes a big difference.

Despite some fundamental differences of these two body types, Mirrorless cameras are becoming serious alternatives to DSLR cameras thanks to their size/weight advantages and recent improvements in their focus speeds , which makes this comparison even more interesting.

Here is a brief look at the main features of Panasonic G9 and Canon 70D before getting into our more detailed comparison.

Panasonic G9 Key Specs

Announcement Date: 2017-11-08

20MP - Four Thirds CMOS Sensor

No Anti-aliasing (AA) filter

ISO 200 - 25600

Micro Four Thirds Mount

Sensor-shift Image Stabilization

3" Fully Articulated Screen

3680k dot Electronic viewfinder

20.0fps continuous shooting

4K (UHD) - 3840 x 2160 video resolution

Built-in Wireless

658g. 137 x 97 x 92 mm

Weather Sealed Body

Canon 70D Key Specs

Announcement Date: 2013-10-31

20MP - APS-C CMOS Sensor

ISO 100 - 12800 ( expands to 25600)

Canon EF/EF-S Mount

3" Fully Articulated Screen

Optical (pentaprism) viewfinder

7.0fps continuous shooting

Full HD - 1920 x 1080 video resolution

Built-in Wireless

755g. 139 x 104 x 79 mm

Weather Sealed Body

Replaced Canon EOS 60D Compare

Canon 70D was replaced by Canon EOS 80D. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Canon EOS 80D vs Canon EOS 70D
Canon EOS 80D vs Panasonic Lumix DC-G9

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how Panasonic G9 and Canon 70D compares and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one is better for you.

Reasons to choose Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 over Canon EOS 70D

In-built Image Stabilization	Sensor-shift vs None	Sharper images at longer focal lengths and slow shutter speeds
Viewfinder Magnification	0.83x vs 0.6x	Larger Viewfinder
Max ISO	25.600 vs 12.800	100% higher Max ISO
Number of Focus Points	225 vs 19	206 more focus points
Viewfinder Coverage	100% vs 98%	More accurate viewfinder
Continuous Shooting	20.0fps vs 7.0fps	13 fps faster
Weight	658 g vs 755 g	97 g lighter
Headphone Port	Yes vs No	better video control
Timelapse Recording	Yes vs No	creative shooting
Max Video Resolution	3840 x 2160 vs 1920 x 1080	Higher Resolution Video
AE Bracketing Range	±5 EV vs ±3 EV	Wide Bracketing range is useful for HDR
Flash Sync Port	Yes vs No	Connect off-camera flash
Pixel Shift High-Res Mode	Yes (80.0MP) vs No	Increased resolution with pixel shift
4K Photo Mode	Yes vs No	Extract 8MP photos from 4K Video
6K Photo Mode	Yes vs No	Extract 18MP photos from Video footage
Bluetooth	Yes vs No	Connect your camera to other devices via Blueetooth
Focus Bracketing	Yes vs No	Take multiple photos shifting focus point
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
Storage Slot	2 vs 1	Extra storage slot
UHS Card Support	UHS-II vs none	Read/Write in High Speeds
Webcam Function	Yes vs No	Use your camera as a Webcam

Reasons to choose Canon EOS 70D over Panasonic Lumix DC-G9

Built-in Flash	Yes vs No	Useful in low-light
Battery Life	920 shots vs 400 shots	520 more frames with a single charge
Sensor Pixel Area	16.91µm² vs 11.16µm²	51% larger pixel area

Common Strengths of Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 and Canon EOS 70D

Wireless Connection	Yes vs Yes	Better connectivity
Adjustable LCD Screen	Fully Articulated vs Fully Articulated	Flexible shooting positions
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
Max Resolution	20 MP vs 20 MP	Bigger prints and more details
LCD Screen Resolution	1.040k dots vs 1.040k dots	High resolution screens
Continuous Shooting	20.0fps vs 7.0fps	Fast shooting speeds
Microphone Port	Yes vs Yes	High quality audio recording option
Environmental Sealing	Yes vs Yes	shoot at tough conditions
Top LCD Display	Yes vs Yes	Help viewing and changing settings easily
AE Bracketing	Yes vs Yes	Useful for tough lighting conditions and HDR
Selfie/Vlogger Friendly LCD	Yes vs Yes	Rotate LCD for taking Selfies
Smartphone Remote	Yes vs Yes	Remote control your camera with a smartphone

Common Weaknesses of Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 and Canon EOS 70D

Panasonic G9 vs Canon 70D: Physical Specs and Body features Comparison

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 Panasonic G9 and Canon 70D side-by-side from the front, back and top in their relative dimensions. Panasonic G9 has external dimensions of 137 x 97 x 92 mm (5.39 x 3.82 x 3.62″) and weighs 658 g (1.45 lb / 23.21 oz) (including batteries). Canon 70D has external dimensions of 139 x 104 x 79 mm (5.47 x 4.11 x 3.09″) and weighs 755 g (1.66 lb / 26.63 oz) (including batteries).

Below you can see the front view size comparison of Panasonic G9 and Canon 70D. Panasonic G9 is 2mm narrower and 7mm shorter than Canon 70D but it is also 13mm thicker.

Comparison image of Panasonic G9 and Canon 70D Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View

Here is the back view size comparison of Panasonic G9 and Canon 70D.

Comparison image of Panasonic G9 and Canon 70D Size and Weight - Back View

Now lets look at the top view comparison of Panasonic G9 and Canon 70D.

Top View Comparison image of Panasonic G9 and Canon 70D Size

Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day. Panasonic G9 is 97g lighter than the Canon 70D but we don't think this will make a significant difference.

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 Canon 70D has an APS-C sized sensor and Panasonic G9 has a smaller Four Thirds sensor, Panasonic G9's lenses for a similar focal length and aperture will generally be lighter and smaller than the Canon 70D lenses.

Weight Comparison

DSLR Cameras

70D

Min

Average

Max

Thickness Comparison

DSLR Cameras

70D

Min

Average

Max

Weather Sealing

Both G9 and 70D have weather sealings in their body, making them resistant to water and dust.

LCD Screen Size and Features

Panasonic G9 and Canon 70D's LCD screens has the same diagonal size of 3".

Both cameras feature Fully Articulating screens where you can change the angle of the screen to make it easier to shoot from waist or over the head levels. Fully articulating screens are also useful for taking Selfie shots and video.

Panasonic G9 vs Canon 70D: Sensor Comparison

Both Panasonic G9 and Canon 70D have 20.0 MP resolution sensors but Panasonic G9's sensor is Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ) and Canon 70D's sensor is APS-C (22.5 x 15 mm ).

Since Canon 70D's has a larger sensor area with the same resolution, this means that it also has a larger pixel area hence better light collecting capacity for a given aperture compared to Panasonic G9.

Another difference between these two cameras is that Panasonic G9'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 G9 and 70D sensor size comparison.

Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Panasonic G9 and Canon 70D Cameras

As seen above, Canon 70D has a 1.5x Larger sensor area than Panasonic G9. 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.

Panasonic G9 vs Canon 70D 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 Canon 70D has an advantage over Panasonic G9 There are 326 lenses for Canon 70D's Canon EF/EF-S mount, on the other hand there are only 108 lenses for Panasonic G9's Micro Four Thirds lens mount.

Another important factor is the availability of image stabilization. Panasonic G9 has a big advantage in this regard because it has a sensor based image stabilization (IS) which means that all the lenses mounted to this body will be stabilized. G9's built-in Image stabilization system is effective to compensate vibration up to 6.5-stops according to CIPA standards.
On the other hand, Canon 70D doesn't have this feature so you have to buy a lens with optical stabilization feature. Currently there are 112 lenses for Canon EF/EF-S mount with Optical Image Stabilization features.

Lens Type	# of Panasonic G9 Lenses	# of Canon 70D Lenses
Standard Zoom	15	40
Standard Prime	13	19
Wideangle Zoom	6	37
Wideangle Prime	29	49
Telephoto Zoom	18	58
Telephoto Prime	9	43
SuperZoom	8	28
Wideangle Fisheye Prime	5	7
Macro Prime	4	28
Perspective Control Prime	n/a	16
Telephoto Mirror Prime	1	1
TOTAL	108	326

Now let's compare some sample lenses from each mount with typical Focal ranges for Panasonic G9 and Canon 70D to see how these lenses compares:

Fast Standard Zoom Lenses

Model		FF Equiv.	Weight	Weight w/ Cam	Length	Street Price
	Panasonic 12-35mm F2.8 OIS	24 - 70mm	305gr	963gr	74mm	Amazon B&H Photo
	Canon 17-55mm f2.8 IS USM	25.5 - 82.5mm	645gr	1400gr	111mm	Amazon B&H Photo

Fast Tele Zoom Equivalent Lenses

Model		FF Equiv.	Weight	Weight w/ Cam	Length	Street Price
	Panasonic X 35-100mm F2.8 II Power OIS	70 - 200mm	357gr	1015gr	100mm	Amazon B&H Photo
	Sigma 50-150mm F2.8 EX DC OS HSM	75 - 225mm	1350gr	2105gr	198mm	Amazon B&H Photo

Fast Normal Prime Equivalent Lenses

Model		FF Equiv.	Weight	Weight w/ Cam	Length	Street Price
	Panasonic 25mm F1.4 II ASPH	50mm	205gr	863gr	55mm	Amazon B&H Photo
	Sigma 30mm F1.4 DC HSM	45mm	435gr	1190gr	63mm	Amazon B&H Photo

Fast Wideangle Zoom Equivalent Lenses

Model		FF Equiv.	Weight	Weight w/ Cam	Length	Street Price
	Panasonic 8-18mm F2.8-4.0 ASPH	16 - 36mm	315gr	973gr	88mm	Amazon B&H Photo
	Sigma 10-20mm F3.5 EX DC HSM	15 - 30mm	520gr	1275gr	88mm	Amazon B&H Photo

24-105mm f4 Equivalent Lenses

Model		FF Equiv.	Weight	Weight w/ Cam	Length	Street Price
	Panasonic 12-60mm F2.8-4.0 ASPH Power OIS	24 - 120mm	320gr	978gr	86mm	Amazon B&H Photo
	Canon 15-85mm f3.5-5.6 IS USM	22.5 - 127.5mm	575gr	1330gr	88mm	Amazon B&H Photo

Super-Tele Zoom Equivalent Lenses

Model		FF Equiv.	Weight	Weight w/ Cam	Length	Street Price
	Panasonic 100-400mm F4.0-6.3	200 - 800mm	985gr	1643gr	172mm	Amazon B&H Photo
	Canon 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM	100 - 400mm	1590gr	2345gr	193mm	Amazon B&H Photo

What types of Photography are Panasonic G9 and Canon 70D Good for?

In this section, we rank and compare Panasonic G9 and Canon 70D 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 G9 for Portrait Photography

GOOD

Canon 70D for Portrait Photography

AVERAGE

Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 20.0MP
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Read the details

Large APS-C (22.5 x 15 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 20.0MP
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
No Image Stabilization
Read the details

Panasonic G9 for Street Photography

EXCELLENT

Canon 70D 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 (22.5 x 15 mm) sensor
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Fully Articulated LCD Screen
No Image Stabilization
Large Body
Read the details

Panasonic G9 for Sports Photography

GOOD

Canon 70D for Sports Photography

GOOD

Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Fast Continuous Shooting: 20.0fps
Environmental Sealings
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/8000s
225 Focus Points
Wireless Connection
Read the details

Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Fast Continuous Shooting: 7.0fps
Environmental Sealings
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/8000s
19 Cross Type Focus sensors
19 Focus Points
Good Battery Life: 920 shots
Wireless Connection
No Image Stabilization
Read the details

Panasonic G9 for Daily Photography

GOOD

Canon 70D for Daily Photography

AVERAGE

Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Medium size Body
658g
Body Thickness 92mm
Read the details

Large APS-C (22.5 x 15 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Large Body
755g
Body Thickness 79mm
Read the details

Panasonic G9 for Landscape Photography

AVERAGE

Canon 70D for Landscape Photography

AVERAGE

Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 20.0MP
Environmental Sealings
Live-view
Read the details

Large APS-C (22.5 x 15 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 20.0MP
Environmental Sealings
Live-view
Read the details

Panasonic G9 vs Canon 70D: 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 G9 and Canon 70D, below you can find their scores in five different aspects. Our Decision Algorithm dynamically scores cameras using 69 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 G9 and Canon 70D scores compare:

Panasonic G9

Imaging

Features

Value

Portability

Overall

Ranked #41 out of 93 in SLR-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked #67 out of 1233 in all Cameras

Canon 70D

Imaging

Features

Value

Portability

Overall

Ranked #37 out of 95 in Mid-size SLR cameras
Ranked #163 out of 1233 in all Cameras

Panasonic G9 has a higher Overall Score than the Canon 70D and would be our choice if we have to decide between these two cameras.

Canon 70D vs Panasonic G9 Specs Table

Detailed comparison of specifications

General	Panasonic Lumix DC-G9	Canon EOS 70D
Brand	Panasonic	Canon
Announced	2017-11-08	2013-10-31
Body Type	SLR-style mirrorless	Mid-size SLR
Sensor
Type	CMOS	CMOS
Size	Four Thirds	APS-C
Dimensions	17.3 x 13 mm	22.5 x 15 mm
Area	224.90mm²	337.50mm²
Megapixels	20 megapixels	20 megapixels
Max Resolution	5184 x 3888	5472 x 3648
Max Native Light sensitivity	25,600 ISO	12,800 ISO
Max Boosted Light Sensitivity	-	25600 ISO
Min Native Light sensitivity	200 ISO	100 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	225	19
Lens
Manual Focus
Lens Mount	Micro Four Thirds	Canon EF/EF-S
Number of Available Lenses	108	326
Screen
Type	Fully Articulated	Fully Articulated
Size	3"	3"
Resolution	1,040k dots	1,040k dots
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
Viewfinder	Electronic	Optical (pentaprism)
Viewfinder Resolution	3,680k dots	no electronic viewfinder
Viewfinder Coverage	100%	98%
Viewfinder Magnification	0.83x	0.6x
Photography Features
Max Mechanical Shutter	1/8000s	1/8000s
Max Electronic Shutter	1/32000s	n/a
Shutter Priority
Aperture Priority
Manual Exposure Mode
Custom White Balance
Built-in Image Stabilization	Sensor-shift	No
Built-in Flash
Flash Range	no built-in flash	12.00 m
Max Flash Sync	n/a	1/250s
External Flash
Continuous Shooting	20.0 fps	7.0 fps
Multi-Segment Metering
Average Metering
Spot Metering
Partial Metering
AF-Area Metering
Center Weighted Metering
AE Bracketing
WB Bracketing
Video Features
Max Video Resolution	3840 x 2160	1920 x 1080
Video Formats	MPEG-4, AVCHD, H.264	H.264
Microphone Port
Headphone Port
Connectivity
Wireless Connectivity	Built-In	Built-In
HDMI
Physical
Environmental Sealing
Weight	658g	755g
Dimensions	137 x 97 x 92mm	139 x 104 x 79mm
Battery Life	400 shots	920 shots
Other Features
Timelapse Recording
GPS	None	Optional
DxO Sensor Scores
DxO Overall Score	not tested	68
DxO Color Depth	not tested	22.5
DxO Dynamic Range	not tested	11.6
DxO Low Light ISO	not tested	926
	Report a correction	Report a correction