Panasonic G9 vs Nikon D600 Comparison

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Panasonic G9

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

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Nikon D600

24 MP | Full frame (35.9 x 24 mm) CMOS Sensor

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Panasonic G9 vs Nikon D600 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 Nikon D600, which was introduced in November 2012 is a Advanced DSLR camera with a 24.0MP Full frame sensor. As you can see, D600 is 5 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 Nikon D600 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

Nikon D600 Key Specs

Announcement Date: 2012-11-13

24MP - Full frame CMOS Sensor

ISO 100 - 6400 ( expands to 50-25600)

Nikon F Mount

3.2" Fixed Type Screen

Optical (pentaprism) viewfinder

5.5fps continuous shooting

Full HD - 1920 x 1080 video resolution

850g. 141 x 113 x 82 mm

Weather Sealed Body

Replaced Nikon D300S Compare

Nikon D600 was replaced by Nikon D610. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Nikon D610 vs Nikon D600
Nikon D610 vs Panasonic Lumix DC-G9

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how Panasonic G9 and Nikon D600 compares and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one is better for you.

Reasons to choose Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 over Nikon D600

Wireless Connection	Built-In vs Optional	Better connectivity
In-built Image Stabilization	Sensor-shift vs None	Sharper images at longer focal lengths and slow shutter speeds
LCD Screen	Fully Articulated vs Fixed Type	Flexible shooting positions
Touch Screen	Yes vs No	Easy control of camera functions
Viewfinder Magnification	0.83x vs 0.7x	Larger Viewfinder
Max ISO	25.600 vs 6.400	300% higher Max ISO
Number of Focus Points	225 vs 39	186 more focus points
LCD Screen Resolution	1.040k dots vs 921k dots	12% higher resolution screen
Max Mech. Shutter	1/8000s vs 1/4000s	faster mechanical shutter
Continuous Shooting	20.0fps vs 5.5fps	14.5 fps faster
Weight	658 g vs 850 g	192 g lighter
Max Video Resolution	3840 x 2160 vs 1920 x 1080	Higher Resolution Video
Flash Sync Port	Yes vs No	Connect off-camera flash
Selfie & Vlogger Friendly LCD	Yes vs No	Rotate LCD for taking Selfies
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
Smartphone Remote	Yes vs No	Remote control your camera with a smartphone
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 Nikon D600 over Panasonic Lumix DC-G9

Built-in Flash	Yes vs No	Useful in low-light
Max Sensor Resolution	24 MP vs 20 MP	19% more pixels
LCD Screen Size	3.2" vs 3"	0.2 inches larger display
Battery Life	900 shots vs 400 shots	500 more frames with a single charge
Sensor Pixel Area	35.66µm² vs 11.16µm²	219% larger pixel area
Autofocus at f/8 aperture	7 points vs none	Autofocus with teleconverters

Common Strengths of Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 and Nikon D600

External Flash Shoe	Yes vs Yes	Better for flash photography
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 24 MP	Bigger prints and more details
LCD Screen Size	3" vs 3.2"	Large display
Continuous Shooting	20.0fps vs 5.5fps	Fast shooting speeds
Microphone Port	Yes vs Yes	High quality audio recording option
Headphone Port	Yes vs Yes	better video control
Environmental Sealing	Yes vs Yes	shoot at tough conditions
Timelapse Recording	Yes vs Yes	creative shooting
Top LCD Display	Yes vs Yes	Help viewing and changing settings easily
AE Bracketing	Yes vs Yes	Useful for tough lighting conditions and HDR
Dual-axis Electronic Level	Yes vs Yes	Level the camera easily in two axis
Storage Slot	2 vs 2	Extra Storage Slot

Common Weaknesses of Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 and Nikon D600

Panasonic G9 vs Nikon D600: 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 Nikon D600 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). Nikon D600 has external dimensions of 141 x 113 x 82 mm (5.55 x 4.45 x 3.23″) and weighs 850 g (1.87 lb / 29.98 oz) (including batteries).

Below you can see the front view size comparison of Panasonic G9 and Nikon D600. Panasonic G9 is 4mm narrower and 16mm shorter than Nikon D600 but it is also 10mm thicker.

Comparison image of Panasonic G9 and Nikon D600 Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View

Here is the back view size comparison of Panasonic G9 and Nikon D600.

Comparison image of Panasonic G9 and Nikon D600 Size and Weight - Back View

Now lets look at the top view comparison of Panasonic G9 and Nikon D600.

Top View Comparison image of Panasonic G9 and Nikon D600 Size

Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day. Panasonic G9 is significantly lighter (192g ) than the Nikon D600 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. Since Nikon D600 has a Full frame 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 Nikon D600 lenses.

Weight Comparison

DSLR Cameras

D600

Min

Average

Max

Thickness Comparison

DSLR Cameras

D600

Min

Average

Max

Weather Sealing

Both G9 and D600 have weather sealings in their body, making them resistant to water and dust.

LCD Screen Size and Features

Nikon D600's 3.2" LCD screen is slightly larger than Panasonic G9's 3" screen.

On the other hand, Panasonic G9 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. On the other hand, Nikon D600 has a fixed type screen which provides almost no flexibility in shooting positions compared to G9.

Panasonic G9 vs Nikon D600: Sensor Comparison

Panasonic G9 has a 20.0MP Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ) sized CMOS sensor . On the other hand, Nikon D600 has a 24.0MP Full frame (35.9 x 24 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Expeed 3 processor.

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 D600 sensor size comparison.

Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Panasonic G9 and Nikon D600 Cameras

As seen above, Nikon D600 has a 3.8x 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 Nikon D600 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 Nikon D600 has an advantage over Panasonic G9 There are 309 lenses for Nikon D600's Nikon F 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, Nikon D600 doesn't have this feature so you have to buy a lens with optical stabilization feature. Currently there are 106 lenses for Nikon F mount with Optical Image Stabilization features.

Lens Type	# of Panasonic G9 Lenses	# of Nikon D600 Lenses
Standard Zoom	15	33 (17 Full Frame)
Standard Prime	13	21 (18 Full Frame)
Wideangle Zoom	6	33 (17 Full Frame)
Wideangle Prime	29	48 (46 Full Frame)
Telephoto Zoom	18	53 (43 Full Frame)
Telephoto Prime	9	45 (44 Full Frame)
SuperZoom	8	30 (6 Full Frame)
Wideangle Fisheye Prime	5	8 (3 Full Frame)
Macro Prime	4	26 (23 Full Frame)
Perspective Control Prime	n/a	11 (11 Full Frame)
Telephoto Mirror Prime	1	1 (0 Full Frame)
TOTAL	108	309 (228 Full Frame)

Now let's compare some sample lenses from each mount with typical Focal ranges for Panasonic G9 and Nikon D600 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
	Nikon 24-70mm F2.8E ED VR	24 - 70mm	1070gr	1920gr	155mm	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
	Nikon AF-S 70-200mm F2.8E FL ED VR	70 - 200mm	1430gr	2280gr	203mm	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
	Nikon 50mm f1.4G	50mm	290gr	1140gr	54mm	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
	Nikon 17-35mm f2.8D ED-IF	17 - 35mm	745gr	1595gr	106mm	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
	Nikon 24-120mm f4G ED VR	24 - 120mm	710gr	1560gr	104mm	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
	Sigma 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM C	150 - 600mm	1930gr	2780gr	290mm	Amazon B&H Photo

What types of Photography are Panasonic G9 and Nikon D600 Good for?

In this section, we rank and compare Panasonic G9 and Nikon D600 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

Nikon D600 for Portrait Photography

GOOD

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 Full frame (35.9 x 24 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 24.0MP
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
No Image Stabilization
Read the details

Panasonic G9 for Street Photography

EXCELLENT

Nikon D600 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 Full frame (35.9 x 24 mm) sensor
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
No Image Stabilization
Large Body
Read the details

Panasonic G9 for Sports Photography

GOOD

Nikon D600 for Sports Photography

EXCELLENT

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
Environmental Sealings
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/4000s
9 Cross Type Focus sensors
39 Focus Points
Good Battery Life: 900 shots
Good Low Light ISO
Average Continuous Shooting: 5.5fps
No Image Stabilization
Read the details

Panasonic G9 for Daily Photography

GOOD

Nikon D600 for Daily Photography

GOOD

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

Large Full frame (35.9 x 24 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Large Body
850g
Body Thickness 82mm
Read the details

Panasonic G9 for Landscape Photography

AVERAGE

Nikon D600 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 Full frame (35.9 x 24 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 24.0MP
Environmental Sealings
Live-view
Read the details

Panasonic G9 vs Nikon D600: 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 Nikon D600, 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 Nikon D600 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

Nikon D600

Imaging

Features

Value

Portability

Overall

Ranked #22 out of 95 in Mid-size SLR cameras
Ranked #81 out of 1233 in all Cameras

Panasonic G9 has a higher Overall Score than the Nikon D600. It also has more features, more compact body and offers higher value for the money. But there is one area that G9 trails behind the D600: Imaging.
If image quality is the most important aspect in a camera, choose the Nikon D600. If not, we recommend the Panasonic G9.

Nikon D600 vs Panasonic G9 Specs Table

Detailed comparison of specifications

General	Panasonic Lumix DC-G9	Nikon D600
Brand	Panasonic	Nikon
Announced	2017-11-08	2012-11-13
Body Type	SLR-style mirrorless	Mid-size SLR
Sensor
Type	CMOS	CMOS
Size	Four Thirds	Full frame
Dimensions	17.3 x 13 mm	35.9 x 24 mm
Area	224.90mm²	861.60mm²
Megapixels	20 megapixels	24 megapixels
Max Resolution	5184 x 3888	6016 x 4016
Max Native Light sensitivity	25,600 ISO	6,400 ISO
Max Boosted Light Sensitivity	-	25600 ISO
Min Native Light sensitivity	200 ISO	100 ISO
Min Boosted Light Sensitivity	100 ISO	50 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	39
Lens
Manual Focus
Lens Mount	Micro Four Thirds	Nikon F
Number of Available Lenses	108	309
Screen
Type	Fully Articulated	Fixed type
Size	3"	3.2"
Resolution	1,040k dots	921k dots
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
Viewfinder	Electronic	Optical (pentaprism)
Viewfinder Resolution	3,680k dots	no electronic viewfinder
Viewfinder Coverage	100%	100%
Viewfinder Magnification	0.83x	0.7x
Photography Features
Max Mechanical Shutter	1/8000s	1/4000s
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 (at ISO 100)
Max Flash Sync	n/a	1/200s
External Flash
Continuous Shooting	20.0 fps	5.5 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	MPEG-4, H.264
Microphone Port
Headphone Port
Connectivity
Wireless Connectivity	Built-In	Optional
HDMI
Physical
Environmental Sealing
Weight	658g	850g
Dimensions	137 x 97 x 92mm	141 x 113 x 82mm
Battery Life	400 shots	900 shots
Other Features
Timelapse Recording
GPS	None	Optional
DxO Sensor Scores
DxO Overall Score	not tested	94
DxO Color Depth	not tested	25.1
DxO Dynamic Range	not tested	14.2
DxO Low Light ISO	not tested	2980
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