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Panasonic G9 vs Panasonic ZS30 Comparison

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Panasonic G9

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

Panasonic G9
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Panasonic ZS30

18 MP | 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) CMOS Sensor

Panasonic ZS30
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Panasonic G9 vs Panasonic ZS30 Comparison Overview

Here we are comparing two Panasonic cameras 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 Panasonic ZS30, which was introduced in January 2013 is a Small Sensor Superzoom camera with a 18.0MP 1/2.3-inch sensor. As you can see, ZS30 is 4 years older than G9. Let's see if this age difference between two cameras makes a big difference.

Comparing an interchangeble lens camera to a fixed lens camera is a bit tricky but we will do our best to make this a fair comparison.

Here is a brief look at the main features of the Panasonic G9 and Panasonic ZS30 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 ( expands to 100)
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 3.00" Fully Articulated Screen
  • 3680k dot Electronic viewfinder
  • 20.0fps continuous shooting
  • 4K (UHD) - 3840 x 2160 video resolution
  • 180fps High-Speed Video
  • Built-in Wireless
  • 658g. 137 x 97 x 92 mm
  • Weather-sealed Body

Panasonic ZS30 Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2013-01-07
  • 18MP - 1/2.3-inch CMOS Sensor
  • ISO 100 - 6400
  • 24-480 mm F3.3-6.4 Zoom Lens
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 3.00" Fixed Type Screen
  • 10.0fps continuous shooting
  • Full HD - 1920 x 1080 video resolution
  • 220fps High-Speed Video
  • Built-in Wireless
  • Built-in GPS
  • 198g. 105 x 59 x 28 mm
  • Also known as Lumix DMC-TZ40
  • Replaced Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS25 Compare

Panasonic ZS30 was replaced by Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS35. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS35 vs Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS30 (Lumix DMC-TZ40)
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS35 vs Panasonic Lumix DC-G9

Let's read on in the following sections in order to better understand in detail how the Panasonic G9 and Panasonic ZS30 compare and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one is better for you.


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**This post contains affiliate links, and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking through my links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Reasons to choose Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 over Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS30
LCD Screen
Fully Articulated vs Fixed Type Flexible shooting positions
External Flash Shoe
Yes vs No Better for flash photography
Viewfinder
Electronic vs None Better framing and control
RAW Support
Yes vs No Better image quality
Face Detection Focus
Yes vs No very handy for portraits
Sensor Resolution
20 MP vs 18 MP 11% more pixels
Max ISO
25.600 vs 6.400 300% higher Max ISO
Number of Focus Points
225 vs 23 202 more focus points
LCD Resolution
1.040k dots vs 920k dots 13% higher resolution screen
Max Mech. Shutter
1/8000s vs 1/1200s faster mechanical shutter
Continuous Shooting
20.0fps vs 10.0fps 10 fps faster
Battery Life
400 shots vs 260 shots 140 more frames with a single charge
Microphone Port
Yes vs No High quality audio recording option
Headphone Port
Yes vs No better video control
Environmental Sealing
Yes vs No shoot at tough conditions
Timelapse Recording
Yes vs No creative shooting
Sensor Pixel Area
11.16µm2 vs 1.56µm2 615% larger pixel area
Max Video Resolution
3840 x 2160 vs 1920 x 1080 Higher Resolution Video
Top LCD
Yes vs No Help viewing and changing settings easily
AE Bracketing Range
±5 EV vs ±1 EV Wide Bracketing range is useful for HDR
Flash Sync Port
Yes vs No Connect off-camera flash
Full-size HDMI Port
Yes vs No Use standard HDMI cables without adapters
Selfie & Vlogger 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
Storage Slot
2 vs 1 Extra storage slot
Smartphone Remote
Yes vs No Remote control your camera with a smartphone
UHS Card Support
UHS-II vs none Read/Write in High Speeds
USB Version
USB 3.0 (5 GBit/sec) vs USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) Faster Data transfer from the camera
Webcam Function
Yes vs No Use your camera as a Webcam
CHECK G9 PRICE


Reasons to choose Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS30 over Panasonic Lumix DC-G9
Built-in Flash
Yes vs No Useful in low-light
Internal Storage
12MB vs None Extra built-in storage
GPS
BuiltIn vs None track your location
Weight
198 g vs 658 g 460 g lighter
CHECK ZS30 PRICE

Common Strengths of Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS30
Wireless Connection
Yes vs Yes Better connectivity
Image Stabilization
Sensor-shift vs Optical Sharper images at longer focal lengths and long exposures
Touch Screen
Yes vs Yes Easy control of camera functions
Max Resolution
20 MP vs 18 MP Bigger prints and more details
Max Continuous Shooting
20.0fps vs 10.0fps Fast shooting speeds
AE Bracketing
Yes vs Yes Useful for tough lighting conditions and HDR
Common Weaknesses of Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS30
Panasonic G9 vs Panasonic ZS30: Physical Specs and Body Features Comparison

Size and weight are big decision factors when you are trying to find the ideal camera for your needs. In this section, we are going to illustrate the Panasonic G9 and Panasonic ZS30 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). Panasonic ZS30 has external dimensions of 105 x 59 x 28 mm (4.13 x 2.32 x 1.1″) and weighs 198 g (0.44 lb / 6.98 oz) (including batteries).

Below you can see the front-view size comparison of the Panasonic G9 and the Panasonic ZS30. Panasonic ZS30 is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 32mm narrower, 38mm shorter and 64mm thinner than Panasonic G9. As you can tell, actually this is not a fair size comparison since Panasonic ZS30 has a built-in lens but Panasonic G9 doesn't. Once you put a lens on G9, its thickness will increase significantly.

Panasonic G9 vs Panasonic ZS30 Camera Size Comparison - Front View
Comparison image of the Panasonic G9 and the Panasonic ZS30 Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View

Here is the back view size comparison of the Panasonic G9 and Panasonic ZS30.

Panasonic G9 vs Panasonic ZS30 Camera Size Comparison - Back View
Comparison image of the Panasonic G9 and the Panasonic ZS30 Size and Weight - Back View

Now lets look at the top view comparison of Panasonic G9 and Panasonic ZS30.
Panasonic G9 vs Panasonic ZS30 Camera Size Comparison - Top View
Top View Comparison image of the Panasonic G9 and the the Panasonic ZS30 Size

Weight is another important factor, especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day. Panasonic ZS30 is significantly lighter (460g ) than the Panasonic G9 which may become a big advantage especially on long walking trips.

Again, this comparison may not be very useful in real life as we are comparing the weight of a camera with a built-in lens to the body-only weight of an interchangeable lens camera. Once you put a lens on G9, the total kit will weigh much higher.

Weather Sealing

With its weather-sealed body, we believe that the G9 has a big advantage over the ZS30 which doesn't provide any kind of environmental sealing.

LCD Screen Size and Features

Panasonic G9 and Panasonic ZS30's LCD screens have the same diagonal size of 3.00 inches.

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. Panasonic ZS30's LCD screen is a fixed type which provides almost no flexibility in shooting positions compared to G9.


Panasonic G9 vs Panasonic ZS30: Sensor Comparison

Panasonic G9 has a 20.0MP Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ) sized CMOS sensor . On the other hand, Panasonic ZS30 has a 18.0MP 1/2.3-inch (6.17 x 4.55 mm ) sized CMOS sensor .

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 moiré occurring in certain scenes.

Below you can see the G9 and ZS30 sensor size comparison.

Panasonic G9 vs Panasonic ZS30 Sensor Size Comparison
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Panasonic G9 and Panasonic ZS30 Cameras


As seen above, Panasonic G9 has a 8.0x Larger sensor area than Panasonic ZS30. 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.

What types of Photography are Panasonic G9 and Panasonic ZS30 Good for?
In this section, we rank and compare Panasonic G9 and Panasonic ZS30 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

Panasonic ZS30 for Portrait Photography

POOR
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
Very High Resolution Sensor: 18.0MP
Image Stabilization
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
No External Flash Shoe
No Built-in Viewfinder
No Manual Focus Mode
Not so good Ergonomics&Handling
Read the details

Panasonic G9 for Street Photography

EXCELLENT

Panasonic ZS30 for Street Photography

AVERAGE
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
Image Stabilization
Small Body
Live-view
24 mm - Good Wide Angle Coverage
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
No Built-in Viewfinder
No Manual Focus Mode
Read the details

Panasonic G9 for Sports Photography

GOOD

Panasonic ZS30 for Sports Photography

POOR
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
Image Stabilization
Fast Continuous Shooting: 10.0fps
23 Focus Points
Wireless Connection
480 mm Tele Lens
No RAW shooting capability
No External Flash Shoe
No Built-in Viewfinder
No Manual Focus Mode
Not so good Ergonomics&Handling
Environmental Sealings
Slow Max shutter speed: 1/1200s
Poor Battery Life: 260 shots
Slow Lens at Tele: f6.40
Read the details

Panasonic G9 for Daily Photography

GOOD

Panasonic ZS30 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
Compact Body
198g
20.0X Optical Zoom
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
Read the details

Panasonic G9 for Landscape Photography

AVERAGE

Panasonic ZS30 for Landscape Photography

POOR
Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 20.0MP
Environmental Sealings
Live-view
Read the details
Very High Resolution Sensor: 18.0MP
Built-in GPS
24 mm - Good Wide Angle Coverage
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
No Manual Focus Mode
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details

Panasonic G9 vs Panasonic ZS30: 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 Panasonic ZS30, 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 Panasonic ZS30 scores compare:

Panasonic G9
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #56 out of 111 in SLR-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked #80 out of 1260 in all Cameras
Panasonic ZS30
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #124 out of 477 in Compact cameras
Ranked #651 out of 1260 in all Cameras

Panasonic G9 is the overall winner of this comparison. It has a higher Overall Score and beats Panasonic ZS30 in all criteria except one: Portability. Panasonic ZS30 is significantly smaller than Panasonic G9. If small size and light body is a big priority for you, choose Panasonic ZS30. Otherwise, Panasonic G9 is the better camera overall.

Panasonic G9
Panasonic G9
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Panasonic ZS30
Panasonic ZS30
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Panasonic ZS30 vs Panasonic G9 Specs Table
Detailed comparison of specifications
General Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS30
Brand Panasonic Panasonic
Announced 2017-11-08 2013-01-07
Body Type SLR-style mirrorless Compact
Sensor
Type CMOS CMOS
Size Four Thirds 1/2.3-inch
Dimensions 17.3 x 13 mm 6.17 x 4.55 mm
Area 224.90mm2 28.07mm2
Megapixels 20 megapixels 18 megapixels
Max Resolution 5184 x 3888 4896 x 3672
Max Native Light sensitivity 25,600 ISO 6,400 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 23
Lens
Manual Focus
Lens Mount Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens Focal Range no lens 24-480 mm (20×)
Max Aperture no lens F3.3-6.4
Macro Focus Range no lens 3cm
Screen
Type Fully Articulated Fixed type
Size 3.00" 3.00"
Resolution 1,040k dots 920k dots
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
Viewfinder Electronic None
Viewfinder Resolution 3,680k dots no electronic viewfinder
Viewfinder Coverage 100% n/a
Viewfinder Magnification 0.83x n/a
Photography Features
Max Mechanical Shutter 1/8000s 1/1200s
Max Electronic Shutter 1/32000s n/a
Shutter Priority
Aperture Priority
Manual Exposure Mode
Custom White Balance
Built-in Image Stabilization Sensor-shift Optical
Built-in Flash
Flash Range no built-in flash 6.40 m
External Flash
Continuous Shooting 20.0 fps 10.0 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 MPEG-4, AVCHD
Microphone Port
Headphone Port
Connectivity
Wireless Connectivity Built-In Built-In
HDMI
Physical
Environmental Sealing
Weight 658g 198g
Dimensions 137 x 97 x 92mm 105 x 59 x 28mm
Battery Life 400 shots 260 shots
Other Features
Timelapse Recording
GPS None Built-in
DxO Sensor Scores
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