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Panasonic G9 vs Sony NEX-5T Comparison

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Panasonic G9

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

Panasonic G9
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Sony NEX-5T

16 MP | APS-C (23.4 x 15.6 mm) CMOS Sensor

Sony NEX-5T
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Panasonic G9 vs Sony NEX-5T Comparison Overview

Here we are comparing two Mirrorless cameras from Panasonic and Sony. Panasonic G9 was introduced to market in November 2017 and Sony NEX-5T was launched in August 2013. As you can see, NEX-5T is 4 years older than G9. Let's see if this age difference between two cameras makes a big difference.

Panasonic G9 has a 20.0MP Four Thirds sensor whereas Sony NEX-5T has a 16.0MP APS-C sensor.

Here is a brief look at the main features of Panasonic G9 and Sony NEX-5T 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
  • 20.0 fps continuous shooting
  • 4K (UHD) - 3840 x 2160 video resolution
  • Built-in Wireless
  • 658g. 137 x 97 x 92 mm
  • Weather Sealed Body

Sony NEX-5T Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2013-08-27
  • 16MP - APS-C CMOS Sensor
  • ISO 100 - 25600
  • Sony E Mount
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • 10 fps continuous shooting
  • Full HD - 1920 x 1080 video resolution
  • Built-in Wireless
  • 276g. 111 x 59 x 39 mm
  • Replaced Sony Alpha NEX-5R Compare

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how Panasonic G9 and Sony NEX-5T compares and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one is better for you.

Reasons to choose Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 over Sony Alpha NEX-5T
Image Stabilization
Sensor-shift vs None Sharper images at longer focal lengths and long exposures
Viewfinder
Electronic vs Electronic (Optional) Better framing and control
Max Sensor Resolution
20 MP vs 16 MP 25% more pixels
Number of Focus Points
225 vs 99 126 more focus points
LCD Screen Resolution
1.040k dots vs 922k dots 12% higher resolution screen
Max Mech. Shutter
1/8000s vs 1/4000s faster mechanical shutter
Continuous Shooting
20.0fps vs 10.0fps 10 fps faster
Battery Life
400 shots vs 330 shots 70 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
Max Video Resolution
3840 x 2160 vs 1920 x 1080 Higher Resolution Video
Top LCD
Yes vs No Help viewing and changing settings easily
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
Smartphone Remote
Yes vs No Remote control your camera with a smartphone
UHS Card Support
UHS-II vs none Read/Write in Ultra High Speeds


Reasons to choose Sony Alpha NEX-5T over Panasonic Lumix DC-G9
Weight
276 g vs 658 g 382 g lighter
Sensor Pixel Area
22.77µm2 vs 11.16µm2 104% larger pixel area
NFC Connection
Yes vs No Easy wireless connectivity with compatible devices

Common Strengths of Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 and Sony Alpha NEX-5T
Wireless Connection
Yes vs Yes Better connectivity
Adjustable LCD Screen
Fully Articulated vs Tilting Flexible shooting positions
External Flash Shoe
Yes vs Yes Better for flash photography
Touch Screen
Yes vs Yes Easy control of camera functions
RAW Support
Yes vs Yes Better image quality
Face Detection Focus
Yes vs Yes very handy for portraits
Continuous Shooting
20.0fps vs 10.0fps Fast shooting speeds
AE Bracketing
Yes vs Yes Useful for tough lighting conditions and HDR
Selfie/Vlogger Friendly LCD
Yes vs Yes Rotate LCD for taking Selfies
Common Weaknesses of Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 and Sony Alpha NEX-5T
Built-in Flash
No vs No Require external flash
Panasonic G9 vs Sony NEX-5T: 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 Sony NEX-5T 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). Sony NEX-5T has external dimensions of 111 x 59 x 39 mm (4.36 x 2.31 x 1.53″) and weighs 276 g (0.61 lb / 9.74 oz) (including batteries).

Below you can see the front view size comparison of Panasonic G9 and Sony NEX-5T. Sony NEX-5T is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 26mm narrower, 38mm shorter and 53mm thinner than Panasonic G9.

Panasonic G9 vs Sony NEX-5T Camera Size Comparison - Front View
Comparison image of Panasonic G9 and Sony NEX-5T Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View

Now lets look at the top view comparison of Panasonic G9 and Sony NEX-5T.
Panasonic G9 vs Sony NEX-5T Camera Size Comparison - Top View
Top View Comparison image of Panasonic G9 and Sony NEX-5T Size

Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day. Sony NEX-5T is significantly lighter (382g ) than the Panasonic G9 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 Sony NEX-5T 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 Sony NEX-5T lenses.

Weight Comparison

Mirrorless Cameras

G9
NEX-5T
Min
Average
Max
Thickness Comparison

Mirrorless Cameras

G9
NEX-5T
Min
Average
Max

Weather Sealing

With its weather sealed body, we believe that G9 has a big advantage over NEX-5T which doesn't provide any kind of environmental sealing.

LCD Screen Size and Features

Panasonic G9 and Sony NEX-5T's LCD screens has the same diagonal size of 3".

Sony NEX-5T features a Tilting only screen which is mostly only good for shooting from waist or over the head levels. On the other hand, Panasonic G9 sports a Fully Articulated screen which is more flexible and useful especially for taking Selfie shots and video.
Panasonic G9 vs Sony NEX-5T: Sensor Comparison

Panasonic G9 has a 20.0MP Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ) sized CMOS sensor . On the other hand, Sony NEX-5T has a 16.0MP APS-C (23.4 x 15.6 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Bionz 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 NEX-5T sensor size comparison.

Panasonic G9 vs Sony NEX-5T Sensor Size Comparison
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Panasonic G9 and Sony NEX-5T Cameras


As seen above, Sony NEX-5T has a 1.6x 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 Sony NEX-5T 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 Sony NEX-5T has an advantage over Panasonic G9 There are 128 lenses for Sony NEX-5T's Sony E mount, on the other hand there are only 107 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.
31 lenses for Sony E mount with Optical Image Stabilization features.

Lens Type # of Panasonic G9 Lenses # of Sony NEX-5T Lenses
Standard Zoom 15 12
Standard Prime 13 18
Wideangle Zoom 5 7
Wideangle Prime 29 42
Telephoto Zoom 18 9
Telephoto Prime 9 18
SuperZoom 8 8
Wideangle Fisheye Prime 5 2
Macro Prime 4 8
Perspective Control Prime n/a 2
Telephoto Mirror Prime 1 n/a
TOTAL 107 128


Now let's compare some sample lenses from each mount with typical Focal ranges for Panasonic G9 and Sony NEX-5T 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 Lens Panasonic 12-35mm F2.8 OIS
24 - 70mm 305gr 963gr 74mm Amazon B&H Photo
Sony E 16-55mm F2.8 G Lens Sony E 16-55mm F2.8 G
24 - 82.5mm 494gr 770gr 100mm 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 Lens Panasonic X 35-100mm F2.8 II Power OIS
70 - 200mm 357gr 1015gr 100mm Amazon B&H Photo
Sony E 55-210mm F4.5-6.3 OSS Lens Sony E 55-210mm F4.5-6.3 OSS
82.5 - 315mm 345gr 621gr 108mm 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 Lens Panasonic 25mm F1.4 II ASPH
50mm 205gr 863gr 55mm Amazon B&H Photo
Sony E 35mm F1.8 OSS Lens Sony E 35mm F1.8 OSS
52.5mm 155gr 431gr 45mm 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 Lens Panasonic 8-18mm F2.8-4.0 ASPH
16 - 36mm 315gr 973gr 88mm Amazon B&H Photo
Sony E 10-18mm F4 OSS Lens Sony E 10-18mm F4 OSS
15 - 27mm 225gr 501gr 64mm 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 Lens Panasonic 12-60mm F2.8-4.0 ASPH Power OIS
24 - 120mm 320gr 978gr 86mm Amazon B&H Photo
Sony E 16-70mm F4 ZA OSS Lens Sony E 16-70mm F4 ZA OSS
24 - 105mm 308gr 584gr 75mm 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 Lens Panasonic 100-400mm F4.0-6.3
200 - 800mm 985gr 1643gr 172mm Amazon B&H Photo
Sony E 70-350mm F4.5-6.3 G OSS Lens Sony E 70-350mm F4.5-6.3 G OSS
105 - 525mm 625gr 901gr 142mm Amazon B&H Photo
What types of Photography are Panasonic G9 and Sony NEX-5T Good for?
In this section, we rank and compare Panasonic G9 and Sony NEX-5T 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

Sony NEX-5T 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 (23.4 x 15.6 mm) sensor
Average Resolution Sensor: 16.0MP
Optional External Viewfinder
Average Ergonomics&Handling
No Image Stabilization
Read the details

Panasonic G9 for Street Photography

EXCELLENT

Sony NEX-5T 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 (23.4 x 15.6 mm) sensor
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Tilting LCD Screen
Optional External Viewfinder
Medium sized Body
No Image Stabilization
Read the details

Panasonic G9 for Sports Photography

GOOD

Sony NEX-5T 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
Fast Continuous Shooting: 10.0fps
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/4000s
25 Cross Type Focus sensors
99 Focus Points
Good Low Light ISO
Wireless Connection
Optional External Viewfinder
Average Ergonomics&Handling
No Image Stabilization
Environmental Sealings
Read the details

Panasonic G9 for Daily Photography

GOOD

Sony NEX-5T 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 APS-C (23.4 x 15.6 mm) sensor
276g
Medium size Body
Read the details

Panasonic G9 for Landscape Photography

AVERAGE

Sony NEX-5T 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 (23.4 x 15.6 mm) sensor
Live-view
Average Resolution Sensor: 16.0MP
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details

Panasonic G9 vs Sony NEX-5T: 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 Sony NEX-5T, 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 Panasonic G9 and Sony NEX-5T scores compare:

Panasonic G9
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #36 out of 86 in SLR-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked #60 out of 1220 in all Cameras
Sony NEX-5T
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #45 out of 126 in Rangefinder-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked #252 out of 1220 in all Cameras

Panasonic G9 has a higher Overall Score than the Sony NEX-5T and would be our choice if we have to decide between these two cameras.

Panasonic G9
Panasonic G9
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Sony NEX-5T
Sony NEX-5T
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Sony NEX-5T vs Panasonic G9 Specs Table
Detailed comparison of specifications
General Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 Sony Alpha NEX-5T
Brand Panasonic Sony
Announced 2017-11-08 2013-08-27
Body Type SLR-style mirrorless Rangefinder-style mirrorless
Sensor
Type CMOS CMOS
Size Four Thirds APS-C
Dimensions 17.3 x 13 mm 23.4 x 15.6 mm
Area 224.90mm2 365.04mm2
Megapixels 20 megapixels 16 megapixels
Max Resolution 5184 x 3888 4912 x 3264
Max Native Light sensitivity 25,600 ISO 25,600 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 99
Lens
Manual Focus
Lens Mount Micro Four Thirds Sony E
Number of Available Lenses 107 128
Screen
Type Fully Articulated Tilting
Size 3" 3"
Resolution 1,040k dots 922k dots
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
Viewfinder Electronic Electronic (optional)
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 1/4000s
Max Electronic Shutter 1/32000s n/a
Shutter Priority
Aperture Priority
Manual Exposure Mode
Custom White Balance
Image Stabilization Sensor-shift No
Built-in Flash
Flash Range no built-in flash 7.00 m (ISO100)
Max Flash Sync n/a 1/160s
External Flash
Continuous Shooting 20.0 fps 10.0 fps
Multi-Segment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF-Area
Center Weighted
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, H.264
Microphone Port
Headphone Port
Connectivity
Wireless Connectivity Built-In Built-In
HDMI
Physical
Environmental Sealing
Weight 658g 276g
Dimensions 137 x 97 x 92mm 111 x 59 x 39mm
Battery Life 400 shots 330 shots
Other Features
Timelapse Recording
GPS None None
DxO Sensor Scores
DxO Overall Score not tested 78
DxO Color Depth not tested 23.6
DxO Dynamic Range not tested 13.0
DxO Low Light ISO not tested 1015
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