Panasonic GH1 has a
12.0MP Four Thirds (18.89 x 14.48 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Venus Engine HD processor. On the other hand, Panasonic GH3 has a
16.0MP Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Venus Engine VII FHD processor.
Below you can see the GH1 and GH3 sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Panasonic GH1 and Panasonic GH3 Cameras
As seen above, Panasonic GH1 has a 1.2x Larger sensor area than Panasonic GH3. 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
DxOMark is a benchmark that scientifically assesses image quality of camera sensors. It 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. Panasonic GH1 and Panasonic GH3 sensors have been tested by DxO and the results show that GH3 has a better overall score of 71, 7 points higher compared to GH1's score of 64.
Model
Overall
Color Depth
Dynamic Range
Low-light ISO
Panasonic GH1
64
21.6 bits
11.6 Evs
772 ISO
Panasonic GH3
71
22.7 bits
12.4 Evs
812 ISO
Sensor size sets the circle of confusion, so it drives how much depth of field each
of these bodies gives you at a given aperture. You can calculate it exactly for the
Panasonic GH1
or the
Panasonic GH3 ,
including hyperfocal distance.
