Pentax K-1 has a
36.0MP Full frame (35.9 x 24 mm ) sized CMOS sensor . On the other hand, Panasonic GH2 has a
16.0MP Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Venus Engine FHD processor.
Pentax K-1's sensor provides 20MP more than Panasonic GH2's sensor, which gives a significant advantage in real life. You can print your images larger or crop more freely.
On the other hand, please keep in mind that Max sensor resolution is not the only determinant of resolving power. Factors such as the optical elements, low pass filter, pixel size and sensor technology also affects the final resolution of the captured image.
Another difference between these two cameras is that Pentax K-1'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 K-1 and GH2 sensor size comparison.
As seen above, Pentax K-1 has a 3.8x Larger sensor area than Panasonic GH2. 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
Both Pentax K-1 and Panasonic GH2 sensors have been tested by DxoMark. DxoMark 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. Of the two cameras that we are comparing, K-1 has scored 96, 36 points higher than GH2.
Model |
Overall |
Color Depth |
Dynamic Range |
Low-light ISO |
Pentax K-1 |
96 |
25.4 bits |
14.6 Evs |
3280 ISO |
Panasonic GH2 |
60 |
21.2 bits |
11.3 Evs |
655 ISO |