Nikon D7500 vs Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Nikon D7500 and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3, highlighting the advantages of each over the other, discussing their pros and cons, shared strengths and weaknesses, and providing a rating based on their available features and specifications to assist you in choosing the one that best suits your needs.

Nikon D7500 was introduced in April 2017 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 was introduced in September 2012. Let us first list highlights of the models.

Now that we've looked at the most essential specifications and gained a basic understanding of these cameras, we can delve into more details and see the differences between them.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Nikon D7500 over Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 over Nikon D7500.

We already listed pros and cons of each model. However, you may also find useful to look at their common strengths and weaknesses shown side-by-side.

Screen

Nikon D7500 has a 3.2" Tilting screen with 922k dot resolution and Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 has a 3.0" Fully Articulated screen with 614k dot resolution. Tilting screen makes Nikon D7500 very useful for photography purposes but not so useful for video shooting. Fully articulated screen makes Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 selfie and vlogger friendly and generally very useful for video shooting. Both models feature touchscreen which has advantages such as easy menu navigation, intuitive controls, quick setting adjustment and most importantly a Touch-to-Focus functionality allowing users to select a specific point on the screen where they want the camera to focus. This feature can be helpful for achieving precise focus in both photo and video recording.

Viewfinder

Nikon D7500 has a built-in Optical (pentaprism) viewfinderPanasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 has a built-in Electronic viewfinder with 1,744k dot resolution. They both have 100% coverage.

Nikon D7500 features a 20.9 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with dimensions of 23.5 x 15.6 mm and a total area of 366.6 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 51,200 and expands to 50 - 1,640,000 in boosted mode. Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 features a 16.05 megapixel Micro Four Thirds CMOS sensor with dimensions of 17.3 x 13 mm and a total area of 169 mm². Its native ISO range is 200 - 12,800.

Here is a sensor size comparison chart where you can see how different sensors compare with each other:

Sensor size chart

	Sensor	Dimensions	Area	Aspect Ratio	Crop Factor
	Medium Format	44 x 33 mm	1452 mm2	4:3	0.79x
	Full Frame	36 x 24 mm	864 mm2	3:2	1x
	APS-H	27 x 18 mm	486 mm2	3:2	1.3x
	APS-C	23.6 x 15.6 mm	368.2 mm2	3:2	1.5x
	APS-C (Canon)	22.3 x 14.9 mm	332.3 mm2	3:2	1.6x
	Micro Four Thirds	17.4 x 13 mm	226.2 mm2	4:3	2x
	1-inch	13.2 x 8.8 mm	116.2 mm2	3:2	2.7x
	1/1.7-inch	7.44 x 5.58 mm	41.5 mm2	4:3	4.7x
	1/2.3-inch	6.17 x 4.55 mm	28.1 mm2	4:3	5.6x

Nikon D7500 is equipped with EXPEED 5 processor and can take pictures up to 5568 x 3712 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 4176 x 2784, 2784 x 1856 with 3:2 aspect ratios. Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 is equipped with Venus Engine VII FHD processor and can take pictures up to 4608 x 3456 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 4608x3072, 3264x2448, 2336x1752, 4608x3072, 3264x2176, 2336x1560, 4608x2592, 3264x1840, 1920x1080, 3456x3456, 2448x2448, 1744x1744, 1712x1712 with 1:1, 4:3, 3:2, 16:9 aspect ratios.

Lens Mount

Nikon D7500 has Nikon F lens mount and Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 has Micro Four Thirds lens mount. Due to APS-C sensor in Nikon D7500 its crop factor is equal to 1.5x, this means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length times 1.5. Due to Micro Four Thirds sensor in Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 its crop factor is equal to 2x, this means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length times 2.

No Low-Pass Filter on Nikon D7500

There is no optical low-pass filter (OLPF), also known as an anti-aliasing filter, in front of the sensor on Nikon D7500. This results in a slightly sharper image but may also introduce moiré patterns and aliasing artifacts when photographing subjects with fine, repetitive patterns or details.

No Image Stabilization

The cameras do not have image stabilization. On Nikon D7500 it means that you need lenses with optical image stabilization for vibration reduction. As for Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 nothing can be done. On Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 it means that you need lenses with optical image stabilization for vibration reduction. As for Nikon D7500 nothing can be done.

Built-in Wi-Fi

Cameras have built-in Wi-Fi (802.11b/g 2.4 GHz on Nikon D7500, 802.11b/g/n 2.4 GHz on Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3) which allows to easily transfer photos and videos from the camera to other Wi-Fi-enabled devices, such as smartphones, tablets, printers, or computers. This eliminates the need for cables and allows for quick and convenient media sharing and social media integration. It gives you the ability to control your camera remotely using a smartphone or tablet. This is particularly useful for taking self-portraits, group shots, or capturing images in challenging conditions without having to touch the camera. Firmware updates can also be downloaded and installed wirelessly.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in WiFi.

Bluetooth on Nikon D7500

Nikon D7500 has a built-in Bluetooth (version 4.1 LE) which lets you to connect the camera to a smartphone or a dedicated remote control device. This allows you to remotely trigger the camera, adjust settings and controls remotely through a paired mobile app. While Wi-Fi is generally faster for transferring larger files, Bluetooth can be used for small, selective transfers, it can provide real-time information about your camera's battery status, memory card capacity, and other key settings directly on your paired smartphone or smartwatch.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in Bluetooth.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) inputs for data transfer. Nikon D7500 has a Mini HDMI and Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 has a Mini Type C HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Nikon D7500 comes with EN-EL15a battery pack with battery life of 950 shots.

External Storage Slots

Cameras have a single SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I) card slot.

Shutter

Nikon D7500 has Electronic shutter and Mechanical Focal Plane shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/8000 sec on Nikon D7500, and up to 1/4000 sec on Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3. Nikon D7500 can shoot continuously up to 8.0 fps. Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 can shoot continuously up to 20.0 fps.

Focusing

Nikon D7500 has 51 (15 cross-type) focusing points and Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 has 23 focusing points. Nikon D7500 has detection range from -3 to +19 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Nikon D7500 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 range from -3 to +20 EV and 0 to +18 EV respectively and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range on Nikon D7500 and ±5 EV range on Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3. You can also do exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Nikon D7500 and exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3.

Flash

Cameras have built-in flash with maximum range of 12.00 m at ISO 100 on Nikon D7500 and 12.00 m on Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3. They also accept external flash which can be connected via Hot Shoe. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/250 sec on Nikon D7500 and 1/160 sec on Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3.

Nikon D7500 body has dimensions of 136 x 104 x 73 mm (5.35 x 4.09 x 2.87") and Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 body has dimensions of 133 x 93 x 82 mm (5.24 x 3.66 x 3.23"). Nikon D7500 weighs 720 g (1.59 lb / 25.40 oz) and Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 weighs 550 g (1.21 lb / 19.40 oz).

Nikon D7500

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3

136 mm

104 mm

133 mm

93 mm

104 mm

93 mm

73 mm

82 mm