Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 II vs Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 II and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, 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.

Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 II was introduced in September 2023 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3 was introduced in July 2011. 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 Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 II over Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3 over Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 II.

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

Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 II and Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3 have 3.0" Fully Articulated screens with 1,840k dots and 460k dot resolutions respectively. Fully articulated screen makes cameras 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

Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 II has a built-in Electronic (OLED) viewfinder with 3,680k dots resolution and Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3 has a built-in Electronic viewfinder with 1,440k dot resolution. They both have 100% coverage.

Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 II features a 25.21 megapixel Micro Four Thirds CMOS sensor with dimensions of 17.3 x 13 mm and a total area of 224.9 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 25,600 and expands to 50 - 25,600 in boosted mode. Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3 features a 16 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 160 - 6,400.

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

Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 II can take pictures up to 5776 x 4336 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 3:2 (5776 x 3848), 16:9 (5776 x 3248), 1:1 (4336 x 4336) with 1:1, 4:3, 3:2, 16:9 aspect ratios. Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3 is equipped with Venus Engine FHD processor and can take pictures up to 4592 x 3448 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 4576 x 3056, 4576 x 2576, 3424 x 3424, 3232 x 2424, 3232 x 2160, 3232 x 1824, 2416 x 2416, 2272 x 1704, 2272 x 1520, 1920 x 1080, 1824 x 1368, 1824 x 1216, 1824 x 1024 , 1712 x 1712, 1712 x 1712 with 1:1, 4:3, 3:2, 16:9 aspect ratios.

Lens Mount

Cameras have Micro Four Thirds lens mount. Due to their Micro Four Thirds sensor their crop factor (also called lens multiplier) 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.

In-Body Image Stabilization on Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 II

Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 II has a built-in 5-Axis Sensor Shift in-body image stabilization (IBIS) with 8 stops of compensation. This means that you are still getting vibration reduction when camera is paired with non-image stabilizied lenses. It also works with lenses with optical image stabilization and in combination can achieve even better compensation.

Built-in Wi-Fi on Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 II

Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 II has a built-in Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi 5, 802.11ac/b/g/n, 2.4/5 GHz) 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 Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 II

Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 II has a built-in Bluetooth (version 5.0) 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 inputs for data transfer. Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 II has a Type A Full Size HDMI and Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3 has a Mini Type C HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 II comes with DMW-BLK22 battery pack with battery life of 390 shots.

External Storage Slots

Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 II has Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II) card slots. Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I) card slot.

Shutter

Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 II has Mechanical Focal Plane shutter and Electronic shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/32000 sec with electronic shutter and up to 1/8000 sec with mechanical shutter on Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 II, and up to 1/4000 sec on Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3. Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 II can shoot continuously up to 60.0 fps with electronic shutter and up to 14.0 fps with mechanical shutter. Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3 can shoot continuously up to 4.0 fps.

Focusing

Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 II has 779 focusing points and Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3 has 23 focusing points. Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 II has detection range from -4 to +18 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 II ranges from 0 to +18 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range. You can also do exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 II and exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3.

Flash

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3 has a built-in flash with maximum range of 11.00 m and also accepts external flash which can be connected via Hot Shoe. Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 II has no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected via Shoe Mount or Wireless connection. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/250 Sec on Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 II and 1/160 sec on Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3.

Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 II body has dimensions of 134 x 102 x 90 mm (5.29 x 4.03 x 3.55") and Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3 body has dimensions of 115 x 84 x 47 mm (4.53 x 3.31 x 1.85"). Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 II weighs 658 g (1.45 lb / 23.21 oz) and Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3 weighs 336 g (0.74 lb / 11.85 oz).

Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 II

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3

134 mm

102 mm

115 mm

84 mm

102 mm

84 mm

90 mm

47 mm