Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 II vs Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 II and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1, 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-GH5 II was introduced in July 2021 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 was introduced in July 2009. 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-GH5 II over Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 over Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 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-GH5 II and Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 have 3.0" Fully Articulated screens with 1,840k dot and 460k dot resolutions respectively. Fully articulated screen makes cameras selfie and vlogger friendly and generally very useful for video shooting. Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 II also features 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-GH5 II has a built-in Electronic (OLED) viewfinder with 3,680k dot resolution and Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 has a built-in Electronic (LVF) viewfinder. They both have 100% coverage.

Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 II features a 20.33 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 200 - 25,600 and expands to 100 - 25,600 in boosted mode. Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 features a 12 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 100 - 1,600 and expands to 100 - 3,200 in boosted mode.

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-GH5 II is equipped with Venus Engine processor and can take pictures up to 5184 x 3888 resolution. Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 is equipped with Venus Engine HD processor and can take pictures up to 4000 x 3000 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 4000 x 3000, 4128 x 2752, 4352 x 2448, 3072 x 1728, 2992 x 2992, 2928 x 1952, 2816 x 2112, 2112 x 2112, 2064 x 1376, 2048 x 1536, 1920 x 1080, 1504 x 1504 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.

No Low-Pass Filter on Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 II

There is no optical low-pass filter (OLPF), also known as an anti-aliasing filter, in front of the sensor on Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 II. 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.

In-Body Image Stabilization on Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 II

Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 II has a built-in 5-Axis Sensor Shift in-body image stabilization (IBIS) with 6.5 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-GH5 II

Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 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-GH5 II

Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 II has a built-in Bluetooth (version 4.2 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 inputs for data transfer. Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 II has a Full Size HDMI and Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 has an HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 II comes with DMW-BLK22 battery pack with battery life of 400 shots.

External Storage Slots

Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 II has Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II) [V90 or Faster Recommended] card slots. Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 has a single SD/SDHC card slot.

Shutter

Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 II has Electronic shutter and Mechanical Focal Plane shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/16000 sec with electronic shutter and up to 1/8000 sec with mechanical shutter on Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 II, and up to 1/4000 sec on Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1. Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 II can shoot continuously up to 12.0 fps. Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 can shoot continuously up to 3.0 fps.

Focusing

Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 II has 225 focusing points and Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 has . Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 II has detection range from -4 to +18 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 II ranges from 0 to +18 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range on Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 II and ±3 EV range on Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1. You can also do exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 II and and manual exposure adjustment on Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1.

Flash

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 has a built-in flash with maximum range of 10.50 m and also accepts external flash which can be connected via Hot Shoe. Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 II has no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected via Hot Shoe or PC Terminal. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/250 sec on Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 II and 1/160 sec on Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1.

Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 II body has dimensions of 139 x 98 x 87 mm (5.47 x 3.86 x 3.43") and Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 body has dimensions of 124 x 90 x 45 mm (4.88 x 3.54 x 1.77"). Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 II weighs 727 g (1.60 lb / 25.64 oz) and Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 weighs 385 g (0.85 lb / 13.58 oz).

Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 II

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1

139 mm

98 mm

124 mm

90 mm

98 mm

90 mm

87 mm

45 mm