Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome vs Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF7

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF7, 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.

Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome was introduced in April 2023 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF7 was introduced in February 2015. 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 Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome over Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF7.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF7 over Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome.

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

Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome has a 3.2" Fixed screen with 1,620k dot resolution and Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF7 has a 3.0" Tilting screen with 1,040k dot resolution. Tilting screen makes Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF7 very useful for photography purposes but not so 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.

Optical (pentaprism) Viewfinder on Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome

Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome has a built-in Optical (pentaprism) viewfinder. It has a 100% coverage and 1.05x (0.70x 35mm equivalent) magnification. There is no built-in or optional viewfinder available on Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF7.

Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome features a 25.73 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with dimensions of 23.3 x 15.5 mm and a total area of 361.2 mm². Its native ISO range is 200 - 1,600,000. Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF7 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 200 - 25,600 and expands to 100 - 25,600 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

Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome is equipped with PRIME V processor and can take pictures up to 6192 x 4128 resolution. Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF7 is equipped with Venus Engine processor and can take pictures up to 4592 x 3448 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 4:3 (3232 x 2424, 2272 x 1704), 3:2 (4592 x 3064, 3232 x 2160, 1824 x 1216), 3:2 (4592 x 2584, 3840 x 2160, 1920 x 1080), 1:1 (3424 x 3224, 2416 x 2416, 1712 x 1712) with 1:1, 4:3, 3:2, 16:9 aspect ratios.

Lens Mount

Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome has Pentax K_AF2 lens mount and Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF7 has Micro Four Thirds lens mount. Due to APS-C sensor in Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome 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-GF7 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 Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome

There is no optical low-pass filter (OLPF), also known as an anti-aliasing filter, in front of the sensor on Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome. 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 Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome

Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome has a built-in Sensor Shift in-body image stabilization (IBIS) with 5.5 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

Cameras have built-in Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n, 2.4 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 Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome

Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome has a built-in Bluetooth 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.

NFC on Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF7

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF7 has Near Field Communication (NFC) technology which simplifies the process of pairing it with other NFC-enabled devices like smartphones or tablets. It allows to quickly transfer photos and videos or remotely control the camera from compatible device. NFC can also be used for authentication and security purposes. It can verify your identity before accessing certain features or transferring sensitive data. It can be used with NFC-enabled accessories as well, such as lenses, flashes and GPS devices.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB inputs for data transfer. Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome has a Micro HDMI and Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF7 has a Micro HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome comes with D-LI90 battery pack with battery life of 800 shots.

External Storage Slots

Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome has two card slots - one for SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II) and one for SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I). Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF7 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I) card slot.

Shutter

Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome has Electronic shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/16000 sec with electronic shutter and up to 1/8000 sec with mechanical shutter on Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome, and up to 1/16000 sec with electronic shutter and up to 1/500 sec with mechanical shutter on Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF7. Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome can shoot continuously up to 12.0 fps. Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF7 can shoot continuously up to 5.8 fps.

Focusing

Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome has 101 (25 cross-type) focusing points and Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF7 has 23 focusing points. Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome has detection range from -3 to +19 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome ranges from -2 to +21 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range on Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome and ±5 EV range on Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF7. You can also do exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome and exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF7.

Flash

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF7 has a built-in flash with maximum range of 4.00 m at ISO 100. Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome has no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected via Hot Shoe or PC Terminal. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/200 sec on Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome.

Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome body has dimensions of 135 x 104 x 74 mm (5.31 x 4.09 x 2.91") and Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF7 body has dimensions of 107 x 65 x 33 mm (4.21 x 2.56 x 1.3"). Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome weighs 820 g (1.81 lb / 28.92 oz) and Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF7 weighs 266 g (0.59 lb / 9.38 oz).

Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF7

135 mm

104 mm

107 mm

65 mm

104 mm

65 mm

74 mm

33 mm