Pentax K-30 vs Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Pentax K-30 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.

Pentax K-30 was introduced in October 2012 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 Pentax K-30 over Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 over Pentax K-30.

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-30 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 have 3.0" screens with 921k dot and 460k dot resolutions respectively. Pentax K-30 has a Fixed screen Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 has a Fully Articulated screen which makes it selfie and vlogger friendly and generally very useful for video shooting.

Viewfinder

Pentax K-30 has a built-in Optical (pentaprism) viewfinderPanasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 has a built-in Electronic (LVF) viewfinder. They both have 100% coverage.

Pentax K-30 features a 16.3 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with dimensions of 23.7 x 15.7 mm and a total area of 372.1 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 12,800 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

Pentax K-30 is equipped with PRIME M processor and can take pictures up to 4928 x 3264 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 4224 x 2816, 3456 x 2304, 2688 x 1792 with 3:2 aspect ratios. 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

Pentax K-30 has Pentax K_AF2 lens mount and Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 has Micro Four Thirds lens mount. Due to APS-C sensor in Pentax K-30 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-GH1 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.

In-Body Image Stabilization on Pentax K-30

Pentax K-30 has a built-in Sensor Shift in-body image stabilization (IBIS). 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.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) inputs for data transfer. connector for video signal output.

Battery

Pentax K-30 comes with D-LI109
4 x AA battery pack with battery life of 410 shots.

External Storage Slots

Pentax K-30 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I) card slot. Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 has a single SD/SDHC card slot.

Shutter

Shutter speed can go up to 1/6000 sec on Pentax K-30, and up to 1/4000 sec on Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1. Pentax K-30 can shoot continuously up to 6.0 fps. Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 can shoot continuously up to 3.0 fps.

Flash

Cameras have built-in flash with maximum range of 12.00 m at ISO 100 on Pentax K-30 and 10.50 m on Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1. They also accept external flash which can be connected via Hot Shoe or Wireless connection to Pentax K-30 and via Hot Shoe to Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/180 sec on Pentax K-30 and 1/160 sec on Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1.

Pentax K-30 body has dimensions of 130 x 97 x 71 mm (5.12 x 3.82 x 2.8") and Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 body has dimensions of 124 x 90 x 45 mm (4.88 x 3.54 x 1.77"). Pentax K-30 weighs 650 g (1.43 lb / 22.93 oz) and Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 weighs 385 g (0.85 lb / 13.58 oz).

Pentax K-30

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1

130 mm

97 mm

124 mm

90 mm

97 mm

90 mm

71 mm

45 mm