Pentax Q7 vs Panasonic Lumix DC-G9

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Pentax Q7 and the Panasonic Lumix DC-G9, 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 Q7 was introduced in August 2013 and Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 was introduced in November 2017. 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 Q7 over Panasonic Lumix DC-G9.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 over Pentax Q7.

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 Q7 and Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 have 3.0" screens with 460k dot and 1,040k dot resolutions respectively. Pentax Q7 has a Fixed screen Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 has a Fully Articulated screen which makes it selfie and vlogger friendly and generally very useful for video shooting. Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 also features touchscreen which has advantages such as easy menu navigation, intuitive controls, quick setting adjustment and most importantly a Touch-to-Focus functionality (available only on Panasonic Lumix DC-G9) 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 has a built-in Electronic viewfinder with 3,680k dot resolution. It has a 100% coverage and 1.66x (0.83x 35mm equivalent) magnification.Pentax Q7 does not have a built-in viewfinder but an optional optical viewfinder can be attached.

Pentax Q7 features a 12.4 megapixel 1/1.7-inch BSI-CMOS sensor with dimensions of 7.44 x 5.58 mm and a total area of 41.5 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 12,800. Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 features a 20.33 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.

Pentax Q7 has BSI-CMOS sensor, short for Backside Illuminated Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor sensor. In traditional CMOS sensors, the wiring and circuitry are located on the front side of the sensor, which can block some of the incoming light. BSI technology flips this design by placing the photosensitive elements (pixels) on the backside of the sensor, allowing more light to reach the pixels. This significantly enhances light sensitivity and improves low-light performance. BSI-CMOS sensors are particularly effective in low-light conditions, as they can capture more light, resulting in brighter and less noisy images. This makes them well-suited for indoor and night photography. BSI-CMOS sensors deliver a higher SNR and reduced cross-talk.

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 Q7 can take pictures up to 4000 x 3000 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 4000 x 2664, 4000 x 2248, 3072 x 2304, 3072 x 2048, 3072 x 1728, 2992 x 2992, 2304 x 2304, 1920 x 1440, 1920 x 1280, 1920 x 1080, 1440 x 1440 with 1:1, 4:3, 3:2, 16:9 aspect ratios. Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 can take pictures up to 5184 x 3888 resolution.

Lens Mount

Pentax Q7 has Pentax Q lens mount and Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 has Micro Four Thirds lens mount. Due to 1/1.7-inch sensor in Pentax Q7 its crop factor is equal to 4.7x, this means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length times 4.7. Due to Micro Four Thirds sensor in Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 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 Panasonic Lumix DC-G9

There is no optical low-pass filter (OLPF), also known as an anti-aliasing filter, in front of the sensor on Panasonic Lumix DC-G9. 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

The cameras have a built-in in-body image stabilization (IBIS) (6.5 stops of compensation in Panasonic Lumix DC-G9). This means that you are still getting vibration reduction when cameras are 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

Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 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

Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 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.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB inputs for data transfer. Pentax Q7 has a output terminal Type D HDMI and Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 has a Full Size HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Pentax Q7 comes with D-LI68 battery pack with battery life of 250 shots and Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 comes with DMW-BLF19 battery pack with battery life of 400 shots.

External Storage Slots

Pentax Q7 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I) and Eye-Fi Card card slot. Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 has Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II) card slots.

Shutter

Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 has Mechanical Focal Plane shutter and Electronic shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/2000 sec on Pentax Q7, and up to 1/32000 sec with electronic shutter and up to 1/8000 sec with mechanical shutter on Panasonic Lumix DC-G9. Pentax Q7 can shoot continuously up to 5.0 fps. Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 can shoot continuously up to 20.0 fps.

Focusing

Pentax Q7 has Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 has 225 focusing points. Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 has detection range from -4 to +18 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 ranges from 0 to +18 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±3 EV range on Pentax Q7 and ±5 EV range on Panasonic Lumix DC-G9. You can also do exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Pentax Q7 and exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Panasonic Lumix DC-G9.

Flash

Pentax Q7 has a built-in flash with maximum range of 4.90 m (ISO100/m) and also accepts external flash which can be connected via Hot Shoe. Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 has no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected via Hot Shoe or PC Terminal. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/2000 sec on Pentax Q7 and 1/250 sec on Panasonic Lumix DC-G9.

Pentax Q7 body has dimensions of 102 x 58 x 34 mm (4.02 x 2.28 x 1.34") and Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 body has dimensions of 137 x 97 x 92 mm (5.39 x 3.82 x 3.62"). Pentax Q7 weighs 200 g (0.44 lb / 7.05 oz) and Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 weighs 658 g (1.45 lb / 23.21 oz).

Pentax Q7

Panasonic Lumix DC-G9

102 mm

58 mm

137 mm

97 mm

58 mm

97 mm

34 mm

92 mm