What is the crop factor of the Panasonic G1?

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 is equipped with a Four Thirds sensor, whose diagonal measures 21.6mm. The sensor has a crop factor (or format factor, or focal length multiplier) of 2.0.

The crop factor is defined as the ratio of the 35mm full-frame film diagonal to the diagonal of a digital sensor. This number indicates how a lens behaves in relation to the size of the image sensor.

Sensor size comparison with a film slide

With a crop factor of 2.0, the sensor in the Panasonic G1 is smaller than the receptor area of a 35mm film slide or negative. As a result, a lens that is attached to the Panasonic G1 will offer a narrower angle of view and provide deeper depth of field than a lens of similar focal length and aperture on a film camera. The equivalent focal length is obtained by multiplying the actual focal length of the lens with the crop factor. For example, a 25mm lens on the Panasonic G1 will provide the same angle of view and depth of field as a 50mm normal lens on a film camera (25mm * 2.0 = 50mm).

Sensor specs and performance

The table below compares the sensor specs of the Panasonic G1 to those of several similar cameras. The reported DXO values are indicators of the sensor's imaging quality (higher is better), covering color depth (DXO Portrait), dynamic range (DXO Landscape), and high-ISO noise (DXO Sports). Larger sensor cameras tend to outperform cameras of the same generation that are equipped with a smaller imager. On the other hand, larger sensors are more expensive and require bigger and heavier lenses than smaller light receptors.

Sensor Characteristics

		Camera Model	Sensor Class	Resolution (MP)	Horiz. Pixels	Vert. Pixels	Video Format	DXO Portrait	DXO Landscape	DXO Sports	DXO Overall
1.		Panasonic G1	Four Thirds	12.0	4000	3000	none	21.1	10.3	463	53
2.		Olympus E-410	Four Thirds	10.0	3648	2736	none	21.1	10.0	494	51
3.		Panasonic G2	Four Thirds	12.0	4000	3000	720/30p	21.2	10.3	493	53
4.		Panasonic G10	Four Thirds	12.0	4000	3000	720/30p	21.2	10.1	411	52
5.		Panasonic GF1	Four Thirds	12.0	4000	3000	720/30p	21.2	10.3	513	54
6.		Panasonic GF2	Four Thirds	12.0	4000	3000	1080/60i	21.2	10.3	506	54
7.		Panasonic GF3	Four Thirds	12.0	4000	3000	1080/60i	20.6	10.1	459	50
8.		Panasonic GF5	Four Thirds	12.0	4000	3000	1080/60i	20.5	10.0	573	50
9.		Panasonic GF6	Four Thirds	15.8	4592	3448	1080/60i	20.7	10.6	622	54
10.		Panasonic GH1	Four Thirds	12.0	4000	3000	1080/24p	21.6	11.6	772	64
11.		Panasonic L10	Four Thirds	10.0	3648	2736	none	21.3	10.8	429	55

In the United States, the G1 was initially launched in September 2008 at a price of $599.

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Camera to camera comparisons

In case you are interested in seeing how this camera compares to another one, just make a corresponding selection in the search boxes below. There is also a set of direct links to comparison reviews that other users of the CAM-parator app explored.

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