Panasonic GH5 Comparison Review

The Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 is a mirrorless interchangeable lens camera that was revealed to the public in January 2017 and is equipped with a Four Thirds sensor. It offers a resolution of 20.2 megapixel.

Is the Panasonic GH5 a good camera? The GH5 has a Camera Elo of 2806. This rating puts the GH5 among the top 30 percent of all mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras. In terms of its sensor size category (Four Thirds cameras), the GH5 ranks among the top 10 percent.

Read on to find out more about the camera's size, sensor, features, reception by expert reviewers, and how it compares to other digital cameras.

Body comparison with a credit card

An illustration of the physical dimensions of the Panasonic GH5 vis-à-vis a credit card is provided in the side-by-side display below. Three consecutive views from the front, the top, and the rear side are shown. All width, height and depth measures are rounded to the nearest millimeter.

The table below summarizes the key physical specs of the Panasonic GH5 alongside a set of similar cameras. If you want to review a particular camera pair side-by-side, just move across to the CAM-parator tool and choose from the broad selection of possible comparisons there.

Body Specifications

		Camera Model	Camera Width	Camera Height	Camera Depth	Camera Weight	Battery Life	Weather Sealing	Camera Launch	Launch Price (USD)	Street Price
1.		Panasonic GH5	139 mm	98 mm	87 mm	725 g	410	Y	Jan 2017	1,999
2.		Nikon D500	147 mm	115 mm	81 mm	860 g	1240	Y	Jan 2016	1,999
3.		Olympus E-M1 II	134 mm	91 mm	67 mm	574 g	440	Y	Sep 2016	1,999
4.		Panasonic GH5 II	139 mm	98 mm	87 mm	727 g	400	Y	May 2021	1,699
5.		Panasonic S5	133 mm	98 mm	82 mm	714 g	440	Y	Sep 2020	1,999
6.		Panasonic G9	137 mm	97 mm	92 mm	658 g	400	Y	Nov 2017	1,699
7.		Panasonic G85	128 mm	89 mm	74 mm	505 g	330	Y	Sep 2016	899
8.		Panasonic GX8	133 mm	78 mm	63 mm	487 g	330	Y	Jul 2015	1,199
9.		Panasonic GH4	133 mm	93 mm	84 mm	560 g	500	Y	Feb 2014	1,499
10.		Sony A9	127 mm	96 mm	63 mm	673 g	650	Y	Apr 2017	4,499
11.		Sony A7 II	127 mm	96 mm	60 mm	599 g	350	Y	Nov 2014	1,999
Notes: Measurements and pricing do not include easily detachable parts, such as add-on or interchangeable lenses or optional viewfinders.
Convert to Imperial

The listed prices provide an indication of the market segment that the manufacturer of the cameras have been targeting. The Panasonic GH5 was launched in the US market at a price of $1,999. Usually, retail prices stay at first close to the launch price, but after several months, discounts become available. Later in the product cycle and, in particular, when the replacement model is about to appear, further discounting and stock clearance sales often push the camera price considerably down. Then, after the new model is out, very good deals can frequently be found on the pre-owned market.

Sensor comparison with a 35mm slide

The size of the imaging sensor is a crucial determinant of image quality. A large sensor will generally have larger individual pixels that offer better low-light sensitivity, provide wider dynamic range, and have richer color-depth than smaller pixels in a sensor of the same technological generation. Furthermore, a large sensor camera will give the photographer more possibilities to use shallow depth-of-field in order to isolate a subject from the background. On the downside, larger sensors tend to be associated with larger, more expensive camera bodies and lenses.

The Panasonic GH5 features a Four Thirds sensor and has a format factor (sometimes also referred to as "crop factor") of 2.0. Within the spectrum of camera sensors, this places the Panasonic GH5 among the medium-sized sensor cameras that aim to strike a balance between image quality and portability.

Consistent information on actual sensor performance is available from DXO Mark for most cameras. This service determines an overall sensor rating, as well as sub-scores for low-light sensitivity ("DXO Sports"), dynamic range ("DXO Landscape"), and color depth ("DXO Portrait"). The adjacent table reports on the physical sensor characteristics and the outcomes of the DXO sensor quality tests for a sample of alternative cameras.

Sensor Characteristics

		Camera Model	Sensor Class	Resolution (MP)	Horiz. Pixels	Vert. Pixels	Video Format	DXO Portrait	DXO Landscape	DXO Sports	DXO Overall
1.		Panasonic GH5	Four Thirds	20.2	5184	3888	4K/60p	23.9	13.0	807	77
2.		Nikon D500	APS-C	20.7	5568	3712	4K/30p	24.0	14.0	1324	83
3.		Olympus E-M1 II	Four Thirds	20.2	5184	3888	4K/30p	23.7	12.8	1312	80
4.		Panasonic GH5 II	Four Thirds	20.2	5184	3888	4K/60p	..	..	..	..
5.		Panasonic S5	Full Frame	24.0	6000	4000	4K/60p	25.1	14.5	2697	94
6.		Panasonic G9	Four Thirds	20.2	5184	3888	4K/60p	..	..	..	..
7.		Panasonic G85	Four Thirds	15.8	4592	3448	4K/30p	22.8	12.5	656	71
8.		Panasonic GX8	Four Thirds	20.2	5184	3888	4K/30p	23.5	12.6	806	75
9.		Panasonic GH4	Four Thirds	15.9	4608	3456	4K/30p	23.2	12.8	791	74
10.		Sony A9	Full Frame	24.0	6000	4000	4K/30p	24.9	13.3	3517	92
11.		Sony A7 II	Full Frame	24.0	6000	4000	1080/60p	24.9	13.6	2449	90

Many modern cameras cannot only take still pictures, but also record videos. The GH5 indeed provides movie recording capabilities. The highest resolution format that the GH5 can use is 4K/60p.

Feature comparison

Apart from body and sensor, cameras can and do differ across a range of features. For example, the GH5 has an electronic viewfinder with a resolution of 3680k dots. The viewfinder offers a field of view of 100% and a magnification of 0.76x. The tables below summarize some of the other core capabilities of the Panasonic GH5 in connection with corresponding information for a sample of similar cameras.

Core Features

		Camera Model	Viewfinder (Type or 000 dots)	Control Panel (yes/no)	LCD Specifications (inch/000 dots)	LCD Attach- ment	Touch Screen (yes/no)	Mech Shutter Speed	Shutter Flaps (1/sec)	Built-in Flash (yes/no)	Built-in Image Stab
1.		Panasonic GH5	3680	n	3.2 / 1620	swivel	Y	1/8000s	12.0	n	Y
2.		Nikon D500	optical	Y	3.2 / 2359	tilting	Y	1/8000s	10.0	n	n
3.		Olympus E-M1 II	2360	n	3.0 / 1037	swivel	Y	1/8000s	18.0	n	Y
4.		Panasonic GH5 II	3680	n	3.0 / 1840	swivel	Y	1/8000s	12.0	n	Y
5.		Panasonic S5	2360	n	3.0 / 1840	swivel	Y	1/8000s	7.0	n	Y
6.		Panasonic G9	3680	Y	3.0 / 1040	swivel	Y	1/8000s	20.0	n	Y
7.		Panasonic G85	2360	n	3.0 / 1040	swivel	Y	1/4000s	9.0	Y	Y
8.		Panasonic GX8	2360	n	3.0 / 1040	swivel	Y	1/8000s	10.0	n	Y
9.		Panasonic GH4	2359	n	3.0 / 1036	swivel	Y	1/8000s	12.0	Y	n
10.		Sony A9	3686	n	3.0 / 1440	tilting	Y	1/8000s	20.0	n	Y
11.		Sony A7 II	2400	n	3.0 / 1230	tilting	n	1/8000s	5.0	n	Y

The LCD screen on the Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 is flexibly attached to the body. In particular, the LCD is hinged on the side and can be flipped out for odd-angle shots in both portrait and landscape orientation. Also, this fully articulated, swivel type of LCD attachment is often appreciated by videographers for its flexibility. Moreover, v-loggers like the design because the screen can be turned to be front-facing.

One feature that differentiates the GH5 from many older cameras is in-body image stabilization (IBIS). The GH5 reduces the risk of handshake-induced blur with all attached lenses, while cameras without IBIS have to rely on optical image stabilization in OIS-equipped lenses to achieve the same effect.

Connection comparison

For some imaging applications, the extent to which a camera can communicate with its environment can be an important aspect in the camera decision process. The table below provides an overview of the connectivity of the Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 and, in particular, the interfaces the cameras (and selected comparators) provide for accessory control and data transfer.

Input-Output Connections

		Camera Model	Hotshoe Port	Internal Mic / Speaker	Microphone Port	Headphone Port	HDMI Port	USB Port	WiFi Support	NFC Support	Bluetooth Support
1.		Panasonic GH5	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	full	3.1	Y	-	Y
2.		Nikon D500	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	mini	3.0	Y	Y	Y
3.		Olympus E-M1 II	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	micro	3.0	Y	-	-
4.		Panasonic GH5 II	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	full	3.2	Y	-	Y
5.		Panasonic S5	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	micro	3.2	Y	-	Y
6.		Panasonic G9	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	full	3.0	Y	-	Y
7.		Panasonic G85	Y	stereo / mono	Y	-	micro	2.0	Y	-	-
8.		Panasonic GX8	Y	stereo / mono	Y	-	micro	2.0	Y	Y	-
9.		Panasonic GH4	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	micro	2.0	Y	Y	-
10.		Sony A9	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	micro	2.0	Y	Y	Y
11.		Sony A7 II	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	micro	2.0	Y	Y	-

It is notable that the GH5 has a microphone port. Such an external microphone input can help to substantially improve the quality of audio recordings when a good external microphone is used.

Expert reviews

While the specs-based evaluation of cameras is instructive in revealing their potential as photographic tools, it remains partial and cannot reveal, for example, the handling experience and imaging performance when actually working with the GH5. User reviews that are available, for instance, at amazon can sometimes shed light on these issues, but such feedback is all too often partial, inconsistent, and inaccurate. This is why hands-on reviews by experts are important. The following table reports the overall rankings of the cameras as published by some of the major camera review sites (amateurphotographer [AP], cameralabs [CL], digitalcameraworld [DCW], dpreview [DPR], ephotozine [EPZ], photographyblog [PB]).

Review Scores

		Camera   Model	AP   score	CL   score	DCW   score	DPR   score	EPZ   score	PB   score	Camera Launch	Launch Price (USD)	Street Price
1.		Panasonic GH5	4.5/5	+ +	..	85/100	4.5/5	5/5	Jan 2017	1,999
2.		Nikon D500	5/5	+ +	4.7/5	91/100	4.5/5	5/5	Jan 2016	1,999
3.		Olympus E-M1 II	5/5	+ +	5/5	85/100	4.5/5	4.5/5	Sep 2016	1,999
4.		Panasonic GH5 II	..	..	4.5/5	..	..	5/5	May 2021	1,699
5.		Panasonic S5	4.5/5	+ +	4.5/5	88/100	4.5/5	4.5/5	Sep 2020	1,999
6.		Panasonic G9	..	+ +	5/5	85/100	5/5	5/5	Nov 2017	1,699
7.		Panasonic G85	..	+ +	..	84/100	5/5	4.5/5	Sep 2016	899
8.		Panasonic GX8	5/5	+	..	82/100	4.5/5	4.5/5	Jul 2015	1,199
9.		Panasonic GH4	5/5	+ +	..	85/100	5/5	5/5	Feb 2014	1,499
10.		Sony A9	5/5	+ +	4.8/5	89/100	5/5	5/5	Apr 2017	4,499
11.		Sony A7 II	5/5	+	4/5	82/100	4.5/5	5/5	Nov 2014	1,999
Notes: (+ +) highly recommended; (+) recommended; (o) reviewed; (..) not available.

Care should be taken when interpreting the review scores above, though. The ratings were established in reference to similarly priced cameras that were available in the market at the time of the review. Thus, a score needs to be put into the context of the launch date and the launch price of the camera, and comparing ratings of very distinct cameras or ones that are far apart in terms of their release date have little meaning. Also, kindly note that some of the listed sites have over time developped their review approaches and their reporting style.

Camera to camera comparisons

In case you are interested in seeing how this camera compares to another one, just use the search menu 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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