GH1/14-140 comparison with Nikon D300/18-200VR

[Lisa]

I just bought a Panasonic GH1 kit with the 14-140 lens as a possible smaller and lighter alternative to my Nikon D300 with the Nikon 18-200 VR lens (similar zoom range after accounting for sensor size), and took both to Yosemite over last weekend. I took a few of the same photos with both so I could compare them, and thought I'd report on what I found here...

I processed both the images below with ACR (starting with raw), using a similar approach for both. Despite the difference in sensor size, I thought the GH1/14-140 produced very nearly the image quality of the D300/18-200. The D300 was very slightly sharper, mostly in the corners, but that's the only quality difference I could find, and the difference was quite small. (Differences in contrast & brightness are likely just the variation in my post-processing; I processed each completely independently, without comparing with the other one.)

I still don't feel very comfortable with using the GH1 and its features yet, so I used the D300 for most of the trip, but that will get better with practice.

The GH1:

The D300:

Thanks to all you here who have been discussing the GH1 & GF1 this past year, as you're all the reason I decided to get one!

(I'm also posting this to the Nikon forum so the Nikon folks can see it too.)

Lisa

 

[m3photo]

Re: G1/14-45 comparison with Canon 5D

Thanks to all you here who have been discussing the GH1 & GF1 this past year, as you're all the reason I decided to get one!

I found myself in a similar boat a good few months ago and can say the same thing, just that in this case it was a G1 versus a Canon 5D.

 

[Lisa]

Another comment, after doing a low-light (ISO 800) test shot (again, using raw) in my house...the D300 seems to have a little more image detail and sharpness, but a little more shadow noise than the GH1. Again, though, they're very close.

Lisa

 

[boyzo]

Re: GH1/14-140 users should be happy ...

with this comparison Lisa .... I discern (from the web images) the Nikon has slightly more shadow contrast (Eizo 24" LCD) and considering possible PP differences the 14-140 is up to most needs for a 1 lens solution I like it for its closeup focus ability rapid AF and compact size.

Awesome place Yosemite ... wish I could go there

John