Specifications#
- Brand
- Panasonic
- Model
- Lumix DMC-GH3
- Camera type
- Large-sensor compact
- Sensor size
- 17.3 × 13.0 mm (Four Thirds / Micro Four Thirds)
- Crop factor
- 2.00×
- Resolution
- 15.9 MP (4,608 × 3,456 px)
- ISO range
- 200 – 12,800
- Weight
- 470 g (16.6 oz)
- Sensor
- 17.3 x 13.0 mm Live MOS
- Storage
- SD, SDHC, SDXC
- Viewfinder
- EVF color display, 100% field of view, 0.67x (35 mm equiv), 1.34x magnification, with 1744 kDots equivalent; OLED or articulated multi-angle 3.0 inch color OLED with touch control (614 kDots equivalent)
- Metering
- Intelligent Multiple
- Exposure modes
- Manual, Program, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, User settings
- Shutter
- Focal-plane shutter
- Flash
- Built-in pop up
- Battery
- Li-ion Battery Pack
- Lens
- Micro Four Thirds System mount
Specifications merged from Wikipedia and openMVG. Spot an error? Tell us.
Sensor size compared#
Focal length equivalents & field of view#
Multiply any focal length by 2.00 to get the full-frame field of view. For fixed-lens cameras use the real focal length printed on the lens (e.g. “6.1–18.3 mm”), not the 35 mm equivalent.
| Lens on this camera | Full-frame equivalent | Horizontal | Vertical | Diagonal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 mm | 16 mm | 94.5° | 78.2° | 107.0° |
| 10 mm | 20 mm | 81.7° | 66.0° | 94.5° |
| 12 mm | 24 mm | 71.6° | 56.9° | 84.1° |
| 14 mm | 28 mm | 63.4° | 49.8° | 75.4° |
| 16 mm | 32 mm | 56.8° | 44.2° | 68.1° |
| 18 mm | 36 mm | 51.3° | 39.7° | 62.0° |
| 20 mm | 40 mm | 46.8° | 36.0° | 56.8° |
| 24 mm | 48 mm | 39.6° | 30.3° | 48.5° |
| 28 mm | 56 mm | 34.3° | 26.1° | 42.3° |
| 35 mm | 70 mm | 27.8° | 21.0° | 34.4° |
| 40 mm | 80 mm | 24.4° | 18.5° | 30.3° |
| 50 mm | 100 mm | 19.6° | 14.8° | 24.4° |
| 56 mm | 112 mm | 17.6° | 13.2° | 21.9° |
| 70 mm | 140 mm | 14.1° | 10.6° | 17.6° |
| 85 mm | 170 mm | 11.6° | 8.7° | 14.5° |
| 100 mm | 200 mm | 9.9° | 7.4° | 12.4° |
| 135 mm | 270 mm | 7.3° | 5.5° | 9.2° |
| 200 mm | 400 mm | 5.0° | 3.7° | 6.2° |
| 300 mm | 600 mm | 3.3° | 2.5° | 4.1° |
| 400 mm | 800 mm | 2.5° | 1.9° | 3.1° |
| 600 mm | 1200 mm | 1.7° | 1.2° | 2.1° |
Depth of field table#
Total depth of field at each subject distance, using a circle of confusion of 15.0 µm (the 0.030 mm full-frame standard scaled by the crop factor). Detailed tables: 24 mm f/1.8, 24 mm f/2.8, 35 mm f/1.8, 35 mm f/2.8, 50 mm f/1.8, 50 mm f/2.8.
| Focal | Aperture | 50.0 cm | 1.00 m | 2.00 m | 3.00 m | 5.00 m | 10.0 m | Hyperfocal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 mm | f/1.8 | 11.0 cm | 46.4 cm | 2.21 m | 7.21 m | ∞ | ∞ | 4.49 m |
| 11 mm | f/2.8 | 17.5 cm | 77.9 cm | 5.28 m | ∞ | ∞ | ∞ | 2.89 m |
| 11 mm | f/4 | 25.8 cm | 1.29 m | 148 m | ∞ | ∞ | ∞ | 2.03 m |
| 11 mm | f/8 | 63.4 cm | 52.5 m | ∞ | ∞ | ∞ | ∞ | 1.02 m |
| 22 mm | f/1.8 | 2.7 cm | 10.9 cm | 44.7 cm | 1.03 m | 3.01 m | 16.1 m | 17.9 m |
| 22 mm | f/2.8 | 4.2 cm | 17.1 cm | 70.8 cm | 1.66 m | 5.31 m | 69.3 m | 11.5 m |
| 22 mm | f/4 | 5.9 cm | 24.6 cm | 1.04 m | 2.57 m | 9.97 m | ∞ | 8.09 m |
| 22 mm | f/8 | 12.0 cm | 51.5 cm | 2.58 m | 9.75 m | ∞ | ∞ | 4.05 m |
| 37 mm | f/1.8 | 0.9 cm | 3.8 cm | 15.5 cm | 35.2 cm | 98.9 cm | 4.09 m | 50.7 m |
| 37 mm | f/2.8 | 1.4 cm | 5.9 cm | 24.2 cm | 55.0 cm | 1.56 m | 6.75 m | 32.6 m |
| 37 mm | f/4 | 2.0 cm | 8.5 cm | 34.7 cm | 79.3 cm | 2.28 m | 10.8 m | 22.8 m |
| 37 mm | f/8 | 4.1 cm | 17.0 cm | 71.0 cm | 1.67 m | 5.37 m | 73.8 m | 11.4 m |
| 62 mm | f/1.8 | 0.3 cm | 1.3 cm | 5.4 cm | 12.4 cm | 34.7 cm | 1.40 m | 142 m |
| 62 mm | f/2.8 | 0.5 cm | 2.1 cm | 8.5 cm | 19.3 cm | 54.1 cm | 2.20 m | 91.6 m |
| 62 mm | f/4 | 0.7 cm | 2.9 cm | 12.1 cm | 27.6 cm | 77.6 cm | 3.18 m | 64.1 m |
| 62 mm | f/8 | 1.4 cm | 5.9 cm | 24.3 cm | 55.5 cm | 1.58 m | 6.87 m | 32.1 m |
Equivalent aperture#
Exposure is identical at the same f-number on any format; equivalence only describes depth of field and total light.
Diffraction & pixel pitch#
With 3.75 µm pixels, diffraction starts to soften pixel-level detail around f/5.6. For maximum sharpness keep landscapes between f/3.1 and f/6; stopping down further trades detail for depth of field.
| Aperture | Airy disk diameter | Spread over | At 100% view |
|---|---|---|---|
| f/2.8 | 3.8 µm | 1.0 px | sharp |
| f/4 | 5.4 µm | 1.4 px | sharp |
| f/5.6 | 7.5 µm | 2.0 px | slight softening |
| f/8 | 10.7 µm | 2.9 px | slight softening |
| f/11 | 14.8 µm | 3.9 px | visibly soft |
| f/16 | 21.5 µm | 5.7 px | visibly soft |
| f/22 | 29.5 µm | 7.9 px | visibly soft |
Maximum print sizes#
At 15.9 MP the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 produces 4,608 × 3,456 pixel images. See the 16 megapixel guide or the print size calculator.
| Resolution | Typical use | Inches | Centimetres |
|---|---|---|---|
| 300 DPI | Photo-lab quality | 15.4 × 11.5 in | 39 × 29 cm |
| 240 DPI | Fine-art inkjet | 19.2 × 14.4 in | 49 × 37 cm |
| 200 DPI | Wall print | 23.0 × 17.3 in | 59 × 44 cm |
| 150 DPI | Poster, viewed from 1 m+ | 30.7 × 23.0 in | 78 × 59 cm |
Night-sky exposure limits#
Longest exposure before stars trail. The NPF rule accounts for pixel pitch and is stricter than the classic 500 rule — use it for pin-sharp stars on high-resolution sensors.
| Focal length | 500 rule | NPF f/1.8 | NPF f/2.8 | NPF f/4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 mm (14 mm eq.) | 35.7 s | 25.1 s | 30.1 s | 36.1 s |
| 10 mm (20 mm eq.) | 25.0 s | 17.6 s | 21.1 s | 25.3 s |
| 12 mm (24 mm eq.) | 20.8 s | 14.6 s | 17.6 s | 21.1 s |
| 18 mm (36 mm eq.) | 13.9 s | 9.8 s | 11.7 s | 14.0 s |
| 25 mm (50 mm eq.) | 10.0 s | 7.0 s | 8.4 s | 10.1 s |
Handheld shutter speed guide#
The reciprocal rule uses the equivalent focal length. High-resolution sensors may need one stop faster than this for pixel-sharp results.
| Focal length | No stabilisation (1/equiv. focal) | With 3-stop IS | With 5-stop IBIS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 mm | 1/25 s | 0.3 s | 1.3 s |
| 25 mm | 1/50 s | 1/6 s | 0.6 s |
| 50 mm | 1/100 s | 1/13 s | 0.3 s |
| 100 mm | 1/200 s | 1/25 s | 1/6 s |
Lens#
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 has a built-in, non-interchangeable lens. Use the real focal length of that lens with the tables above; its full-frame equivalent is that number × 2.00.
Similar cameras#
Other Four Thirds / Micro Four Thirds cameras from around the same time.
- Olympus E-500 2005
- Olympus E-330 2006
- Olympus E-400 2006
- Olympus E-30 2008
- Olympus E-620 2009
- Olympus E-1 2003
- Olympus E-300 2005
- Leica Digilux 3 2006
- Olympus E-420 2008
- Olympus PEN E-PL1 2010
- Olympus PEN E-PM1 2011
- Olympus OM-D E-M1 2013
Frequently asked questions#
What is the crop factor of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3?
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 has a crop factor of 2.00× relative to 35 mm full frame (diagonal 21.6 mm vs 43.3 mm).
What size is the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 sensor?
17.3 × 13.0 mm (Four Thirds / Micro Four Thirds), an area of 225 mm² — 26% of full frame.
Is the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 full frame?
No — its sensor is Four Thirds / Micro Four Thirds, which is 3.8× smaller in area than full frame.
How many megapixels does the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 have?
15.9 megapixels (4,608 × 3,456 pixels), enough for a 15 × 12 inch print at 300 DPI.
How long can I expose the night sky with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3?
With a 10 mm lens (20 mm equivalent) the 500 rule gives 25 s and the stricter NPF rule at f/2.8 gives 21 s.
Sources & licences#
- Wikipedia: Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 — CC BY-SA 4.0
- Wikidata Q568996 — CC0
- openMVG sensor width database — MPL-2.0
Last updated October 03, 2026 · How we calculate · Sources