Mirrorless · 2009

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 is a mirrorless from 2009 with a 1.5" sensor measuring 18.9 × 14.5 mm and 14 megapixels. Its crop factor is 1.82×, so a 50 mm lens frames like 91 mm on full frame. Every number below is calculated for this exact sensor.

1.5"1.82× crop14 MPMicro Four Thirds
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 camera
Photo: refeia, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
1.82×
Crop factor
18.9×14.5 mm
Sensor size
274 mm²
Area · 32% of full frame
14 MP
Resolution
4.72 µm
Pixel pitch
f/7.0
Diffraction-limited aperture
2009
Release year

Specifications#

Model
Lumix DMC-GH1
Also known as
DMC-GH1
Camera type
Mirrorless
Released
2009-01-01
Sensor size
18.9 × 14.5 mm (1.5" sensor)
Crop factor
1.82×
Resolution
14 MP (4,000 × 3,000 px)
ISO range
100 – 3,200
Sensor
18.89 × 14.48 mm Live MOS (17.3 x 13 usable in 4:3 aspect ratio)
Viewfinder
EVF color display, 100% field of view, 0.7x (35mm equiv), 1.4x magnification, with 1,440K dots equivalent; LCD or articulated multi-angle 3.0 inch color LCD (460,000 dots equivalent)
Metering
Intelligent Multiple (Center weighted, average and spot)
Exposure modes
Manual, Program, Automatic, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority
Flash
Built-in pop up, TTL, GN 10.5m equivalent (ISO100 · m)
Lens
Micro Four Thirds System mount

Specifications merged from Wikipedia, Wikidata, Lensfun and openMVG. Spot an error? Tell us.

Sensor size compared#

Full frame (35 mm)APS-CPanasonic Lumix DMC-GH1Four Thirds / Micro Four Thirds1" (one-inch) sensor
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 sensor (highlighted) drawn to scale against common formats. Its area is 32% of a full-frame sensor, which collects about 1.7 stops less total light at the same exposure.

Focal length equivalents & field of view#

Multiply any focal length by 1.82 to get the full-frame field of view. Angles are for a rectilinear lens focused at infinity.

Lens on this cameraFull-frame equivalentHorizontalVerticalDiagonal
8 mm15 mm99.5°84.3°112.2°
10 mm18 mm86.7°71.8°99.9°
12 mm22 mm76.4°62.2°89.5°
14 mm25 mm68.0°54.7°80.7°
16 mm29 mm61.1°48.7°73.3°
18 mm33 mm55.4°43.8°66.9°
20 mm36 mm50.6°39.8°61.5°
24 mm44 mm43.0°33.6°52.8°
28 mm51 mm37.3°29.0°46.1°
35 mm64 mm30.2°23.4°37.6°
40 mm73 mm26.6°20.5°33.1°
50 mm91 mm21.4°16.5°26.8°
56 mm102 mm19.1°14.7°24.0°
70 mm127 mm15.4°11.8°19.3°
85 mm155 mm12.7°9.7°15.9°
100 mm182 mm10.8°8.3°13.6°
135 mm245 mm8.0°6.1°10.1°
200 mm364 mm5.4°4.1°6.8°
300 mm545 mm3.6°2.8°4.5°
400 mm727 mm2.7°2.1°3.4°
600 mm1091 mm1.8°1.4°2.3°

Depth of field table#

Total depth of field at each subject distance, using a circle of confusion of 16.5 µm (the 0.030 mm full-frame standard scaled by the crop factor).

FocalAperture50.0 cm1.00 m2.00 m3.00 m5.00 m10.0 mHyperfocal
12 mmf/1.810.2 cm42.5 cm1.97 m5.96 m∞∞4.86 m
12 mmf/2.816.1 cm70.5 cm4.30 m71.4 m∞∞3.13 m
12 mmf/423.5 cm1.14 m21.5 m∞∞∞2.19 m
12 mmf/855.9 cm10.1 m∞∞∞∞1.10 m
24 mmf/1.82.5 cm10.1 cm41.2 cm94.3 cm2.75 m14.0 m19.4 m
24 mmf/2.83.8 cm15.8 cm65.0 cm1.52 m4.75 m44.5 m12.5 m
24 mmf/45.5 cm22.7 cm95.5 cm2.32 m8.45 m∞8.75 m
24 mmf/811.0 cm47.1 cm2.28 m7.65 m∞∞4.39 m
41 mmf/1.80.8 cm3.4 cm13.9 cm31.5 cm88.3 cm3.63 m56.6 m
41 mmf/2.81.3 cm5.3 cm21.6 cm49.1 cm1.39 m5.92 m36.4 m
41 mmf/41.8 cm7.5 cm31.0 cm70.7 cm2.02 m9.23 m25.5 m
41 mmf/83.6 cm15.1 cm63.0 cm1.47 m4.59 m40.3 m12.8 m
67 mmf/1.80.3 cm1.2 cm5.1 cm11.6 cm32.7 cm1.32 m151 m
67 mmf/2.80.4 cm1.9 cm8.0 cm18.1 cm50.9 cm2.07 m97.2 m
67 mmf/40.6 cm2.7 cm11.4 cm25.9 cm72.9 cm2.99 m68.1 m
67 mmf/81.3 cm5.5 cm22.8 cm52.1 cm1.48 m6.39 m34.1 m

Equivalent aperture#

Exposure is identical at the same f-number on any format; equivalence only describes depth of field and total light.

Aperture on this cameraFull-frame equivalent (depth of field)Hyperfocal at 24 mm
f/1.2f/2.229.1 m
f/1.4f/2.525.0 m
f/1.8f/3.319.4 m
f/2f/3.617.5 m
f/2.8f/5.112.5 m
f/4f/7.38.75 m
f/5.6f/10.26.26 m
f/8f/14.54.39 m

Diffraction & pixel pitch#

With 4.72 µm pixels, diffraction starts to soften pixel-level detail around f/7.0. For maximum sharpness keep landscapes between f/3.9 and f/7; stopping down further trades detail for depth of field.

ApertureAiry disk diameterSpread overAt 100% view
f/2.83.8 µm0.8 pxsharp
f/45.4 µm1.1 pxsharp
f/5.67.5 µm1.6 pxsharp
f/810.7 µm2.3 pxslight softening
f/1114.8 µm3.1 pxvisibly soft
f/1621.5 µm4.5 pxvisibly soft
f/2229.5 µm6.3 pxvisibly soft

Maximum print sizes#

At 14 MP the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 produces 4,000 × 3,000 pixel images. See the 14 megapixel guide or the print size calculator.

ResolutionTypical useInchesCentimetres
300 DPIPhoto-lab quality13.3 × 10.0 in34 × 25 cm
240 DPIFine-art inkjet16.7 × 12.5 in42 × 32 cm
200 DPIWall print20.0 × 15.0 in51 × 38 cm
150 DPIPoster, viewed from 1 m+26.7 × 20.0 in68 × 51 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 length500 ruleNPF f/1.8NPF f/2.8NPF f/4
8 mm (15 mm eq.)34.4 s25.6 s30.0 s35.2 s
11 mm (20 mm eq.)25.0 s18.6 s21.8 s25.6 s
13 mm (24 mm eq.)21.2 s15.7 s18.4 s21.7 s
19 mm (35 mm eq.)14.5 s10.8 s12.6 s14.8 s
28 mm (51 mm eq.)9.8 s7.3 s8.6 s10.1 s

Open the NPF / 500 rule calculator →

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 lengthNo stabilisation (1/equiv. focal)With 3-stop ISWith 5-stop IBIS
13 mm1/25 s0.3 s1.3 s
28 mm1/50 s1/6 s0.6 s
55 mm1/100 s1/13 s0.3 s
110 mm1/200 s1/25 s1/6 s

Frequently asked questions#

What is the crop factor of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1?

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 has a crop factor of 1.82× relative to 35 mm full frame (diagonal 23.8 mm vs 43.3 mm).

What size is the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 sensor?

18.9 × 14.5 mm (1.5"), an area of 274 mm² — 32% of full frame.

Is the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 full frame?

No — its sensor is 1.5", which is 3.2× smaller in area than full frame.

How many megapixels does the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 have?

14 megapixels (4,000 × 3,000 pixels), enough for a 13 × 10 inch print at 300 DPI.

What lens mount does the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 use?

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 uses the Micro Four Thirds (flange distance 19.25 mm).

How long can I expose the night sky with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1?

With a 11 mm lens (20 mm equivalent) the 500 rule gives 25 s and the stricter NPF rule at f/2.8 gives 22 s.

Sources & licences#

Last updated October 03, 2026 · How we calculate · Sources