Panasonic GH5 Image Quality

Here we compare the 20-megapixel GH5 to its 16-megapixel predecessor, the GH4. As you can see, the GH5 does resolve more detail than the GH4 thanks to its higher resolution as well as the lack of an anti-aliasing filter. While our tricky red-leaf fabric looks better from the GH4, that's partially because the GH5 actually resolves more of the individual threads which interacts with context-specific noise reduction, breaking up the leaf pattern a bit. Luminance noise levels are similar from the GH5, though chrominance noise is lower. Contrast and color have also improved over the GH4 with higher saturation, warmer colors and less of a yellow-to-green shift. Overall, a nice improvement here at base ISO.

While not in same league as the GH5 in terms of price, features, performance and especially video prowess, we decided to include the EOS M5 here as it's currently Canon's top-of-the-line mirrorless and certainly competes in terms of still image quality. Here we can see the 24-megapixel APS-C M5 doesn't really resolve any more detail, but that's mainly because of the different native aspect ratios (3:2 vs 4:3) as this shot is framed vertically which only gives the Canon a resolution advantage of 112 pixels in the vertical axis. Canon's default sharpening is however a bit crude in comparison to GH5's, delivering an image that is softer yet contains more noticeable sharpening halos (the M5's Fine Detail Picture Style would have performed better). The Canon M5's default noise reduction also blurs our red-leaf swatch more than the GH5's, however overall noise levels are lower from the M5 (but keep in mind the lower base ISO). Colors are more accurate from the Canon as well, though not quite as saturated.

Again, not much difference here against the 24-megapixel Fuji X-T2 in terms of captured resolution due to the different aspect ratios. The GH5 image is however a little crisper with some areas such as the fabrics showing better detail, while the X-T2 image is a bit smoother and refined looking overall. The red-leaf pattern is more faithfully reproduced by the Fuji, however again that's partially because the Panasonic is resolving more of the fine thread pattern. Colors are also just a little more accurate from the Fuji.

These two Micro Four Thirds rivals offer the same 20-megapixel resolution, however we do see some significant differences here at base ISO due to different approaches in default processing. The Olympus image is sharper with slightly higher contrast, however more obvious sharpening artifacts are present. Luma noise levels are comparable, however even here at base ISO, more chroma noise is left behind by the Olympus, yet it blurs the red-leaf swatch much more than the Panasonic. Colors on the whole are also a little more accurate from the Olympus.

Above we compare the 20-megapixel Micro 4/3 GH5 to the 24-megapixel APS-C Sony A6500. Here at base ISO, the A6500 produces a sharper, crisper image with more "pop," yet generates almost no sharpening halos. Noise levels are a little lower from the Sony, but keep in mind the lower base ISO of 100. Both cameras retain some of the fine thread pattern in our tricky red-leaf swatch, but the Sony does a much better job a rendering the leaf pattern, though moiré patterns are more visible. This time it's the Panasonic that produces more accurate colors.

Here at ISO 1600, the GH5 produces an image with better detail, higher contrast (in most areas), lower luma noise, much lower chroma noise, and better color. The GH4 does a little better in our problematic red-leaf swatch though, with higher contrast, slightly better detail and a smoother rendering. The GH5 still retains more of the thread pattern, however it just looks like higher noise here. Again a nice improvement over the GH4, except in our troublesome red-leaf swatch.

The GH5 produces an image with much lower noise than the Canon M5 here at ISO 1600. Fine detail is also rendered better by the Panasonic, however the Canon does better with our tricky red-leaf swatch with higher contrast, more detail and less interference from the thread pattern. The Panasonic does a bit better in the pink fabric, though.

The GH5 compares surprisingly well with the X-T2 here at ISO 1600, producing an image with lower noise while holding onto almost as much detail, except in our troublesome red-leaf swatch where the Fuji does much better. Contrast and color are a little better from the X-T2, however the GH5 performed better than expected here.

The GH5 produces lower levels of luma and chroma noise here at ISO 1600 than the E-M1 II in flatter areas, yet it holds onto noticeably more detail in our mosaic crop and pink fabrics with fewer noise reduction artifacts. Both cameras blur our the tricky red-leaf swatch pretty badly, however the GH5 manages to retain a touch more detail.

The A6500 still produces a somewhat crisper image here at ISO 1600 with slightly better detail in the mosaic crop, however the GH5 manages to hold onto almost as much detail while at the same time reducing noise more effectively. The A6500 does however hold onto significantly more detail in our tricky red-leaf swatch as well as in the pink fabric, however colors are still better from the Panasonic.

Similar to what we saw at ISO 1600, the GH5 does a better job at retaining fine detail, reducing noise and reproducing accurate color than the GH4, producing a better overall image than the GH4 here at ISO 3200 except in the red-leaf swatch, though both cameras begin to struggle to produce sharp images at this sensitivity.

At ISO 3200, it's the GH5 which comes out ahead of the M5 with significantly lower noise in flatter areas yet better detail and sharpness in most other areas. Both blur our red-leaf swatch quite heavily, though the GH5 leaves behind a little more noise in the fabric.

The Fuji X-T2 comes out ahead in this comparison, but not by much. The Fuji image looks a bit more refined and natural in areas of fine detail while the Panasonic's area-specific noise reduction tends to distort or blur fine elements a bit more than the Fuji. Noise in flatter areas is lower from the Panasonic, but noise reduction artifacts are more visible compared to the Fuji's more film-like noise grain structure. The Fuji does significantly better with subtle detail in our red-leaf swatch, even though contrast is a little lower.

Both of these cameras retain similar levels of detail here at ISO 3200 with just a slight edge going to the Olympus for better contrast. Noise levels are lower from the GH5, however the E-M1 II's noise grain is more consistent and film-like. Overall, we'd say this comparison results in a draw with one camera doing just slightly better than the other or vice versa depending on what the subject matter is.

At ISO 3200, the Sony A6500 pulls ahead of the GH5 with better detail, contrast and sharpness, however noise in flatter areas is definitely stronger and more noticeable. The Sony appears to do much better in our red-leaf swatch, however much of the apparent detail is heavily distorted.