The Sony A7S III and Panasonic Lumix GH6 are two of the best video cameras around. But which one is for you?
There’s no shortage of impressive mirrorless cameras that can shoot video, but two of the best 4K cameras around are the Sony A7S III and Panasonic Lumix GH6.
In our experience, these compact system cameras offer a superb balance between portability, flexibility and performance, with both models equipped to handle everything from vlogging to serious filmmaking, while being small and lightweight enough to carry around all day.
But which is the best for you? The full-frame Sony A7S III, with its focus on speed and low-light capabilities, or the Micro Four Thirds Panasonic GH6, with its dizzying array of video options and DSLR-style handling? We’ve put the pair side by side to see where they differ and where they align; by the end of this article you’ll have a much better understanding of which camera most closely suits your needs.
There’s real daylight between these two cameras when it comes to price. The 2020-released Sony A7S III is an unashamedly premium $3,498 / £3,800 / AU$5,999 body-only, while the 2022-released Panasonic GH6 (also a premium model for Panasonic, in fact its flagship MFT camera) is nigh-on half the price at $2,199/ £1,999 / AU$3,699 body-only. In the UK in particular, this makes for a massive leap from the GH6 to the A7S III.
We’ll come to some of the potential reasons for this marked difference in later sections of this article. But for now we’ll point out that the above prices don’t include lenses and accessories, both of which most buyers will need to invest further money in (unless you’re among the lucky ones you already owns lenses for a particular system, so won’t have to reach into your pockets again).
In general, lenses for the Panasonic GH6’s MFT mount are lighter, smaller and cheaper than lenses for the Sony A7S III’s E-mount, due to the respective size of the cameras’ sensors.
For instance, Panasonic’s Leica-branded 12-60mm f/2.8-4 premium standard zoom costs £800 in the UK while Sony’s closest equivalent, the FE 24-105mm f/4 G, costs £1,100. This means you’ll be paying a little extra for the Sony full-frame lenses across the board – something to note if you’re planning on buying a wide range of additional lenses.
While the Sony A7S III isn’t available in an official kit (a box that includes both the camera body and one or more lenses), the Panasonic GH6 is – another chance to save a bit of money on the initial purchase price. The GH6 can be bought in a single package with either the 12-60mm Leica DG lens mentioned above or a cheaper, more basic 12-60mm f/3.5-5.6 zoom.
Both cameras feature a DSLR-inspired design with a protruding hand grip and a central ‘bulge’ accommodating the viewfinder and hot shoe. Both also feature fully-articulated touchscreens that can be tilted, rotated and flipped 180-degrees to face forwards – a boon for vloggers who want to film themselves while checking they’re still within the frame and in focus.
These two are also built to very high standards, with magnesium alloy frames and seals to prevent water, dust and sand from damaging internal components.
The Panasonic GH6 measures up at 138.4 x 100.3 x 99.6mm and weighs 823g without a lens (but including an SD card and battery), while the Sony A7S III is 128.
