“MOST EXCITING digital photography news this year”

[srf4real]

Someone should give him a job!

Ya they are as good looking as anything I have seen.

Imagine a 24-84mm equivalent fov kit lens of Olympus or Leica quality glass that is the diameter of a large coin and weighs about the same! You could keep the whole kit in your pants pockets lol! That pancake lens might get lost in the laundry...

 

[tony-in-japan]

m4/3rds product release by Panasonic

Okay, to keep this thread updated, finally we have an actual product of the worlds first mirror-less interchangeable camera: the Lumix G1.

Here is the link from Dpreview:

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0809/08091202panasonic_DMC_G1.asp

My initial thoughts are that it is a pretty good 1.0 version product! And only 1 month after the initial announcement is quite impressive. Looking forward to seeing what the EVF is actually like.

Personally, I am more interested in a non-DSLR form-factor, so I have hopes Olympus’s m4/3 version can aim towards something more streamlined and different -- maybe even a range-finder style portable version.

The photo that caught my attention the most of the G1 is the mock-up of the 20mm f1.7 pancake lens! Now we are talking more portability!

 

[srf4real]

Imo, it's a waste of resources that should have been spent on putting that 12Mp sensor in a weather sealed L2 upgrade. The E-420 is barely any larger and weighs less with kit lens. No optical viewfinder, two lenses that are not 4/3 standard and 4/3 lenses need adapter... I don't know who they think will buy this for $400 more than a E-420 costs but it won't be me. get it down to the size of a pack of cigarettes and smooth, rectangular to fit in shirt pocket with pancake f/1.4 18mm lens and it might be handy for indoor snapshots... I'll be taking the ones that count with a real dslr camera. Can u tell I'm disappointed?

 

[Digital Skunk]

Imo, it's a waste of resources that should have been spent on putting that 12Mp sensor in a weather sealed L2 upgrade. The E-420 is barely any larger and weighs less with kit lens. No optical viewfinder, two lenses that are not 4/3 standard and 4/3 lenses need adapter... I don't know who they think will buy this for $400 more than a E-420 costs but it won't be me. get it down to the size of a pack of cigarettes and smooth, rectangular to fit in shirt pocket with pancake f/1.4 18mm lens and it might be handy for indoor snapshots... I'll be taking the ones that count with a real dslr camera. Can u tell I'm disappointed?

Yes indeed and rightfully so. Much as the industry expected the micro 4/3rds system is starting off on the wrong foot. The G1 isn't what much of the shooters in the world wanted. We DO want that digital range-finder for under $1000, we didn't want a smaller tighter SLR that is only a fraction smaller than the XT series or D40 but more expensive.

And we didn't want to have to get all new lenses just to keep the same functionality as our full sized, larger sensor SLRs.

 

[Col127]

yeah this looks really interesting

Phil Askey, Editor of the popular photography website Dpreview.com, wrote the following:

“This is without doubt the most exciting digital photography announcement this year.”

With Canon and Nikon (and Sony) battling it out on the professional FF front with their heavy and large bodies/lenses, there will soon be a great option for those more interested in compact, portable and light photography while upholding DSLR image quality.

There are some of us who are tired of the compact P&S megapixel game which is increasingly offering consumers more MPs in the same small sensor size -- meaning decreasing image quality on photos. What many consumers want is good IQ in a compact form. The Sigma DP1 was close. The E-420 with pancake was close too. The upcoming Lumix LX3 looks interesting, but still has a similar sensor size to compacts.

The welcome news of a new, upcoming system that gets rid of the mirror-reflex design of traditional DSLRs and instead will use an Electronic Viewfinder with Interchangable Lenses capability will be released by a joint-venture between Olympus (great optical company) and Panasonic (electronics giant) called micro-Four-Thirds.

This is great news for compact and prosumer lovers. A camera with a sensor area four times more than on a P&S camera, that will be compact and light with the DSLR’s capability to use interchangeable high-quality zoom or prime lenses is what the excitement is all about (and Olympus makes some of the best lenses in the industry). Check out the news/interest on the forums on Dpreview.

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0808/08080501microfourthirds.asp

I am definitely excited. If I can get image quality anywhere near I can get on my current E-420 with Pancake, then I will be a happy man. For all those doubting the IQ you can get from Olympus 4/3rds sensors, please check out my Flickr Photostream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/26154011@N07/