The Panasonic Lumix G1 is the camera that had to happen. Once the Micro Four Thirds lens mount was announced in August it was only a matter of time before a camera was announced to exploit the smaller mount.
      The front runners were always going to be Olympus and Panasonic. Leica doesn't appear to have had anything to do with the new mount and Sigma's gestation period for cameras is quite long.
       In the event Panasonic won the race to the first announcement. And what an interesting design it is. Not that that is surprising as the DMC-L1K is one of the more innovative designs around.
       After my smart remarks about the coloured Mamiya Pro TTL, the Panasonic is available in red, blue and black. So what do I know? But it is not the colour choice but the design features that impress. While the viewfinder looks like a standard DSLR prism, it is a live video finder that dispenses with the mirror box allowing for a much more compact camera. It also, naturally, has interchangeable lenses in the new Micro Four Thirds mount although it can use normal Four Thirds optics via an adaptor.
      Panasonic also announced two new dedicated Micro 4/3 lenses to go with the G!. Standard fitment is the Lumix G Vario 14-45mm/F3.5-5.6 ASPH./MEGA O.I.S and the Lumix G Vario 45-200mm/F4.0-5.6/MEGA O.I.S. telephoto lens.
      However, the best bit is probably that the size and weight of the DSLR has just nose-dived. The G1 is just (W x H x D): 124 x 83.6 x 45.2mm and the body (without lens) is a tiny 385 grams. The standard lens adds a further 195 grams and protrudes 60mm. For those with long memories, that is comparable to the fabled Olympus Pen F half frame of 1966, surely the most compact film SLR (W X H X D 127 x 60.6 x 32.5 and 560 grams with standard lens).
      Actually the comparison is quite apt, as the Pen F dispensed with a conventional prism finer using instead a Porroflex (like the Panasonic LMC-L1K) to reduce the profile of the camera, but with the G1 the standard system was junked in favour of the video viewfinder.   
Available light   
      Fit the G1 with the Panasonic f1.4 25mm Four-Thirds prime lens (50mm 35mm equivalent) and the weight is still only 895 grams (plus whatever the adaptor ring weighs) and what a street camera it would make (I'll pass on the red and blue versions). No mirror, so low noise ... eat my digital dust, Leica. Although to be fair, the f1.4 lens is a Leica Summilux design. OK the lens is almost bigger than the body, but so what.
      Panasonic claim low noise levels at up to 3,200ISO. and even if the system doesn't match Nikon's D300/D3, it should still be an effective available light camera even if it is only half as good.
Around the Forums
      Interestingly, the Panasonic forums are alive with vitriol. God knows what the writers wanted but what Panasonic provided wasn't it. The wishlist ranged from a Leica-clone — reasonable enough given the connection between the two companies and the DMC which had a lot going for it except sheer size — to a super DSLR that leapfrogged Nikon and Canon in a single bound.
      Then there are those who are disappointed because the G1 is not a pocketable cameras It's not unless you have large pockets (my D100 fits in the inner pocket of my Barbour jacket so anything is possible if you are determined enough) but expecting any SLR design to do that is a bit unreasonable, don't you think? If this is what you want buy a camera that does fit in your pocket, what ever size it is.
      The more reasonable posters pointed out that this was the first real Panasonic design with aspirations to be more than a base model. I think that's a reasonable assumption as the company has a tremendous track record in the pro level video camera market, and it is more of an electronics company that a camera one and like Sony have R&D budgets that are the envy of dedicated camera manufacturers. There is more to come.
      In the interim the G1, seems to have a lot going for it, and I'd like to try it out before making a decision.

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