The Micro Four Thirds is the standard first defined by both Olympus and Panasonic. And now Panasonic is ahead of the former to have rolled out their first camera, which uses the Micro Four Thirds standard, the Lumix DMC-G1.
The Micro Four Thirds standard allows the camera size to be kept at smaller than an SLR camera, without losing the feature of allowing you to change lenses like an SLR (single-lens reflex). SLR camera allows interchanging of lenses but the downside is it has a relatively large body which is contributed by a need of a mirror and the lenses need to be far away from the film plane, which makes it to need more space. And so, an SLR camera is much bigger than an average camera.
For cameras that use the Micro Four Thirds standard, sensor size is standard, which eliminates the confusion of of focal length multipliers. This camera might have been mistaken by others that it is the world’s smallest digital SLR, due to it allows the changing of lenses. Strictly speaking, it isn’t an SLR camera as it has no mirror found in an SLR. But you still get the same TTL (Through the lens) image like you would with a camera that has a mirror.
On the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 you’ll find a 12MP N-MOS sensor, a 3 inch LCD screen, an ISO range of 100 to 3200 and an electronic viewfinder. This camera is indeed small, packed with neat controls, which is highly suitable for ladies who’re looking for a small, compact yet powerful enough camera to bring around. If you compare the Lumix DMC-G1 with Panasonic’s DMC-L10 SLR camera, it’s said to be 27 percent smaller than the latter. And it weighs only 385 grams, which is slightly heavier than a regular can of beer.
This new camera is scheduled to go on sale in Japan on Oct 31 for a price tag of $840, which includes the camera and a lens unit. Panasonic also launches two lenses together with the Lumix DMC-G1, which are the Lumix G Vario ƒ3.5-5.6 14-45mm and the Lumix G Vario ƒ4-5.6 45-200mm.












