Coming up: - Panasonic DMC-L1 Digital SLR

[editor]

I like the idea of the aperture control being in the traditional place on the lens. However while having the shutter speed control on a knob on the top echoes the traditional design of film SLRs it is at variance with the design of the Olympus SLRS.

Thing is, Olympus more or less abandoned their 35mm user base when they moved to digital.

Unlike Canon and Nikon users, Olympus 35mm lens can't be used on new Olympus dSLRs.

 

[Stanley Edwards]

I really like the look of this camera. Everything I want from a digital with a little to much; camera would be great with a fixed length 50mm (equivalent) lens.

Great to see a quality camera maker doing away with over complicated menu systems. I'd really like one.

 

[editor]

I really like the look of this camera. Everything I want from a digital with a little to much; camera would be great with a fixed length 50mm (equivalent) lens.

Yeah, but me and you seem to like the same cameras!

You'd love the Ricoh GR too. It's the closest I've ever come to a rangefinder-style 35mm camera...

 

[ourisman]

Yeah, but me and you seem to like the same cameras!

You'd love the Ricoh GR too. It's the closest I've ever come to a rangefinder-style 35mm camera...

Thanks for this discussion. I, too, would love the Panasonic with a smaller and lighter lens (perhaps a 28mm - 56mm equiv., like my Contax film camera)... but I just took a look at the Ricoh GR, and it looks perfect for what I want to use a camera for... landscape photography.

I even like the fact that the flash is not built-in... turning "off" the flash when taking low-light sunrise pictures is a pain!

 

[editor]

I even like the fact that the flash is not built-in... turning "off" the flash when taking low-light sunrise pictures is a pain!

The Ricoh has a built in flash, but it'ds easy to keep the thing turned off.

It also has a hotshoe for external flash, which is unusual for such a small camera. It rocks!

 

[Paul Russell]

The Ricoh has a built in flash, but it'ds easy to keep the thing turned off.

It also has a hotshoe for external flash, which is unusual for such a small camera. It rocks!

When your Ricoh review appearing?

And any chance of posting some full-size samples somewhere obscure so we can indulge in bit of, erm, "pixel peeping"!? Bandwidth permitting, etc.

 

[mhendo]

The folks at dpreview seem pretty impressed after their first hands-on encounter with the new camera:

The DMC-L1 is Panasonic's first digital SLR, its design ethos is clearly clean, simple, functional and very 'Leica like'. There are lots of touches in the design of this camera which make it more appealing that most other digital SLRs, these include the shutter speed dial and aperture ring (on the lens) which give very quick access to manual exposure creativity and encourage the photographer to experiment more.

 

[editor]

I tell ye: aperture rings rock!

 

[Bernie Gunther]

Leica are supposedly going to release the digital M this year. I wonder if it shares any design with this thing?

 

[Bernie Gunther]

I've seen a comment someplace (can't remember where) saying this thing will cost about $1800 and be available in about six months.

A Leica spokesman (according to the BJP mag I was reading in the station bookshop the other day) has apparently also said something about them developing 4/3 cameras in the near future and announcing something in autumn, so given the relationship of the LX1 and Leica D-Lux, I'm seriously wondering if we're looking at a close relative of the fabled 'digital M' here.

That would certainly explain the retro looks and controls.