Panasonic Lumix DMC-L1

by James Wiseman Thursday, June 22nd, 2006

Article Summary:

Panasonic has announced their entry into the 4/3rds DSLR arena with a 7.5 megapixel camera and Zeiss lens. This camera is very similar to the Olympus E-330 and uses the same sensor, which we have come to learn is actually manufactured by Panasonic. The Lumix offers a live preview on the rear LCD in a similar fashion to the E-330’s “B” mode. The kit lens is a 14-50mm f2.8-3.5 zoom which looks excellent, and according to Phil Askey, will also work on the E-330. The kit price is $1,999 - and it will be interesting to see how this camera is received by underwater photographers and housing manufacturers.

I have learned that the lens is a Japanese branded Leica lens. Cheers James
Posted by James Wiseman on 2006-07-20 15:04:14 to me the 4/3 doesn't make sense, because most of the new monitors/displays getting wider and the 16/9 format will be most likely become even more popular with hdtv.
Posted by lars on 2006-06-28 03:51:09 Ah, the 4/3rds name probably comes from the fact that the aspect ratio for the sensor is 4w x 3h - like a computer monitor - instead of the traditional 3w x 2h Cheesr James
Posted by James Wiseman on 2006-06-27 16:31:50 Ah, thanks. I thought maybe the sensor was 133% of the size of a 35mm or something.
Posted by synthetic on 2006-06-27 16:18:54 Hi, It's a new lens mount and sensor design combo - like the Nikon F-mount and DX sensor. The 4/3 system is a consortium of camera and sensor manufacturers, with the majors being Panasonic, Fujifilm, and Olympus. The sensor is 1/2 the size of a 35mm film negative. HTH James
Posted by James Wiseman on 2006-06-27 16:02:31 What does 4/3rds mean? I keep seeing this term but haven't seen a description.
Posted by synthetic on 2006-06-27 15:46:05