Behind the Scenes of the Panasonic DMC-L1

Remember the Panasonic DMC-L1 digital SLR that was announced back in late February at the PMA show? Panasonic have published some very interesting background information of the development of this upcoming 7.5 megapixel DSLR which is based on the Four Thirds system.

“Ever since the LC5, my aim has been to design a camera that, to put it simply, ‘looks like a camera.’ For example, if you hand someone a pencil and paper and ask them to draw a picture of a camera, most people will probably draw a camera with a square body and a round lens. This is exactly what we adopted as our ideal. More than anything else our goal was to create a design that would reflect the image that an ordinary person has when he thinks of a camera, what you might call an archetypical camera.”

Website: Behind the Scenes of the Panasonic DMC-L1

Published: Thursday, May 11, 2006

Reader Comments

1. Awaiting patiently for one thing, image quality! Hopefully the Venus engine will put the 4/3rds quality in a pro-level class!

   nick in japan at 12:11pm on Thursday, May 11, 2006

2. Has it been mentioned anywhere on the web that the body of this camera is obviously a direct take-off of the now discontinued Contax G2 auto-focus rangefinder (sort of) film camera? It seems pretty clear to me, right down to the shape of the grip. Give it a look. I have read several previews of this camera in mags and on the web and haven't found one mention of this.

   Michael Hubbert at 06:56pm on Thursday, May 11, 2006

3. I get the feeling that there are ALOT of similarities to alot of cameras, alot of pre-production hype that hasn't turned me off at all, except that a few more words about direction towards maximizing image quality via design fundamentals could have stimulated me more. Maybe the next batch of teasers will hit the nail on the head!
   The range finder retro look appears to be just about perfect! My Canon's are getting real jealous!!

   nick in japan at 09:19pm on Thursday, May 11, 2006

4. Honestly -
   
   By now who really gives a shit what the camera looks like from a design perspective?
   
   As long as it's comfortable to hold, easy to operate and has great image quality with high resolution, a nice zoom ratio fom wide to long, and a fast operation -
   
   Surely we've all seen a gamut of designs so far, and most of them are all OK and, in the end, ERGONOMICS, USEFULNESS and photo quality are what's more important?
   
   All I can see with this camera is that it is clunky, bulky, easy to bang and scratch, heavy, and doesn't have enough pixels.

   AA at 01:04am on Friday, May 12, 2006