Panasonic Lumix DMC-L1 Review

Review Date: March 20th 2007
Author: Gavin Stoker

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Conclusion

Ratings (out of 5)
Design	4
Features	4
Ease-of-Use	3
Image Quality	3
Value for Money	3

The Panasonic L1 isn't a mass-market device, and deliberately so, therefore it feels a slightly odd choice of first DSLR for a major electronics manufacturer. In fact, it is hard to know just who the L1 would appeal to beyond the traditionalist who wants his or her DSLR to look like a 'real' camera, or the enthusiast who requires a plethora of dials and switches to twist and tweak and feel like they're exerting more of an influence over the end result than they probably are. The thing is, such traditionalists will probably already own a set of Canon or Nikon lenses that they'd be better off allying to a D80 or 400D, rather than investing in a whole new set of Four Thirds optics. In terms of portability the Panasonic L1 is rather weighty and unwieldy, not to mention prohibitively costly, though that added heft – and to be fair, very nicely constructed build – somewhat cushions the blow. The L1 is certainly a high quality if slightly flawed product that I feel is more a way of Panasonic establishing itself as a premium brand among DSLRs than actually producing something it is going to sell in any great numbers. The fact that it feels not quite there yet is the reason for the rather average score; let's hope that the Panasonic L2 builds on the positive points of this model.

PhotographyBLOG is a member of the DIWA organisation. Our test results for the Panasonic Lumix DMC-L1 have been submitted to DIWA for comparison with test results for different samples of the same camera model supplied by other DIWA member sites.

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