Panasonic has launched the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1; it is the first non-dSLR camera to offer the flexibility of interchangeable lenses. The camera promises to shake up the enthusiast compact market which till now has been dominated by models like the Canon PowerShot G9. DMC-G1 with the Micro Four Thirds standard will attract users who wish to benefit from the power of a dSLR and interchangeable lenses.

 

G1 has continuous-shooting speed of 3fps for an unlimited number of JPEGs and seven raw. Its specs read like those of an entry-level dSLR. However, it will come in colors. In addition to the more sedate solid black, it will come in two-tone black and blue, and black and red colors. Other important feature of the camera is, it offers a converter which will allow user to mount standard Four Thirds lenses on the G1.

 

However, the G1 does not have an optical viewfinder. It uses an EVF of 1.4 million dot with 100 percent scene coverage. It usually blacks out or freezes immediately after shooting. Another major drawback of the camera is it does not have facility to capture movies. According to company source, it will come up with movie capture camera model in 2009.  The firm has priced its latest gadget at $800.