dslr

Panasonic was the first out of the gate with a Micro Four Thirds camera, a system that promises SLR quality in small packages. It was Olympus, however, that hit small-body sweet spot with the EP-1. Today, Panasonic announced their own realization of the Micro Four Thirds promise with the svelte Lumix DMC-GF1.

Size is an issue with cameras. I miss a lot of good shots when I don’t feel like lugging around a hefty SLR (such as my current fav, the Nikon D90). And while my pocket camera (presently a Canon SD800) is easy to tote, the image quality is more for “snapshots” than “photographs.”

I, and a few other shutterbugs around the Popular Science office, have been looking into the middle category of cameras: big enough to take good pictures, but not so big that it’s a burden. Now is a good time to look, since several camera makers have fresh midsize camera offerings.