This is a new 7.5MP DSLR or Digital Single Lens Reflex, with a Lve MOS sensor, a 2.5″ LCD screen and a Leica Vario Elmarit 14-50 lense. This is no D20/30 or KissN (350D) competition, but more aimed at attacking the Bridges AMHA. I have to admit that the whole Leiva design is not my cup of tea, but it’s not horrible all things considered… (Press photos by DPREVIEW)

LUMIX DMC-L1 Breaks New Ground: Panasonic’s First Digital SLR Camera with Interchangeable Lens

Panasonic is pleased to announce the development of our first interchangeable-lens digital SLR camera, the LUMIX DMC-L1. State-of-the-art digital and optical technologies developed for our compact digital cameras have been crystallized to make LUMIX a top camera brand while helping establish a new photographic culture for the digital age. Panasonic is drawing on these leading technologies, and the emotional excitement of true-to-life photographic images, as we announced in our entry to the digital SLR market in 2005.
The DMC-L1 being introduced today is an entirely new kind of digital SLR camera. It is operated much like a traditional film camera but provides a variety of innovative features that increase the fun of shooting photos. While the DMC-L1 is digital, it has a classic design that will remind users of traditional analogue cameras. These characteristics, together with a shutter speed control dial on the camera body and an aperture ring on the LEICA D VARIO-ELMARIT 14-50mm/F2.8-3.5 lens (also being introduced), distinguish the DMC-L1 from conventional digital SLRs in both design and operation.