Panasonic's second dSLR

Edvarcl Heng | Aug 31, 2007

With Panasonic's newly launched and revamped dSLR, the market for consumer-level dSLRs has just gotten even more interesting. While the Japanese firm's first dSLR, the DMC-L1, got a little bashing, Panasonic optimistically dismisses it as a part of the growing pains of nurturing a fledging dSLR business. It saw the L1 as more of a "technology statement" than anything else.

No pain, no gain.

Well, all the hurt that was hurled at the L1 must have helped. Panasonic's second dSLR has certainly matured. It has gained a Live View mode, an Intelligent ISO feature similar to its new compacts and an LCD panel that twists and turns like the Canon PowerShot S5 IS.

But because it's targeted at consumers trading up from compacts to dSLRs, there's a help function that brings up explanations of what different options do and a Face Detection mode to ease the often painful transition.

At press time, Panasonic has no word on availability in Asia.