Well we'll be a monkey's uncle,
Panasonic
tapped
Olympus for a little bit of the old intra-corporate
synergy to help fill in that weak spot in their digital product lineup:
DSLRs. Among other things, Panny's new DMC-L1 features the Venus
Engine III, a 2.5-inch live LCD (like in Olympus's
E-330), and a 7.5 megapixel
"Live MOS" sensor, as they call it -- which sounds more or less like a CMOS, though they claim it has reduced
power consumption and more CCD-like image quality. (Remember, Canon also uses CMOS sensors in their DSLRs.) Panasonic
has also added Oly's Supersonic Wave Filter dust reduction system, which shakes dust off the sensor before it has a
chance to sully the image. The DMC-L1 also includes Panasonic's image stabilization system, and continues Panny's use
of Leica-branded lenses -- though in this case the lenses use Olympus's Four Thirds system. No announcement on price or
release date yet, but we aren't expecting this fine motha to run us cheap.
